Ultimate X-men #52 (Spoilers)

[bigstumpy]

Ultimate X-men #56
"Cry Wolf"

Written by Brian K Vaughan
Pencils by Andy Kubert
Inked by Donny Miki

What Happens

Rogue, still kidnapped, argues with her capturers about their claims. The von Strukers, heads of a corporation named Fenris, tell Rogue that they are out to help homo superior. In hopes to get Rogue to be a spy for them, they offer her something in compensation for her work, to be able to touch someone without harming them.

Meanwhile, Storm and Logan, fresh from a kiss, discuss their feelings for one another while searching for Rogue. Logan tells Storm that he can not be with her and that she is too young, hinting too that "I don't even know whether or not I still got a wife." Storm asks if Logan has had no feelings for her at all as he catches a whiff of Gambit. He tells Storm to go home, stating he will take things from there.

Dressed in a specially made outfit, Rogue is told that Gambit will attack her by the von Strukers. He does so, garnering a slap from Rogue. One that does not lead to Rogue sucking Remy's powers or thoughts. Pleased with the outcome, Rogue seems fond of the idea of working with the Cajun.

Back at the mansion, Iceman and Shadowcat bicker with one another over a previous kiss, eventually leading to a fight between Kitty and Dazzler over some snide comments. Cylops stops their fight, telling them that Xavier and Jean need to conentrate in hopes to find Rogue. Those two travel the atral plane, finding out where Rogue is after an unknown voice tells Jean where, which Xavier does not pick up on.

Back with the von Rukers, Rogue tells them she can not join as a spy. They think otherwise and after Gambit tries to defend Rogue from their attacks, he is knocked across the room. However, he is able to help Rogue get her powers back, leading to their escape, just as Logan shows up telling Gambit that they have unfinished business.


What I thought

Wow, did a lot of stuff happen here. I had said that while I have enjoyed Vaughan's run on this book, I have felt Ultimate X-men has been missing that something special since early in Millar's run. Here, it shows up in spades.

Characterization is all around, with nice little moments between every X-men member, quite a feat considering their size now. The nice little subplots put in, Logan's possible wife and who told Jean where Rogue was, should lead to some interesting stuff in the future. Rogue also gets to shine, probably the first time since her introduction into the Ultimate universe. The connection between her and Gambit feels natural and a possibly romance seems to make sense, not just a throw in for fans of it from the regular universe.

Everything clicked here. The big moments with the von Rukers to the little ones, such as Colossus and Angel talking about the constant in team fighting. Kubert was also very on his game here, drawing probably the best looking issue since his return. It's nice to see this book doing all that it can again.

Grade - A

[DavidQ!]

I dunno, it seems okay. Not a real big fan of ultimate, but from what I understand its meant to be akward. Wants more cyclops.

i give it a B

[bigstumpy]

Originally posted by DavidQ!
I dunno, it seems okay. Not a real big fan of ultimate, but from what I understand its meant to be akward. Wants more cyclops.

i give it a B

What do you mean by akward?

[DavidQ!]

Something seems weird about this book. Dazzler's punk look, Wolverine in general. Cyclops, I dunno it seems that he is lamer than the one you find in Astonishing. Iceman and Havok look like damned twins. Jean, well I have some comments about the short hair period, I am so used to seeing her with long hair. Just seems out of place it may take some getting used too. Have you seen Gambit I dunno he looks like a hobo.

[bigstumpy]

Originally posted by DavidQ!
Something seems weird about this book. Dazzler's punk look, Wolverine in general. Cyclops, I dunno it seems that he is lamer than the one you find in Astonishing. Iceman and Havok look like damned twins. Jean, well I have some comments about the short hair period, I am so used to seeing her with long hair. Just seems out of place it may take some getting used too. Have you seen Gambit I dunno he looks like a hobo.

He looked like a hobo for a while because he was one. You got to remember pretty much all the team members, including Cyclops, are like 15-19 in age.

[DavidQ!]

i mean lameness be as you get older. Not at this stage.

[aceatkins]

Originally posted by DavidQ!
Something seems weird about this book. Dazzler's punk look, Wolverine in general. Cyclops, I dunno it seems that he is lamer than the one you find in Astonishing. Iceman and Havok look like damned twins. Jean, well I have some comments about the short hair period, I am so used to seeing her with long hair. Just seems out of place it may take some getting used too. Have you seen Gambit I dunno he looks like a hobo.

