Marvel Unveils 2 Ultimate X-Men As the Universe Takes a Very Dark Turn

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Ultimate Wolverine #1! Marvel Comics’ new Ultimate Universe continues its steady expansion, as more and more variants of familiar heroes and villains are being introduced in this continuity, including iconic X-Men characters. In one of the latest chapters in the Ultimate Universe, two X-Men characters in particular made their Earth-6160 debut, and while that may sound exciting, things took a very dark turn for these mutants shockingly quickly.

In Ultimate Wolverine #1 by Chris Condon and Alessandro Cappuccio, readers are given the full backstory of Wolverine 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 were two other mutant members of the Opposition with Logan who fans of the original X-Men series 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 iconic X-Men characters like it was nothing.

No One is Safe in Marvel’s New Ultimate Universe, Not Even Iconic X-Men Characters

Upon seeing Nightcrawler and Mystique in the new Ultimate Universe, one would think that they’d be main characters in the Ultimate Wolverine continuity, and ultimately become mainstay mutant heroes as Ultimate X-Men continuity progresses. They are prominent characters in the original X-Men canon, 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, as Wolverine 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 the Ultimate X-Men title series, which features entirely new mutants that make up the X-Men (or drastically altered variants of some original Earth-616 characters). Ultimate X-Men introduces 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.

These changes from the main Marvel Comics continuity regarding X-Men not 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 the Ultimate Universe will continue to be a dark reimagining of the classic Marvel Universe - and the deaths of these two X-Men characters solidifies that.

Ultimate Wolverine #1 by Marvel Comics is available now.