- Written by: Peach Momoko
- Art by: Peach Momoko
- Colors by: Peach Momoko
- Letters by: VC’s Travis Lanham
- Cover art by: Peach Momoko (cover A)
- Cover price: $4.99
- Release date: July 17, 2024
Ultimate X-Men #5, by Marvel Comics on 7/17/24, brings Nico Minoru into Hisako’s circle of trust to find out who or what is behind the Shadow. Their introduction leads to the discovery of a cult and the formation of a team.
Is Ultimate X-Men #5 Good?
Peach Momoko’s Manga-inspired take on the X-Men is probably the furthest away from Earth-616 than any other Ultimates titles. That distance isn’t doing the title any favors, but traditional Marvel readers who also enjoy Manga have much to like in this series. However, readers put off by the great divide may find this issue brings the Ultimate X-Men a little closer to home.
When last we left Hisako and Mei in Ultimate X-Men #4, Hisako was confronted by a fellow student about the increasing number of deaths of people that had anything to do with Tsubasa’s suicide. The issue concluded with the Shadow possessing the student and forcing him to commit suicide. To protect herself from attack, Hisako turned into Armor in full view of the public. Mei fried any nearby smartphones to prevent videos of the incident from getting out, but the whole event was filmed and distributed by a girl on a nearby balcony – Surge.
In Ultimate X-Men #5, we begin with a quiet meeting between Surge and the boy who appears to be creating and controlling the Shadow – Shinobu Kageyama. They discussed the video of Armor that Surge released to the world. Their friendship is contentious. Surge suspects Kageyama is responsible for Hisako’s troubles, but he claims he has nothing to do with her.
Up to now, the story has focused entirely on Hisako and her friends. Here we get to see what could be the villainous side of the story, and we finally get a name for the face – Shinobu Kageyama. Who is that? I don’t know. There isn’t any prominent character in Marvel by that name, which is a departure from the rest of Momoko’s characters. Generally, this scene is extremely helpful in humanizing Hisako’s antagonists so that the reader has someone to connect with. The Shadow is creepy but too vague to be much more than a dangerous, undirected force.
The story moves to Hisako’s room where she and Mei have invited Nico to help them with her psychic powers to figure out what’s happening. Hisako offers her omamori, hoping Nico can sense where it came from and who gave it to her. Nico focuses on the totem to divine its origins. Suddenly, a Shadow emerges from the omamori. Nico splats the Shadow with her book, but the Shadow tries to push its way free. Nico instinctively grabs her magnifying glass, which turns into a large staff from her Earth-616 Runaways ensemble and disperses the Shadow permanently.
Nico’s confrontation with the Shadow is the meat and the potatoes of the issue as Hisako now has allies who’ve seen the Shadow for themselves, and Nico’s power suddenly emerges in a way she never suspected. In all, this is one of the better-paced scenes in one of the better-paced issues in the run.
Elsewhere, we see Surge sitting with an older man in his apartment. The man is interested in touching the scar on her leg. When he reaches for her thigh, Surge grabs his head and fries his brain with electricity. Surge empties the man’s wallet before leaving.
Surge’s intentions in the previous issue were unclear, but here we see she’s a (possible) sex worker with no hesitation about killing her clients. In this way, Surge is painted as a callous killer and villain, which is another departure from her Earth-616 persona.
Later, Mei and Nico walk home from Hisako’s house and discuss the confrontation with the Shadow. Nico is a wealth of information about people who she calls “mutants,” and she explains that her grandmother researched rumors of a secret cult of “mutants” who believe they are superior to humanity. Nico believes the person behind the Shadow may be a member of this cult.
Mei receives a flash of inspiration at the prospect of her, Nico, and Hisako having to fight a cult full of mutants like them. They should form a team called… The X-Men.
Yeah, you read that right. This slow-paced Manga suddenly picks up speed, dumps a whole lot of exposition on you, and forms a team called the X-Men out of nowhere. On the one hand, picking up the pace is a step in the right direction. On the other hand, shifting from a horror Manga to the formation of the world’s greatest superhero team in the span of a few pages feels super rushed and forced. Your mileage may vary.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.
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Final Thoughts
Ultimate X-Men #5 picks up the pace, begins drawing the battlelines between the potential heroes and villains, and brings the title closer to something loosely resembling the X-Men. On the one hand, a higher pace and clear movement is a big step in the right direction for a title that’s been treading water almost since issue #1. On the other hand, the leap from horror Manga to forming an X-Men team comes out of nowhere and feels both rushed and forced.
6/10
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