Summary:

Ultimate X-Men #4 starts at school with the girls finishing an exam. We have some panel space not only for our protagonists (Hisako and Mei) but also for Nico and Mori. The main section of this book follows Hisako as she returns home on her motorbike. During this scene she find a boy named Amano, one of Tsubasa’s friends, who seems disturbed and approaches her about the recent wave of suicides. We quickly understand that he is being influenced by the 'Shadow King,' and a fight starts with the creature tries to disturb Armor with violent, suicidal imagery. The issue ends with Hisako being outed as a mutant and Surge appearing for the first time in this book, saying that “things are getting 'a lot more fun around here”.

Writting: The book is strong enough in this department, but I would say issue #3 had a more consistent rhythm to it. The choice to have pages with big, visually focused panels is intelligent when your artist is Momoko. However, some scenes probably deserved to have a more 'closed' feel that contrasted with the magical splash pages. All these are minor nitpicks in what is otherwise a phenomenal book, which is a fresh take on the franchise and seems to be building up to an interesting conversation about mental health. I'm curious to see if Momoko can land this arc’s emotional payoff, but I'm confident.

Art: What else can anyone say about the art of Peach Momoko? She is a unique generational talent that fits perfectly into this narrative. This issue shows her range with calmer, school-focused scenes followed by frenetic moments of action where both Hisako and Mei show off their mutant powers.

Overall Score: 8/10