Cover: Peach Momoko

Ultimate X-Men #22

Feb 2026 · Marvel · 4.99 USD

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About this Issue

Ultimate X-Men #22 delivers the climactic resolution of the central conflict that has driven Peach Momoko's run since issue #1: the confrontation between Hisako Ichiki (Armor) and Shinobu Kageyama, the Shadow King. The issue resolves that tension not with a conventional superhero triumph but through a mutual destruction sequence rendered in Momoko's blend of ethereal watercolor and body horror — a storytelling choice that distinguishes this series as horror-inflected superhero comics rather than a traditional cape book. Its epilogue hands narrative momentum to Maystorm (Mei Igarashi), establishing her as the de facto leader of the mutant resistance and setting the stage for the Ultimate Endgame crossover in the final two issues of the series. As the penultimate chapter of Momoko's 24-issue run — a rare sustained single-creator vision in modern mainstream comics — it stands as a structural and emotional turning point that critics across multiple outlets called the strongest single issue of the entire series.

Contains 2 stories

Untitled Superhero story

21 pp · Superhero

Christmas Fried Chicken

1 pp

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Raw (NM) $4

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History

Ultimate X-Men Vol. 2 was conceived as the third launch title in Marvel's revived Ultimate Universe line — born out of Jonathan Hickman and Bryan Hitch's Ultimate Invasion miniseries — with Editor-in-Chief C.B. Cebulski and Hickman selecting Eisner Award-winning Japanese illustrator Peach Momoko to write and draw the series, with Zack Davisson providing English script adaptation. Momoko has stated she was approached about the project while teaching at a Marvel Art Atelier program in Disneyland Paris, and she deliberately eschewed classic X-Men influences in favor of Japanese manga body horror, coming-of-age school drama, and anime touchstones including Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Serial Experiments Lain, Kamen Rider, and Devilman. Issue #22 is the second-to-last chapter of that 24-issue run, collected in the forthcoming trade paperback Ultimate X-Men by Peach Momoko Vol. 4: Children's Whereabouts (ISBN 9781302958350, scheduled June 2026).

Trivia · 8 facts

Released December 3, 2025 (cover-dated February 2026); 32 pages, rated T+; story and art by Peach Momoko, script adaptation by Zack Davisson, lettered by Travis Lanham, edited by Wil Moss.
Serves as the penultimate issue of Ultimate X-Men Vol. 2, a 24-issue run concluded in February 2026 — one of the few modern mainstream Marvel series sustained as a near-total single-creator vision (writer, artist, colorist, and cover all by Momoko).
Resolves the series' foundational conflict: Armor (Hisako Ichiki) and Shadow King (Shinobu Kageyama) reach a mutual-destruction conclusion, with Hisako disappearing — no body recovered — leaving her fate ambiguous and Maystorm (Mei Igarashi) assuming leadership of the remaining X-Men.
The issue closes with an epilogue set during a KFC Christmas feast — a nod to Japanese holiday tradition — in which Maystorm holds Hisako's talisman as the sole physical remnant of Armor, and delivers the team's vow to continue fighting mutant injustice in the X-Men's name.
Featured characters (Earth-6160): Armor (Hisako Ichiki), Maystorm (Mei Igarashi), Psylocke (Kanon Sainouchi), Natsu Tsukishima, Grimm (Nico Minoru), Mori, Futaba (supporting); Shadow King (Shinobu Kageyama) and Viper (Aida) as antagonists.
Two variant covers accompanied the standard Momoko cover: a 1:25 Olivier Vatine variant and a Peach Momoko variant edition.
The issue's events directly set up the revelations in Ultimate X-Men #23 (January 7, 2026), which peels back the truth behind key plot threads from all 22 preceding issues, and feeds into the Ultimate Endgame crossover.
Will be collected in Ultimate X-Men by Peach Momoko Vol. 4: Children's Whereabouts, collecting issues #19–24, with a companion story in Ultimate Universe: Finale (2026) #1.