Draft:Ultimate X-Men (2024)

Ultimate X-Men is a reimagination of the X-Men in the Ultimate Universe, by Peach Momoko.

Editorial history
Ultimate X-Men by Peach Momoko is the third comic released in the Ultimate Universe line, alongside Ultimate Spider-Man and Ultimate Black Panther. It is a reimagination of the X-Men in general, and the Armor character in particular. The comic also introduces Maystorm, a character that Momoko designed for the variant cover of X-Men #27. That cover was part of a larger project named "New Champions", which produced covers reflecting unexpected sidekicks of other superheroes as the recently created Spider-Boy; Maystorm was the first one to be used in an actual story, while the others would show up in the Spider-Woman comic. Despite being an X-Men comic, the comic has very little in common with the usual products of the franchise. Momoko explained "My Ultimate X-Men isn't directly influenced by classic X-Men stories. I like to believe [Editor-in-Chief] C.B. [Beluski] and Jonathan Hickman chose me because they wanted something completely new and different, so I think sometimes no influences is a good thing".

Plot
Hisako Ichiki attended Kirigaya Minami Middle School in Kirisaki City, located in Hi no Kuni, one of the seven sovereign super-nations of the world. She had a close friendship with her classmate Tsubasa, who gifted her an omamori depicting a person inside an armored figure. Unfortunately, Tsubasa was subjected to frequent bullying from both classmates and school staff. He eventually committed suicide by hanging, despite Hisako's words of encouragement. This event led to her developing depression and distancing herself from school.

She would return on the day of her graduation, believing it was only fair. On that day, she received a note instructing her to go to the nearby temple shrine. There, she encountered a shadowy figure who appeared to know both her and Tsubasa. The figure returned the omamori that Tsubasa had previously given her and proceeded to blame her for Tsubasa's suicide before disappearing. Upon witnessing a floating apparition resembling her deceased friend's death, Hisako rode her bike home while screaming in terror.

She collided with a car, but was unharmed due to a psionic exoskeleton that resembled Tsubasa's omamori and manifested from herself. Upon discovering her newfound abilities, she felt a mixture of shock and fear before returning home. The local news reported the car crash the following day, but her identity remained unknown. On that day, she decided to revisit the shrine and placed flowers beneath a tree. However, Hisako was confronted by the shadow entity once again, which took her diploma. The entity attacked her, claiming that its curse was already in motion. However, Hisako's powers would protect her until it vanished again. At that moment, a ghostly apparition of Tsubasa appeared once more, instructing her to answer her phone. Hisako received a call informing her that the school coach, who was rumored to have bullied Tsubasa, had committed suicide by hanging.

Reception
Chase Magnett from Comicbook.com points that the comic has little relation with the broader narrative of the Ultimate Universe, the usual X-Men tropes, or even the superhero genre. He thinks that the comic aims to expand the franchise's genre boundaries.