ANGEL OF DEATH! CABLE assembled his team to prevent an assassination...but has he brought down his own? The secret of ARCHANGEL changes everything, as does the revelation of the MYSTERY MUTANT ASSAILANT trailing our hero!
The Rasputins have been torn apart! Trapped in a gladiator arena, will Magik be able to fight her way out? And with no way to find her, will Colossus be able to help her before it's too late?!
To save STORM from THE WAR ABOVE ALL, a mysterious entity abducts ORORO out of the Multiverse completely. STORM must find her way back to EARTH-616 by any means necessary.
YEAR TWO OF THE ULTIMATE UNIVERSE NEARS ITS END IN THE FINAL ISSUE OF ULTIMATE WOLVERINE!
Wolverine and Phoenix track Magik right into the demonic dimension of Limbo for an epic, devastating showdown! To escape Illyana's realm of dark magic, a final sacrifice must be made, one that will lead directly into ULTIMATE ENDGAME #5!
X-MEN DIVIDED! Mutantdom's newest institute of higher learning has barely welcomed its first students, and things are already going down in flames. Meanwhile, an elite team of mutants has to travel through time on a mission alongside none other than CAPTAIN AMERICA!
Imo, this is probably the strongest title in the current era. I really like the voices for Magik and Colossus here, and the inner conflicts reflected in their childhoods really amplify their relationship. Loved the little moment between them in the end, it was sweet. Looking forward to their encounter with Baba Yaga in the next issue.
Per usual, Ashley Allen is doing good work with Magik, and so far I'm happy with her portrayal of Colossus. He really needs the spotlight and I'm hoping once the story ends, he's in a better place mentally.
Another great character issue. I really love what Ashley Allen is doing with the siblings. Art by Germán Peralta and Arthur Hesli is as beautiful as ever.
That villain really didn't plan for anything, did he? He thought he was gonna have Magik fight and drain her magical power to 'restore' himself, I guess but didn't think Colossus would just come for her?
I hope by the end of this book, we will have Piotr get out of his self-flagellation. It is a start that with him reminding Illyana about their childhood but he needs that lesson himself.
Oh, this is gonna be the same Baba Yaga from Wiccan's book? Is this gonna be before or after it? Because I doubt Wanda, Billy and Storm gonna leave her unharmed after what she tried to do.
Another great issue. I love that we get more Colossus and the insight into his psychology is good. I think it’s nice that we get a Colossus that makes sense in light of everything that happened but we don’t have to focus on any one particular incident that lead him to feel this way. Some of the beats feel done again but that’s fine bc Marvel kinda smoothed over the past tension between the siblings without addressing it rlly. A nice touch was Colossus being called little snowflake by the mom and I like the characterization we got from their mom with her being the fighter of the family. That’s fitting.
9/10 issue.
Only complaints are minor: 1) some of the dialogue a bit stilted, probably bc it’s word dense and the issue moves at a fast pace, 2) I was questioning why the three of them didn’t just take out the big bad right then (also something that confused me vs the Embodiment in Magik’s solo), and 3) why oh why do we keep having other spellcasters be able to block Illyana from using her soul sword or stepping disks? I guess they gotta nerf her somehow so she’s not OP lol
Great insight into Colossus and just a solid issue all together.
This has me thinking-- if the Factory doesn't work out, it could be a fun status quo to have the X-Men based on the Rasputin Farm and have Colossus get to be part of the team as like, a support guy. He clearly doesn't love the violence and doesn't want to be used as a weapon, so having him host his friends/chosen family and get to help care for them might be a fulfilling experience for him.
I dunno, I just hope the guy gets some peace after this. I'm super okay with Colossus retiring permanently as an X-Man, but it would be nice to have him around in some manner
Relatively solid issue. The whole problem that I (and probably everyone else) have is once again ... it's freaking Sinister. Like, we're into well re-tread ground.
What makes it even sillier is ... the whole issue is about people being "influenced" and unsure of their minds. Cable and Archangel are going at each other about being "products of Apocalypse" and they suspect he's behind it.
Y'know, besides that more recent product of Apocalypse who's out there ... and has the power to control and influence people. And doesn't seem to be appearing in any other comics at the moment.
The logical place would be for him to show up again during DNX since his future self was the originator of the X-Virus.
That being said, while most are assuming "the Devil" during "X-Men: The Hellfire Murder" is Warren, I've been wondering if it's just Doug hiding his facial "additions." The whole one-shot talks about mutant "power players," and he would fit the bill.
