Ultimate X-Men Vol. 12: Hard Lessons

This collection is by far the best since Brian K. Vaughan took over as the writer for the Ultimate X-Men (since vol. 9: The Tempest collection). Hard Lessons comprises three separate stories, first seen as Ultimate X-Men issues 58-60 and the first Annual of the series. The artistic teams change for all three stories and all of them do a great job. Story 1 (issues 58): Professor Xavier finds out his account has been frozen by the Hellfire Club just as a two-headed mutant attempts a bank robbery. Professor X finds out that his telepathy is limited when dealing with this particular mutant and must try to save himself and the other hostages in the bank by utilizing his powers in a more creative manner. Steve Dillon pencils this issue with the magnificence he brought to the Preacher series. Story 2 (issues 59-60): Wolverine is tracked down by Storm, and where else would he be but Canada? The reunion is cut short as Deathstrike makes her first Ultimate appearance and takes on Wolverine and Storm. Backing her are Dr. Cornelius and other Weapon X remnants. More of Storm's past and personality is shown, and in a twist on the original origin Deathstrike has ties to Storm, not Wolverine. Story 3 (Annual 1): Gambit and Rogue continue their quest to bring down Fenris via clever thievery, but Juggernaut tracks them to a job in Las Vegas. Apparently Juggernaut has the hots for Rogue and as one might expect Gambit becomes the focus of his wrath. The fight that ensues is heavy and brutal, and not all of the combatants survive it. Pros: Lesser known X-Men characters show up very briefly, or are mentioned, in their debuts in the Ultimate universe (Warlock and Sasquatch). Vaughan's time with the Ultimate X-Men has been criticized (at least by me) for its bland villains and scant appearances of most of the X-Men. This volume, however, does a smashing job with the villains and adds some of the best depth to the X-Men (at least the ones highlighted in the three stories) since the series began. Xavier's characterization is captivatingly well rendered, and denotes a significant difference between the Ultimate and main-stream Xavier; the Xavier of the Ultimate universe is sly, sneaky, shrewd and willing to soil his hands, or those of his proxy, to do what he deems necessary. Rogue and Storm also get some good time in the limelight, but the greatest improvement is in Vaughan's handling of the villains. Deathstrike has cool powers and the relationship between she and Storm is interesting. Juggernaut is much the same as he was in the main stream Marvel universe before he became a hero and his lust for Rogue and reaction to the relationship she has developed with Gambit make him more realistic and even more villainous. Cons: The majority of the X-Men remain as little more than background characters as a result of the three stories each focusing on only one individual character. However if this is a trend that will see each X-Man get his or her own highlight story, an