What do you think?
Rate this book
Marvel Berkley/Byron Preiss Productions Prose Novels
The Ultimate X-Men
Gorgeous, oversize, and well designed, Ultimate X-Men is also perfectly titled. It's a comprehensive overview of four decades of Marvel Comics's monstrously popular mutant superheroes--from their debut, in Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's X-Men #1 (1963), to the terrific X-Men movie (2000). Ultimate X-Men includes the many major mutants who have appeared in The Uncanny X-Men and its spinoffs (Alpha Flight, New Generation, Wolverine, X-Factor, and numerous other series and miniseries). Two-page spreads detail the most important characters' origins, powers, costumes, and relationships. In addition, every superhero and supervillain appearing in the movie receives a sidebar, with stills, that describes the onscreen incarnation. Also receiving detailed coverage are nonmutants important to the X-Men, including Ka-Zar, Longshot, and Dr. Moira MacTaggert; major alien groups and races, like the Starjammers and the Shi'ar; and important locations and technology, such as the Danger Room, Dr. Xavier's estate, and the Blackbird jets. The book also covers the best Uncanny X-Men story lines, the Dark Phoenix Saga, and Days of Future Past. A Summers family tree lays out clearly a tangle of relationships (between clonal and alternate-timeline versions of Cyclops/Scott Summers and Marvel Girl/Phoenix/Jean Grey) that could drive even an experienced genealogist crazy. Ultimate X-Men opens with an entertaining foreword by X-Men creator-editor Stan Lee and concludes with a two-page overview of the X-Men animated series (1992-1997); a four-page "Making the X-Men Movie" section with many great shots; and an insightful afterword by the series' best writer, Chris Claremont.
Ultimate X-Men is a book every X-Men fan will want. It's practically a necessity for the newcomer drawn to the comics by the movie, because Marvel's mutants multiplied like superpowered rabbits in the 1990s. Art-oriented fans, however, may be disappointed by Ultimate X-Men. While it contains a hefty amount of art, the original artwork (the preliminary character sketches, a lovely Dave Cockrum sketch of Nightcrawler and Ororo, etc.) is outnumbered by panel and cover reproductions. And if you're less than enamored with the nature of endless comic-book series, Ultimate X-Men will prove that the more things change, the more they stay the same. --Cynthia Ward
314 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1996
6 people are currently reading
103 people want to read
About the author
Stan Lee
7,563 books2,340 followersStan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber) was an American writer, editor, creator of comic book superheroes, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics.
With several artist co-creators, most notably Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, he co-created Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Thor as a superhero, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, Daredevil, the Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Scarlet Witch, The Inhumans, and many other characters, introducing complex, naturalistic characters and a thoroughly shared universe into superhero comic books. He subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation.
With several artist co-creators, most notably Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, he co-created Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Thor as a superhero, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, Daredevil, the Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Scarlet Witch, The Inhumans, and many other characters, introducing complex, naturalistic characters and a thoroughly shared universe into superhero comic books. He subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
September 23, 2022
Pretty decent as '90s anthologies go. Listened to the Audiobook version on Hoopla.
Like it or not, peak '90s Marvel comics was achieved in this image.
Details on the individual stories as follows:
"It's a Wonderful Life" - Not if you're the Wheel of Fortune guy! (No, not Pat Sajak)
"Gift of the Silver Fox" - Not the Wolverine story you may have been expecting.
"Stillborn in the Mist" - Gambit! Dat Cajun accent some kinda ting, non chere?
"X-spresso" - Cannonball gets counselling from Cyke at Coffee-A-Go-Go.
"Four Angry Mutants" - Courtroom drama! better than expected.
"Summer Breeze" - Weird Acolytes make an Ultimatum...give us Montana or all the Plastic in the World gets it! Pretty silly.
"Life is But a Dream" - Another "What If...?" story similar to It's a Wonderful Life, this time in the Danger Room from Rogue's perspective.
"Order from Chaos" - Storm and Jubilee go to Cairo! Lots of mathematical mumbo jumbo ensues.
"Hostages" - Logan and Jean Grey are on the hunt for a serial killer with a mutant connection in Upstate New York. Probably the best of the bunch.
"Out of Place" - Third of the 'Imagine if the X-Men were living normal lives!' stories herein contained, and as such the most instantly forgettable.
Like it or not, peak '90s Marvel comics was achieved in this image.
Details on the individual stories as follows:
"It's a Wonderful Life" - Not if you're the Wheel of Fortune guy! (No, not Pat Sajak)
"Gift of the Silver Fox" - Not the Wolverine story you may have been expecting.
