That wasn't as satisfying as I thought it would be

[exatron]

I got a copy of Ultimate X-Men Annual #2 on Wednesday, and it was an interesting issue. Ultimate Nightcrawler finally got the thwacking he deserved, but it didn't feel as good as I was hoping. Part of that's because of some backstory stuff that's best summed up as "He's really messed up" and the other part is that they didn't really deal with his homophobia.

Nightcrawler's desperate need for someone who cares about him despite his appearance is understandable, but he went overboard trying to find that person. He kidnapped someone, basically to make her love him, and tried fighting his friends.

I also might have missed issue #74 since the annual made references to Wolverine killing somebody who was still alive in #73.

The annual did have a couple of nice touches at the end with Rogue starting out feeling some sympathy for Nightcrawler only to point out that she's seen what goes on in his head and that he really is a monster. We also got a really short, slightly confusing backup story that explains why the Professor's cat is named Mystique.

Comments

[zookee.livejournal.com]

Awww, man, I hate anti-climaxes like that! Wish I could comment more, but I've never read any of the X-Men comics. I used to LOVE the cartoon, however. And the movies, of course - I'm sure you've heard me rant about Hugh Jackman before!

[exatron.livejournal.com]

The Ultimate books are a nice place to start if you ever want to. Part of their goal is to be a more accessible Marvel universe. I wasn't fond of Ultimate X-Men for a while since it seemed to just rehash old storylines, but there are few nice twists and it eliminated some of the more annoying comic conventions (dead means dead [Unless you're the Phoenix], magic is essentially nonexistant, and they don't just leave characters' mysterious pasts unresolved for years.)

I mentioned it before, but one of the interesting changes is that Ultimate Colossus is gay, and was written as a gay man from the beginning of the series. Naturally, people were in denial about it until he came out to somebody.

Supposedly the plan for Colossus in the movies was to make him bi so they could have him date guys and still have the option of giving a thing for Shadowcat like in the main continuity.