Ultimate X-Men #80 - *Spoilers*!!

[Beast]

What's this? Ultimate X-Men was actually really good for two whole issues in a row? I know it's hard to believe, but it is indeed true. Kirkman seems to be hitting his stride now that the X-Men have been "Disassembled". I'll drop back in with a full review in a bit. But I wanted to get the thread up for those who were asking about what happened. So here's the major story points. More to come. :)

* - Scott, Jean, and Ororo attend the reading of Xavier's will. He left his entire estate and all his holdings to the three of them. Included are a number of warehouses all over New York that Scott is surprised of.

* - Colossus has left the X-Men and went to stay at Emma Frost's Academy of Tommorow. Later in the issue, Angel asks him if Xavier ever said anything about him after he was expelled from the school. Piotr tells him no.

* - Wolverine leaves the X-Men as well. Ororo wants to go with him, but he tells her no. He has a lot of questions that need answering and he has to do it alone.

* - Scott asks Jean to marry him. The box that we've seen several times over the last few issues was a wedding ring. She turns him down, but only because she's not ready. The pair end up having a bubble bath together.

* - Pyro fans! First appearance of Ultimate Pyro. He's attacking a TV station over their coverage of Xavier's death. What appears to be Shield goons attack him, and the police arrive as well. He's saved at the last minute by Nightcrawler, who chides him for trying to protect the memory of Xavier. Pyro recognizes Kurt, and says he always wanted to be an X-Man. But do to his burned features, he's been running with the underground group the Morlocks.

* - Bishop visits his younger self in prison and tells him that what he's going through now will make him a better person. And warns him never to use his powers

* - Scott, Ororo, and Jean make a deal with Lilandra to continue funding the school. But only if her associate from the Shi'ar Church remains on sight in an advisory position. Scott agrees. But we see that the advisor is working with the Hellfire Club with a plans of restoring the club to prominance.

* - Scott meets with Bishop and the rest of the X-Men and declares he's disbanding the X-Men. That he can't handle running both the school and the X-Men. And that the X-Men send the wrong message to those who believe that Xavier was training a private army. Bishop is angry and wants Scott to rethink this choice. Scott tells him if he wants the X-Men, to start his own.

* - We flash forward into the future and Cable's arm is being worked on by a droid. He questions him if everything worked as planned. The droid informs him that the X-Men are grieveing their fallen mentor and Bishop trapped in the past. He tells him that due to a timeslide malfunction, Cable's drone couldn't be placed in the explosion as planned... so the X-Men believe him to be alive. Cable doesn't care, as they can't follow him anyway. He tells the droid to wake their guest.

* - And now the big reveal. Many of us guessed this back when the end of the Cable storyarc wrapped up. Cable did indeed pull a Supernova/Booster Gold. He has Xavier in a stasis tank (think New X-Men: Planet X) with a power dampening collar on him. Cable tells Xavier that they have a lot to talk about.

[onefutui2e]

sounds like an awesome issue. i can't wait to pick it up.

my only worry is that there is too much setting up right now, kind of. and it'll be awhile before they all get some touches.

you have the x-men possibly led by bishop (which would be awesome). you have cyclops running the school under the influence of the shi'ar with the hellfire club guy working his hand in. then you have cable in the future with X in a tank. not to mention the return of beast and his storyline along with the ongoing thing that nightcrawler has. then wolvie has his own solo. and let's not forget emma frost's academy of tomorrow.

and magneto! bring that bad boy back!

though all of it sounds very good. IMO though, quite a lot to take care of.

[Grunty]

Ha i knew that even in the Ultimate universe you can't keep Xavier dead for ever.
On the other hand its a good way to avoid the brought back to life syndrom by simply already showing he never died at all.

By the way you are right suddently Ult. X-men has good issues.

Its also good that Kirkman remembered that Bishop was already mentiod as one of Emmas possible recruits for the president but was not taken because of his criminal record.

To bad at the beginning i would have seen forward seeing the Morlocks in Ultimate but since my favorit Morlock is already dead (killed by mister Sinister), i am less thrilled.

