By Marc Strom
The X-Men won't escape the Ultimatum wave.
Writer Aron Coleite and artist Mark Brooks bring Marvel's Ultimate band of merry mutants into the Ultimatum mega story beginning November 26 with ULTIMATE X-MEN #98.
"You're going to see a couple of different perspectives on Ultimatum and that wave that came and crashed down on Manhattan," Coleite promises. "ULTIMATUM shows how the super hero community reacts and springs into action—but what about the seven million people that live and work in New York. How do they react? How would you react? I wanted to look at it from a very human perspective.
"Also—[I'm going to] focus on Rogue. So, yay—more Rogue!"
Rogue will share the spotlight with a number of her former Weapon X teammates, characters that the writer sees as having a lot of potential for change.
"We're going back to the original Weapon X line up: Rogue, Juggernaut [and] Sabretooth," lists Coleite. "These are all people with something to prove. Can they achieve redemption? Are they condemned to being villains? Hopefully some surprises are in store. And some tragedies."
As for why Coleite chose the Weapon X characters for his three-issue tie-in, he gives a very practical reason for the decision:
"[Jeph] Loeb's using everyone else in Ultimatum," he jokes. "I had to stake out some territory."
Coleite also promises revelations Vindicator, the masked leader of Alpha Flight whose identity has remained a mystery since his first appearance in ULTIMATE X-MEN #94. Beyond that, though, Coleite remains tightlipped on how the character returns to the series.
"You'll see...I think the answers have been laced throughout this interview already," hints the writer.
As well as following up with Vindicator's identity, the "Heroes" writer will pick up on other threads he's laid in the past few months.
"This tracks Rogue directly from 'Absolute Power' and the Ultimate X-Men/Ultimate Fantastic Four Annuals," Coleite explains. "She used drugs to gain control of her ability and that pissed off some of her teammates. It reminded them that Rogue used to be in Weapon X and a part of the Brotherhood. So, how much can they really trust her? Especially now."
Mark Brooks, who worked with Coleite on his first ULTIMATE X-MEN story, returns to bring this story to life, something which makes the author quite happy.
"Mark's awesome," he exudes. "I'm all about trying to infuse real emotion into these issues. And I think what he does better than anyone is [conveying] that emotion. Regret. Grief. Rage. He's so amazing at getting into the heart of the characters."
Leaving on an ominous note, Coleite offered readers an idea of what they can expect from the next few issues of ULTIMATE X-MEN:
"It's going to get worse before it gets better."
The Ultimatum begins for Rogue in ULTIMATE X-MEN #98, on sale November 26. To read past issues of the series, head over to Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited.
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