"Stillborn in the Mist" - Gambit! Dat Cajun accent some kinda ting, non chere?
"X-spresso" - Cannonball gets counselling from Cyke at Coffee-A-Go-Go.
"Four Angry Mutants" - Courtroom drama! better than expected.
"Summer Breeze" - Weird Acolytes make an Ultimatum...give us Montana or all the Plastic in the World gets it! Pretty silly.
"Life is But a Dream" - Another "What If...?" story similar to It's a Wonderful Life, this time in the Danger Room from Rogue's perspective.
"Order from Chaos" - Storm and Jubilee go to Cairo! Lots of mathematical mumbo jumbo ensues.
"Hostages" - Logan and Jean Grey are on the hunt for a serial killer with a mutant connection in Upstate New York. Probably the best of the bunch.
"Out of Place" - Third of the 'Imagine if the X-Men were living normal lives!' stories herein contained, and as such the most instantly forgettable.
May 25, 2020
This is a good, even collection of prose stories showing a wide-range of the first thirty years of the X-universe. It must be noted that the use of the word "ultimate" in the title does not refer to the alternate-universe re-imagining of Marvel-genesis, but to the traditional meaning of the word. I particularly enjoyed Dean Wesley Smith's Gambit story, and the best one in the book is Ashley McConnell's Wolverine. 'nuff said.
February 11, 2021
3.5 stars
A decent anthology of stories. Glad there was a forward by Stan Lee warning about soap operatic nature of these stories or I might have just stopped listening to them. I was looking for adventure and intrigue and got mostly romantic stuff. >sigh<
A decent anthology of stories. Glad there was a forward by Stan Lee warning about soap operatic nature of these stories or I might have just stopped listening to them. I was looking for adventure and intrigue and got mostly romantic stuff. >sigh<
May 29, 2020
A solid collection of X-Men short stories. And because it's a collection, it's only fair I give each story some individual comments so...
'It's a Wonderful Life' kicks off the compilation but it's probably the weakest story in it. David Ferris has the power to change reality, giving each character a glimpse of a 'what if I wasn't a mutant scenario' which is a gloriously tired X-Men trope. Not only that, but the structure of the story is incredibly confused and jumbled, and the ending (or lack of it) means the whole things falls flat. It does, however, contain possibly the greatest simile I have ever read: 'possibilities cascaded through David's mind like a winning hand of solitaire on Windows 95.' I may as well give up writing now, because I am never, ever going to come up with a sentence that spectacular.
'Gift of the Silver Fox' is a really nice Wolverine character piece. Weirdly it's not about actually about Silver Fox, but Wolvie does get his end away in a log cabin and takes a lovely bath. Good stuff.
'Stillborn in the Mist' is a decent enough Gambit story with some creepy voodoo tech thrown in for good measure, but it loses serious points whenever the author points out that baddie Lang is a fat man with fat cheeks and a fat neck and fat hands and a belt around his fat belly, chuckling fatly through his fat mouth.
'X-Presso' is another cute character piece, this time told through the point of view of Sam 'Cannonball' Guthrie and who doesn't love themselves some Guthrie? This also does a great job of tying in some of the 60's X-Men canon and frankly the only really negative thing I can say about it is, X-puns aside, that's not how you f*cking pronounce espresso.
'Four Angry Mutants' is a great blend of action and courtroom drama with an Iceman/Wolvie tag team and lots of Friends Against Humanity shenanigans. I award Bobbie the role of either the Juror 5 or 2.
'On the Air' has the most interesting structure of any of the stories as it's framed like a TV interview transcript. Sadly, the only thing we learn from this interview with Warren Worthington is that's he's a f*cking libertarian. Of course Angel is a libertarian but do I need to read a story about it? Angel is a fascinating character but because this story is framed as an interview for humans it can't really dig very far into any of his mutant angst.
In 'Summer Breeze' Storm, Bishop and Beast must hurry to stop the release of a bomb which would melt all the plastic in the world, which is exactly as great as that sounds. Reads like it could have been an Animated Series episode, which is no bad thing and I've always got time for Bishop. Bishop and his big ol' thighs.
'Life is but a Dream' see Rogue get her Reginald Barclay on and create a Danger Room programme which simulates life without, you know, mutant powers. We've had this trope already, but what makes this story work is that for some reason the programme then devolves into Rogue's bizarre sexual fantasy about Wolvie and Gambit having a lusty fight over her and frankly, haven't we all had that at some point? Plus in an early scene she anthropomorphises a fridge for no reason, but I'm here for it.
