Mom, you told me that when I’m nervous, I should picture everyone as a potato…
Ultimate X-Men #19 is about how being an oppressed teenager sucks.
This is the larger aspect of any X-Men story, if you aren’t following a bunch of sad thirty-somethings that scream out the hatred of some bald guy in a wheelchair, while a grandpa with a bucket on his head says something somewhat gay about the bald guy.
However, X-Men, at its core, is a story about teenage liberation. The team, throughout its publication history, reflects that of traditional punk and hardcore ideologies as we see the youth of tomorrow filled with the rage to free their own people from the claws of the governmental body controlling them.
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Peach Momoko is not doing anything different. What she is doing is re-contextualizing the themes and ideas of X-Men. She found the secret to modernizing them, something that nearly every writer in the last ten years has somewhat struggled to do. Not to say that Krakoa was a failure (it was), but in modern politics, 616 Marvel isn’t as striking as it once was.
Despite my personal issues with the new Ultimate Universe, the best thing it has done is present a shattered political climate reflective of our own much like what the original Ultimate Universe had done. Due to this, Momoko does what the rest of the creative teams do which is tell an uncomfortable story with a strong pay off and this current arc of Ultimate X-Men reaffirms that with Momoko’s usage of the series’ protagonist, Hisako.
Continuing off of the previous installment, our titular cast of characters finally go to war with the Children of the Atom to try and liberate the victims brainwashed by the Maester. As this issue progresses, what sticks out for me throughout is how Momoko tends to wear her influences on her sleeve whether it be the dark and haunting influences of Serial Experiments Lain, the action and/or chaotic elements of Kamen Rider, and the shock heavy absurdity of Devilman.
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Momoko puts such a heavy emphasis on those influences as it blends in with the themes of rebellion and self-discovery, all while combating that an unthinkable act has happened to your/someone else’s mind, body, or soul.
The messaging of Ultimate X-Men has always been a real emotional stinger for the audience in that regard; dating all the way back to the beginning of series with one fateful car crash and suicide. It becomes clear that the true purpose of Momoko’s storytelling is to make the audience seek out the same safety that Hisako searches for through Mei and the X-Men.
So, in simplicity, it is a story of a found family. Just like any X-Men story. In complexity, it is a story about a teenage victim trying to feel like she has purpose in a government-controlled country that hates women and disregards their mental health. Hisako’s story happens all the time, just without the superpowers.
To highlight a sense of irony, something can be said about Hisako being the title’s star protagonist due to the presence of Joss Whedon being Hisako’s co-creator, however, I think that is purposeful, especially with the added detail of men being the story’s abusive factor.
I feel that Momoko is creating one of the most powerful modern X-Men stories. It robs you of your sense of security and then gives you the motivation to get back up. Momoko wants you to understand that you’re worth it, even if the Japanese Mister Sinister and the weird creepy kid from your classroom is trying to stop you.
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Themes and subtext aside, the biggest homerun with this installment has to be with Momoko’s artwork itself. Her watercoloring and inking typically improves throughout but this issue especially highlights the power of each individual hero in the most striking manner yet with Momoko putting emphasis on the control of her inking; such examples being how she presents Natsu and Nico’s abilities on page 13 and 14.
Additionally, Momoko’s design work with Surge is heartbreaking. Every new glimpse of Nori shows a teenage girl slowly falling apart because of the cult’s control. She is the prime example the series has on how the cult abuses and manipulates the children they’ve taken.
With all said and done, Ultimate X-Men #19 is a phenomenal story about the power to finally accept yourself. I really do think there is something special about this series and you can tell that it all comes from the personal connection Momoko has with these characters and I can’t wait for more.
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