Ultimate X-Men #5: The Shadow of a Shadow

An appeal for alternate universe stories like both Ultimate universes is the ability to weaponize continuity and expectations. Established lore becomes fodder for original ideas, whether a natural updating due to changing times or a convention to rail against by making a polar swing. The best-case scenario is a mix of both, in which something new logically comes from the old but two steps to the left. A book like Peach Momoko’s Ultimate X-Men might be the best realization of this duality, hitting the original and establishing a distinct, enthralling new shape. 

Ultimate X-Men #5 – written and illustrated by Peach Momoko with script adaption by Zack Davisson and lettering by VC’s Travis Lanham – offers more answers (and even more questions) about the nature of mutants in this universe. After the social media revelation of Hi-chan’s powers to the world, she and Maystorm seek out Nico Minoru for answers about the strangeness around them. Nico is more amateur magician than the whispers at school indicated, which manifests in surprise at her magnifying glass heirloom channeling more serious magic. 

The issue’s main thrust is the explanation that Homo Superior functions as a cult believing in genetic superiority and that they use blood magic to activate their powers. Rather than the magic serving as a source of power, it instead acts as a catalyst for ability, as was the case for Maystorm and many others. Alongside this info during Nico’s divination is another small shadow creature, seemingly sent as a deterrent to keep the girls from learning the foe’s real identity. 

On the other side of the story, Surge (who was introduced in the last issue) has a possible connection to the person beneath the shadows, a rounder kid who claims to be a former classmate of Hi-chan. The issue ends with the hint of these groups converging soon, as the first  X-Men team begins to take shape. 

Momoko’s script delivers the information at a rapid pace, using the framework of the exposition issue as a way to accelerate the pacing of the plot. Even as a conversation and a few cutaways fill the pages of the story, it moves at a breakneck speed, suffusing dread into having more knowledge. In a typical story, the lack of knowledge or blurring of clarity is used to create terror in the face of the unknown. By utilizing that reverse structure of storytelling, Momoko sets the foundation for the changes in continuity. 

Twisting the idea of Homo Superior into a long-standing cult is an inspired twist that speaks to the volume of history in this universe while still offering something original. It’ll be fascinating to see where Magneto or Apocalypse fit into this universe, as this interpretation of the X-gene feels like something they could have propagated from their initial characterizations. The backstory also makes for an interesting basis in magic, connecting mutants with something almost primordial instead of very topical (the Atomic age in the original comics, and then genetics in the first Ultimate universe). In any case, that decision feels like the radical reinvention that evokes a similar spirit to the swings made in Krakoa while being wholly different from it. 

Amidst all the worldbuilding, Momoko also advances the mystery of the shadow beings, hinting at their origin in a human (or mutant? magic?) source. The exchange between Surge and the mystery boy does little to shed light on his shadow self but lingers in the tension from his hints to the larger plot. There’s a mirror scene of Hi-chan talking with the shadow being, operating on a similar wavelength of just broaching something deeper, teasing out the threads between these characters. It’s the micro-level reflection of narrative strategies to the macro being used in establishing the larger continuity. In the micro case, seeing the exchange of cloudy motives and desires functions as a mood setter that balances well against the straightforward exposition sequences. 

Between these two specific scenes, Momoko makes a strong visual distinction in both the compositions and palettes. During the Hi-chan and shadow conversation, the book takes a more abstract approach to the physical space, bending it into a more open space. Figures stretch across panels, using frames and gutters as seats and places to rest as they flow into facial expressions and more abstract renderings. Momoko then dresses the sequence in stark grays to create a muted atmosphere with hints of striking color like blood red. That sequence ends with an abstract face in the center of the panel, shadowy sludge oozing from the panel over into it, before being shaken back to reality in the bottom third. It’s a stunning sequence that illustrates the interactive streak the magical and atmospheric horror allows in the issue. 

On the flipside, the conversation between Surge and the creepy boy is the polar opposite visually even as it conveys some similar narrative beats. In that sequence, Momoko delivers a very conventional layout of tighter, more rigid panels, even using an eight-panel grid on one page. There is some formality between the characters speaking but the relationship feels much more terse, as the two characters are restrained on a social level. These are not friends but two outsiders in each other’s orbit as outsiders. The grid and distinct panels function as lines and spaces between these two people. Even the color palette, which is built around hazy bright blue and washed concrete white, evokes a sense of detachment and separation on the emotional level.