Cover: Peach Momoko

Ultimate X-Men #16

Aug 2025 · Marvel · 4.99 USD

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About this Issue

Ultimate X-Men #16 is a structurally distinctive installment of Peach Momoko and Zack Davisson's Japan-set Ultimate Universe X-Men series, one that critics later singled out for its unconventional approach to narrative time: the issue embeds a scene set four months before the present story, a deliberate piece of withheld information that only pays off fully in later chapters. As the focal issue for Nico Minoru (Grimm), it represents the character's most substantive spotlight in the series to date, deepening her personality and showcasing her combat use of the Staff of One in a Surge versus Nico confrontation that readers highlighted as among the run's most entertaining action sequences. Set within Marvel's relaunched Ultimate Universe on Earth-6160, the issue advances the 'Children of the Atom' cult arc that reimagines the classic X-Men mutant-persecution metaphor through the lens of Japanese doomsday-cult culture — a genuinely fresh structural take on the franchise.

writer, artist, inker, colorist Peach Momoko · writer Zack Davisson · letterer VC's Travis Lanham · cover Peach Momoko

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (NM) $3

CGC 9.8 · 4 in census $62*

CGC 9.6 · 1 in census $30*

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

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History

Ultimate X-Men (Vol. 2) is written and illustrated by Peach Momoko with English script adaptation by Zack Davisson, making it one of the most unusual creator arrangements in mainstream Marvel history: Momoko produces the original story and art in Japanese, and Davisson — a translator and yokai scholar — adapts the dialogue. The series launched as the third title in Marvel's 2024 Ultimate Universe relaunch (alongside Ultimate Spider-Man and Ultimate Black Panther), with Momoko stating that editor-in-chief C.B. Cebulski and Jonathan Hickman chose her specifically because they wanted something entirely new rather than a retread of prior X-Men iterations. Issue #16 falls in the middle of the second year of publication and is collected in the third trade paperback volume, subtitled 'The Realm of the Mind,' which spans issues #13–18. The series drew acknowledged inspiration from anime and manga properties including Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Serial Experiments Lain, Kamen Rider, and Devilman.

Trivia · 8 facts

Published June 11, 2025; written and illustrated by Peach Momoko, with English script adaptation by Zack Davisson; lettered by Travis Lanham; edited by Wil Moss and Michelle Marchese; editor-in-chief C.B. Cebulski.
Featured characters (per Marvel Database): Grimm (Nico Minoru) as the primary protagonist in both main story and flashback; Mori and Kanon Sainouchi (Psylocke) appear across both timelines; Tatsuya Sainouchi appears in main story and flashback.
Antagonists in this issue: the Children of the Atom cult, the Maester (identified as Fujiwara), and Surge (Noriko Ashida) — the latter appearing on the side of the cult, a development that puzzled readers given her prior hostility toward it.
Hisako Ichiki (Armor / Dark Armor) appears only as an illusion or holographic simulation; Maystorm (Mei Igarashi) and Natsu Tsukishima are referenced in flashback or mention only, illustrating the series' deliberate technique of withholding information about its lead characters.
The issue contains a flashback scene set four months prior to the present story — an example of the series' non-linear, information-withholding narrative structure that AIPT critics later described as emblematic of how Momoko and Davisson 'threw the traditional Marvel script pacing out the window.'
Issue #16 is the focus chapter of Nico Minoru's infiltration of the Children of the Atom, described by reviewers as her most developed characterisation in the run to that point, including a multi-page action sequence with Surge showcasing her Staff of One in combat.
The issue shipped with four variant covers: a 1:10 Peach Momoko Design Variant, a 1:25 Doaly Variant, a Miguel Mercado Variant, and a Corin Howell Ultimate Special Variant.
Issue #16 is collected in Ultimate X-Men by Peach Momoko Vol. 3: The Realm of the Mind (ISBN 9781302958343), which collects issues #13–18 and was published by Marvel/Penguin Random House.