Ultimate X-Men Volume 6 - Return of the King: Return of the King v. 6 (Ultimate X-Men (Paperback))

Volume 5, 'The Ultimate War' was not quite as good as I felt it could have been. Volume 6, 'Return of the King' brings it all back and then some. The images of Colussus's willpower against the powers of the Master of Magnetism are fantastic.

Excellent. Marvel have taken a winning formula given it a make-over and insisted on good story-telling.

If the films could capture just a bit of this - Wow!


Magneto is back for his rematch with the Ultimate X-Men   February 28, 2004
Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota)
13 out of 14 found this review helpful

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 of the defining elements of the X-Men today is the relationship between Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr and the first issue of "Return of the King" provides an encapsulated version of their history (as well as a new explanation for how Xavier ended up in his wheelchair). Certainly there is something to be said for the ongoing debate that the pair have been having for over a decade.

Collected in "Return of the King" are issues #26-33 of "Ultimate X-Men," written by Mark Millar, and illustrated by Adam Kubert and David Finch, with Ray and Ben Lai. The most interesting addition to the X-Men mythos this time around is the sub-plot in which Wolverine finds a way to get Cyclops out of the way so that he can make a move on Jean Grey, especially given the intriguing idea that Logan and Scott are Charles and Eric, the next generation. Most of the relationships between the Ultimate X-Men (e.g., Colossus and Wolverine, Beast and Storm) are more interesting as well. Sometimes I think the "Ultimate X-Men" is overloaded with ideas, but for those who remember Marvel's Mery Mutants from the very beginning the changes are always something to think about.


Ultimate X-men returns to form   November 11, 2003
8 out of 9 found this review helpful

The first three Ultimate X-men titles were excellent - beautifully drawn with compelling stories and characterisation. Parts 4 and 5 however failed to live up to the series' early form and saw a botched introduction of the Phoenix while the fifth book was completely wasted on a pointless and incredibly dull Ultimates crossover.
Volume 6, The Return of The King, sees the series shift back into top gear with the return of Magneto and the Brotherhood of Mutants. An engaging story, sharp dialogue and some great artwork make this a worthy addition to the Ultimate X-men series.
Mark Millar's six volume run has concluded on a high and the ending neatly paves the way for a new writer to take over. We can only hope that the next run lives up to the high standards set by this excellent volume.