'Order from Chaos' is another story that would have worked well as an Animated Series episode, and not just because it heavily features Jubilee. There's a lot to like here, as Storm and Jubes battle chaos altering powers in Egypt and at one point Jubes randomly does an impression of Banshee.
'Hostages' is a Wolvie-and-Jean-track-down-a-serial-killer story which doesn't quite work. Firstly, the serial killer is called the Snowman which is hardly a name to inspire fear. Maybe if he'd have had, I don't know, snow powers? Or killed people in the snow? It would have made sense? But it doesn't? Secondly there's a confusing amount of personalities in the Snowman's head, and the story doesn't quite have the room to sort them all out. This is one of those shorts that might have worked better as a longie, or as the Sins of the Son episode of X-Men: Evolution, which has an almost identical plot but is done a lot better.
Finally we have 'Out of Place.' In case you were concerned that there weren't enough 'what if the X-men weren't mutant' stories in this anthology, here's another one. It's probably the best one of the bunch as it actually spends enough time with each character for us to get a feel for their new lives, but it's undermined a little by the big reveal, it was PSYLOCKE HAVING FEVER DREAMS ALL ALONG. Bums.
'It's a Wonderful Life' kicks off the compilation but it's probably the weakest story in it. David Ferris has the power to change reality, giving each character a glimpse of a 'what if I wasn't a mutant scenario' which is a gloriously tired X-Men trope. Not only that, but the structure of the story is incredibly confused and jumbled, and the ending (or lack of it) means the whole things falls flat. It does, however, contain possibly the greatest simile I have ever read: 'possibilities cascaded through David's mind like a winning hand of solitaire on Windows 95.' I may as well give up writing now, because I am never, ever going to come up with a sentence that spectacular.
'Gift of the Silver Fox' is a really nice Wolverine character piece. Weirdly it's not about actually about Silver Fox, but Wolvie does get his end away in a log cabin and takes a lovely bath. Good stuff.
'Stillborn in the Mist' is a decent enough Gambit story with some creepy voodoo tech thrown in for good measure, but it loses serious points whenever the author points out that baddie Lang is a fat man with fat cheeks and a fat neck and fat hands and a belt around his fat belly, chuckling fatly through his fat mouth.
'X-Presso' is another cute character piece, this time told through the point of view of Sam 'Cannonball' Guthrie and who doesn't love themselves some Guthrie? This also does a great job of tying in some of the 60's X-Men canon and frankly the only really negative thing I can say about it is, X-puns aside, that's not how you f*cking pronounce espresso.
'Four Angry Mutants' is a great blend of action and courtroom drama with an Iceman/Wolvie tag team and lots of Friends Against Humanity shenanigans. I award Bobbie the role of either the Juror 5 or 2.
'On the Air' has the most interesting structure of any of the stories as it's framed like a TV interview transcript. Sadly, the only thing we learn from this interview with Warren Worthington is that's he's a f*cking libertarian. Of course Angel is a libertarian but do I need to read a story about it? Angel is a fascinating character but because this story is framed as an interview for humans it can't really dig very far into any of his mutant angst.
In 'Summer Breeze' Storm, Bishop and Beast must hurry to stop the release of a bomb which would melt all the plastic in the world, which is exactly as great as that sounds. Reads like it could have been an Animated Series episode, which is no bad thing and I've always got time for Bishop. Bishop and his big ol' thighs.
'Life is but a Dream' see Rogue get her Reginald Barclay on and create a Danger Room programme which simulates life without, you know, mutant powers. We've had this trope already, but what makes this story work is that for some reason the programme then devolves into Rogue's bizarre sexual fantasy about Wolvie and Gambit having a lusty fight over her and frankly, haven't we all had that at some point? Plus in an early scene she anthropomorphises a fridge for no reason, but I'm here for it.
'Order from Chaos' is another story that would have worked well as an Animated Series episode, and not just because it heavily features Jubilee. There's a lot to like here, as Storm and Jubes battle chaos altering powers in Egypt and at one point Jubes randomly does an impression of Banshee.
'Hostages' is a Wolvie-and-Jean-track-down-a-serial-killer story which doesn't quite work. Firstly, the serial killer is called the Snowman which is hardly a name to inspire fear. Maybe if he'd have had, I don't know, snow powers? Or killed people in the snow? It would have made sense? But it doesn't? Secondly there's a confusing amount of personalities in the Snowman's head, and the story doesn't quite have the room to sort them all out. This is one of those shorts that might have worked better as a longie, or as the Sins of the Son episode of X-Men: Evolution, which has an almost identical plot but is done a lot better.
