Warning: SPOILERS ahead for Ultimate Invasion #1!The X-Men have joined Spider-Man and Black Panther in the first wave of titles in Marvel’s new Ultimate Universe, and creator Peach Momoko has released in depth designs of her two leads. Hisako Ichiki, a.k.a. Armor, had previously been announced as the lead for Momoko’s Ultimate X-Men. Now, these design pages and a new prelude story point to Armor being billed as the series co-lead alongside a new character: Maystorm.
The two-page prelude to Ultimate X-Men, which comes from Peach Momoko, VC’s Joe Caramagna, and Wil Moss, arrived at the end of last week’s Ultimate Universe #1. The same day, an announcement from Marvel was released featuring both the mini-comic and Momoko’s design sheets for Armor and Maystorm.
The two-page comic shows Hisako’s subconscious is unsettled by her emerging mutant gift, only for her to awaken in class alongside her friend and fellow student, Maystorm. Initially created by Momoko for the “New Champions” series of variant covers, Ultimate Universe #1 marks Maystorm’s official entry into Marvel canon.
Peach Momoko’s Maystorm Makes History By Joining the Ultimate X-Men
The “New Champions” series was a set of variant covers that challenged artists to imagine younger sidekicks for iconic Marvel characters. Magneto, Black Cat, and Miles Morales’ Spider-Man were just a few of those to have a new mentee dreamed up for them as a part of this project. Momoko’s contribution to the “New Champions” variants was Maystorm, a teenage Japanese girl and protégé to Storm of the X-Men. While anyone could point out the similarities between the nameless girl on Momoko’s New Champions cover and Maystorm’s appearances in Ultimate Universe #1 as well as her design sheet, Momoko herself confirmed that these characters are one and the same in Marvel’s announcement.
Let alone being the first of the New Champions to make their way into Marvel Comics canon, Maystorm’s debut as an Ultimate X-Men cast member puts her in rare company with Gwenpool as characters who were created for cover art before leaping onto the page. Despite the apparent excitement about Maystorm’s breakthrough, the existence of the young hero has raised some eyebrows among fans. This is largely due to the vague status of mutantkind in the new Ultimate Universe. The presence of Colossus, Magik, Sunfire, and Silver Samurai in Ultimate Invasion confirmed that mutants are around in this world, and Earth-6160 has thus far been presented as foundationally similar to Marvel’s Earth-616 universe before the Maker’s tampering. However, Ororo Munroe’s existence in this reality remains unclear, and some are concerned that Maystorm will be replacing her in this iteration of the X-Men.
The Truth About Maystorm’s Ultimate X-Men Role Remains Hidden
Of course, comics readers can be a notoriously reactionary fandom, so it remains entirely possible that Maystorm is who she was created to be: not a replacement for Storm, but a devoted fan and protégé. Thus far, she’s also been presented as a classmate and friend of Armor before either of them become X-Men. Entering this world together would break the traditional POV initiate to the X-Men character into two, and allow Momoko to toy with the format of classic X-Men storytelling in exciting ways. Until Ultimate X-Men #1 hits comic shelves this coming March, the exciting tease of this two-page prelude and Momoko’s design sheets are sure to tide fans over.
Ultimate Invasion #1 is available now from Marvel Comics.
Ultimate X-Men #1 will be available from Marvel Comics on March 6, 2024.
