Ultimate X-Men #24: X Means Family

Months have passed since the final battle with Kageyama and life goes on in Hi No Kuni. Mei continues to have nightmares about Hisako’s sacrifice, but she continues to lead her X-Men while she searches for her lost best friend. When a new mutant drug begins running through the streets, Mei finds a connection to Hisako that may finally bring her journey to an end. 

Ultimate X-Men is the second book in the new Ultimate line to come to an end, the first being Ultimate Black Panther last month. With that ending brings a few complicated feelings. Was it a good issue? Ultimately yes but that praise comes with a few caveats. This final arc is easily the strongest in the entire series, but a few unresolved plot points keep this issue from being as good as it could have been. From minor things like Mori’s mysterious connection to the Children of the Atom, as well as forgotten characters like Kanon and Futaba, to major things like the girls never encountering Sunfire, who is both the Emperor of Ni Ho Kuni and arguably the big bad of the entire story. It’s clear that a few of these threads were meant to be pulled, but the decision to end the line after Endgame likely left lots of things on the cutting room floor, even if Peach was one of the first to elect finishing her story at 24 issues.

While we might never see Peach’s full vision come to fruition, what she does give is plenty worthwhile and makes for a very satisfying epilogue. We once again focus on Mei as she and Nico find a possible lead to the missing Hisako’s whereabouts. What follows is a brief, yet emotional journey that helps bring this part of Mei’s journey to a close. Peach gives a glimpse of how society has come to see mutants less as monsters and more along the line of societal oddities that either become social media influencers (like the alluring Yoru) or freaks to be mocked. This is an interesting turn of events that sadly isn’t given much time to breathe due to the book’s ending. There is also the mystery behind the mutant drug stardust, which seems to have some connection to Hisako, but again there isn’t enough time left to explore that connection in depth. However, what we are left with is equal parts bittersweet and hopeful

What can be explored however is just how much Peach Momoko puts into the art of this final issue. The first page alone tells a complete story in of itself and forces your eyes to pay attention to each frame. The nine panel layout has become a bit overused over the decades, but Peach has no problems making it work. The rest of the issue has Peach’s usual painterly flair, with pencils able to effortlessly shift from realistic to cartoonish without problem as well as very atmospheric colors.