Finally we have 'Out of Place.' In case you were concerned that there weren't enough 'what if the X-men weren't mutant' stories in this anthology, here's another one. It's probably the best one of the bunch as it actually spends enough time with each character for us to get a feel for their new lives, but it's undermined a little by the big reveal, it was PSYLOCKE HAVING FEVER DREAMS ALL ALONG. Bums.
December 29, 2019
I love the X-Men. I always have. When I saw this book come up on a Chirp audio book deal, I didn't even read the description before deciding to purchase it. Unfortunately, I wish I would have. I wish I would've been prepared for the fact that this is a collection of short stories.
I have read other super hero novels and really enjoyed them. I grew up on the cartoons, but have only recently started to get into the actual comics. So, the idea of an X-Men novel was very exciting. So, that is really why I'm giving this book 3 stars, at least a large reason, fair or not.
All of that said, some of the short stories contained within are fantastic. "Gift of the Silver Fox" by Ashley McConnell (guessing on spelling since it isn't actually listed) has got to be one of the best Wolverine stories I've heard/read/seen in a very long time. And actually I thought the length of the story could not have been more perfect. It didn't need a prelude or any further expanse on why Wolverine was where he was. It was just a perfect, contained story.
Many of the others were good as well. So, I don't want to make it seem as though I didn't enjoy the book, because I absolutely did. It just wasn't what I expected. And in some cases, the length of the story just wasn't enough. I wanted to hear more about the team or the events. As Stan Lee's introduction stated, what makes the X-men special is that they have real life things going on. We can empathize with them. And with some of these stories there just wasn't enough for me to really feel it.
I have read other super hero novels and really enjoyed them. I grew up on the cartoons, but have only recently started to get into the actual comics. So, the idea of an X-Men novel was very exciting. So, that is really why I'm giving this book 3 stars, at least a large reason, fair or not.
All of that said, some of the short stories contained within are fantastic. "Gift of the Silver Fox" by Ashley McConnell (guessing on spelling since it isn't actually listed) has got to be one of the best Wolverine stories I've heard/read/seen in a very long time. And actually I thought the length of the story could not have been more perfect. It didn't need a prelude or any further expanse on why Wolverine was where he was. It was just a perfect, contained story.
Many of the others were good as well. So, I don't want to make it seem as though I didn't enjoy the book, because I absolutely did. It just wasn't what I expected. And in some cases, the length of the story just wasn't enough. I wanted to hear more about the team or the events. As Stan Lee's introduction stated, what makes the X-men special is that they have real life things going on. We can empathize with them. And with some of these stories there just wasn't enough for me to really feel it.
September 16, 2021
Stories in this book:
It’s a Wonderful Life - ****
Gift of the Silver Fox - *****
Stillborn in the Mist - ****
X-spresso - ****
Four Angry Mutants - *****
Summer Breeze - ****
Life is But a Dream - *****
Order from Chaos - ****
Hostages - ****
Out of Place - ***
It’s a Wonderful Life - ****
Gift of the Silver Fox - *****
Stillborn in the Mist - ****
X-spresso - ****
Four Angry Mutants - *****
Summer Breeze - ****
Life is But a Dream - *****
Order from Chaos - ****
Hostages - ****
Out of Place - ***
August 5, 2022
Down to earth drama stories about the xmen, not high octane action but very good
March 11, 2020
An anthology audio book where some stories are loads better than others.
September 22, 2020
It was great to read this as an audiobook. It was a real movie in my head and great to be on the edge of my seat when I went on these adventures.
July 11, 2024
Like any anthology, some stories I found better than others. Your mileage may vary on each one, but this collection certainly captures a lot of the ‘90s X-Men vibe. If you were a fan of the merry mutants on the page or the animated series of this time period, there’s most likely things you’ll enjoy about this his book.
February 26, 2021
Enjoyed this collection of short stories staring the X-men. Such unique perspectives and plots, different than any X-men story I’d read in comics or seen in movies
May 26, 2022
If you enjoy a bunch of comics in one place being read to you about x-men tales, then you'll enjoy this.
December 27, 2024
It would be nice to get another X-Men Legends game.
December 12, 2025
While some of the stories were great, most struggled. The pacing was off and didn't feel like the characters.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews