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Ultimate X-Men (Collected Editions) #3
Ultimate X-Men, Vol. 3: World Tour
Charles Xavier has a dream that one day mutants and humans will be able to live together in peace and understanding. Magneto is a mutant who wishes to dominate the whole of humankind. The X-Men have faced Magneto and mutant peace has triumphed. Now they are forced to combat the hatred of the humans they wish to protect.
Collecting: Ultimate X-Men 13-20
Collecting: Ultimate X-Men 13-20
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
21 people are currently reading
330 people want to read
About the author
Mark Millar
1,515 books2,561 followersMark Millar is the New York Times best-selling writer of Wanted, the Kick-Ass series, The Secret Service, Jupiter’s Legacy, Jupiter’s Circle, Nemesis, Superior, Super Crooks, American Jesus, MPH, Starlight, and Chrononauts. Wanted, Kick-Ass, Kick-Ass 2, and The Secret Service (as Kingsman: The Secret Service) have been adapted into feature films, and Nemesis, Superior, Starlight, War Heroes, Jupiter’s Legacy and Chrononauts are in development at major studios.
His DC Comics work includes the seminal Superman: Red Son, and at Marvel Comics he created The Ultimates – selected by Time magazine as the comic book of the decade, Wolverine: Old Man Logan, and Civil War – the industry’s biggest-selling superhero series in almost two decades.
Mark has been an Executive Producer on all his movie adaptations and is currently creative consultant to Fox Studios on their Marvel slate of movies.
His DC Comics work includes the seminal Superman: Red Son, and at Marvel Comics he created The Ultimates – selected by Time magazine as the comic book of the decade, Wolverine: Old Man Logan, and Civil War – the industry’s biggest-selling superhero series in almost two decades.
Mark has been an Executive Producer on all his movie adaptations and is currently creative consultant to Fox Studios on their Marvel slate of movies.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 95 reviews
November 8, 2024
The third volume of the Ultimate X-Men is Mark Millar’s modern take on the classic Proteus story by Chris Claremont. The changes by Millar take advantage of the rich X-Men mythos since Claremont’s story.
In this new form, Proteus is now Charles Xavier’s son with Moira MacTaggert. Moira is still the award-winning gene researcher and Xavier takes on the role of the absentee father. This is not out of character for Xavier; since in the classic X-Men stories, he is also an absentee father to Legion, a mutant with a massive multiple personality disorder who inherits his father’s vast mental gifts. Both sons even share the same first name, David.
Betsy Braddock appears in this story as a SHIELD agent. She still has her Asian looks, despite being British and her formidable mental powers. She’s no ninja, like her classic incarnation, but she’s no wallflower either. She is resolute in bringing down the Proteus threat permanently and by any means necessary.
Millar didn’t change everything. In the end, it would be Colossus that would kill Proteus. But the original Colossus was a farm boy with a heart of a poet, while the Ultimate Colossus is a Russian Mafia enforcer who has no qualms on using lethal force on bringing down a dangerous mass murderer.
Unlike in the original story where Colossus faced a gut wrenching moral and ethical dilemma and massive guilt afterwards, it would be the father, whose principles of non-violence and preference for a peaceful resolution, who would face this attack on his dream. Xavier sees himself and mutants as not only the next step in physical evolution but spiritual as well. He believes that mutants have an evolved capacity to do good and advocates a post-human philosophy of taking the moral high ground, shunning violence. He had been an incapable father; would he be fit to run his surrogate children of X-Men? In the aftermath, Xavier makes an important decision regarding his dream of peaceful co-existence between mutant and human.
The art is better here than the second volume. I feel that Chris Bachalo’s art is a suitable fill-in with Adam Kubert’s inability to finish a whole arc of six issues.
In this new form, Proteus is now Charles Xavier’s son with Moira MacTaggert. Moira is still the award-winning gene researcher and Xavier takes on the role of the absentee father. This is not out of character for Xavier; since in the classic X-Men stories, he is also an absentee father to Legion, a mutant with a massive multiple personality disorder who inherits his father’s vast mental gifts. Both sons even share the same first name, David.
Betsy Braddock appears in this story as a SHIELD agent. She still has her Asian looks, despite being British and her formidable mental powers. She’s no ninja, like her classic incarnation, but she’s no wallflower either. She is resolute in bringing down the Proteus threat permanently and by any means necessary.
Millar didn’t change everything. In the end, it would be Colossus that would kill Proteus. But the original Colossus was a farm boy with a heart of a poet, while the Ultimate Colossus is a Russian Mafia enforcer who has no qualms on using lethal force on bringing down a dangerous mass murderer.
Unlike in the original story where Colossus faced a gut wrenching moral and ethical dilemma and massive guilt afterwards, it would be the father, whose principles of non-violence and preference for a peaceful resolution, who would face this attack on his dream. Xavier sees himself and mutants as not only the next step in physical evolution but spiritual as well. He believes that mutants have an evolved capacity to do good and advocates a post-human philosophy of taking the moral high ground, shunning violence. He had been an incapable father; would he be fit to run his surrogate children of X-Men? In the aftermath, Xavier makes an important decision regarding his dream of peaceful co-existence between mutant and human.
The art is better here than the second volume. I feel that Chris Bachalo’s art is a suitable fill-in with Adam Kubert’s inability to finish a whole arc of six issues.
