Government projects
The fourth volume of Ultimate X-Men begins an adventure in which we only see one of the mutants, namely, recently ejected from Wolverine’s group. He is being pursued for unknown reasons (although he probably always has something on his conscience) by a group of secret agents. Spider-Man and Daredevil help him to escape. Soon, however, all X-Men who must join forces to repel their opponents are at risk. However, mercenaries are not their only concern. In front of Charles Xavier’s school crowds of people hate mutants only for their difference. Heroes must therefore diplomatically deal with discrimination. Fortunately, the US President and Nick Fury are on their side. However, not all politicians are sympathetic to their activities and intend to attack, even at the expense of the head of the White House.
The farther into the forest …
The previous volume of Ultimate X-Men cannot be classified as the best. After a great introduction and an extremely interesting plan, Magneto failed the ending, which seemed to be made in a hurry and did not match the previous part of the plot. This time, the scenario is unfortunately uneven and not everything will be liked by the fans. First things first. The creator of the adventure is Brian Michael Bendis, an award-winning author with as many as five Eisner Awards. It was he who gave us, among others such series as New Avengers , Siege or Age of Ultron. He also introduced the first story from Earth-1610 (called Ultimate) about Spider-Man. Maybe that’s why the beginning of the notebook is so good. We can watch the already mentioned Wolverine, Daredevil and Spider-Man. The latter introduces a pinch of good humor, which perfectly contrasts with Logan’s killer instincts and the deadly serious Devil from Hell’s Kitchen.. I am convinced that if the author had decided to run just about this trio and kept it in the proposed atmosphere, he would have won another award. Unfortunately, it all ends pretty quickly and we come to the main part that tells us about the X-Men group. Things look fine at first, and the action with Jean Gray acquiring Phoenix’s powers and the team trying to solve their problems may be enjoyable. Not everyone will like the rest of the story. It is simply over-the-counter. There are few fights and emotions here, and more politics, arrangements and discussing strategies. Additionally, heroes such as Angel, Emma Frost and Dazzler are introduced, but at the moment they do not have any important role. Apparently, each artist devotes a few moments, but they are still rather characterless. We can only hope that in the future they will get their chance to prove themselves. In fact, we have another great scene here, with the Sentinels and the pissed off Storm, but otherwise a bit boring. Even attempts to present the characters’ internal problems or to introduce love themes do not go well. Probably, if we got a film adaptation of the notebook, we could fall asleep with a few fragments …
What scenario, such setting?
David Finch, assisted by Art Thibert, Dave Stewart and Frank D’Armata, is responsible for the notebook’s graphic design. I must admit that his thick and slightly austere line can be liked. The play of shadows and colors is also perfect for the comic and the adventure itself. The scenes of Wolverine’s fight, the presentation of a united team of mutants or the final fight in front of the Capitol certainly deserve praise. The appearance of Phoenix is also very good. However, special recognition is due to him for what he did in several other scenes. As I mentioned, many of the comic book excerpts mainly contain dialogue between characters. During the discussion, we were mainly presented with the faces of the heroes. What to do so that in such a situation it would not be boring and you would not have to watch the same frames over and over again? Finch found a way out of this situation. However, in order for us to feel the emotions accompanying the conversations, the cartoonist focused on the facial expressions. Thanks to this, you can see anger, surprise or sadness.
These inequalities again
Like the previous parts of Ultimate X-Men , this one was also released in a hardcover, and Egmontas usual, he added a gallery of covers and sketches, which deserves an additional plus. Ultimately, however, the fourth volume should be rated slightly above average. He certainly gets points for a great introduction and a few nice action scenes and graphics. As is usual in the case of homo superiors, there is also the thread of discrimination, which, of course, can be easily translated into reality and attacks on people only because of their difference on the basis of race, gender or religious denomination. Of course it’s good that the creators show that violence is not the only solution, but apparently also conversations do not necessarily lead to something good. At times, the plot does not lead to anything specific, and sometimes it is colorless and bland. We can hope that this will change in the next installment of the X-Men adventures, and the series will return to quality,
