Return of the King

One thing that was always impressive about the X-Men was that it was one of the few superhero comic books where the definitive villain popped up in the first issue. Of course we are talking about Magneto the Mutant Master of Magneticism. The same thing was true for "Ultimate X-Men," where Marvel essentially restarted the series in contemporary times, reconceptualizing some of the core elements. For example, this time around the original X-Men combine Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Beast and Iceman from the first lineup with Storm and Colossus from the second (with Wolverine being recruited from the dark side so that he can appear on every cover of the trade paperback reprints). The result is a lot of familiar items are condensed into each story arc, which is then collected into a trade paperback."The Return of the King" is Volume 6 in the "Ultimate X-Men" series and the title, of course, refers to Magneto. In the first volume in the series the X-Men fought Magneto and not only defeated him, but also apparently killed him. However, this turned out to be one of Professor X's mind games; he convinced Magneto that he was Erik Lensheer, unaware of his past life as a mutant terrorist. When the Brotherhood of Mutants discovers Magneto is still alive they find him and remove the mental blocks Xavier had placed in his minds. We are now back to the beginning in many ways, except this time around both Magneto and all the homo sapiens are very wary. In fact, the Bush Administration has Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. going after all the mutants, including the X-Men. Since they already have Xavier in custody, stopping Magneto is going to be a problem.Actually, stopping Magneto is always a problem. For a long time I have been convinced that Magneto would actually win and the reason I liked the first volume of this series so much was that I thought it recognized this fact by having Professor X and the X-Men going up against Magneto and the Brotherhood of Mutants go at it just once for all the marbles. In the end Magneto should have been dead because he should be unstoppable in a rematch; indeed, look at what ends up doing in this one, extending his magnetic reach across the entire planet. Besides, if you can explode nuclear reactors, why stop at just one? Magneto is simply the most dangerous super villain in the Marvel (or Ultimate) universe. When they were retooling him they should have ratcheted down his power level a couple of notches (Actually, they should do the same thing for Xavier as well). But since Magneto winning would mean coming up with a new title for the comic book, Magneto has to be defeated. Once again the key is getting his helmet off of his head and while I like the way that happens this time around, I still do not really buy that anybody could get close enough to actually do it. Besides, as is often the case with these Ultimate titles, things end up reflecting the blockbuster movies (e.g., Magneto, living in a plastic cage). Clearly one

This TP collection contains the finest story arc yet for The Ultimate X-Men. Magneto is loose. The Ultimates want him after he has massacred hundreds of innocents in bridge collapse, and they figure the best way to get him is through The X-Men. Meanwhile, romantic jealousies lead to tragedy and betrayal as the Wolverine, Scott Summers , Jean Grey triangle goes over the boiling point. This series coincided with The Ultimate War, which you should read as well. Heck, read The Ultimates so you understand what this is all about. Great art, breathtaking plot twists and the great dialogue that only Mark Millar can provide. Don't miss this collection!

I have the hardcover "Ultimate X-Men" volumes 1 and 2 [covering issues 1-25] and the paperback, "Ultimate War". The title page includes a brief synopsis that should help you understand what's going on if you haven't read the earlier volumes. If you want a roll call, this volume includes the "ultimate" line versions of Magneto, Professor X, Dr. Moira MacTaggert, Nick Fury, Sabretooth, Multiple Man, Mastermind, Nightcrawler, Forge, the Blob, Iceman, Colossus, Storm, Wolverine, Jean Grey, Cyclops, Shadowcat, Rogue, and a mutant called Detonator whom I have not run across in the regular Marvel X-Men, but I'm still catching up. There's also a cameo by another mutant, but I don't want to spoil the surprise. This book opens by showing us how Magneto and Prof. X worked together, how their friendship deteriorated over several years, and, in more detail, how Magneto crippled Xavier. Then it moves into the present day and Magneto's progress on his refuge for mutants as well as the unpleasant scene where he deals with plans for a satellite mutant tracker. Meanwhile, the X-Men-in-hiding are dealing with Magneto's brotherhood in the hope of rehabilitating their image.Is the rumor that Wolverine deliberately left Cyclops to die in the Savage Land true?In the grand tradition of comic book villains, Magneto tells our heroes something of his frightful plan for eliminating the human-mutant relations problem. The X-Men have only a week to find Magneto's hiding place and save the world. (Let me just say that a machine, different from and much more powerful than the one used in the first X-Men movie, is involved.) The final battle certainly kept my interest.During most of the action, Professor X is being held prisoner in a S.H.I.E.L.D. detention camp for mutants suspected of being terrorists. He refuses to betray his students, of course. I reread his words of encouragement to a fellow prisoner after rereading earlier volumes and those words became a little unnerving near the end. Why?Because of what Prof. X tells Nick Fury and what he tells Magneto when they meet again late in the book. You won't have to have read the earlier volumes to speculate on whether or not Xavier is telling the truth. I'm afraid that he *is* telling the truth. If so, that would explain a couple of his moves in earlier volumes that I found incredibly stupid -- and would make this version of Prof. X a little scary. Ignore the "9-12" age group recommendation. While they might enjoy the action, I think you need to be older than that to fully appreciate this book.

First keep in mind that this should be considered an alternate universe version of the X-Men. That way you won't be screaming about the differences from the regular comics. If you've already read through volume 5, "Ultimate War", the opening does not pick up where that left off. It traces the rise and fall of the partnership between Professor Xavier and Magneto for the first 20 pages or so. Magneto is getting ready to destroy the entire human race, except for a token man and woman. The X-Men are in hiding, although they do make an attempt to rehabilitate their image and track down Magneto. Prof. X has been moved to that detention unit for mutants in Cuba that was threatned in "Ultimate War". Cyclops is not dead (was anyone expecting he would be?), but he's not in good condition. Of course the X-Men will save the day, Prof. X will escape, and Magneto will be foiled, but there'll be plenty of fighting, explosions, and a threatened nuclear meltdown.Loved the part where Storm meets the Beast's parents, not to mention having my suspicion about Xavier's cat confirmed. The final scene between Xavier and Magneto is my favorite part of the book.

I enjoyed this volume greatly! This picks up from the very badly drawn volume five, the X-Men are recovering from their attack from the Ultimates, and Professor X is still held captive. Many things are revealed in this volume...and the action is extraordinary! I was a bit disappointed that the cover isn't how it's viewed on this page (of course it has Wolverine on the front; but that pic wtih Magneto rocks), but I got over it. Buy your copy today!!!