Ultimate X-Men #13, by Peach Momoko, kicks off the beginning of the X-Men’s second year and the issue definitely brings it in with a bang. The Shadow King was finally able to get the best of Armor, stealing her from her friends and bringing her to the Children of the Atom. This sees her friends, the X-Men of the new Ultimate Universe, come running and what follows is a battle between Dark Armor, the Shadow King, and the Maester, the leader of the Children of the Atom. Ultimate X-Men has so far been a rather different take on the X-Men, one that eschewed the action of the mainline X-Men books or even the ones from the old Ultimate Universe. Ultimate X-Men #13 throwing in a big fight isn’t what fans of the book expected, which is part of what makes this issue yet another example of why Ulimate X-Men is so great.
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Peach Momoko’s art might not seem like the best for a big battle between the most powerful mutants in Japan, but there’s something about it that makes the fight work all the better. This is an epic issue, but what truly makes it stand out is the ending, showing readers that not everything is as it seems.
The Ultimate X-Men Give It Their All…
Ultimate X-Men #12 ended with Shadow King and Armor battling. Shadow King is able to use the tragedies of Armor’s past to get into her mind, the two of them melding as the Shadow King tells Armor that they are same. As this was happening, the X-Men felt their friend’s defeat and raced to her side, which brings us to the latest issue. Natsu, Nico Minoru, Mori, and Kanon attack Dark Armor, but right away, something seems off, as Kanon yells that they knew what Armor had done — a reference to her role in her friend’s suicide, which readers just learned about last issue — and the fight begins. Armor uses her powers to shift her energy armor, and the X-Men are able to hold their own against her attacks, even knocking her down. As the fight goes on, it’s revealed that the Shadow King is controlling Armor, so that every time the X-Men beat her down, she’s able to get back up into the fight, her armor shifting forms and making her more powerful, her puppet master pulling her back up.
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The Shadow King brings the Maester into the fight, all in order to hurt Natsu, but her optic blasts make short work of him, bringing even more Children of the Atom into the battle. With the X-Men surrounded, Maystorm jumps in, helping the X-Men win their fight. Shadow King tells them that the whole family is together, and this leads to the end of the battle. Armor screams about hating always hearing about mutants, and hating her friends, unleashing her armor’s energies on the team. The X-Men are able to hold their own and fight back, blasting Armor over and over again to no avail. Mori is captured by the Children, the X-Men free her, and than Kanon decides to release her oni to end the battle. Kanon attacks Armor, and the whole time Shadow King smiles behind her. Then readers learn the truth about what’s been happening — or rather what wasn’t happening.
…But None of It Is Real
The issue ends with Shadow King and Armor in a tank being watched by the Maester, talking about how he can use them to control the world. The fight never happened; it was all part of a test by the Maester in order to see how far his control Armor and Shadow King — and perhaps the rest of the team, although there’s clues that they were also part of the simulation. In fact, there were clues that the whole thing was a simulation right from the beginning. The first page of the book matches the page right before the reveal, which is a liquid medium with bubbles floating up. The X-Men know things that there’s no way for them to know; add to that the fact that the Maester and Children of the Atom just appear out of nowhere not once, not twice, but thrice, and it all makes sense.
Ultimate X-Men has been its own book from the beginning, and giving readers a big fight issue could be seen as a concession to the fans who hate the book for it not being standard X-Men fare. However, Momoko finds a way to do what everyone wants her to in her own way, telling the story that she started with the first issue in 2024. Ultimate X-Men #13 is a test and it’s as much for the reader as it for Armor and Shadow King.
Ultimate X-Men #13 is on sale where ever comics are sold.