...alright. I'm confused as to why this is still not obvious to some people, but here goes. The thing about the Ultimate U is that it's supposed to be different from the Marvel U. A new start, new stories featuring familiar characters. Hence Dazzler's punk look and Jean's short hair--although that seems a rather odd point to get picky about. Anyway, all of these characters should have a fresh spin on them. So Colossus is gay, Kitty's an irritating Valley Girl (well, not really, she's from NYC), Beast is, well, dead. Wolverine's characterization has been handled very well in this book, and makes a great deal of sense. And he's thankfully devoid of all the silly contradictions from the regular MU. I'm unclear as to how Cyclops is "lamer" than in Astonishing. Personally I'd be hard-pressed to name a character I found any more "lame." But that's OK, everyone has their preferences. Read Astonishing for MU characters. Read Ultimate for Ultimate characters. Love them both. That's the beauty part!

[DavidQ!]

So its sort of a rehash of the regulars from the marvel universe only flat and uninteresting? Sounds good to me! Not that I don't like flat and uninteresting but how bloody dare they kill off beast. (Still angry) Kill off iceman, or whats his name with the damned claws. But like I said about astonishing it fails to wow me! But the flow is getting better.

[gOgIver]

The last three issues have been great! Thanks BKV & Andy Kubert!

[CountD]

Nice art!

Simply gorgeous! :cool:

[Mickey Mouth]

I really love Brian K Vaughan's work on Y the Last Man and Ex Machina. They are two of my favorite books. I like Runaways a lot too. But I get more disenchanted with his Ultimate X-Men with every issue that comes out.

I loved Millar's run on this book for the differences from the MU. I love Ultimate Spider-Man because Bendis is off doing whatever he wants, and it has little to do with regular MU continuity.

Vaughan has been writing stuff that relies heavily on regular MU continuity: Nightcrawler and the pirate stuff, Storm going punk, Rogue and Gambit getting romantic, the Mutant Massacre, that 70's era Marvel Girl costume. Sure, Wolverine and Storm kissed, but it didn't go anywhere, and now Vaughan's got Ultimate Wolverine talking just like his regular MU counterpart (Calling Storm 'Ro, etc) and going on about his old age and a possible wife. I thought Ultimate Wolverine was supposed to be a fairly young guy. And really, does anyone need Ultimate Silver Fox (or whatever her name was)?

Ultimate X-Men used to be significantly edgier than any of the three X-Men books in the regular MU, even Morrison's stuff. Now it's pretty much interchangable. I'm happy Vaughan's getting another arc and David Mack's once upcoming run seems to be permanently off, but I find myself more and more curious about Bryan Singer and co.'s upcoming run (which I used to be pretty skeptical about - now I think it might be a nice change of pace) with every new Vaughan issue that ships.

[aceatkins]

Originally posted by Mickey Mouth
I really love Brian K Vaughan's work on Y the Last Man and Ex Machina. They are two of my favorite books. I like Runaways a lot too. But I get more disenchanted with his Ultimate X-Men with every issue that comes out.

I loved Millar's run on this book for the differences from the MU. I love Ultimate Spider-Man because Bendis is off doing whatever he wants, and it has little to do with regular MU continuity.

Vaughan has been writing stuff that relies heavily on regular MU continuity: Nightcrawler and the pirate stuff, Storm going punk, Rogue and Gambit getting romantic, the Mutant Massacre, that 70's era Marvel Girl costume. Sure, Wolverine and Storm kissed, but it didn't go anywhere, and now Vaughan's got Ultimate Wolverine talking just like his regular MU counterpart (Calling Storm 'Ro, etc) and going on about his old age and a possible wife. I thought Ultimate Wolverine was supposed to be a fairly young guy. And really, does anyone need Ultimate Silver Fox (or whatever her name was)?

Ultimate X-Men used to be significantly edgier than any of the three X-Men books in the regular MU, even Morrison's stuff. Now it's pretty much interchangable. I'm happy Vaughan's getting another arc and David Mack's once upcoming run seems to be permanently off, but I find myself more and more curious about Bryan Singer and co.'s upcoming run (which I used to be pretty skeptical about - now I think it might be a nice change of pace) with every new Vaughan issue that ships.

That's interesting. I've heard that criticism alot--that Vaughan is relying too heavily on MU subjects here. But I have to disagree. The casting of the Fenris twins as a morally ambiguous mutant corporation is a pretty fascinating and wholly original new take. Gambit's being brought into the fold in an entirely different way (assuming he joins next issue, who among the team will actually trust him at first?). You've got the Shadowcat/Iceman/Rogue love triangle (or rhombus, I guess, if Gambit's involved). The list goes on.