June 22, 2016
This is the best, most interesting thing to come out of Ultimate X-Men so far, with the single exception that I honestly thought the Proteus story went on too long. There's an extended lull in the middle that just didn't work for me. That said, there's finally some really interesting character work, particularly with Colossus and Xavier. Colossus is a much more morally complicated character than the original had been at this point in his personal timeline. He is, after all, a former mafia enforcer, so it makes sense that he'd find Xavier's moral code to be somewhat less than convincing. Xavier himself comes across as particularly sanctimonious in this volume, which is, I think, a very valid take on the character. But he also, eventually, shows considerably more self-reflection, something that the 616 version of Xavier was notoriously bad at. Betsy Braddock shows up, briefly, but it's a memorable appearance.
January 29, 2022
This was quite fun tbh.
It starts off with a Gambit story and its really good and showing him in a way where he saves this girl and I loved his fight with Hammerhead and it totally makes you love this character and then at the same time we switch to a story with Proteus as the big threat with a twist between Moira and Charles but what happens when he targets the X-Men and goes on a rampage with Wolverine as the host? And then the next host and a massive twist with Psylocke? Its X-Men vs reality bending powers and also the center of it - Professor X and whatever will be the fate of Colossus and Ice man?
Its a great volume and the first few issues are fast paced but when the story switches to Proteus it becomes a massive read and ngl it takes too much time to read but its worth it once you have him vs the X-Men and it also is a fun story with Xavier and like makes you question his character and motive and whether he is guilty or not. The fate of Psylocke was weird but makes for interesting plot in the future stories. Plus great convo between Erik and Xavier in the end and I like the way it resolves itself plus the art is always good, though the lettering and too much writing kinda threw me off the pace of reading this volume.
It starts off with a Gambit story and its really good and showing him in a way where he saves this girl and I loved his fight with Hammerhead and it totally makes you love this character and then at the same time we switch to a story with Proteus as the big threat with a twist between Moira and Charles but what happens when he targets the X-Men and goes on a rampage with Wolverine as the host? And then the next host and a massive twist with Psylocke? Its X-Men vs reality bending powers and also the center of it - Professor X and whatever will be the fate of Colossus and Ice man?
Its a great volume and the first few issues are fast paced but when the story switches to Proteus it becomes a massive read and ngl it takes too much time to read but its worth it once you have him vs the X-Men and it also is a fun story with Xavier and like makes you question his character and motive and whether he is guilty or not. The fate of Psylocke was weird but makes for interesting plot in the future stories. Plus great convo between Erik and Xavier in the end and I like the way it resolves itself plus the art is always good, though the lettering and too much writing kinda threw me off the pace of reading this volume.
July 6, 2016
En la línea del anterior, pero con más riesgos y más personajes (Gambit <3). Mikey likey.
February 6, 2017
This is an improvement on the two previous volumes, where I actually got somewhat more involved in the story. Not so much Colossus’ story, which kind of seemed out of the blue to me — he seemed pretty engaged with the X-Men and Xavier’s plan, and suddenly he… wants to go off and have a normal life, and he’s not sure about the goals of the X-Men?
But the story with Xavier’s son has genuine feeling and character development, mostly for Xavier. It takes him being the wise mentor to being a guy who can really fuck up on his own account, too. I wish he wasn’t quite so all-knowing at times, but I guess that’s the problem with your character being a telepath.
I’m not so sure about the Gambit storyline; I recall enjoying the character in an animated series or something, but how he’s supposed to be getting by in a world that hates mutants while so blatantly displaying his abilities, I don’t know. And I know the whole Cajun background is an important part of Gambit, but man, is his dialogue ever difficult to parse. That whole section isn’t much connected to the rest of the book, either…
Still, more enjoyable than the first two volumes, I think.
Originally posted here.
But the story with Xavier’s son has genuine feeling and character development, mostly for Xavier. It takes him being the wise mentor to being a guy who can really fuck up on his own account, too. I wish he wasn’t quite so all-knowing at times, but I guess that’s the problem with your character being a telepath.
I’m not so sure about the Gambit storyline; I recall enjoying the character in an animated series or something, but how he’s supposed to be getting by in a world that hates mutants while so blatantly displaying his abilities, I don’t know. And I know the whole Cajun background is an important part of Gambit, but man, is his dialogue ever difficult to parse. That whole section isn’t much connected to the rest of the book, either…
Still, more enjoyable than the first two volumes, I think.
Originally posted here.
June 8, 2012
In many ways, the main body of the story exemplifies Millar's skill in character development. As I read I cannot help but blend this tale with Joss Whedon's run of Astonighins X-Men; where Whedon took the character of Kitty Pryde to levels we'd never seen before, Millar is developing Piotr Rasputin to be much more than a steel strongman. He has a dark side to him that doesn't fit the ideal of what the X-Men are supposed to be. In some ways he's more like Wolverine than Charles Xavier. It's interesting to take this Colussus and put him in the relationship Whedon developed with Shadowcat. It's one of the many joys of having two stellar writers work with the same characters.
All that said, my favourite part of this volume wasn't, in fact, the main story. My favourite part was Millar's introduction of Remy LeBeau, later to be known as Gambit. The writing of Remy's New Orleans "Yat" accent is beautifully executed. Millar takes the reader right to the heart of the character, an escalating story of passion and heart culminating in one chilling frame and the words, "The power is in me." This is hands down the best treatment of the Gambit character I've ever seen. Cheers to you, Mr. Millar.
