Marvel’s new manga-influenced Ultimate X-Men are officially here, and they’re about to take on a sinister mutant cult

Ultimate X-Men has been one of the strangest and most interesting of Marvel’s new Ultimate Universe line. And with Ultimate X-Men #5, things get even more eerie, even as they also begin to hit closer to home with the group of young mutants at the book’s core officially taking on the name ‘X-Men.’

But with the familiar also comes the, let’s just say… uncanny… as the nature of mutants in the new Ultimate Universe is explored with bizarre and potentially dangerous implications. Meanwhile, we’ve finally gotten a glimpse of what may be the full Ultimate X-Men team in future solicitations, which we’ll also unpack here.

Spoilers ahead for Ultimate X-Men #5

Ultimate X-Men #5 by writer/artist Peach Momoko, script adaptor Zack Davisson, and letterer Travis Lanham introduces Surge (known to fans of Deadpool 2) and Nico Minoru to the title, adding two more to the rapidly expanding gang of mutant teenagers at the heart of the title’s mystery.

First Surge has an odd encounter with Shinobu Kageyama, the young Shadow King, who has been using his ability to project psychic shadows to kill and threaten people in his web of manipulation, primarily Hisako Ichiki. She explains that she needs her computer fixed due to her electrical powers, to which he responds by calling her a “Psyker,” a name she objects to while accusing him of harassing Hisako, which he denies.

(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

Meanwhile, Hisako’s shadow-haunted nightmares lead her and her ally Maystorm to seek out psychic teen Nico Minoru, who, in the new Ultimate Universe, is a mutant as well as a mage. Hisako asks Nico to take a psychic reading off of the omamori amulet given to her by Kageyama (whose name, by the way, roughly translates to “shadow mountain”), which Nico detects has been enchanted with blood magic.

But before she can reveal anymore, Kageyama, in his weird Cerebro-esque closet, senses Nico’s reading and sends his shadow-self through the amulet to prevent them from learning anything else about him, saying it’s “too early.” Nico snaps into action, smashing the shadow with a book, and growing her magnifying glass, which she says she got from her grandmother, into a large staff which somewhat resembles the Staff of One she carries in the core Marvel Universe, which channels magic that banishes the shadow – all very much to her own surprise.

(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

Elsewhere, Surge confronts a man who wants to “pay for her company,” the implications of which are fairly clear, leading her to fry his brain with an electrical pulse and empty his wallet of cash. She passes Nico, Hisako, and Maystorm, though they don’t actually meet just yet. 

Nico explains to Hisako and Maystorm that she believes the blood magic cast on Hisako’s omamori is connected to a cult who call themselves “Homo Superior,” who have secret ritual spaces hidden in normal office buildings, and who believe themselves to be the next stage in human evolution.

As Nico gives her explanation, her narration is set over a sequence of Kageyama making his way into the city to one of the very cult strongholds she’s describing, implying he’s part of the Homo Superior cult.

(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

Nico and Maystorm resolve to form their own counter group, with Maystorm suggesting the name “X-Team” because they’ve all received bad grades – X’s – on some of their tests. Nico says her grades are good, leading May to offer another suggestion: Secret Society X-Men. And thus, the new Ultimate X-Men team is officially formed. And what’s more, we’ve given a glimpse at several members to come – a solemn looking girl, a girl with a bunny ears hat, and a girl with a bandage on her eye.

The potential identities of these characters are given some more explanation on the recently revealed cover of Ultimate X-Men #8, which seems to identify them as Gorgon, Molly Hayes (we could be wrong on this one, it might be Quicksilver, or someone else), and Cyclops. 

(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

Those three, along with Surge, Maystorm, Hisako/Armor, and Nico as the first full roster of the new Ultimate X-Men. That also seems to be Shadow King (or someone who looks a lot like him) on the bottom left corner, so there’s a chance he could wind up being part of the team as well.

Ultimate X-Men #6 goes on sale August 28.

The core X-Men line just began a full relaunch with an all-new X-Men #1.