X-Men Battle of the Atom 2, Ultimate X-Men 33, Uncanny X-Force 13

X-Men Battle of the Atom 2
Aaron (w) and Ribic w/ Camuncoli and Currie and Palmer (a) and Svorcina w/ Mossa and Guru eFX (c)

Everyone has to take a moment to deal with the SHIELD attack started by Xorn and Xavier. By and large, the X-Men seem to realize that maybe this is a little out of form for SHIELD but they do eventually have to ask some questions as some SHIELD-authorized Sentinels appear. It's these attacks that are more troubling (why do they have Sentinels?) and more damage-inducing, as they kill old Hank McCoy and old Jubilee. Xavier also kills old Colossus and I THINK that's the full casualty list. You'll note, of course, that all of these deaths are from characters that may or may not exist in the future? Anyway, time travel. So the combined X-Men manage to defeat the Brotherhood (though the surviving members scatter in the present, like real jerks) and Ilyana teleports them all back to Westchester. There are a number of epilogues by a number of different X-creators and it basically boils down to the following: the team from the future goes back, the original X-Men are staying in the present because of course they are, Storm's future daughter Kymera is staying behind to track the Brotherhood, and Kitty and the original X-Men are going to Scott's X-team.

I really hated this event, you guys. And now that it's over, I can safely say that I hated it all the way through and that nothing changed my opinion about it. There's a ton of the back-and-forth dialogue here with altogether too many quips for the seriousness of the situation. There are very few (if any) of the kind of idealogical questions that X-Men has been known for over time (other than, you know, the ethics of time travel, a thing that doesn't exist). The original X-Men are still here and now Kitty, who was, perhaps, more burned than anyone by the Phoenix Force business, is leading them to Scott's camp because she feels like she can't trust anyone at the school to have her back because they didn't listen to her when she said she wanted the kids to stay (I think? It's not a very clear argument). Just so, so glad this business is over. Hard not to compare it to Infinity as both are happening at the same time but one has wonderful pacing and a huge, epic feel to it that certainly had its share of fights but they were all meaningful and different. Guess which event I'm talking about now? Guys, it was Infinity. Obviously it was Infinity.

Ultimate X-Men 33
Wood (w) and A. Martinez and J. Lucas (a) and Sotomayor (c)

Pixie is teleporting everyone from Tian to Utopia while Kitty meets with Jean hoping against hope for a peaceful resolution. They fight for a bit but still Kitty does it with the hope that Jean will listen to reason. Jean's main argument, of course, is that Tian is a sacred and perfect place and that mutants need to be united. Kitty explains why she doesn't believe that; she believes mutants are united, they just don't want to be ruled by Jean and this has kind of shown why. Kitty knocks down Jean and reunites with a healing Jimmy before Jean knocks them both out from behind, believing she's won the war. However, she suddenly realizes that there are no more citizens in Tian and Pixie appears to take Kitty and Jimmy away behind her, saying that she'll come back for Jean if Jean wants, especially given the bombs that are now raining down on the city. Jean struggles to survive through the falling Utopian attack and is eventually rescued by Storm and brought to Utopia, where she begins to make a new life for herself, admitting a couple weeks later that Tian feels like a thing of the past and that she's gotten better than she deserves from the people of Utopia. Kitty, meanwhile, suffers no retribution for the attack on Tian, for which she takes absolutely all responsibility. The government is still rebuilding and doesn't have the time nor the funds to press any charges if, indeed, there are charges to be pressed here. Everyone seems a little more comfortable with Tian off the board and they all seem okay with mutants policing themselves for the time being. World War X isn't entirely without casualties, though, as the Sentient Seed's consciousness is apparently dead.

Plenty still happening and a very cool ending for the World War X arc we've just finished but I want to note that this is also a really good way to end the series, if indeed Cataclysm does bring the Ultimate Universe to its end. Another good issue from the Ultimate X-Men team as we get some resolution at last for the problems that have been building for some time now. It's also got a nice question, a little bigger and broader than a lot of X-Men theme questions, which normally focus on good vs. evil and the like (okay, they're bigger than that). These are questions about nation-building and the place of this race in the world in an even broader sense than in the "humans fear us" kind of way. Pretty cool and it still fits really well with the themes we've built over the last year as Kitty has taken her X-Men to the next level here. As a quick note, Magneto destroyed New York with a tidal wave once in this universe and yet these X-Men, though smaller, seem like they may be doing better than the 616's X-Men. Who is dropping the ball over there?