All that said, my favourite part of this volume wasn't, in fact, the main story. My favourite part was Millar's introduction of Remy LeBeau, later to be known as Gambit. The writing of Remy's New Orleans "Yat" accent is beautifully executed. Millar takes the reader right to the heart of the character, an escalating story of passion and heart culminating in one chilling frame and the words, "The power is in me." This is hands down the best treatment of the Gambit character I've ever seen. Cheers to you, Mr. Millar.
April 14, 2020
Man it's been so long since I oringally read this, I was probably only around 13 or so when this first came out. Knowing more about the history of the X-Men I actually really enjoyed this volume.
This starts off a two parter of Gambit and his adventures as a bum. This is mostly about him protecting a little girl from pieces of shit on the street. Then the main story, World Tour, is about Xavier taking his group of X-Men around the world while promoting his new book. Then, out of nowhere, we focus on David who is Xavier's son. If you didn't know, and back then I didn't, David (who also is known as Legion) is EXTREMELY powerful mutant. And so the X-Men must face him but David ain't playing around.
The pacing is insane here, with plenty of storylines all being told at once. I also loved the action here, very high end and exciting. Watching David do horrible things to each of the X-Men was scary and fun. I also think the ending was really well told and helped build Magneto and Xavier relationship. I will say the worst part was the unnecessary focus on woman getting half naked or clothes ripped off. I didn't need a Psylock bra shot at all here.
But overall, this was pretty fun. I can see why I enjoyed this as much as I did as a teenager. A 4 out of 5.
This starts off a two parter of Gambit and his adventures as a bum. This is mostly about him protecting a little girl from pieces of shit on the street. Then the main story, World Tour, is about Xavier taking his group of X-Men around the world while promoting his new book. Then, out of nowhere, we focus on David who is Xavier's son. If you didn't know, and back then I didn't, David (who also is known as Legion) is EXTREMELY powerful mutant. And so the X-Men must face him but David ain't playing around.
The pacing is insane here, with plenty of storylines all being told at once. I also loved the action here, very high end and exciting. Watching David do horrible things to each of the X-Men was scary and fun. I also think the ending was really well told and helped build Magneto and Xavier relationship. I will say the worst part was the unnecessary focus on woman getting half naked or clothes ripped off. I didn't need a Psylock bra shot at all here.
But overall, this was pretty fun. I can see why I enjoyed this as much as I did as a teenager. A 4 out of 5.
August 30, 2014
I wasn't really feeling it till the introduction of Gambit and my heart melted. It's literally the only reason this one's getting 4 stars.
February 13, 2020
Un mal volumen en cuanto ha ideas que salva la buena historia de dos números de Gambito y Cabeza martillo. El resto, el "world tour" es una maniobra de lavado de imagen de Xavier que se ve enturbiado cuando aparece el hijo de este y Moira, David. El problema viene a que es prácticamente lo mismo que hizo Claremont con Proteus, hijo de Moira. En fin la casa de las "ideas".
Por otro lado, otra cosa mala que sumar es el "superpoder" que ha adquirido bestia de cambiar de color entre viñetas, en unas es azul y en otras no, absurdo.
Por otro lado, otra cosa mala que sumar es el "superpoder" que ha adquirido bestia de cambiar de color entre viñetas, en unas es azul y en otras no, absurdo.
November 12, 2023
This has been the best one yet. Always good to see Legion, and this Ultimate version did not disappoint.
The best character work yet. Colossus doubting his place, and rightfully so. Beast doubting emotions, losing faith in a mentor able to mentally manipulate people. Iceman being a kid in over his head. Xavier becoming multiple shades of gray. And Wolverine, Marvel Girl, and Cyclops being their usual boring selves. Good stuff all around.
The best character work yet. Colossus doubting his place, and rightfully so. Beast doubting emotions, losing faith in a mentor able to mentally manipulate people. Iceman being a kid in over his head. Xavier becoming multiple shades of gray. And Wolverine, Marvel Girl, and Cyclops being their usual boring selves. Good stuff all around.
June 20, 2025
Originally I gave this 2 stars, on the re-read I'm keeping it there. I'm not really invested in Charles's world tour promoting how great mutants are while also showing he's actually a bit of a prick. Its been hinted at in previous volumes but comes to the forefront here.
When I think about it, most of the characters in this series come across as unlikeable, which means I don't really care about what happens to them.
I do like the idea that Charles essentially had a non-romantic affair with Erik which broke up their marriage. It's kind of a cool concept that he became more interested in mutant affairs as he lost interest in his human wife and child, who he later says he loved but more like a pet. You know similar to how Ultraman in "Invincible" described his wife. That's not at all disturbing.
This story just didn't do anything for me.
When I think about it, most of the characters in this series come across as unlikeable, which means I don't really care about what happens to them.
I do like the idea that Charles essentially had a non-romantic affair with Erik which broke up their marriage. It's kind of a cool concept that he became more interested in mutant affairs as he lost interest in his human wife and child, who he later says he loved but more like a pet. You know similar to how Ultraman in "Invincible" described his wife. That's not at all disturbing.
This story just didn't do anything for me.
November 28, 2022
After two strong volumes, this is unfortunately the weakest of the batch.
Ultimate Gambit (#13-14). Chuck Austen offers a two-part fill-in introducing Ultimate Remy and it's every bit as bad as you might guess. It's not just that he totally derails the main plot, but that the story itself is entirely dull [1/5].
