Marvel just killed off several major X-Men heroes in a shocking moment that will have huge consequences going forwards. What’s more, it’s all but guaranteed that fans will never see these big-name heroes again.
Ultimate Wolverine Just Killed Off the Remaining X-Men
In today’s Ultimate Wolverine #11 – from Chris Condon, Alessandro Cappuccio, Bryan Valenza and Cory Petit – the Opposition (the X-Men in all but name) are targeted by a ‘Cerebomb’: a weapon made of Xavier’s overcharged brain. While Logan attempts to sacrifice himself to destroy the weapon, he instead ends up outside its range, and the only survivor of the attack. The explosion slaughters Kitty Pryde, Gambit, Iceman, Angel, Black Widow, leader Mikhail Rasputin and more.
Set in the Ultimate Universe, Ultimate Wolverine has already killed off icons including Beast, Nightcrawler, Mystique and more. Now, even more founding X-Men are dead, while the heroic Opposition has been robbed of its leadership, right as it was starting to inch towards victory.
Wolverine Just Became the Face of the Mutant Revolution
In the Ultimate Universe, the Eurasian Republic is ruled by the evil Colossus and Magik, who control the nation via imprisoned mutants from around the world. While the villains kidnapped and brainwashed Wolverine via the evil Directorate X, he’s gradually fought his way back to working with the Opposition, freeing Directorate X’s prisoners and fomenting rebellion across the Republic. Indeed, the Opposition’s leader Mikhail Rasputin just revealed he had faked his death, calling out his siblings’ crimes to the world.
Now, Mikhail is dead and the entire structure of the Opposition is gone. Only Wolverine is left as the de facto leader of a movement that could transform the nation (and ultimately the world) forever, as protests rage and the Rasputin siblings’ alliance begins to crumble.
Our Take on Marvel Killing Off the X-Men
It’s an interesting move for Marvel to kill off so many iconic characters in one moment, especially with the Ultimate Universe’s reputation for allowing the dead to stay dead. The twist leaves Wolverine in a brand new situation, fighting on for the victories achieved by his allies. With Ultimate Endgame coming this December, Ultimate Wolverine is one of the few Ultimate imprint comics that will run throughout the event, and this latest twist justifies that decision, with the final arc leaving Logan to fight on alone.
Sadly, the recent announcement that Marvel will shutter the Ultimate Universe imprint following Ultimate Endgame does cheapen the decision somewhat – it’s a lot easier to kill off a lot of characters when you won’t be using them again either way. However, with most of the original X-Men dead, it does ask what mutantkind’s future will look like if the world can be freed from the Maker’s control.
What looked like a march to victory was just redefined by a shocking setback, leaving Wolverine to fight on alone as the last protector of mutantkind. It’s a perfect example of why the Ultimate Universe is so compelling, allowing Marvel to take huge swings that aren’t possible in its main continuity – like killing off all the most famous X-Men and leaving Wolverine to fight on alone.
Ultimate Wolverine #11 is available now from Marvel Comics.
- Movie(s)
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X-Men (2000), X2, X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), X-Men: First Class (2011), The Wolverine (2013), X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), Deadpool (2016), X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), Logan (2017), Deadpool 2 (2018), Dark Phoenix (2019), The New Mutants, Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)
- First Film
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X-Men (2000)
- TV Show(s)
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X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men, X-Men (1992), X-Men: Evolution (2000), Wolverine and the X-Men (2008), Marvel Anime: Wolverine, Marvel Anime: X-Men, Legion (2017), The Gifted (2017), X-Men ’97 (2024)
- Video Game(s)
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X-Men: Children of the Atom (1994), Marvel Super Heroes (1995), X-Men vs. Street Fighter (1996), Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter (1997), Marvel vs. Capcom (1998), X-Men: Mutant Academy (2000), Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes (2000), X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 (2001), X-Men: Next Dimension (2002), Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (2011), Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (2011), X-Men Legends (2005), X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse (2005), X2: Wolverine’s Revenge (2003), X-Men (1993), X-Men 2: Clone Wars (1995), X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse (1994)
- Character(s)
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Professor X, Cyclops, Iceman, Beast, Angel, Phoenix, Wolverine, Gambit, Rogue, Storm, Jubilee, Morph, Nightcrawler, Havok, Banshee, Colossus, Magneto, Psylocke, Juggernaut, Cable, X-23
- Comic Release Date
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213035,212968
