Peach Momoko’s Ultimate X-Men has been a breath of fresh air. The opening story arc quickly established the unique tone and voice that this series is injecting into both the X-Men and Ultimate Universe franchises. Now with the first story arc wrapped up we will hopefully be diving deeper into how mutants are integrated into the Ultimate Universe. That should allow Hisako Ichiki, Mei, Igarashi, and Nico Minoru to continue their growths as they are just starting their X-Men journey. Let’s see how the second arc for the series begins with Ultimate X-Men #7.
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer & Artist: Peach Momoko
Script Adaptation: Zack Davisson
Letterer: Travis Lanham
ULTIMATE X-MEN #7 SOLICITATION
“MEET THE MUTANTS’ NEW MENTOR, PSYLOCKE! After the climactic finale of issue #6 and the surprise new teammate they found, Mei, Hisako, Nico and the mutants need some guidance! Fortunately, the mysterious Kanon is an older student with a surprising amount of expertise…” – Marvel Comics
REVIEW
Ultimate X-Men #7 quickly transitions us into the second story arc in such a seamless way. Right away Peach Momoko shows us how the opening story arc with Shadow King was just opening the door to enter the grander world. This in turn leads to this series to be fully connected to the greater Ultimate Universe.
Showing more of how we can expect classic Marvel characters to appear in different forms with Momoko introducing us to Ultimate Mister Sinister. As we’ve seen with the rest of the Ultimate Universe, due to the changes made by The Maker we have very different version of Mister Sinister. While there are certainly elements of the classic Mister Sinister this is not the mad scientist Dr. Nathaniel Essex. Rather who we have a is a Mister Sinister whose used his knowledge about mutants to become a cult leader.
This presentation still keeps the core of who Mister Sinister is as his obsession with the X-Gene is having him push this knowledge. The way Mister Sinister utilizes this knowledge to be a cult leader to a large group of mutants he calls the Children of Atom gets across his twisted nature. Momoko does a great job making sure that the Temple of the Revealed X adds to the presentation of the villain. There is such a dark, ominous aura to the entire environment that makes Ultimate Mister Sinister a dangerous villain through his dialogue.
The Temple of the Revealed X being an extension of how Emperor Sunfire is controlling his territory, which includes Japan. Viper’s appearance, a subordinate of Emperor Sunfire, shows that each member of The Maker’s Council is approaching researching mutants and other superhumans differently. Allowing a cult leader-type character to lead a major research provides even more questions as to what The Maker’s Council are aiming to do with mutants in the Ultimate Universe.
Noriko Ashida, aka Surge, being part of the Temple of the Revealed X does indicate there aren’t many place for young mutants to understand their powers. Noriko’s minimal dialogue makes you pay attention to how she is interacting with the environment in the Temple of the Revealed X facility even more. Ceirtainly felt as though Noriko had nowhere to turn. Which will make it so when we do see her interact with Mei, Hisako, and Nico to pay closer attention to what she says.
The other big introduction in Ultimate X-Men #7 was the introduction of Kanon Sainouchi, aka Ultimate Psylocke. As was done with Armor and Maystorm, Momoko has us spend time to get to know Kanon’s personal life before she becomes Psylocke. Momoko packs a lot of character development in to get over Kanon as a someone who is a skilled sword user and has a fearless approach to life.
This is particularly seen with the relationship she shares with her older brother, Tatsuya Sainouchi, who happens to be a local police officer. Their dynamic really emphasizes how Kanon approaches life as a whole. It also quickly gives her a connection to the what is possibly going on over at the Temple of the Revealed X as she and her brother make a discovery that Viper quickly wants silenced. How all this will bring Kanon together with Mei, Hisako, and Nico will be interesting to see.
Speaking of, we don’t get much of Hisako and Mei in this issue. Their appearance here was focused on further establishing them as best friends. In that sense, Momoko does a good job continuing to show how Hisako and Mei balance one another out.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Ultimate X-Men #7 is a strong world building start to the second story arc for this series. Peach Momoko does an excellent job with how the introduction of Ultimate Mister Sinister and Psylocke are each handled. They each bring something different to the table that opens up the series to explore different avenues of the X-Men world that is being built. That along with other developments in this issue show that the momentum for Ultimate X-Men is going to continue to grow strong.
Story Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
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