It Doesn't Have to Be This Way (#15). Ah, the old magazine-article-with-pictures issues of a comic. Rarely successfully, usually too wordy. That's mostly the case here, though there are a couple of nice surprises, some blatant, some low-key [3/5].
World Tour (#16-19). A good new take on the Proteus problem, primarily for its reflection on a realistic marriage between Charles and Moira (and oh, how easy it is to see this Ultimate Moria through the lens of Moira X). It also offers a pivotal turning point for the story of the unbeatable plotting of Ultimate Xavier. But the story itself feels like it's just going through the motions: Colossus' heel turn(s) seem very abrupt, and most of the battles against Proteus are just treading water [3+/5].
Resignation (#20). A nice coda to the World Tour that offers character insights into multiple members of our cast [4/5].
Ultimate Gambit (#13-14). Chuck Austen offers a two-part fill-in introducing Ultimate Remy and it's every bit as bad as you might guess. It's not just that he totally derails the main plot, but that the story itself is entirely dull [1/5].
It Doesn't Have to Be This Way (#15). Ah, the old magazine-article-with-pictures issues of a comic. Rarely successfully, usually too wordy. That's mostly the case here, though there are a couple of nice surprises, some blatant, some low-key [3/5].
World Tour (#16-19). A good new take on the Proteus problem, primarily for its reflection on a realistic marriage between Charles and Moira (and oh, how easy it is to see this Ultimate Moria through the lens of Moira X). It also offers a pivotal turning point for the story of the unbeatable plotting of Ultimate Xavier. But the story itself feels like it's just going through the motions: Colossus' heel turn(s) seem very abrupt, and most of the battles against Proteus are just treading water [3+/5].
Resignation (#20). A nice coda to the World Tour that offers character insights into multiple members of our cast [4/5].
November 7, 2022
My Ultimate Year Three
I really enjoyed the 2 part Gambit story (My Ultimate Year #2), and issue 20 was a great epilogue to the main story. The main arc is the 2nd in a row with a very-evil-and-gratuitously-violent-just-cuz bad guy. There’s a little more back story than we had with vol 2’s government baddie, but that trope is getting old fast.
Read for Gambit, Betsy Braddock, Proteus, A kinder, gentler magneto, and Xavier’s existential crisis.
I really enjoyed the 2 part Gambit story (My Ultimate Year #2), and issue 20 was a great epilogue to the main story. The main arc is the 2nd in a row with a very-evil-and-gratuitously-violent-just-cuz bad guy. There’s a little more back story than we had with vol 2’s government baddie, but that trope is getting old fast.
Read for Gambit, Betsy Braddock, Proteus, A kinder, gentler magneto, and Xavier’s existential crisis.
July 29, 2023
The first ultimate x-men book that I have genuinely enjoyed!
July 3, 2011
This volume didn't pull me in as much as the first volume, I find Storm a bit annoying with her shallow girly-girl-ness, glad to see Gambit, but the story seemed weak and over done, though I did enjoy the focus on Charles and I always love the Proteus storyline, because I love Proteus, but as I recently read the original Proteus storyline, I thought that was was more devastating for some reason-especially how it affected Wolverine. Still enjoyable, but the whole line paled a little bit next to the X-Factor I've been reading lately. It is fun to see Colossus portrayed as gay, though (well, he's not out yet, but, it's there).
June 25, 2014
I had forgotten that they had played the David card so early on. HE's obviously very different here in the Ultimate Universe. I'd also forgotten about Psylocke as she was so quickly killed after her first appearance.
This is still a great volume. The Professor finally waivers at least a little bit about what he's doing. The first shred of humanity.
The Beast and Storm romance is so sad. I hate that Beast is willing to throw the relationship away because he can't be sure that Charles hasn't messed with Storm's head.
There are some early hints at Colossus' later revelation in this story. I don't remember when I started picking up on it the first time, but it might've been here.
This is still a great volume. The Professor finally waivers at least a little bit about what he's doing. The first shred of humanity.
The Beast and Storm romance is so sad. I hate that Beast is willing to throw the relationship away because he can't be sure that Charles hasn't messed with Storm's head.
There are some early hints at Colossus' later revelation in this story. I don't remember when I started picking up on it the first time, but it might've been here.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 16, 2010
The quality starts to decline after two decent volumes, most recently Ultimate X-Men, Vol. 2. Unfortunately, it's gonna get worse (in Ultimate X-Men Vol. 4: Hellfire & Brimstone) before it gets better.
August 2, 2016
I am really enjoying this series. Plus we get an intro for one of my favorite X-Men, Gambit :)
It's funny to see storylines in this series that sort of line up with the movies. Only they are way cooler in the comic. I'm excited to see who else we will get introduced to in the next comics.
It's funny to see storylines in this series that sort of line up with the movies. Only they are way cooler in the comic. I'm excited to see who else we will get introduced to in the next comics.
July 23, 2014
Well the story was pretty interesting. But I wasn't too wild about how the art randomly changed half way through. It got really cartoony and just wasn't as good as Kuberts art.
June 8, 2017
Wow, that was a real drop from the first two volumes.
June 7, 2021
W moim ulubionym internetowym sklepie pojawił się kolejny zbiór przygód mutantów z świata Ultimate, więc postanowiłem dać szansę marce. W końcu Tomorrow People mimo mdłego początku rozkręcił się świetnie, a i dalej nie było źle. W końcu w tym świecie autorzy mogą sobie pozwolić na więcej zabawy i znaczne odstępstwa od głównego kanonu, prezentując nam nieco inne losy postaci. Podobnie mamy w World Tour, gdzie głównym wrogiem będzie Xavier, a raczej jego przeszłość i słabości.
