Shadow and Flame with Magik

Writer Mike Carey

Artist Pasqual Ferry

Colorists Dave McCaig, Paul Mounts, Rob Schwager, Guru eFX & June Chung

Letterer Chris Eliopoulos

Cover Dated February 2006

Ultimate X4, Part One of Two

We keep Fantastic Four Month going with a mini Mike Carey event as well!

I’m not sure why they labeled them Ultimate X-Men / Ultimate Fantastic Four then Ultimate Fantastic Four / Ultimate X-Men, as that’s not alphabetical order.  I think it is because this issue is heavy on X-Men and the next is heavy on Fantastic Four, so that must be it.  Or why they didn’t just call it Ultimate X4, like how the Internet has settled on.

Xavier gets a telepathic wake up call from a space alien.

He summons his X-Men to him.

The alien claims her name is, General Lal-Qil-Atrox of the Supreme Consistory.  So I’m thinking this may be an attempt to try to work the Kree into the Ultimate Universe, as I see ‘Supreme’ I think ‘Intelligence.’

Iceman proves that he’s a risk even in their own home, as his thoughts are distracting Jean.

One of the Consistory’s ships is crashing onto Earth.  The ship contains bio-weapons.  The bio-weapons are people, mutants.  Mega powerful sun-eating able mutants.

The alien mutants have been ordered to land and destroy the planet.  They are not going to care if they are on the wrong planet.

Xavier and the team will ahead off the aliens.  Just in case this is a trap, Shadowcat and Iceman will be left behind.  Also, if they need the support, once Wolverine shows up, those two can tell him what is up.

Iceman doesn’t want to stay behind, he wants to be on the frontlines.  Plus, things have been awkward between him and Shadowcat as they broke up due to him having a crush on Rogue and just being a boy.

A mystery dame, all in black, is attempting to break into the Xavier School, along with her assistant android, Robbie.

I like how one of the school’s defenses is that whoever attempts to break in, gets dosed with happy thoughts.

Shadowcat, is reading a magazine, is not that worried about an intruder.  I like how she is the defacto leader of the duo.  Iceman is going to check the front of the school and she will investigate the dorms.

Iceman comes across the intruder.  She is fully ready for him, as she has sapped all the moisture out of the room.  So he can’t generate or maintain any ice.  That’s pretty smart, I’m surprised more villains don’t attempt that.

She counters his poor attempt with flamethrowers, which are quite effective.

Shadowcat comes to Iceman’s aid.  The lady knows that they use to date, so she has some pretty decent intel, though it is out of date.  But it isn’t, she just doesn’t know the real reason they were left behind at the school.

The lady throws Shurikens, that have a boomerang effect.  Boomikens, if you will.  Shadowcat isn’t that impress with the new gadgetry.

The lady explains that if Shadowcat quit phasing, the boomikens will tear her apart.  Which is odd as one would think Ferry would draw them as still being within Shadowcat’s body, as the image we see is that they passed right through her.  Maybe Shadowcat is wrong, and they don’t just make a second pass, they just rotate and sweep through her, over and over again.

When that fails, the lady gasses Shadowcat, as she still breaths while phasing.

Wolverine jumps at the masked lady, it is the only page with Ferry’s signature, so he probably has plans to sell that page.  Carey’s name on it as well.

Wolverine gets gassed with a virus that adapts itself every seven seconds.

In the morning.  The three X-Men have regrouped.  Wolverine is dealing with a virus that re-adapts to him every seven seconds, so his healing factor can’t catch up.  That’s what one can do to a Wolverine that doesn’t have a super healing factor.

Shadowcat is not happy that the lady was completely invisible to the school’s defense systems.

These X-Men know that the other X-Men are on a wild goose chase, but they also can’t wait the nine hours for them to come back.

The lady came to steal components of Cerebro.

Because of that phone call the lady made before invading the school, Shadowcat now has a lead on where she could be.

The lady and her robot gets back to her cargo bay.  She calls a Caliban, he calls her Miss Burchill.

The signal leads back to the Baxter Building, the home of the Fantastic Four!  Rut roh!