Uncanny X-Force 13
Humphries (w) and Briones w/ Unzueta (a) and Curiel w/ Rosenberg (c)

The Revenants, led by Cassandra Nova, are primed to enter our world and Psylocke and company realize that they could use some help with the oncoming storm. Unfortunately, Nova, an omega-level telepath herself, has locked down psychic transmissions coming in or out of Los Angeles so Psylocke cannot contact anyone quickly enough (I guess as a psychic, you stop carrying cellphones). It's up to their little ragtag band to stop Nova from opening the portal to allow all of the Revenants in and, failing that, up to them to try to help stop the Revenants, an impossible army consisting of angry shadow-duplicates of every living being on Earth. They manage to crash Nova's party just as the Revenants are starting to come through and the fight quickly turns south as Nova has counter defenses for some of them specifically and as she manages to repossess the Demon Bear that's been at Psylocke's side for the majority of this journey. Now the Great Corruption (as Bishop calls it) is open and only the death of a telepath can close it. Bad news, as Nova now has Psylocke so controls the local telepaths.

This series is shaping up nicely with a pretty intense story and some nice characterization shining through in this issue, particularly between Storm and Psylocke. I know that it's a comic book but the rules of this little venture seem a bit arbitrary, which would be my biggest complaint about this. This is a new sort of enemy (even if Nova isn't new) so there are no established rules for this sort of thing, yet Bishop and others keep throwing out rules as if we know them. I'm not complaining, necessarily, about the rules themselves, but it it a little hard to follow without anything set up ahead of time and it makes it feel like simply roadblocks when we actually get to a big moment. The psychic shut-down of LA, for example, meaning no one thinks to pick up a phone is strange. The death of a telepath thing feels like something that was well-thought out but never really explained to us so it comes off as arbitrary even if it wasn't by design. Still, overall an engaging story with signs of progress for a series that felt like it was kind of spinning its wheels for a while.

Uncanny X-Force 12, Ultimate X-Men 32

Uncanny X-Force 12
Humphries (w) and Alphona (a) and Sotomayor w/ Rosenberg (c)

We get a look at how Spiral's been passing the time with X-Force and Bishop dealing with Revenants and, as it happens, Spiral's been on the tail of the Revenant's too. She has been searching for Ginny relentlessly, holding her vicious nature in check as best she can to try to get information out of any sources. Two different sources, one woman who has lost a friend recently and another who was killed trying to save her daughter (reanimated by Spiral so she could relate the tale), point Spiral to a White Robe cult. Neither woman seems to know much about them except that neither has heard from the person they lost since they joined up with the cult. The killed woman manages to relate to Spiral where to find the White Robes and Spiral sets off their quickly, eventually (with a couple stops first) leading her to the base of the Revenants, where she finds out that the Owl Queen has taken over Ginny's body and that she's really Cassandra Nova, evil, seemingly immortal twin of Charles Xavier. Spiral relates all of this to X-Force, having realized she cannot do this alone.

Solid entry that both serves to clear up a few things about the Revenants (while also asking a few more questions) and to establish Spiral better for this series. We already know her connection to Ginny and we can trust, even more now, that it's particularly strong and meaningful to her. More importantly, though, we get the real, mostly unbiased look into her psyche as someone who has been broken and molded by Mojo into whatever it is she is now and who has stepped so far from her humanity that she's left with only the killer inside of her. We also see a little bit of her magical abilities with the reanimation of the killed woman, though she's quick to point out that her magic is far more limited these days. Finally, we get the reveal of Cassandra Nova as the big baddie and that has its own implications, especially in a world where, as she so immediately recognizes, Charles is dead. Interesting stuff and Spiral's short nature makes the book move pretty well, even with as much narration as we have. One of the better issues of this book so far, I'd say, even with just the fairly brief action sequences.

Ultimate X-Men 32
Wood (w) and A. Martinez and J. Lucas (a) and Sotomayor (c)

Jimmy Hudson is attacking Tian so, for all intents and purposes, it looks like Utopia is attacking Tian. Jimmy manages to take down a few people though he's brought down surprisingly quickly by the full might of Tian. Derek Morgan, one of the good mutants in Tian, tries to stop him from attacking and lift him out peacefully but doesn't have any luck with that, eventually ceding to a troll in the city. The incapacitated Jimmy is brought to Jean, who begins to psychically attempt to kill him. Liz Allen steps in, though, at the expense of being called a traitor to deem Jean a murderer. Meanwhile, on Utopia, Kitty has decided she is going to Tian with the help of new Utopia resident Pixie and talk with Jean, which will, one way or another, lead to the end of this fight. Either Jean listens and they sort things out in a more peaceful manner (unlikely) or Utopia prepares to bombard Tian. It's time to end things.

I've praised this series' ability to keep tension running just as high from issue to issue without really missing a beat and it pays off in issue's like this, where you see the beginnings of the end of the arc. All the tension that has built up over the course of this series and, more directly, this World War X storyline is bubbling now and is likely to dispel as we reach the end. How quickly it dispels is anyone's guess but it's a perfectly structured story with smart characters and writing. That's all it takes to make a series this reliably good. Brian Wood is one of the best in the business at this kind of pacing and at writing a complete story, beginning to end, without particularly slow beats. This issue is another great example of it and you can already see the framework for the next issue, or for however long the resolution of this storyline takes. Really solid book and another particularly good issue. If you like the X-Men, even if you're not terribly familiar with the Ultimate Universe, this is one to get into. Frankly, it's a good one to get into even if you don't love the X-Men and just want to get into a book with understandably and unmistakably high stakes, near-perfect pacing and story, and solid characters and writing. Good book all around.