Początek jest jednak odmienny, bowiem Millar poświęca tutaj miejsce dla przyszłego Gambita. Remy żyje na ulicy, z dnia na dzień, dorabiając sobie sztuczkami z kartami i okradając dodatkowo zapatrzoną widownię. Pech chce, że jego lody przetną się z losami pewnej dziewczynki, której życie jest zagrożone, bowiem była świadkiem zamordowania jej rodziców przez niejakiego Hammerheada...
Całość jest niezła i czytelnik dostraja się na dobrą lekturę. Niestety kolejny zeszyt, gdzie Xavier prowadzi wewnętrzny monolog, jaki przelewa na papier jest już nudny. Ważny, bo ustala porządek po poprzednich wydarzeniach i ukazuje losy Magneto, ale całość czyta się siermiężnie. Na szczęście zaraz potem mamy tytułowa opowieść. Worls Tour, która też miejscami traci na sile i zanudza, chyba przez liczne przeskoki pomiędzy wątkami, które nie potrafią utrzymać należnego napięcia. W końcu X-men stawiają czoła synowi ich dowódcy, niejakiemu Davidowi.
Kto oglądał Legion ten wie, czego się spodziewać. Nie... Otóż, nie. Tutaj David do indywiduum, jakie przeskakuje z osobnika na osobika poprzez kontakt wzrokowy, przy czym degeneruje nosiciela, w którym się psychicznie zagnieżdża. W dodatku patrząc na jego motywację, można się z nim utożsamić, bowiem w trakcie fabuły wychodzi, jak fatalnym człowiekiem, przynajmniej jako ojciec czy mąż, był Xavier. Metody skrzywdzonego dziecka może są drastyczne, ale nie doszłoby do nich, gdyby nie zaniedbania że strony ojca. Wątek dobry, ale w końcówce nie wybrzmiewa raczej jak powinien, zwłaszcza że Charles ma tam jakieś wyrzuty sumienia, ale podczas rozmowy z przyjacielem, ulatniają się one momentalnie w mało wiarygodnej chwili.
Szkopuł w tym, że całość nie jest tak przebojowa jak się można spodziewać. Podobał mi się wątek Colossusa. Reszta mnie zbytnio nie obchodziła tutaj. Podobała mi się kreska, a nawet trzy, bo nad tomem pracowali Ribić, Kubert i Bachalo. Trzy odmienne style, a jednak ładnie że sobą się komponują i nie mam zdecydowanego faworyta, co tylko świadczy o dobrym poziomie Panów. Tylko zostało mi tutaj takie poczucie, że czegoś mi tu zabrakło.
World Tour jest dobre, a miejscami nawet świetne, ale chyba liczyłem na więcej szaleństwa, poza tym co autor zgotował bodajże tutajszej wersji Psylocke, która miała swój potencjał.
Reasumując. Nie zbierałem serii zeszytów, jaką wydawano w Polsce w kioskach przed 2005 rokiem bodajże, bo kolorowe okładki z Ultimate X-men i Spider-Mana pamiętam dokładnie ze sklepowych witrynach. Troszeczkę żałuję, bo może bym hype na tą serię 'złapał' wcześniej i inaczej by to wyglądało dzisiaj. Lubię tych mutantów, ale nie różnią się oni zbytnio od tego co widzimy w kanonicznych seriach (mam za sobą prawie całe Marvel Now). A szkoda, bo tą powtarzalność tu czuję. Oby dalej było lepiej.
Początek jest jednak odmienny, bowiem Millar poświęca tutaj miejsce dla przyszłego Gambita. Remy żyje na ulicy, z dnia na dzień, dorabiając sobie sztuczkami z kartami i okradając dodatkowo zapatrzoną widownię. Pech chce, że jego lody przetną się z losami pewnej dziewczynki, której życie jest zagrożone, bowiem była świadkiem zamordowania jej rodziców przez niejakiego Hammerheada...
Całość jest niezła i czytelnik dostraja się na dobrą lekturę. Niestety kolejny zeszyt, gdzie Xavier prowadzi wewnętrzny monolog, jaki przelewa na papier jest już nudny. Ważny, bo ustala porządek po poprzednich wydarzeniach i ukazuje losy Magneto, ale całość czyta się siermiężnie. Na szczęście zaraz potem mamy tytułowa opowieść. Worls Tour, która też miejscami traci na sile i zanudza, chyba przez liczne przeskoki pomiędzy wątkami, które nie potrafią utrzymać należnego napięcia. W końcu X-men stawiają czoła synowi ich dowódcy, niejakiemu Davidowi.
Kto oglądał Legion ten wie, czego się spodziewać. Nie... Otóż, nie. Tutaj David do indywiduum, jakie przeskakuje z osobnika na osobika poprzez kontakt wzrokowy, przy czym degeneruje nosiciela, w którym się psychicznie zagnieżdża. W dodatku patrząc na jego motywację, można się z nim utożsamić, bowiem w trakcie fabuły wychodzi, jak fatalnym człowiekiem, przynajmniej jako ojciec czy mąż, był Xavier. Metody skrzywdzonego dziecka może są drastyczne, ale nie doszłoby do nich, gdyby nie zaniedbania że strony ojca. Wątek dobry, ale w końcówce nie wybrzmiewa raczej jak powinien, zwłaszcza że Charles ma tam jakieś wyrzuty sumienia, ale podczas rozmowy z przyjacielem, ulatniają się one momentalnie w mało wiarygodnej chwili.
