Ultimate X-Men begins the "New Mutants" arc.  Mind you, given the rather odd story structure of "Blockbuster", it's probably better not to think of it in arc terms, no matter what Marvel might say.

Basically, this is a series of stories introducing a bunch of new characters into the mythos.  Or, more accurately, introducing the Ultimate versions of a bunch of characters who've been around for decades.  It's somewhat similar to the exercise Bendis went through with Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, which seemed to exist partly as a device to round out the Ultimate continuity.

I have slight reservations about doing six issues of "here's a new character" in a row; it feels like something that could very easily become repetitive.  Especially if they're strung together into some kind of overreaching plot.  However, final page subplot aside, there's not much of that here.  It's basically Bendis and Finch bringing on the Angel and defining the concept.  And quite well, too.

There's a fundamental problem with the Angel, which has vexed most creators over the past few decades.  He's the sort of character who would really be better off outside the Marvel Universe.  Flight is meant to be one of the powers everyone dreams of having.  But in the context of the Marvel Universe, it's utterly nondescript.  Where he ought to seem impressive, he usually just seems surplus to requirements.  When you've got Phoenix around, there's not much call for a bloke with wings.  This is one of the main reasons why we end up with weirdness like blue skin and razor wings.

Bendis' solution to this problem is to stress the Angel as a graceful, beautiful figure, and emphasise the way other characters react to him because of his appearance.  Finch is a bit of an action artist, and I'm not entirely sure he quite captures the degree of grace that the script has in mind - there's something about those wings that looks rather too meaty and physical.  Still, he's not too far wide of the mark, and the idea is a good one.  It places the focus on an aspect of the character that remains unique even in the context of the Marvel Universe.

Rogue's reaction to the Angel is to point at him and Nightcrawler, and ask what the hell is going on when supposedly random mutation is throwing up an angel and a demon.  It's a perfectly good question, and the X-books have always been plagued with overly-convenient mutations.  Bendis' characters take the line that this is just coincidence and that, despite his iconic appearance, the Angel is just another mutant.  But in the absence of any real explanation for this unlikely coincidence, a degree of ambiguity lingers.

This is, of course, somewhat the same starting point as Chuck Austen's current story in Uncanny X-Men.  The difference is that this one works, by acknowledging the oddity and using it to give the Angel a degree of mystique, rather than delving into the question in search of over-literal explanations.

I'm not sure that a string of introduction issues are going to work, but in the meantime, this is a good little story.  It makes the Angel seem quietly special, and that's something he rarely gets to be. 

Rating: A-

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