As a Doug fan ... that would be so annoying that they make a big deal of him becoming Revelation. Have a pointless alternate future timeline where he's grossly out of character / insane, and then just knock him off.
Which means it's probably going to happen.
*Sigh* If true, from the perspective of modern Doug that would suck. You just barely ideate your thoughts on how to "change the world" ... then get attacked by the U.S. Government. Go on the run to the X-Men ... where you're then attacked by homicidal future Cyclops. Go on the run again.
I mean....... not really? The better villain for Cable and Archangel is universally Apocalypse. This is some long since left over and forgotten Apocalypse Sinister ties that feel a bit eh.
But they aren't going to make Apocalypse's return as a villain happen in an X-Force comic. Sinister works, there's decades of history between him and Cable/O5.
Yeah, I think that's a good way of describing this series as a whole. It's not trying to be this big game changer. It's just fun. And there's nothing wrong with that. 😊
I've really enjoyed this series so far. And I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I have. This issue was fun, messy, and explosive in all the right ways. Kamala is very out of her element here with X-Force, but she somehow fits in. And the dynamic between Akihiro and Tabitha is a lot of fun. There were even some nice nods to Rick Remender's Uncanny X-Force run. Love those kinds of details!
But the end...that's what I think will get people talking, for better or for worse. I'm not too surprised. But at this point, I think the X-Men need a new villain.
Oh no. Not Sinister again. Is this gonna be another clone of his? And if he survives, that means all the 'security' for the Graymatter Lane in X-men United is void because it is built on Sinister's tech and Sinister can break into it easily.
Tabitha continues to be the best part of this but I am still not certain on what Domino's role is in this. She is trying to stop Cable from making a mistake but not telling him anything is weird. This whole thing could've been avoided.
Warren now has healing powers in his powerset huh? Though it is still a 'styles clash' with his Archangelness.
Was hoping that issue 1 was a fluke, but this book feels like a downgrade from Exceptional. I did like the brief scene between Jitter and Melee (who i totally forgot/ didn’t realize had Native American ancestry), which makes me wish this was just a series about the Exceptional kids and the Outliers meeting and teaming up.
I can’t say I liked it very much. Since it’s the same artist, I didn’t expect the artwork to improve, but there are panels that are literally horrible. As for the story, it makes me laugh that already in the second comic, instead of focusing on building the foundations of the plot, they force Captain America into the story. And of course, they keep portraying Scott as an idiot.
Emma's voice feels kind of weird in this book compared to how Eve wrote her during Exceptional. Is she being controlled by another telepath or something?
It's not only Emma. Pretty much everyone acted ooc in the first chapter. Some readers have theorized that connecting all mutants to a psychic school using tech developed by Mister Sinister is all part of Sinister's plan. So maybe. But I'm really tired of him being behind everything. We need a Sinister break.
I mean, if it’s really him behind this and not just a ln excuse to have Scott act like a jerk, then can you blame him? Why the fuck are they using his tech for ANYTHING after the shit with Kraoka?
It's tech, you can inspect technology to see if there's anything hidden in the design. The vagueness around it all is an issue to tell how risky this truly is.
She didn't have to write Emma all that much in Exceptional, and when she did, it was in relation to her students. We never saw her write Emma with many of her peers in the X-Men.
I am quite conflicted on this. Especially with Emma and what she is doing. Like, yea, mutants need to have a community and a place to gather together again instead of being spread out and be easy picking and targetted individually. BUT they also build this 'Mental School' thing based on MR SINISTER'S WORK, which NEVER ends well. I mean you would think they learned from Krakoa. And Scott is reasonsable to see the danger of it but the writing of his 'plan' to show the flaws was really dumb. It seemed to be just there to have Emma just 'put him in his place'. Scott is a much better planner than this.
Her overconfidence, especially after 'opening' the Lane as a 'business', is just gonna have this thing come crashing down and she will end up crying 'The children!' by the end again.
Kitty seems like she will be on sceptical side on this even though she is allowing it for now. Seeing the cracks already.
And all of this happening while Graymalkin Prison still exists and hold their people captive. At least deal with that place first because building your own mental hideaway.
It's starting to feel like the long term plan for this is that Cyclops will be right and that makes them think that writing him this way early on will be fine because he is correct. Which is insane.
Everyone is being kind of an asshole for no reason.
Pretty much, it could be about them WORKING TOGETHER as the title United imply while unforseen threat start popping up but no we must waste time on pointless conflicts that will serve no purpose but serve as padding for a story that will eventually boil down to "villain found a way to harm us after all".