Szkopuł w tym, że całość nie jest tak przebojowa jak się można spodziewać. Podobał mi się wątek Colossusa. Reszta mnie zbytnio nie obchodziła tutaj. Podobała mi się kreska, a nawet trzy, bo nad tomem pracowali Ribić, Kubert i Bachalo. Trzy odmienne style, a jednak ładnie że sobą się komponują i nie mam zdecydowanego faworyta, co tylko świadczy o dobrym poziomie Panów. Tylko zostało mi tutaj takie poczucie, że czegoś mi tu zabrakło.
World Tour jest dobre, a miejscami nawet świetne, ale chyba liczyłem na więcej szaleństwa, poza tym co autor zgotował bodajże tutajszej wersji Psylocke, która miała swój potencjał.
Reasumując. Nie zbierałem serii zeszytów, jaką wydawano w Polsce w kioskach przed 2005 rokiem bodajże, bo kolorowe okładki z Ultimate X-men i Spider-Mana pamiętam dokładnie ze sklepowych witrynach. Troszeczkę żałuję, bo może bym hype na tą serię 'złapał' wcześniej i inaczej by to wyglądało dzisiaj. Lubię tych mutantów, ale nie różnią się oni zbytnio od tego co widzimy w kanonicznych seriach (mam za sobą prawie całe Marvel Now). A szkoda, bo tą powtarzalność tu czuję. Oby dalej było lepiej.
April 17, 2023
Full review / all my reviews available on my blog
First off, Gambit. Hard to understand with a heart of gold. Then a quick look at what’s the Professor actually did to Magneto. Here’s a hint: actually killing him might have been kinder in the long run.
And then finally, we’re on to the World Tour! It’s all about proving that mutants do good for the world.
What could possibly go wrong…
I really do fall on the ‘Professor is being an overly pacifist idiot’ side of times things. It’ll be interesting to see what’s next.
On the other hand, these plots really could use some more time to breath. In the span of a single volume, we’re introduced to the idea of to said . Such is comics life?
First off, Gambit. Hard to understand with a heart of gold. Then a quick look at what’s the Professor actually did to Magneto. Here’s a hint: actually killing him might have been kinder in the long run.
And then finally, we’re on to the World Tour! It’s all about proving that mutants do good for the world.
What could possibly go wrong…
I really do fall on the ‘Professor is being an overly pacifist idiot’ side of times things. It’ll be interesting to see what’s next.
On the other hand, these plots really could use some more time to breath. In the span of a single volume, we’re introduced to the idea of to said . Such is comics life?
December 18, 2023
"Ideologies are substitutes for true knowledge, and ideologues are always dangerous when they come to power, because a simple-minded I-know-it-all approach is no match for the complexity of existence."
Jordan B. Peterson, 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos
This quote kept ringing in my ears as I read this volume. Xavier has thus far been pitched as a trustworthy savior who has it all figured out. But with each turn of the page, you realize that he is just as scheming, just as manipulative, just as abusive as Magneto. That's not to say that there isn't room for his character to grow, but his treatment here confronts us with the hard reality that hitching our lives to ideologies, as well as pledging our fealty to ideologues, can only spell out our destruction when an unforgiving world refuses to play by our rules and conform to our definitions.
Best Ultimate X-Men so far. Hopefully future volumes are this good. 1st time read. 4/5.
Jordan B. Peterson, 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos
This quote kept ringing in my ears as I read this volume. Xavier has thus far been pitched as a trustworthy savior who has it all figured out. But with each turn of the page, you realize that he is just as scheming, just as manipulative, just as abusive as Magneto. That's not to say that there isn't room for his character to grow, but his treatment here confronts us with the hard reality that hitching our lives to ideologies, as well as pledging our fealty to ideologues, can only spell out our destruction when an unforgiving world refuses to play by our rules and conform to our definitions.
Best Ultimate X-Men so far. Hopefully future volumes are this good. 1st time read. 4/5.
October 15, 2019
This was another good and enjoyable entry in this series. I liked how it showed the various characters (especially Professor X) questioning both their motives and their efficacy, and I felt like that brought a lot of depth to them and their motivations. The generally mature content continues to elevate the stories to more enjoyable levels than previous X-Men comics as well. And finally, I liked the last story about Gambit and some of his origins. The artwork continued to be great as well, even though I didn't really appreciate the one to two "chapters" (issues) in the middle that were with a different artist, still it was great overall. Overall, a very enjoyable book that makes me happy to continue reading this series!
January 23, 2025
Nostalgia all over again! But sadly this was the final one of this collection that arrived in the local bookstores of my small hometown before they stopped.
Unlike the first two books, I did not remember much of this except for the fact that the villain is the all powerful son of Professor X and a few panels here and there.
Having written a book about Humans and Mutant co-depending on each other, Prof. X and his students go on a world tour promoting it. But sadly they are intercepted by a warning that prof. X's son, a very powerful mutant with capacity to rewrite molecules, warp space, completely shift consciousness to other people escapes his containment. As bodies pile up in hundreds, the X-men attempt to stop him before it is very late.
Another good entry
Unlike the first two books, I did not remember much of this except for the fact that the villain is the all powerful son of Professor X and a few panels here and there.
