Review - Ultimate X-Men Volume 7: Blockbuster

Feeling unwanted and feared amongst his fellow X-Men, Wolverine leaves the team to gather his thoughts. In doing so, he becomes an easy target for a group of individuals claiming to be FBI agents and whose singular mission is to eliminate him. Rather than return to the X-Men for help, Wolverine allows Spider-Man to join him in investigating these mysterious foes.

Ultimate X-Men Volume 7: Blockbuster collects Ultimate X-Men #34-39, written by Brian Michael Bendis and illustrated by David Finch.

As someone who isn’t overly fond of Wolverine and who prefers the character in a supporting role, this arc was somewhat of a slog. Blockbuster places Wolverine front and center as he deals with the continued pursuit of a shadowy team of gun-toting military types who are hellbent on putting him six feet under. When he is injured during their first attempt on his life, he hides in Spider-Man’s basement to heal and is later helped by the wallcrawler after his recovery. At one point they’re even joined by Daredevil, who is perturbed by the violence that has spilled over into Hell’s Kitchen as a result of these continued assassination attempts. This three-way team-up is somewhat interesting, but would have been better suited to a mini-series or even a giant-size annual. It’s a diversionary narrative that pulls away from the events that preceded it and places the focus on one of the least interesting characters from Ultimate X-Men.

With that said, there’s a noticeable tonal shift with Brian Michael Bendis taking over the writing duties from previous Ultimate X-Men scribe Mark Millar. His has a firmer grasp on these characters and how they should be portrayed. Wolverine was entirely unlikeable and impenetrable previously, but Bendis manages to add some layers to him and makes him more sympathetic (which is a feat considering how big of a jerk he was prior to this). There’s also a bit of lightheartedness that was absent in Millar’s writing, largely due to Bendis’ inclusion of Spider-Man. Even though the X-Men are barely in it, there’s still a sense that this book feels more like an X-Men book should. There’s a strong pivot towards depicting them as a family, which I appreciate.

David Finch’s art is sadly very inconsistent in this collection. It seems rushed in many places, especially as we see a lack of details and some really awkward proportions (especially on faces). I like some of the imagery he creates, particularly a scene in which Jean Grey confronts a helicopter full of agents while in full Phoenix mode. It’s really evocative. However, most of Finch’s typical problems show up throughout. Notably, the women all have the same baby face and the art at times gets a bit muddy.

I wish that Ultimate X-Men Volume 7: Blockbuster had been a stronger start for Brian Michael Bendis’ brief run on the title. The use of Spider-Man as a guest star makes sense and works to lighten the tone of a generally grim title, but it pulls the focus away from the true stars of the book. I appreciate certain elements of Bendis’ work here and especially like the shift in the overall tenor. He writes the characters better than Millar did. That much is true. Finch’s art is passable, but still too uneven. For Wolverine fans (and some Spider-Man ones), this collection is likely to be fairly enjoyable. For those looking for a great X-Men story, this isn’t one of them.

RATING: B-

Review - Ultimate X-Men Volume 6: Return of the King

Magneto’s war against humanity reaches its climax as he commences his plan to destroy the Earth. Through the use of an amplification device, he intends to set off a series of explosions that will leave the Earth barren, eliminating the human race in the process. With the Doomsday Clock ticking down, the X-Men search desperately for Magneto’s base. Without Professor Xavier or their field leader Cyclops, they may not be able to succeed in stopping their deadliest foe.

Ultimate X-Men Volume 6: Return of the King collects Ultimate X-Men #26-33, written by Mark Millar and illustrated by David Finch and Adam Kubert.

Clocking in at eight issues, this arc is a slow-burn. It directly follows the events of the mini-series Ultimate War, which dealt with the conflict between the X-Men and the Ultimates over the return of Magneto. The Ultimates are absent here, so instead we get the X-Men lamenting about being in hiding and Magneto bloviating for several issues to whoever will listen. There’s very little in the way of action, so instead we get pages upon pages of Magneto’s planning. Arguably, he’s the main character of this arc. His perspective and voice is quite clear – he hates humans and wants to eradicate them all by destroying the Earth. He also clearly sees himself as a kind of messianic figure and treats his man-made asteroid as if he were Noah and his arc. There’s a lot to unpack regarding Magneto and Xavier’s opposing views, but Millar doesn’t have the range to adequately deal with the perspectives of oppressed groups. His portrayal of Magneto as a megalomaniacal villain who would likely twirl his moustache if he had one is illustrative of this problem. He’s sadistic and cruel with few layers. Seeing as this arc focuses so heavily on Magneto, it’s a drag to read.

There are some moments in Return of the King that are tolerable or are pretty enjoyable. Though it has been fairly subtle, the dynamic between Wolverine and Colossus has been one of the more fascinating interpersonal aspects to this series. In retrospect, we know Colossus is gay and has a crush on Wolverine, but it’s still subtext at this point. Colossus nearly confesses his feelings for Wolverine prior to their final battle against Magneto, which was kind of cute. During the big showdown, Colossus overcomes Magneto’s control in order to protect Wolverine. It not only emphasizes how much willpower he has, but also how intense his feelings are for his teammate. There are neat little interactions in the epilogue issue following Magneto’s defeat. There’s an exchange between Jean Grey and Thor that hints at the Phoenix Force being something bigger than Professor Xavier believes it to be, which seems to both surprise and provide Jean with a bit of vindication. Wolverine and Cyclops also manage to patch things up, which speaks to the latter’s ability to forgive and see the bigger picture. The maturity shown by both characters in that moment is admittedly quite surprising and a bit jarring, but not wholly unwelcome.

The art in this collection is handled by David Finch and Adam Kubert. The quality that Finch and Kubert share with their work is its roughness. The art throughout lacks polish and is inconsistent. A common criticism for Finch’s pencils is the sameness that all the characters take on. This means that he puts little effort into ensuring that facial features, body types, and expressions are different for each character. Kubert fares better and does in fact have quite a few memorable panels. There are a couple of really neat instances where we see Storm using her powers and it’s totally badass. Actually, the entire final battle against Magneto is really well done and really springs off the page.

Ultimate X-Men Volume 6: Return of the King concludes Mark Millar’s run on the series. There’s symmetry to this arc as he finishes his tenure the way he started it – by focusing on the philosophical and physical conflict between the X-Men and Magneto. Like the rest of his run, there are a lot of great ideas and concepts put forth in this collection. There are even some brilliant scenes. Unfortunately, Millar’s dialogue and grave misunderstanding of how the X-Men should be portrayed hinder the overall quality of the narrative. There’s simply too much flippant humour and gritty-for-the-sake-of-being-gritty going on. He also makes questionable choices with certain characters that make them vastly inferior to how they’re portrayed in the main universe. With that said, Return of the King does end with a bit of a bang and a smidgeon of optimism.

RATING: C