Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Ultimate Wolverine #1!Marvel Comics’ newUltimate Universecontinues its steady expansion, as more and more variants of familiar heroes and villains are being introduced in this continuity, including iconicX-Mencharacters. In one of the latest chapters in the Ultimate Universe, twoX-Mencharacters in particular made their Earth-6160 debut, and while that may sound exciting, things took a very dark turn for these mutants shockingly quickly.
InUltimate Wolverine#1 by Chris Condon and Alessandro Cappuccio, readers are given the full backstory ofWolverine aka the Winter Soldier of Earth-6160. Originally, Logan was a freedom fighter who was a part of an organization called the Opposition to fight for mutant rights. The Eurasian Republic, ruled over by Colossus, Magik, and Omega Red, created a Weapon X-style mutant experimentation program called Directorate X, and when it got its hands on Logan, it transformed him into a mutant-hunting killing machine.
There weretwo other mutant members of the Opposition with Logan who fans of the originalX-Menseries will be familiar with: Nightcrawler and Mystique. But, since Wolverine was tortured, brainwashed, and upgraded by Directorate X, he didn’t remember that Raven and Kurt were once his friends and allies, as he was taught they were nothing more than his targets. So, Wolverine infiltrated the Opposition’s home base, and murdered the two iconicX-Mencharacters like it was nothing.
Nightcrawler and Mystique Made Their Ultimate Universe Debut… & Immediately Died
No One is Safe in Marvel’s New Ultimate Universe, Not Even Iconic X-Men Characters
Upon seeing Nightcrawler and Mystique inthe new Ultimate Universe, one would think that they’d be main characters in the Ultimate Wolverine continuity, and ultimately become mainstay mutant heroes asUltimate X-Mencontinuity progresses. They are prominent characters in the originalX-Mencanon, after all, so it would only make sense that it would be the same in the Ultimate Universe.
However, as exciting as it was to see them, their time in Earth-6160 was surprisingly short, asWolverine brutally murdered them. This shocking display speaks to how truly dark and mature the new Ultimate Universe really is, proving that no one - not even characters as iconic as Nightcrawler and Mystique - are safe.
The New Ultimate Universe is Leaning Into the Idea of All-New X-Men
The Ultimate Universe is Totally Reinventing the X-Men
With the deaths of Nightcrawler and Mystique, not to mention the immediate corruption of Colossus and Magik, it seems like the Ultimate Universe is actively rejecting the status quo of the main Marvel Universe. In fact, that can be seen in theUltimate X-Mentitle series, which featuresentirely new mutants that make up the X-Men(or drastically altered variants of some original Earth-616 characters).Ultimate X-Menintroduces a version of the team that is completely new, bearing little to no resemblance to the classic X-Men team. And it seems that trend is continuing across the entire Ultimate Universe.
Yes, Marvel Is Setting Up a New Civil War, And It Will Test the X-Men Like Never Before
Civil War was one of the biggest, most iconic events in the history of Marvel Comics, & now it seems the X-Men are about to get their own ‘Civil War’.
These changes from the main Marvel Comics continuity regardingX-Mennot only make the Ultimate Universe refreshingly original, but also extremely exciting. Since no one is safe from either death or corruption, fans truly don’t know what to expect with every passing issue. However, the one thing fans can be sure about is that theUltimate Universewill continue to be a dark reimagining of the classic Marvel Universe - and the deaths of these twoX-Mencharacters solidifies that.
Ultimate Wolverine #1by Marvel Comics is available now.
Ultimate Marvel
Created in 2000, the Ultimate Marvel imprint redesigned the entire Marvel Comics universe with a new set of origin stories and relationships. The reboot reinterpreted Marvel continuity from scratch in an attempt to simplify and update the company’s 60-year history for modern audiences. With famous comic book writers such as Brian Michael Bendis, Warren Ellis, and Mark Millar at the helm, the Ultimate universe (named Earth-1610 within the Marvel multiverse) lasted 15 years and provided plenty of inspiration for the MCU.