Having written a book about Humans and Mutant co-depending on each other, Prof. X and his students go on a world tour promoting it. But sadly they are intercepted by a warning that prof. X's son, a very powerful mutant with capacity to rewrite molecules, warp space, completely shift consciousness to other people escapes his containment. As bodies pile up in hundreds, the X-men attempt to stop him before it is very late.
Another good entry
March 22, 2017
Starting out with a quick two-shot standalone introducing Gambit to the Ultimate universe (and also some of the most enh line art by Esad Ribic), the "World Tour" arc takes us a little deeper into Colossus' character and also reminds us what a dick Xavier can be by making the X-Men's next adventure be to track down his abandoned son, David, before he destroys half the world in an "Ultimate" take on Claremont's Proteus arc. Thankfully, outside of introducing Betsy "Psylocke" Braddock to the storyline, Millar keeps the X-Men roster the same to allow for better character development.
Adam Kubert's pencil work really hits its stride between issues 15 and 17 with some really awesome art: just in time to be replaced with Chris Bachalo who makes the X-Men look like they belong in an episode of Undergrads.
Three stars for an engaging storyline that improves on the previous volumes, but the art takes a hit halfway through and a less attractive Gambit I've never seen.
Adam Kubert's pencil work really hits its stride between issues 15 and 17 with some really awesome art: just in time to be replaced with Chris Bachalo who makes the X-Men look like they belong in an episode of Undergrads.
Three stars for an engaging storyline that improves on the previous volumes, but the art takes a hit halfway through and a less attractive Gambit I've never seen.
March 5, 2019
Nice little story and it shows even Professor Xavier can have doubts. I loved the cameo of Stan Lee. Even hiding in a graphic novel his presence is there. I will leave it for other readers to find it. The artwork is interesting because it is showing these characters as teens. Something I had not seen growing up reading the comics. It was a good story that examines the mistakes we can make in the past and how they affect our present. Sometimes the help you need is not what you think or from where you think it will be from.
April 19, 2024
This was fun. Kind of dumb, but fun. I liked the Gambit story, and how his accent was written, it made it easier to visualize (I don’t know if that’s the right word, is it visualizing if you hear it?), plus he got a pretty cool line. The beginning of the main plot was really fun. The main story was alright, the ending was good, I think they mixed together Proteus and Legion pretty well. Poor Iceman, but with a line like that, he kind of deserved it (I had to stifle a laugh while reading). Next volume!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 17, 2024
This volume collects issues 13-20 of Ultimate X-Men and is 192 pages in length. It’s a slight dip in quality from the first two volumes in my opinion. The Gambit issues we a decent stand alone story, but once we get to the Proteus stuff it’s inconsistent. Chris Bachalo’s art is bad in my opinion. I know he has his fans, but I just don’t like it. Luckily it’s only for a few issues. Not a horrible volume, but not a great one either.
August 21, 2012
Stuff I Read – Ultimate X-Men #13-20
So here, I guess, is where the series finally attempts to confront the failings of the Professor, here in the form of his son, the Ultimate version of Proteus. Proteus basically is messed up because Professor X abandoned him and his mom, and went off to form his own mutant family, trying his best to forget about his former, human family entirely. And so Proteus tries his best to show the Professor the error of his ways, and does this by killing a lot of humans, ruining the Professor’s reputation and book tour in the process. Meanwhile Colossus has a crisis of faith and returns to Russia before returning. Oh, and at the end there is a Gambit story thrown in for good measure.
I must say, I started to hope that with Proteus and the Professor finally being shown as a deeply flawed individual, to the point where he comes across as extremely arrogant and heartless. He freely admits this, as he relates how his family was a burden to his mighty mutantness and how he loved his son like a pet, but nothing more. And really, that seems to be the way he sees others, as so far beneath him that he cannot really feel anything for them beyond condescension. On top of that, we are shown that Colossus leaves because he does not feel right about what Xavier is doing. He wants to be more honest with himself, and actually live amongst humans instead of set away in Xavier’s fantasy.
Here the art jumps around a lot more than in the first two arcs, and as such it took away a bit from my enjoyment of these issues, because I want consistency within arcs and here it was a bit all over. Beyond that, though, I am further stuck at what I am supposed to take away from the story. Colossus leaves, but returns because, apparently, he recognizes that being a superhero means that he cannot be a normal person. But this doesn’t seem to justify him returning with Scott and Jean. The only real reason we are given to why he can’t be a hero but also live at home is that perhaps he buys into the whole “you are a mutant and better than everyone else” logic, as he does respond to a military guy when asked if he can save a submarine by saying something like if Colossus cannot do it, no one can. And he does do it, so I guess it proves that he is better?
This continues to be my main problem with the series, because it has us identify with mutants, who used to be analogies for minorities, for African Americans or gays or whatever minority was around at the time. And so the mission statement for the original X-Men was to strive for equality and compassion and understanding. Ultimate X-Men does not try to draw the analogy between mutants and minorities is dropped entirely and instead mutants are the next stage of evolution, and don’t really strive for equality. Instead they are trying to lead humanity and mutantkind into some sort of future that is better than the one controlled solely by humanity. They do not want to integrate into human society, but to integrate humans into a post-human world. That is what they call it, post-human. They are, in effect, the kinds of villains that the original X-Men fought. Where Professor X used to be about peaceful cooperation and shared progress, the new Professor X is about peaceful dominance and mutants taking their rightful place of directions of the world.