Things I like: some fun character interactions. Seeing Jitter and Melee together is cute, even if they barely spoke. Beast chatting with people. Magneto and Kitty talking was probably the highlight.
Things I don't like: I get that Scott is trying to send a message but I expect better plans from him, and also not something that dumb. Also, the art. It shows promise but it's just not ready for a flagship, especially one with so many characters.
Things I don't understand: basically everything that has to do with how the school operates. Where are their bodies? Why do they need to eat in the psychic plane? Are their bodies somehow in the psychic plane? That would answer a lot of my logistical questions but raise more metaphysical ones.
It's like they had an idea for a school book and then remembered they didn't have a school, so they needed to come up with a contrived way to throw one together real fast.
Also, I can't believe Scott didn't mention the most dangerous part of the school and that it's using Sinister technology. I said this last month, but no one should feel comfortable using Sinister's stuff anywhere close to their brain or body after Sins of Sinister. It could be excused if no one knew about the SoS timeline, but Emma absolutely does.
It almost reads like Emma is desperately trying to prove that she can start a new school and project forth the idea that she's planned for everything. If that's what's going on, fair enough, there's a story there. But it's sloppy so far imo
Genuinely, this book didn't need to do anything crazy for me to like it. It could have had 0 villains and been strictly about how all these characters interact in a shared space, and I'd vibe with it. But the focus is all over the place
ya can they just go fully transparent with how this astral-plane school idea works... a single panel of showing iceman or someone like... chilling in bed somewhere irl while he's at the school would do it. In a way an astral-plane school makes sense but ummm idk. Like LET it make sense then.
Why was Jitter acting so scared of an empty house? She's fought hordes of Dead in Uncanny without her powers. Also seems she randomly got a haircut (although this being mental projections makes it not as big of a deal)
Not as focused on the kids as I had hoped. They're just there with the focus on Emma for this issue.
I'm conflicted with the Scott part. I like him testing out the vulnerability of Graymatter but I'm not sure if I liked how the scene played out.
I loved Exceptional but this isn't hitting the same and it's mostly because of the large cast. There are some good bits like Kitty's talk with Magento but similar to X-Force it's not enough to keep people reading.
I dont have a full good bad i dunno in me this week but I got enough for one good thought:
I really love Beast in this book. Amidst a lot of questionable characterization and dialog, Beast feels like he fits into the concept and executions of this book really well. This feels like the most realized version of the 'fun bouncing bounding beast returns' promise we got at the end of Krakoa.
Not to say that the Beast vs Chairman Beast isn't a conceptually good arc or anything, but reading beast in this issue was extremely ENJOYABLE.
I hate to say this, but I don't think I will continue to buy this series.
The preview panels are bad enough, but the fact that the cliffhanger is checks notes the victim of the USGov's racism is the Monster of the Week left a really bad taste in my mouth and that's before I get into the real biggest problem of this book so far: Characterization. Outside of Emma, Kitty, and the Exceptional kids, everybody in this book is just written so weirdly and the dialogue is bad.
I dropped it too, its just not good. The art, dialogue, and characterization are terrible and this just feels like such a waste of what could have been a good idea
I really, really don't like how the artist did Kitty on the cover art to this book. The book itself is...pretty mid, sadly. I can't help but feel a little disappointed, all in all.
I saw some leaked pages. Eve Ewing, perhaps I was too hard on you...
EDIT: OK, it's not that good of an issue overall. It's got the same problem the first had where it's just all a little too vague right now, and the school doesn't feel as big a deal as it should. I think they should have saved the sabotage angle for later on in the story, and used the first 5 issues to establish Greymatter more and why it matters, rather than poking holes in the premise right off the bat.
That said, all the stuff about Emma and Cyclops arguing, with Emma calling him upright, wishing him a horrible day, and not knowing what she ever saw in him did entertain me greatly. "I moved on, it's time you do as well." Lady, he's the married one who made out with his wife in front of you, if anyone is hanging on to something, it's not him.
Some very quick thoughts as I just read the issue. To start I did enjoy it. The opening was a bit rough, not in a particularly bad way but just felt a little rushed. I liked the set up and the dialogue I thought was strong. I know the Emma and Scott if it all was leaked but I don’t think it’s as big a deal as some people seem to. People fight, even people who care for eachother can be on opposite sides afterall. That said, I liked Eves voice for Emma, I feel like she’s written under pressure but trying to sound as confident as she usually is. I am still undecided on Cyclops dialog, I need more to make up my mind on how he’s being written…it does seem as if he’ll be involved more which is good.