Still Ultimate Pyro is nice to have.

[caney]

I thought this was a great issue!!!

I didn't see Cyclops' change of heart coming. He's given up on Xavier's teachings a couple times now, both to opposite extremes. The first time he gave up to join Magneto way back in Millar's run and now he's given up to become a pacifist kind of like Emma Frost.

It could be interesting to see Bishop take up Scott on his offer to form his own X-Men. Who do you think he would recruit? He seems very interested in helping Bobby develop his powers, so maybe he'll start with Bobby and Rogue. He could also go after Dazzler and get Angel along the way (I'd love to see Dazzler back in action).

I'm looking forward to meeting the Ultimate Morlocks. Hopefully we'll also see a lot more of Cable's future as well to give some more depth and reasoning behind everything that happened in the Cable arc.

I'm very excited about the direction of this book again!!!

[Locue]

I knew I was right in believing Kirky would come through for us. Now if only this issue didn't end with Xavier being kept alive. Please tell me every issue from now on will end with Cable laughing his arm off at Xavier's imprisoned expense. 28 pages of X-Men fighting Sinister. 1 page of Cable just standing in front of Xavier-in-the-glass-bottle laughing. That's worth a dollar extra. Hey, Kirk, you reading this? Take notes, man! One day, I will rule the comic book industry, writing every single X-Men book, of which there will be fortyfour.

[lament]

This was a wonderful issue. My thoughts:

Scott and Jean: Scott's rejected proposal was a nice scene, and I'm glad they wound up taking a bubble bath instead of dragging out the angst.

Peter and Jean-Paul: Yay for some Colossus/Northstar interaction! I really like the potential of this couple, and I want to see so much more of them.

Warren: I'm glad Warren's "expulsion" and his relationship with Alison were touched on. I imagine he feels a little lost now that Xavier has gone and left his status unresolved. I hope Alison reenters Warren's life soon.

Logan: *waves goodbye* Granted, I'm sure he'll be in every issue of the book, even if he's not on the team, but I can dream.

Bishop: If he does indeed form his own team of X-Men, I might be intrigued.

Bobby: Oh please let's not continue with the old "Bobby can't live up to his potential" theme. We already have that in the 616 Universe.

Cable and Charles: What a shocker. :rolleyes:

The Art: The women are beautiful, but I have to say I still think some of the characters look too old. :o Most of them are supposed to be teenagers, right?

[Hi-Fi]

Was Rogue melted into background again?

[TransformersFan]

how was the art?

[Beast]

Was Rogue melted into background again?
Pretty much. All she does is sit there and comment about Bobby playing video games.

Worse thing Kirkman has done is ditching the Gambit powerset. Now she's back to uninteresting. :(

[lament]

Was Rogue melted into background again?

She had a couple of lines, but mostly, she just watched Bobby play video games.

[Pyro]

I enjoyed this issue enough to start picking up this series again. I stopped after the date night arc and backtracked and bought issue 79 as well. I knew Cyclops' gift was going to be an engagement ring. I liked the way that scene played out. I'm enjoying both the story and the art. I gotta say though: Ultimate Pyro was a major disappointment. Can't really say there was anything I liked about him so far... maybe he'll become more interesting later. I also didn't like how Jean totally forgot to mention Kitty had left, too, when Wolverine was leaving. One thing I absolutely love, though, is the relationship between Colossus and Northstar. They are so cute together!

[Hi-Fi]

Pretty much. All she does is sit there and comment about Bobby playing video games.

Worse thing Kirkman has done is ditching the Gambit powerset. Now she's back to uninteresting. :(


She had a couple of lines, but mostly, she just watched Bobby play video games.

Ugh. Come back, Brian K. Vaughan, pretty please.

[Beast]

Ugh. Come back, Brian K. Vaughan, pretty please.
Hell, I'd take freakin' Bendis back. And he killed my boy. :p

[Greg Anderson]

Heh, Beast, you'll laugh at me saying this but I was going to pass on this issue until that line you mentioned of Bishop meeting his younger self. I literally got up and went to the comic shop without reading another word. Honest to God. :o

But yeah, this was in fact a good issue, I loved it. Kirkman has gained back my trust and I loved the art. I absolutely loved Pyro burning himself to cover his wound, I was just :eek: !