A lot of the similarities people are pointing out seem to be tiny character details. Jean's '70s costume? Wolverine calling Storm 'Ro? Nightcrawler as pirate? Big deal. So the tiny stuff is similar. (And has Bendis really done that many things differently in USM? Gwen getting offed, the Lizard, Harry Osborn is practically textbook MU Harry, and I don't mind it at all.) I actually like that, it's a little footnote to the MU readers. But most of the larger plotpoints have been markedly different. The Mutant Massacre (I'm guessing you're referring to the Sinister arc) was NOTHING like it was in the regular MU. And Wolvie having a wife was actually brought in by Bendis during Blockbuster, and it hasn't been established yet how old he is. I'm willing to give Vaughan the benefit of the doubt.

I really thought this was the best issue of his run yet. You're right in that this book isn't nearly as edgy as it was when Millar was writing it (I totally plotzed when Wolverine actually tried to kill Cyclops, or when he offed Psylocke so quickly). But Vaughan's working the hardcore soap opera angle for a bit. He'll no doubt find a balance. Let's see what folks think when he has the inevitable Colossus/Northstar date (here's hoping, anyway...)

[Leviathan]

vaughan delivers yet again. i never thought of mutants in terms of corpartaions. mind blowing and solid read.

[Mickey Mouth]

Originally posted by aceatkins
That's interesting. I've heard that criticism alot--that Vaughan is relying too heavily on MU subjects here. But I have to disagree. The casting of the Fenris twins as a morally ambiguous mutant corporation is a pretty fascinating and wholly original new take. Gambit's being brought into the fold in an entirely different way (assuming he joins next issue, who among the team will actually trust him at first?). You've got the Shadowcat/Iceman/Rogue love triangle (or rhombus, I guess, if Gambit's involved). The list goes on.

A lot of the similarities people are pointing out seem to be tiny character details. Jean's '70s costume? Wolverine calling Storm 'Ro? Nightcrawler as pirate? Big deal. So the tiny stuff is similar. (And has Bendis really done that many things differently in USM? Gwen getting offed, the Lizard, Harry Osborn is practically textbook MU Harry, and I don't mind it at all.) I actually like that, it's a little footnote to the MU readers. But most of the larger plotpoints have been markedly different. The Mutant Massacre (I'm guessing you're referring to the Sinister arc) was NOTHING like it was in the regular MU. And Wolvie having a wife was actually brought in by Bendis during Blockbuster, and it hasn't been established yet how old he is. I'm willing to give Vaughan the benefit of the doubt.

I really thought this was the best issue of his run yet. You're right in that this book isn't nearly as edgy as it was when Millar was writing it (I totally plotzed when Wolverine actually tried to kill Cyclops, or when he offed Psylocke so quickly). But Vaughan's working the hardcore soap opera angle for a bit. He'll no doubt find a balance. Let's see what folks think when he has the inevitable Colossus/Northstar date (here's hoping, anyway...)

You're right. Vaughan's take on the regular MU stuff he's tackled has been dramatically different, and Millar also relied heavily on regular MU events. He did Magneto and the Brotherhood, Weapon X, Proteus, the Hellfire Club, and Dark Phoenix, all major storylines from Byrne/Claremont canon.

I guess it's not the plots that are the problem for me so much as the tone and attitude of the characters and book as a whole.

Ultimate X-Men used to be more than just retooled plots, it was an entirely different kind of X-team. The morality was more ambiguous, the stories had more scope, and the characters genuinely felt like modern, updated versions of their regular MU counterparts.

Vaughan has pulled the characterizations more towards the old, established, regular MU ones, and has presented stories that only feel different on the surface. To me, they look like Ultimate stories, but read like regular MU ones.

To be fair, Vaughan has likely been limited by editorial mandates. He's essentially doing a fill-in job, and may not be able to mess about too much because Bryan Singer and co's 12 issue run is waiting in the wings. Not only that, his run was initially announced as a single 4-issue arc, and it's now going to be at least 3 arcs at 12 issues. So really, how much scope can you have when you aren't able to make long-range plans?

My favorite Vaughan issue so far was 50. Seemed like he was really getting a handle on things there, but this issue left me cold. Hopefully things will pick up. And a Colossus/Northstar date would be fantastic. That's the kind of thing I'm talking about. It doesn't fit with the regular MU tonally, but would be a pretty brilliant Ultimate story-line.

[nekobaghira]

I really enjoyed this issue. I'm not worried about any of MU nuances that appear. I like the pacing this issue had. I walked away thinking, wow. Good issue.

Neko