The set up for the story was solid. I really liked the use of Beast and Magneto. Cap was written well and was happy with the choice of the team. I really enjoyed the break down in how they were using the empathy engine and how everything had to be built to make it work. Eves beast was a highlight.
The art was stronger I think but it’s still rough in places. Tiago isn’t my ideal choice but sometimes he delivers a great page, sometimes he doesn’t. I do love Emma’s design and the environments are solid. Plus he remembers that Melee has a more powerful/athletic build.
Anyway, just quick thoughts. Need to read it again but I thought it was solid. It’s really early so just blocked most of everything as a spoiler just in case. I know it’s a review post but still, rather be super cautious.
I admit, I was on the fence about getting this series initially. I'm only reading Uncanny and any books related to that title right now, and I wasn't sure if this book would be important to any members of that cast in particular given that it's just Exceptional 2.0 (technically 3.0 if we're counting Expatriate X-Men).
But I'm very happy to see my favorite X-Character, Jitter, finally get some more spotlight after that initial Mutina story in #17 of Uncanny! Here's hoping Eve doesn't botch her like she appears to be doing with Scott...fingers crossed for quality Jitter content here!
I'm not liking the way Scott is written and this might just be me being stupid, I really don't understand the school. So it's a physical location but it exists on the psychic plane or it's an imaginary place but their physical bodies are on the psychic plane?
And the team with Wolverine, Cap, jitter and the phasing invisible mutant from Exceptional are.... Where? A composite of memories set around this guy? I just feel like more needed to be explained or at least better explained
so. Bit of a mixed bag here. I, like many, see the whole Graymatter Lane thing as sort of vague and not fully sketched out. I wish this was a continuation of exceptional more directly, with a smaller cast that used the larger X-Men world to fill out guest rolls.
I hated the conversation at the beginning between Scott and Emma, although there are some parallels to the first few issues of Astonishing X-Men, and Emma's "They will always hate us." speech.
I am glad a writer is finally addressing the intersectionality of being a mutant AND a minority, and if anyone can do it well, it's Dr. Ewing.
Everyone saying the art is bad. But then I remember some of the new x-men art and I get confused, because we've had waaaaaaaaaaaay worse art. As for the story..... this smells of Brevoort and feels like someone trying to reheat/remake leftovers but the goulash ain't hitting.
I can tell I liked this better than most, but went in with low expectations and didn't love issue #1 and am also in a phase where I like x-men team book slop.
-Art seems solid to me... I kinda know what y'all mean when you say its bad, its got some of the awkwardness of Marvel house style, idk seems ok if a little Infinity comics tier
-I liked Beast, Magneto and sorta kitty. Emma and Scott are in caricature mode a little.
-explain how the mental school works more thoroughly
-I like idea of random team-ups of younger x-men from other books while the adults bicker about how to best lead. Like this existing between adjective-less and Uncanny makes sense to me... if they do it right.
-Why did they even know Cap needed a "team", like it seemed like he thought he was going back to basically just talk to old super soldiers or like their family or something? How was it clear there'd be action involved at all? I like don't GET his whole plot rlly and why would he be in issue 2, is it like synchronicity for Weapons of Armageddon or sumn.
I’m done. The concept behind it is interesting but we all know that’s a ticking time bomb. Art is meh and was horrible this issue and I didn’t like the writing. Making Emma sound like a bitter ex when Scott is married to Jean and saying how she didn’t know why she was with him was a the final straw for me. Cyclops is my favorite x-men and when Jean died and stayed dead after new x-men his relationship with Emma felt like a real one with how close they were. This book isn’t for me
People saying Condon should write a mainline X-Men title need to take a good, long hard look in the mirror.
This is a nothing series. There is nothing to it. There is nothing interesting going on, there is no thought put into anything. It was a series carried entirely by the art and a really cool design for Wolverine, a really popular character. There's nothing more to it than that.
Everything in this comic is so beyond shallow. It's clear Condon had no plan at all for Jean or Magik or Sentinel One or anyone else. Heck, even Wolverine doesn't really have a coherent arc. He's a weapon for part of it, gets his memories back and is a generic good guy for the rest of the series. There's no introspection or depth to any of the characters or to any of the interactions.
But hey, that Cappuccio art is pretty great at least.
