Ultimate Comics X-Men #19 Review

By: Brian Wood (Writer), Paco Medina (Artist), Juan Vlasco (Inker), Jesus Aburto (Colorist), Joe Sabino (Letterer)

The Review: Now that the Divide We Fall/United We Stand crossover has ended, the individual books of the Ultimate Comics line are free to go their own separate ways. It’s almost back to business as usual for the Ultimates and Spider-Man (though Spidey’s now part of Captain America’s team and Cap himself is, y’know, the President) but the X-Men find themselves in an entirely new situation. After successfully defeating Stryker and his Sentinel army, Kitty Pryde has become the de facto leader of the Mutant race. They’ve been given a safe-zone, a piece of America that’s all their own. Here, in theory, no-one should be able to bother or murderize them. It’s a fresh start for the series, but Wood chooses to play it sparse and dark – no times for smiles, hugs or celebrations just yet.