Comic Review: Ultimate X-Men #81

Ultimate X-Men #81
Written by: Robert Kirkman
Art by: Ben Oliver with Jose Villarubia (c)
Cover by: Yanick Paquette, Serge Lapointe, and Stephane Peru
Published by: Marvel Comics

Story: Cliffhangers

*SPOILERS*

The story title to this issue, “Cliffhangers”, tells you exactly what to expect…a series of scenes giving us the initial actions of apparently different plot lines, and no more. The plots introduced are:

1. Mister Sinister, held captive in the Triskelion, has committed suicide, or so it seems.
   


2. Mastermind replaces Mystique, held captive posing as Magneto, because Magneto needs her for a mission.
   


3. Scott and Jean discuss school matters, revealing that Toad has joined the staff and Moira MacTaggert has recommended someone.
   


4. We find out that Emma Frost has a “boyfriend” named…Shinobi Shaw.
   


5. Nightcrawler finds the Morlocks living underneath New York City.
   


6. We find out that Beast is not actually dead, but working, reluctantly, with SHIELD to find a cure for the Legacy Virus, a virus that Admiral Stryker plans on using in a plot against mutant kind.
   


7. A Sentinel robot kills a mutant.
   


8. Storm is having nightmares about a Shadow King, and Bishop approaches her to find new X-Men.

Some of these are plots I’m looking forward to seeing how they develop. What’s Sinister up to? What is Shinobi Shaw’s intention in dating Emma? I’m looking forward to seeing the Ultimate Morlocks! And Storm and Bishop finding new X-Men is slightly reminiscent of the Giant-Size X-Men #1, which started the X-Men craze by bringing in Wolverine, Colossus, et. al. into the X-Men in 1975.

Some are not so interesting…namely the return of Beast. I like Beast, and it’s cool that he got rid of the blue fur, but I continue to be disappointed that people can’t stay dead, although it appears that Kirkman has a good reason for bringing him back and not just that he wants to use the character.

Naturally, you get the impression that these seemingly separate plot lines are all actually linked. Some connections seem evident, but some I’m wondering where they are going.

Kirkman is one of my favorite writers of all time, although with a comic like this, it’s kind of hard to see. It seems a pretty mundane issue. However, that’s the trouble with comics that only introduce the conflict and don’t get into the rising action. If all of these disparate plots do connect and come together, as a suspect, it will an impressive chaotic saga.

Ben Oliver’s art is pretty good. I’ll admit I’m still learning how the different elements of the final art product, the pencils, inks, and colors, all affect each other, but I think Oliver’s pencils and inks were hurt by Villarubia’s colors. The art seems a bit flat and it seems the colors are creating that flatness. Not bad, just…flat, kind of stale.

The cover is good, but it spoils the revelation that Beast is really alive.

Rating: 3 1/2 Worms. Being nothing but initial action hurts this issue, but the art is good and there's potential for some great stuff as everything unfolds.