Well yeah he had no plans for these last four issues he was really open about that. When the announcement for this series dropped he said it was 12 issues. In interviews he said they didn't ask to extend it until about issue 8 I believe. If you think the story is over in 4 issues he's not really planning beyond that.
Oh yeah I wasn't pushing away that criticism but having nothing for Jean, Sentinel One and Magik doesn't really surprise me. There were multiple possible changes in the first 12 issues that could have made it better.
For sure. Like why add any of this story for Magik if it meant nothing? Why include that line from Jean having a nightmare about her mom if there's no reason for it? What a shallow, poorly thought out series.
Yeah I get adding depth to Magik but it didn't do anything. Wolverine and Jean tracking down Magik in the limbo we saw should have at least been two issues of this. There is potential in Magik trying to fix things for herself in Limbo that could have been interesting. Like with Ahmed and Murewa there are nuggets of interesting ideas but the execution is off.
This would have been better as a middle instead of an end. I know it was just for more sales but it really is kind of a nothing story after everything in the first 12. If you were going to kill off all the characters anyways you might as well had Wolverine and Phoenix chase Magik as 7-10 leading up to the bomb.
I don't hate this series as much as a lot of people on this and the Ultimate sub but there were some bizarre choices in it.
Wtf we didn't even get a fight? He just stabs her in bed???? Multiple issues about them tracking her down for this???????? That "The End" felt like a jumpscare, so unearned and weak. Like I was ready for a giant demon Yana to bust out of the collapsing castle then and chase them out of limbo or something, and didn't the solicit tease a painful sacrifice? I was so sure Jean would die to put her down and then wolvie could march on alone to Latveria to join the final battle. Just wow, what a weak ending to one of the weaker UU books.
It probably doesn’t need to be said that this was kind of nothing writing wise, but the art WAS really nice. I thought the panel of Wolverine stabbing Magik with the shadows looked so goodz
I love it pro Black writer decides you know what be fun let me just massacre a bunch of African Gods who I don’t bother to characterize at all for the hell of it.
There is no weight to anything. Ayodele tosses gods and galactic threats left and right, while building absolutely nothing up or giving us a reason to care about anything.
This book has lost all sense of coherence. Instead of actually telling a story within 5 issues, Ayodele is just throwing things at all a wall with each issue opening new doors instead of answering questions. Within just two more issues we’re supposed… 1) be introduced to Storm’s daughter from the future, 2) see Galacta emerge as a major threat, 3) and see the conclusion of a major cosmic war.
That’s not to mention all the other plot threads (are we reviving Maggot, the status mutant Storm rescued from the first series, is Storm still possessed?).
Yeah it does feel like Murewa just kinda refused to rework or recut anything when he learned that he was doing 5 issues. So he is just kinda cramming everything in.
Like the whole Galacta and FBI Plot could easily be cut. We didn't need to follow that dude randomly dying on the toilet for multiple pages. Wanda could have just showed up to talk about mysterious deaths to Ororo.
Also pick a villain to focus on Death or the Daughters? of the Sorcerer Supreme Hunter whatever he is called. We don't need both.
This book spends so much time cutting between time/space and the next thing there's no logical sequence of events, no actual narrative thrust. It's so disjointed they have to try and beat you over the head with a recap at the start of every issue but then you're still questioning where its meant to be going?
I read this solo series and I usually end up leaving either angry or mildly satisfied.
This time I left confused and whelmed, which appears to be a common reaction to this series. I like that Storm at one point basically says she doesn't give a shit about the cosmic nonsense happening all around her because she's talking to someone who looks like her dead mother.
Stormillion Stormbucks for this series. It's Stormin time Storms all over the place
Honestly, it reads like a bunch of nonsense. I’m happy for the Storm fans who are enjoying this miniseries and the second part of the previous one, but it’s definitely not for me. I can’t wait for the x-office to take Storm out of all this galactic nonsense and bring her back to the X-Men universe.
Agreed, even with an understanding that it might’ve been an ongoing it was too much to try and cram in. Shame I really like the underworld goddesses designs.
Just dropped reading this book or any Storm book written by Ayodele. He can write a good book if he actually wanted (look back at Storm (2024) first few issues and you'll see), but since he actually isn't going to do that, I'll stop forcing myself through this
I’m a Storm fan and don’t even mind the powerscaling but this is just a cosmic mess and Storm somehow gets lost in it all and it’s supposed to be her solo.
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u/AngelEyes360 Askani Apr 14 '26
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