This is the first time the two teams have met, and I get the impression the Fantastic Four don’t really get out much, so they are as mysterious to the X-Men as they could be.

 

I do like how we don’t have four X-Men going up against the Fantastic Four.  Though that would be completely understandable, instead we got the two important members and one free loader.

I do like how they will be the characters to kick off Ultimate Comics X-Men, but with Wolverine’s son and Rogue added to the main cast.  Probably due to how well this sold, I imagine.

Shadowcat has tried to call the X-Men back but they are out of communication, Wolverine knows that they are up against a real thorough strategist.

Six hours is a long time, they all could be dead by the time the X-Men get back.  I do like how that also gives us the time frame of how long this story takes place.

Wolverine grabs the keys to the Rolls Royce.  Imagine how long it must take to get from Salem Center, Massachusetts to New York City?  According to Google Maps, it takes four hours.  Though there is a Salem in update New York, so it could also be only an hour and a half away.  For some reason, I always think they are in Massachusetts but I recall Bryan Singer talking about how they are in update New York on a commentary track, or an interview, and I remember thinking that was news to me.  They could be, it’ll make sense as all the original Marvel characters were in New York.

Over at the Baxter Building.  Johnny and Ben are arguing, like they do.  Sue creates a force bubble to separate them.

Iceman brings up the point about whenever Shadowcat phases another person along, there is some hand holding involved.  That or she grabs the person by the arm, there are only a few options.

Wolverine tells them they are now in Stealth Mode.

Poor Reed Richards is the first to meet the X-Men.  I like how he responses to them as if they are lost.  It is a big building and I imagine they only really use the top ten floors.

Though I would hate to work in that building, typing away in a Word document, the power turns off and you lose hours of work.  Or you end up in an alternate dimension because the building is being attacked – yet again.  Though I’m sure the Ultimate Fantastic Four don’t have that problem.

Wolverine, of course, tries to make a horrible first impression with immediately threatening Reed.  He plays it pretty cool.

I like the idea of Wolverine being sick, thus he doesn’t have full use of his senses which must all be instinct at this point, to use.

Once Reed has a feel for the situation, it is on.

I like the idea of Reed flexing himself to the point of being a giant physical force.  I believe Claremont did the same thing during his run on the proper Fantastic Four.  There is no reason why he can’t buff himself up and give Thing a run for his money, or at the very least, assist with the physical blows.

Iceman, not letting a moment go by, announces that they are no longer in Stealth Mode.

Burchill has the buyers for what she stole from Xavier.  She realizes what she has stolen and wants more money.  She puts on the Cerebro helmet and has Robbie kill the two buyers.

The Baxter Building guards are doing their best against the X-Men.

Shadowcat gets taken out, mysteriously.

Not that mysteriously, it was only an invisible threat.  Now the X-Men start getting in trouble as they, foolishly, took a fight to the Fantastic Four’s home turf.  I mean, really, Reed has all sorts of gadgets that I imagine he can summon.  Not very smart, but Wolverine was leading them with little input from the other two.

Shadowcat is KOed by Invisible Woman, good thing each team had at one lady present so that they can fight.

Wolverine attempts to get to Shadowcat but Thing blocks him.

Since Ultimate Thing was only a high school athlete before becoming a rock monster type thing, there is no way for him to have a shared history with Wolverine, unlike their proper counterparts.

Iceman creates a ice barrier to keep the two teams separate.  This comic came out three years after X2, but it is an obvious thing for Bobby to do, but it could also be an homage.  Nice that in X2, Bobby was given something to do.

Issue ends with Shadowcat out, Wolverine sick and Iceman having to put up an ice cube.  Not the best outing.

Human Torch starts trying to melt the ice.  Thing has the wise idea of getting some buckets, while waste the opportunity?

I like the idea of Iceman wanting to know how to assist Shadowcat but he doesn’t know how her powers work.  He clearly wasn’t paying attention in those Danger Room scenarios.

The last page has Burchill going insane as her mind expands and reaches out to Reed.

Come back for the second part of this crossover in two days!