Ultimate X-Men: Return to Weapon X, Mark Millar

"Now pawn of the mysterious weapon X program, the mutant heros' only hope lies with the one team member to evade capture: the enigmatic, unproven Wolverine! Can Logan go it alone against the shadow-ops organisation that transformed him into one of the worlds most lethal killing machines."













I remember pretty clearly the first time that I read this book. It was at an Ottakers around the corner from my school and I was captivated by a scene in which Wolverine daydreams his slaughter of the rest of the X-Men. That's the kind of book this is. One in which the heroes hate one another, and wish they could kil one another. It's Mark Millar's X-Men, and its an excellent second Universe book.

This is not how I want all my X-Men books to be mind. The Astonishing, or All New , or Uncanny books at their best over the last few years have blown this out the water. But it's an unbelievablely good way of introducing the X-Men in a new way, not just as victims of prejudice, but of state sanctioned murder, persecution and rendition.

It's an extraordinarily political book, just as the Ultimates is a celebration of the power of the US, this is a deconstruction of the vagaries and dissembling of state power. The framing of the Weapon X programme as a black ops group operating through SHIELD removes the ridiculousness of Department H and the Canadian super-soldier programme, introduces a raft of new characters (Rogue and Nightcrawler stand out) and adds depth to the Wolverine and X-Men relationship.

There's a lot to love here, and its another one that sworn a read. It can get dark at times, so if you prfer your superheroes light and bright, I would avoid it, but if you like some dysfunctional, unusual ideas with a side helping of mutant on mutant conflict, this is your book!

Also Try:

Mark Millar, The Ultimates
J Michael Straczynski, Squadron Supreme
Peter David, Young Justice

Ultimate X-Men: The Tomorrow People, Mark Millar

"Star writer Mark Millar delivers Marvel's mutant heroes in a streamlined, character-rich adventure perfect for fans of their smash hit movie. Brought to life by the talented Kubert brothers, the X-Men fight for the future in this break-neck thrill-ride.Mutants, those born with strange powers, through genetic mutation, are not only hated and feared, but brutally murdered in the streets by U.S. sanctioned killing machines. Driven by a dream of peace, Professor X gathers his mutant soldiers, his X-Men, to try and bring sanity to an insane world. But can he forge his band of misfits into a strike force capable of defending the Earth from the evil Magneto and his Brotherhood and even from the very humans they seek to protect."







The Ultimate line was a great idea, an attempt to create an Earth 2 style spin-off line of continuity free, newly restarted heroes that welcomed new readers and retold classic stories in an updated setting. Spearheaded by Mark Millar's Ultimates and Ultimate X-Men it was an uncomplicated method of trying to take people who had seen the super movies of the early '00s and translate them to comic sales.

Over a decade later it has developed its own vast and sprawling myth arc and is as undeniably complex as the mainstream Marvel Universe (or Reality 616), despite attempts to reduce and simplify the cast through mega crossovers like Ultimatum, in which roughly half of all introduced heroes were killed off (including 90% of the recognisable X-Men). The Ultimate Universe has become a series of diminishing returns, with the notable exception of Ultimate Spider-Man, which has enjoyed a creative resurgence since killing off original Spider-Man Peter Parker and introducing legacy character Miles Morales.

But back in the day these were some of the best comics around, especially as an introduction to the wider Marvel Universe. They emerged at a perfect time for me to get into them as I started to read comics, and are fully responsible for my love of Marvel over DC. In reselling classic stories and reintroducing classic heroes and villains, they name dropped enough that I actively sought out those characters more.

Tomorrow People serves as a particularly excellent introduction to the X-Men, complete with teenage angst and the perils of being unwelcomed defenders of humanity. Much like the animated series, it opens with the sentinels rather that Magneto, leaving the reader in no doubt about who the real villains of the comic are: humans.

It also distils the original lineup down to a few of the more interesting characters: no Angel, Banshee. Havoc, Polaris, Sunfire or Thunderbird in this line up, so we're left with the pick of the original line-ups. Most of these will be introduced within the following few books, including Nightcrawler and Kitty Pryde, but the distiller adaptation of everything X-Men, from films to TV, and ever some comics lore, means that you have a potently crafted mix which brings together the best line-ups and origins.

If you want to know where to start with comics it's hard not to suggest this - its a stand out first read, often funny and relatively realistic in comparison to the 60s X-Men, or even their 616 counterparts.

Also Try;

Brian Michael Bendis, Ultimate Spider-Man, All New X-Men

Grant Morrison, New X-Men

Joss Whedon, Astonishing X-Men

Mark Millar, The Ultimates