But yeah, woohoo! Bishop new "X-Men" leader!! :cool: And maybe Beast is hiding out with the Morlocks?

And, I'm sorry, but I had to say, "Awwww" to Piotr and Jean Paul holding hands.:o

[rwsmith]

Ugh. I abhor time-travel for the most part, and I really hate that it seems to be a big focus in the Ultimate books right now. Still, I'll reserve judgment until I actually read the issue, but the comments in this thread don't fill me with confidence.

Oh, well. At least Yannick Paquette confirmed that Wolverine is sticking around and that the team is going to be getting some new costumes.

[lament]

And, I'm sorry, but I had to say, "Awwww" to Piotr and Jean Paul holding hands.:o

That was just adorable. :o

[Brian M.]

Awesome.

I like this Scott/Jean they are more fun. No marriage here, let them continue the way they are.

[rwsmith]

Yeah, I don't really like Scott and Jean as a couple, but it makes sense for the Ultimate Universe. To me the Ultimate Universe should be more like the "status quo" universe, where everything is kind of in it's most "mainstream recognizable" state. Think cartoons and movies and whatnot. Thus the X-men are made up of some combination of Cyclops, Jean, Wolverine, Storm and various other secondary characters (i.e., Beast, Nightcrawler, Rogue, Shadowcat, Colossus, Angel, etc.), Wolverine's past is still unknown to him and mysterious, Scott and Jean are a couple, and the characters are younger.

By the same token, Spider-man is unmarried and in school, the FF is made up of Reed, Sue, Ben and Johnny, and the Ultimates consist of the big three Avengers (Cap, Iron Man, and Thor) with various supporting characters.

This allows for one universe that kind of stays in it's default state while the regular Marvel U changes and evolves.

[Red Lotus]

I can see Bishop making his own X-men, but some thing will happen to make him run to Scott and ask for help.


I thought this was a great issue!!!

I didn't see Cyclops' change of heart coming. He's given up on Xavier's teachings a couple times now, both to opposite extremes. The first time he gave up to join Magneto way back in Millar's run and now he's given up to become a pacifist kind of like Emma Frost.



I thought when Cyclops joined Magneto it was part of Xavier's plan.

[DarkCrisis]

The big Not-Shock of Prof X still being alive.

[The Horhey]

* - We flash forward into the future and Cable's arm is being worked on by a droid. He questions him if everything worked as planned. The droid informs him that the X-Men are grieveing their fallen mentor and Bishop trapped in the past. He tells him that due to a timeslide malfunction, Cable's drone couldn't be placed in the explosion as planned... so the X-Men believe him to be alive. Cable doesn't care, as they can't follow him anyway. He tells the droid to wake their guest.

* - And now the big reveal. Many of us guessed this back when the end of the Cable storyarc wrapped up. Cable did indeed pull a Supernova/Booster Gold. He has Xavier in a stasis tank (think New X-Men: Planet X) with a power dampening collar on him. Cable tells Xavier that they have a lot to talk about.


Ok, so what is Cablerine's future like? Similar to DOFP?

[Serge LaPointe]

Glad to see you guys liked this issue. Hopefully it means we're doing something good. We're off for a few issues, though we're still doing the covers, but coming back in full force with #84. Hope you'll enjoy this short intermission and still be there for our big return!

[Greg Anderson]

Glad to see you guys liked this issue. Hopefully it means we're doing something good. We're off for a few issues, though we're still doing the covers, but coming back in full force with #84. Hope you'll enjoy this short intermission and still be there for our big return!

Already?! :mad: Ah well, you guys better be back full force!

[Serge LaPointe]

how was the art?

It sucked big time, except for the inks. Man that guy's good! :cool:

[Serge LaPointe]

Already?! :mad: Ah well, you guys better be back full force!

Yeah, sorry about that. We'll be doing a 5 issue arc though, starting with 84, and we didn't wanna chop it in 2 and have fill-ins in the middle, so we're taking as much lead on it as possible. See, it's all for the good of the book. :rolleyes:

[MacLeod]

I thought the last two issues have been the best since Magnetic North or, at a push, Date Night. Perhaps this shakeup/overhaul is letting Kirkman put his stamp on things, and we have some interesting storylines developing, like Pyro/Nightcrawler, Bishop and a possible disagreement between him and Scott, what the story is with those warehouses of Xavier's and the two headed guy (temporarily forgotten his name) that Xavier recruited on the quiet.

Now they just need to do something with Rogue other than make cheap jokes at her videogaming efforts, get rid of Storm if they can't make her at all interesting, get rid of the imposter currently masquerading as Ultimate Wolverine, and do something about the weird faces/lips in the art.

[Weapon Ick]

Did we ever find out what Prof. X plans with Syndicate were?

[Nyssane]

Ultimate Pyro's ugly. :( Lia will not be pleased.

[Arachnid]

What's this? Ultimate X-Men was actually really good for two whole issues in a row? I know it's hard to believe, but it is indeed true. Kirkman seems to be hitting his stride now that the X-Men have been "Disassembled". I'll drop back in with a full review in a bit. But I wanted to get the thread up for those who were asking about what happened. So here's the major story points. More to come. :)

* - Scott, Jean, and Ororo attend the reading of Xavier's will. He left his entire estate and all his holdings to the three of them. Included are a number of warehouses all over New York that Scott is surprised of.

* - Colossus has left the X-Men and went to stay at Emma Frost's Academy of Tommorow. Later in the issue, Angel asks him if Xavier ever said anything about him after he was expelled from the school. Piotr tells him no.

* - Wolverine leaves the X-Men as well. Ororo wants to go with him, but he tells her no. He has a lot of questions that need answering and he has to do it alone.

* - Scott asks Jean to marry him. The box that we've seen several times over the last few issues was a wedding ring. She turns him down, but only because she's not ready. The pair end up having a bubble bath together.

* - Pyro fans! First appearance of Ultimate Pyro. He's attacking a TV station over their coverage of Xavier's death. What appears to be Shield goons attack him, and the police arrive as well. He's saved at the last minute by Nightcrawler, who chides him for trying to protect the memory of Xavier. Pyro recognizes Kurt, and says he always wanted to be an X-Man. But do to his burned features, he's been running with the underground group the Morlocks.

* - Bishop visits his younger self in prison and tells him that what he's going through now will make him a better person. And warns him never to use his powers

* - Scott, Ororo, and Jean make a deal with Lilandra to continue funding the school. But only if her associate from the Shi'ar Church remains on sight in an advisory position. Scott agrees. But we see that the advisor is working with the Hellfire Club with a plans of restoring the club to prominance.

* - Scott meets with Bishop and the rest of the X-Men and declares he's disbanding the X-Men. That he can't handle running both the school and the X-Men. And that the X-Men send the wrong message to those who believe that Xavier was training a private army. Bishop is angry and wants Scott to rethink this choice. Scott tells him if he wants the X-Men, to start his own.

* - We flash forward into the future and Cable's arm is being worked on by a droid. He questions him if everything worked as planned. The droid informs him that the X-Men are grieveing their fallen mentor and Bishop trapped in the past. He tells him that due to a timeslide malfunction, Cable's drone couldn't be placed in the explosion as planned... so the X-Men believe him to be alive. Cable doesn't care, as they can't follow him anyway. He tells the droid to wake their guest.

* - And now the big reveal. Many of us guessed this back when the end of the Cable storyarc wrapped up. Cable did indeed pull a Supernova/Booster Gold. He has Xavier in a stasis tank (think New X-Men: Planet X) with a power dampening collar on him. Cable tells Xavier that they have a lot to talk about.


Thats a nice coincidence. I recently brought Ultimate Pyro and the Morlocks into a Fanfic of mine. I also brought in the younger version of Bishop. Difference is, my Xaviors actualy dead, along with Jean Grey...

God, I hope Wolverine didn't leave the X-men for some Weapon X crap. Colossus leaving the X-men kind of sucks too... Nightcrawler is in a sustain coma, colossus and Angel left, Dazzler left, Xavior is in the future(I actually wanted him to be dead...

Ultimate Pyro is going to kick ass though!!!! I love Pyro(in a idol like manner of course... i'm a guy.... O_O).

[Richard Bastard]

so then, who does that leave in the X-Men?

Bishop, Rogue, Ice Man, Storm

w/ Cyclops and Jean also out to open the school?

so I assume there will be at LEAST two new members...

any thoughts?

[Hi-Fi]

This was actually quite good. And as long as Yanick and Serge keep drawing Rogue this good, I'll be back.

[Weapon Ick]

so then, who does that leave in the X-Men?

Bishop, Rogue, Ice Man, Storm

w/ Cyclops and Jean also out to open the school?

so I assume there will be at LEAST two new members...

any thoughts?

I agree. I think after the X-men have an encounter with the morlocks they will bring some one back with them from the underground.

[Arachnid]

I agree. I think after the X-men have an encounter with the morlocks they will bring some one back with them from the underground.

Spyke, I hope. Also, somehow, Nightcrawler escape. He's friends with Ultimate Pyro. Ultimate Pyro looks weird...

[desanth]

Liked the issue, I might take up UXM again.

It's about time for an x-men changeup.

Rogue should just die, she's so useless, she's just a body right now. And Bobby is a total moron, jeez, Bishop should just give up. Anyway, were there any hints on what Bishop's power is? I know future Bishop is depowered but...

I don't like the Shi'ar/Hellfire Club arc going on, but everything else is cool.

Hopefully the x-men go tracking down Nightcrawler and recruit a bunch of Morlocks for their school, since they are going to be open enrollment soon. It'd be kinda funny if they rejected some due to how they looked.

[Hi-Fi]

I just asked today about Rogue on Kirkman's board and he replied:


As for Rogue, there's a lot of characters in the book, so I can't focus on every one of them all the time. Rogue will have her moment to shine soon, don't worry.

So here's hoping. I hate the way she's being written now. Actually, not written.

I do think Kirkman writes a fantastic Jean and he's kinda getting Storm now as well. Iceman and Rogue, not so much.

[Sabre]

Ultimate Pyro's ugly. :( Lia will not be pleased.

Heh heh ;) I don't mind him being ugly, though the burned thing has been done before (in AoA). I just thought he wasn't very...interesting. Kind of crazy and not all that bright. Hopefully he'll be better in future issues.

[Grunty]

Glad to see you guys liked this issue. Hopefully it means we're doing something good. We're off for a few issues, though we're still doing the covers, but coming back in full force with #84. Hope you'll enjoy this short intermission and still be there for our big return!

Wow cool of you to react to our thread here.
Question. Let me guess there won't be a girl with pink hair and extra bones comming out of her body, under the Ultimate Morlocks?


Spyke, I hope. ...
Spyke? Your are kidding me aren't ya?

[Brian M.]

I'm sorry Kirkman.

I was wrong. I see the bigger picture. You had hinted at with your last arcs and you just needed something kick start it all off, I understand that's what Cable was.

X-Men: Dissembled would have been a better title but it still works.

Phoenix set up a long term subplot and Cable has ripped the X-Men apart. I look forward to this series now. This issue really turned it around for me. Cyclops and Jean dealing with day to day stuff at the mansion, Bishop possibly forming his own strike team. I also loved how Bishop went to the prison and talked to his younger self. Very cool.

The twist at the end w/ Xavier was predictable but noone really thought Xavier would stay dead.

[caney]

So, if Bishop does start his own X-Men team while Cyclops focuses on running a more traditional school, do you think Cyclops would let Bishop's team continue to operate out of the mansion? Obviously Ororo and Jean would also have a say in the matter since they're as much in control of Xavier's assets as Scott, but it will be interesting to see if they make Bishop leave. It probably wouldn't be the safest plan to have the X-Men working from the same place as Cyclops' school. Does anyone have an idea about where Bishop could set up his team if they're forced to leave?

[Pyro]

I was just re-reading this story and I noticed something interesting. Jean's inhibitor bracelet seems to have disappeared halfway through 79 and throughout all of 80. Do you think it's a story element that will be brought up soon or just an artist's mistake? Mr. Paquette? If you're out there can you tell us?

[Grazzt]

Something that made me inexplicably happy:

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k237/KirkeNovak/night5.jpg

Look at the TV: they're watching CBC, and they even got to use the logo and everything! I always thought that you had to make up logos when you do things like that.

[Hi-Fi]

So, if Bishop does start his own X-Men team while Cyclops focuses on running a more traditional school, do you think Cyclops would let Bishop's team continue to operate out of the mansion? Obviously Ororo and Jean would also have a say in the matter since they're as much in control of Xavier's assets as Scott, but it will be interesting to see if they make Bishop leave. It probably wouldn't be the safest plan to have the X-Men working from the same place as Cyclops' school. Does anyone have an idea about where Bishop could set up his team if they're forced to leave?
The question is: is the book going to follow the school or Bishop's team? I wonder if we're getting a lot of "ultimatizations" once the school is open.

I didn't know there were going to be new uniforms. That's a good surprise. The current ones aren't all that good (especially Rogue's and Bobby's). Storm should keep hers, though.

One thin I demand: more Dazzler's scenes at the bar, so we can see Serge getting drunk at the background.

[Sparda]

Did'nt I hear somewhere that Kirkman is setting up the X-Men in a fashion that Claremount did with the "all new, all different" X-Men gig?

So we're gonna get a plus size issue with absolute members?

[Omega Alpha]

Bishop being the leader is ridiculous. Not only he shouldn't even be there, it makes all much more convoluted, and why the hell would the X-men trust him to be their leader? If they often had problems even to trust Xavier... And Cyclops being the anti-militaristic X-man is like Wolverine making speeches about how killing is bad or Gambit about how everyone who steals is wrong, pathetic. Singer must come immeadiately and Kirkman being forbidden to even read any X-men book again.

[caney]

The question is: is the book going to follow the school or Bishop's team? I wonder if we're getting a lot of "ultimatizations" once the school is open.

I didn't know there were going to be new uniforms. That's a good surprise. The current ones aren't all that good (especially Rogue's and Bobby's). Storm should keep hers, though.

One thin I demand: more Dazzler's scenes at the bar, so we can see Srge getting drunk at the background.

I agree about the uniforms and more Dazzler!!! I still think the book would follow the team more than the school, but I'm sure eventually something will happen where the team will need Cyclops' help or Cyclops will need the team's help and he'll end up putting his uniform back on.

I thought it was funny that Scott mentioned that he would love to see them all become teachers eventually. I love me some Bobby, but what exactly would he teach? I can totally see Jean and Ororo teaching now, but Scott's plan kind of leaves Bobby and Rogue out in the cold. They're way too young to be in a position to mentor other mutants and I doubt they'd be happy just enrolling in Scott's school after all they've been through.

Also, I'm beginning to wonder if some of the Morlocks will wind up being the first students at Cyclops' school.

[Omega Alpha]

I agree about the uniforms and more Dazzler!!! I still think the book would follow the team more than the school, but I'm sure eventually something will happen where the team will need Cyclops' help or Cyclops will need the team's help and he'll end up putting his uniform back on.

I thought it was funny that Scott mentioned that he would love to see them all become teachers eventually. I love me some Bobby, but what exactly would he teach? I can totally see Jean and Ororo teaching now, but Scott's plan kind of leaves Bobby and Rogue out in the cold. They're way too young to be in a position to mentor other mutants and I doubt they'd be happy just enrolling in Scott's school after all they've been through.

Also, I'm beginning to wonder if some of the Morlocks will wind up being the first students at Cyclops' school.

Actually, ALL of them are too young to be teachers. Scott is still in his teens, and Jean has just turned 20, which i think it's Ororo's age too. I would have problems in sending my children to a school runned by such young and unexperienced people if i didn't know the characters well.

[lament]

I'm definitely happy at the prospect of a membership shake-up. I don't know how much the team will actually change, but I'd like to see some version of:

Colossus
Northstar
Angel
Dazzler
Sunspot
Iceman
Rogue (with Gambit powers)
New character

It won't happen, but I can dream. :)

[Sparta]

Yeah, I would've loved to have seen some more development with the Rogue/Gambit situation (the absorbtion). Especially with Gambit's ferocious history with Wolverine...it would've been great to see some kind of sub-plot between Rogue & Logan with her personality shifts...or heck maybe even have her flirt with Jean and Storm. Not only that, she probably could've made a great con-woman, enhanced agility, skills with weapons...a lot of potential wasted IMO...

[tycho]

This was the first UXM in a while that didn't make me want to vomit while I read it. I guess that says something about either Kirkman or myself.

I am looking forward to the next issue!

[Toboe]

I'm must say that this is the second issue of Kirkman's Ultimate X-Men in a row that I actually enjoyed and that kept interested, wich was a pleasant surprise.
Xavier's death left an interested status quo, and it seems like it will be explored. I dig the idea that Cyclops decided to turn the mansion into an actual school and stop the X-Men's activities there. It's not the first time he doubts Xavier's methods, and it's nice to have this part of him revisited.

I agree with Hi-Fi, Kirkman does write a fantastic Jean Grey and he totally nailed Ultimate Storm this issue, but his Iceman is just ridiculous and I hate the way he is (not) writing Rogue. And Wolverine is 616 Wolverine, not the Ultimate version of him, which is soo not good. I hope Loeb's mini comes out soon, since in the interviews he seems to get that they're completely different from each other and says he'll make that show, which is like the opposite of what Kirkman has done with him.

However, I totally loathe the idea of Bishop form the future leading his own X-Men. I just hate the idea of Bishop from the future actually. The whole time-travel thing in this title is just unnecessary and feels wrong.

[Zengei]

Good issue and I'm happy that the time travel appears to be of the branching timeline vein (you can't affect the past, just create a branching/alternate timeline) instead of the causality loop and paradox ridden single timeline version.

[Farrar]

well that figures, the first issue in ages that i haven't read straight off seems to be one of the best in a long time. I dunno about bishop leading the x-men, but i can see him leading Cannonball, Havok and Sunspot after they appear to be more interested in taking a more active stance than the rest of emma frosts group

[Cayman]

I actually quite liked the issue. I could see myself being lured back to the book.

[lament]

I actually quite liked the issue. I could see myself being lured back to the book.

I was sure I was going to drop the book during the Magician arc, but then Kirkman started putting enough carrots (Colossus/Northstar, Alison in the bar, etc.) and I was lured back in.

[Toboe]

I was sure I was going to drop the book during the Magician arc, but then Kirkman started putting enough carrots (Colossus/Northstar, Alison in the bar, etc.) and I was lured back in.

Same happened with me... I'm such an Ultimate Dazzler whore... and I wouldn't forgive myself if I missed a Colossus/Northstar moment...
Well, at least the book is getting better now, so I have more reasons to come back...

[rwsmith]

I wonder when we'll get some sketches/previews of the new costumes, especially since they debut in July (issue #84) and we'll be seeing the July Marvel solicitations later this month.

Hopefully the cover to UXM #84 has the whole team in their new outfits.

[sgt pepper]

I thought I was the only one to praise the last issue in that thread, but now looks like there were lots of fans. Hmmm.

Anyway, this is officially a good comic again. How'd that happen? I complained a few issues back and wanted a new writer and thank god Marvel listened, because whoever this new fellow, Robert Kirkman is, he's quite good and a huge improvement over whoever they had writing those dreadful Magician/Cablerine stories.

And the art is nice. But holy crap these are some busty X-Women. If Kitty were in this book even she'd be a c cup.

[ProfeZZor X]

What ever happened to this book over the years? ... I used to like the way these characters were portrayed up until the #40th issue (or so). Bobby is nowhere near the power level and attitude what he started out to be, and neither are a few others.

