- Written by: Peach Momoko, Zack Davisson
- 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: September 18, 2024
Ultimate X-Men #7, by Marvel Comics on 9/18/24, begins a new arc by unveiling the leaders and purpose of the Children of the Atom cult. Meanwhile, Psylocke enters the story.
Is Ultimate X-Men #7 Good?
After a sedate end to the second arc, Peach Momoko takes the series in a new direction by getting on with life at school. Ultimate X-Men #7 unveils more about the Children of the Atom cult and its enigmatic leader, which helps build the world and give this series what it sorely lacks – a direction.
When last we left the fledgling team in Ultimate X-Men #6, a hot day in the schoolyard turned into an impromptu battle when the Shadow King decided to make an appearance in broad daylight. Disgusted that Hisako didn’t conform to his creepy/stalkerish image of her, the Shadow King lashed out, prompting Armor, Nico, and Maystorm to join forces and win the day… for now.
In Ultimate X-Men #7, we follow Surge, Natsu, and Mori as they attend a Children of the Atom meeting wherein the enigmatic leader, Maester, proclaims it’s time for the members to embrace their powers and move out into the world. Privately, Maester continues using the now-comatose Shinobu Kagayama as the catalyst to awaken mutant powers in more followers.
Although the opening is a major slowdown from the previous issue, Peach Momoko gives readers a lot to unpack and fill in the world-building gaps considerably. Maester is the Ultimate version of Mr. Sinister, which makes sense from a mutant gene manipulation perspective. Maester is beholden to his boss, Viper, to make progress in his goal to awaken more mutants without lethal side effects. Viper and Maester both report to Emperor Sunfire, which finally establishes a link between this title and the Maker’s Council. Further, we learn Maester has been using Shadow King to psychically awaken more mutants, so his comatose condition is hurting their progress. That’s a lot of good stuff to know, so kudos to Momoko for connecting the dots.
Elsewhere, Mei and Hisako discuss going to a festival when they cross paths with Kanon, aka Psylocke. Kanon is rude and confident, so she doesn’t stop to chat. Later, Kanon visits her police officer brother just to be nosy, and her visit pays off when he receives a report of a strange suitcase left by the river. Kanon decides to tag along. When her brother finds the luggage, he’s sickened to learn it’s full of body parts, including a limb with a familiar symbol etched/tattooed into the skin.
As introductions go, Kanon’s works well enough to establish her as an expert sword fighter, headstrong, athletic, and arrogant. We don’t get to see any power manifested in this issue, but Momoko’s character-building for Kanon is a good complement to the world-building of the Children of the Atom in the previous scenes.
The issue concludes with Kanon’s brother being forced to sign an NDA and an eye in the sky during the festival.
Overall, Ultimate X-men #7 begins a new arc but maintains the same slow pace. That said, what the issue lacks in energy, it makes up for in solid world-building, character-building, overdue connections to the Ultimate Universe, and the slightest hint that the series is developing a direction. This series still doesn’t feel like it’s part of Earth-6160 or anything remotely resembling an X-Men comic, but this issue is interesting enough to see where it goes.
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 #7 begins a new arc with by filling in the blanks with intriguing world-building and setting up the latest Ultimate version of a mutant to join the series. Putting it generously, Peach Momoko’s pace and energy remain sedate, but the volume of intriguing developments and introductions build enough curiosity to keep going.
7/10
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