“Did you think I needed you? That I was lonely?”
November 2025.
Continuing off of the previous installment, I am reminded that I’m no stranger Marvel’s X-Men being riot starters and protesters. The act of protesting goes directly in hand with their core conception of racial and religious injustice under the guise of cool eye beams and ice powers.
Furthermore, while racial and religious injustice is still prevalent in the world, Peach Momoko manages to keep that age-old tradition of rebellion fresh with this new installment of Ultimate X-Men. The issue’s setup follows the usual protester chaos you’d see in 616 X-Men but changes things up with two core components to the story: Shinobu and freshly introduced My-X Soldiers (a very fun play on words of “My X-Men”).
To put it mildly, this issue is the ultimate (ha) culmination of what Momoko has been leading to. Sure, the Ultimate X-Men have been fighting against injustice and the more complex inner workings of the story-focus Hisako, but Momoko takes the effort to show the haunting political takeover happening to the country they inhabit.
Overall, the presentation is quite simple but effective. However, the largest part is merely the fact this is just another set-up for the soon-to-be final battle between our darling Hisako and the (as I have him named in my notes) young nasty-man Shinobu. I can’t really fault Momoko for continuing her slow push to the finish line, especially after the recent Ultimate Universe finale chaos that shook the industry, but the truth is that this issue does stagger due to that knowledge. Despite it all, I actually expect UXM to have a more fitting end compared to the rest of the overall universe. However, you don’t really expect things in comics.
Returning to the core subject of riots and mutants, I think the best thing about this issue is actually how Momoko presents her art this time around. As usual, she has one of the most vast and beautiful art styles gracing the American market right now but what really stood out for me was the choice of color and overall panel presentation.
Marvel Comics
In specific regards to her crowd work, Momoko knows how to make the scenery feel busy. Funny to compare protests in comic books, right? Well, the difference between a protest you’d see in a newer 616 X-title and UXM is that Momoko uses the old Chris Claremont method of telling a sad story through the art. Examples such as X-Men #99 or even the classic political horror God Loves, Man Kills has the same effect of what Momoko brings to the table which is the desperate emotions of the people whether minority or bigot.
Additionally, when we see the haunting connection between Hisako and Shinobu the book’s color scheme reflects that of twisted scenes with red, black, and white; all colors that represent horror, obsession, and in certain cases, love.
Marvel Comics
The overall dark messaging with Shinobu’s character has been screaming at the reader since the beginning of the series but Hisako’s reactions to his existence and otherworldly nature calls back to the darker subtext of sexual assault and even violence towards women. Shinobu would rather ball his fist in the air and declare Hisako’s death than realize what kind of monster he is and a bitter sensation hits the reader when they share scenes together.
The darker inner-workings of the Shadow King aside, the most charming aspect of this issue has to be the designs for the My-X soldiers. While their presence in the book is brief we are introduced to the Ultimate counterparts of Glob Herman and Penance (M, not Speedball) as the X-Men violently beat them up for trying to break up the protest-turned-riot. The action itself is fantastic and you can always tell Momoko has fun drawing the team launch themselves at whoever provokes them, it’s as X-Men as it can be.
In conclusion, Ultimate X-Men #21 is a brilliant comic that somewhat staggers but manages to keep itself upright with a strong finale set up and some of the best art that the Ultimate line has in its cards.
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