And at the end, once Proteus has been defeated, Professor X has a bit of a crisis of confidence and wants to shut down the school and let things play out as they might. He see, or at least claims to see, that he has been arrogant. But really he is saying that he wants to feel guilty and punish himself but doesn’t really feel guilty. He still knows he is right but needs to appear to be humble to keep his own illusion of his dream intact. Because what changes his mind and gets him to step back into his role and leader of everything? The mind wiped Magneto bought tickets to his lecture. That’s it. In the biggest ego stroke of all time, Xavier sees Magneto “change” (because really the change is that he had his MIND WIPED), and assumes that he is doing the right thing again. Because if mind wiping Magneto works, who couldn’t it work on. Just think, a world where violence isn’t necessary because you can just alter people’s minds to make them not violent any more. Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but A Clockwork Orange kind of addressed that idea. So all I get out of this is that Xavier would think that brainwashing people to be nonviolent would be okay because it is violence that is the problem and not, say, believing that one group of people has the right and authority to brainwash other people to make them “better” than they were before.
I still can’t get past that, because it seems to contrary to what the X-Men stand for in the regular Marvel Universe. Which, again, says some pretty disturbing things about what this title is saying about the present day. Is this what people believe is right and heroic now? Is this dystopian, mutant run future really the best we can do? Certainly the series no possible other option, only a choice between Xavier’s control or Magneto’s violence. Personally, I want to think there are more choices than that, and am waiting for a new option to be posited by the series. Until then, this installment merits a 6.5/10.
So here, I guess, is where the series finally attempts to confront the failings of the Professor, here in the form of his son, the Ultimate version of Proteus. Proteus basically is messed up because Professor X abandoned him and his mom, and went off to form his own mutant family, trying his best to forget about his former, human family entirely. And so Proteus tries his best to show the Professor the error of his ways, and does this by killing a lot of humans, ruining the Professor’s reputation and book tour in the process. Meanwhile Colossus has a crisis of faith and returns to Russia before returning. Oh, and at the end there is a Gambit story thrown in for good measure.
I must say, I started to hope that with Proteus and the Professor finally being shown as a deeply flawed individual, to the point where he comes across as extremely arrogant and heartless. He freely admits this, as he relates how his family was a burden to his mighty mutantness and how he loved his son like a pet, but nothing more. And really, that seems to be the way he sees others, as so far beneath him that he cannot really feel anything for them beyond condescension. On top of that, we are shown that Colossus leaves because he does not feel right about what Xavier is doing. He wants to be more honest with himself, and actually live amongst humans instead of set away in Xavier’s fantasy.
Here the art jumps around a lot more than in the first two arcs, and as such it took away a bit from my enjoyment of these issues, because I want consistency within arcs and here it was a bit all over. Beyond that, though, I am further stuck at what I am supposed to take away from the story. Colossus leaves, but returns because, apparently, he recognizes that being a superhero means that he cannot be a normal person. But this doesn’t seem to justify him returning with Scott and Jean. The only real reason we are given to why he can’t be a hero but also live at home is that perhaps he buys into the whole “you are a mutant and better than everyone else” logic, as he does respond to a military guy when asked if he can save a submarine by saying something like if Colossus cannot do it, no one can. And he does do it, so I guess it proves that he is better?
This continues to be my main problem with the series, because it has us identify with mutants, who used to be analogies for minorities, for African Americans or gays or whatever minority was around at the time. And so the mission statement for the original X-Men was to strive for equality and compassion and understanding. Ultimate X-Men does not try to draw the analogy between mutants and minorities is dropped entirely and instead mutants are the next stage of evolution, and don’t really strive for equality. Instead they are trying to lead humanity and mutantkind into some sort of future that is better than the one controlled solely by humanity. They do not want to integrate into human society, but to integrate humans into a post-human world. That is what they call it, post-human. They are, in effect, the kinds of villains that the original X-Men fought. Where Professor X used to be about peaceful cooperation and shared progress, the new Professor X is about peaceful dominance and mutants taking their rightful place of directions of the world.
And at the end, once Proteus has been defeated, Professor X has a bit of a crisis of confidence and wants to shut down the school and let things play out as they might. He see, or at least claims to see, that he has been arrogant. But really he is saying that he wants to feel guilty and punish himself but doesn’t really feel guilty. He still knows he is right but needs to appear to be humble to keep his own illusion of his dream intact. Because what changes his mind and gets him to step back into his role and leader of everything? The mind wiped Magneto bought tickets to his lecture. That’s it. In the biggest ego stroke of all time, Xavier sees Magneto “change” (because really the change is that he had his MIND WIPED), and assumes that he is doing the right thing again. Because if mind wiping Magneto works, who couldn’t it work on. Just think, a world where violence isn’t necessary because you can just alter people’s minds to make them not violent any more. Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but A Clockwork Orange kind of addressed that idea. So all I get out of this is that Xavier would think that brainwashing people to be nonviolent would be okay because it is violence that is the problem and not, say, believing that one group of people has the right and authority to brainwash other people to make them “better” than they were before.
I still can’t get past that, because it seems to contrary to what the X-Men stand for in the regular Marvel Universe. Which, again, says some pretty disturbing things about what this title is saying about the present day. Is this what people believe is right and heroic now? Is this dystopian, mutant run future really the best we can do? Certainly the series no possible other option, only a choice between Xavier’s control or Magneto’s violence. Personally, I want to think there are more choices than that, and am waiting for a new option to be posited by the series. Until then, this installment merits a 6.5/10.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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