I stopped collecting this book longer than I can remember, and from Beast's review, it seems to have gone off on an entirely different feel. What made me like this book in the beginning, is that innocence and raw potential that it exhumed, much like the current book X-Men: First Class. Now it's getting even more complicated with far too much character personalities/development, and it's getting too far off from the whole "X-Men" theme.

I understand that this book isn't suppose to mirror the 616 universe, but I was under the impression was that the purpose of creating the Ultimate universe and these characters, were that they were allowed to cut loose with their powers, and introduce other characters in creative ways.... So far I haven't seen that. And if that wasn't enough, the same exact characters that were set to the background in the 616, are still the same old background characters... So I ask you, what's the point of getting this book? ...Someone please convince me that this is still a great book to read, like I once did.

[sgt pepper]

Someone please convince me that this is still a great book to read, like I once did.

I doubt that anyone will take you up on that. And it was never a great book. Just good sometimes.

[Faded]

I am sooooo much happier with this book now.

Writing, direction, art...just reading this thread with everyone's ideas/speculation shows how good this book can become.

I'm a little disappointed the Professor probably is returning, but I'm looking forward to the Scott/Bishop rift. Bishop's an interesting and unconventional choice to lead the new team which I hope will truly be edgy and new.

I do hope in the end we stick with present Bishop rather than the future one. Hate time travel, eughkcgh.

[Prosthetic Head]

To each their own I suppose. A lot of people are whining how Kirkman's run hasn't been good enough yet. Well, sorry to say, but I have enjoyed his run thus far. If you look at what he's doing to this point, he is taking a lot of new and old story threads and pushing them all forward. Something past writers have had a hard time of doing, even if some people like the older storyarcs better. It's all gonna come to a head eventually and it's gonna be big.

[Yarr]

To each their own I suppose. A lot of people are whining how Kirkman's run hasn't been good enough yet. Well, sorry to say, but I have enjoyed his run thus far. If you look at what he's doing to this point, he is taking a lot of new and old story threads and pushing them all forward. Something past writers have had a hard time of doing, even if some people like the older storyarcs better. It's all gonna come to a head eventually and it's gonna be big.


Yeah I absolutly agree. I think Ultimate X-men awesome right now. I think people are mad at Kirkman because hes doing things different.

Whatever, I got two words for Kirkman.

Balls Out.

Good stuff and keep on doing something different.

[Xany Kaos]

I didn't/don't like Kirkman's run and, yeah, it's because he's doing things different. More or less. Okay, that sounds shallow, because it is, but the thing is, I liked Ultimate X-men. I liked the kind of book it was and the way the team interacted with each other. I thought it had a fun balance. I never really cared about the overall direction of the plot because character interaction/development seemed more important and that's what I, personally, enjoy more.
If it ain't broke...

Kirkman's run's seemed a little bit more of flash than substance to me. Frankly, I think with the very interesting world you've got with Ultimate X-men, if you can't tell a story without pulling something hokey like time travel, that's a shame. There's just no need for it, and it weakens the overall title, IMHO.

But that's me.


That said, this issue wasn't bad. Still ranks low for me, but a lot of that is due to what came before, because now a lot of the things I enjoyed about X-men are lost, and some things I was looking forward to were done, IMHO, poorly.
Right, but. Not bad. I think it is in character for Cyclops, actually. He's never really agreed with Xavier about anything. His leaving Xavier's for Mag's may've been a ruse, but the arguement they had in private wasn't.
Interesting. I've been hoping for Pyro. I'm a little meh with this one. Frankly, I was hoping he'd be a little like he is in X-men Evolution--kinda cute, and completely psychotic. All I see right now is a kind of fanatic, and that's kinda tiresome after awhile, but I dunno, maybe he'll be more interesting.
Still not enough to put this comic back on my pull list. But then, I'm stubborn.

The art is fantastic. Definately pleasantly surprised. I wasn't a big fan of the art in the Magician saga (the last time I picked up UXM regularly), but really, if I started picking up the book again, I think it would be for the art.