Uncanny X-Force 10, Ultimate X-Men 30

Uncanny X-Force 10
Humphries (w) and R. Pérez (a) and J.D. Ramos and Rosenberg (c)

Psylocke has returned to the team and everyone is eager to figure out what's up with Bishop. They ask Bishop what's up but can't really trust the words he says so Betsy checks his mind quickly, discovering that he's telling the truth, or at least thinks he is (like in Ghostbusters), which is still doubted by Puck, in particular. They learn from Bishop that Revenants, the creatures he fears from the future, are essentially spectral twins of every human alive, jealous of their counterparts' lives (they never SPECIFICALLY say "evil" but it's implied) and who have been unable to cross in large numbers until the Revenant Queen managed to figure out a way. Bad news for humanity and bad news particularly now as Bishop has followed the Revenant Queen back here. A fight ensues and plenty happens, including the capture of three of our team members (but which three? See, I don't give anything away! Though technically there are only three official members of the team and they're Psylocke, Puck, and Storm so GUESS WHO IT IS?).

Now we're starting to get into a meatier story and not a moment too late. Maybe one moment. It's issue ten, you guys. Still, there are some peculiarities about the story that are yet to be revealed (how did the Revenant Queen change things, are these guys evil or misunderstood or what, what makes this time the best time for the Revenants to come back to, etc) but we have our baseline, which is a nice start. Betsy's back with the team and ready to fight (until the capture of three members of the team, one of which may or may not be her). In addition to that, the Revenants have now captured three of these members and are preparing to unleash their Revenants on the world (another question, if Psylocke IS one of those captured, why does her Revenant look like a different version of her Japanese body? Wouldn't it look more like OG Betsy Braddock, the British blond of the Braddock brood - nailed that alliteration, by the way - rather than her corrupted self). PERHAPS ALL WILL BE ANSWERED SOON. Still, not a bad issue. The nice thing about this book, while I haven't necessarily loved it, is that it's always pretty eminently readable. There's enough going on and the writing doesn't hurt the book so it's not a pain to read or anything. Screaming endorsement, "eminently readable."

Ultimate X-Men 30
Wood (w) and A. Martinez and J. Lucas (a) and Sotomayor (c)

The war between Tian and Utopia seems to have seen its opening shots and it's led to a bit of drastic action on both sides. The Utopia mutants react to the essentially-droids attacking their home, destroying them all once they find out their not exactly alive to make a statement to Jean. Jean, in turn, blasts Utopia in a very public speech, pointing at them as the aggressors and as unwilling to tolerate another mutant community. It's a bold move and a dangerous one, one that James, Jean's newest citizen and confidant, doesn't approve of (he doesn't approve of most of what she does but he seems to see no other world for himself) and that Kitty has to react to internally. Disappointed that her ideals and hopes don't seem to be the ideals and hopes of the people around her, she cedes the leadership role of Utopia to new citizen Colossus.

Not a huge entry but still a pretty big issue. We also get a look at Magma and her powers, as she shapes the Earth around Utopia to create an even better area with which to defend Utopia. Pretty powerful lady and don't expect that she's only here to show her powers once and then fade into the ether again. Mach Two, while not being controlled by Psylocke any longer, still seems a little strange so don't count a plot with her out either. Still, those things are just icing on the cake for what is already a pretty great series and a pretty great story. I don't tend to give a lot of focus to the Ultimate Universe and it does still rank a little lower in priority for me than the 616 but this book is consistently one of the best books Marvel is putting out, and it feels like the company has a refocused effort all around in the Ultimate Universe so expect to see big things out of it. I also have found myself, on a somewhat related/unrelated note, really enjoying the Ultimate X-Men covers. They're usually more simplistic than this one but still profound and meaningful in some nice ways. And they look really good. Seen a lot of great covers recently. Always encouraging. Did you guys see the Astonishing X-Men one and the Thor: God of Thunder one this week? Rad. Probably others too, but those really stuck out. Love the colors on the Astonishing X-Men one, even if it is kind of a simple design. Less is more, ya know? Even the Uncanny X-Force issue above had some neat cover work to it, with all the ghastly looking Revenant versions of different costumes for each hero. Neat. Am I rambling? I'm rambling. Look, Ultimate X-Men is a great book, maybe check it out, you honestly don't need THAT much backstory at any given time. Maybe you do. But I didn't have a ton when I jumped onboard not TOO too long ago and I'm doing JUST FINE, THANKS. I mean, could be better, I suppose. Okay look, I'm ending the review now, only ten lines too late.