Cover: Peach Momoko

Ultimate X-Men #9

Jan 2025 · Marvel · 4.99 USD

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About this Issue

Ultimate X-Men #9 delivers the first full appearance of Akihiro (Earth-6160) — this universe's analog to Daken — whose self-proclaimed status as 'the first mutant' upends the mythology of the 6160 timeline and inverts the original Ultimate Universe's Wolverine-as-patient-zero concept in a narratively rich way. The issue also stages the long-anticipated power clash between Maystorm and Surge, two of Peach Momoko's most distinctive creations, marking the first sustained mutant-versus-mutant combat sequence in the series. As part of Marvel's revived Ultimate Universe line, the issue continues to demonstrate how deeply a Japan-centered, manga- and J-horror-inflected approach to the X-Men can diverge from the American template while still engaging the franchise's core theme of feared and misunderstood outsiders.

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) $10

CGC 9.8 · 4 in census $62*

CGC 9.6 · 1 in census $30*

CGC 9.4 · 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) launched in March 2024 as the third title in Marvel's rebooted Ultimate Universe (Earth-6160), with Peach Momoko — an Eisner Award-winning cover artist who had previously built the 'Momoko-verse' of Japanese-folklore Marvel reimaginings — serving as sole writer, penciler, inker, and colorist, with Zack Davisson providing English script adaptation. Marvel reportedly pitched the project to Momoko with the open-ended question 'What If X-Men… But in Japan?', granting her unusual creative latitude to choose her own roster and direction. The character of Maystorm had roots even before the series launched, having originated as a design Momoko created for a variant cover of the 2021–2024 X-Men #27 as part of a 'New Champions' initiative, before being developed into a full lead.

Trivia · 8 facts

Released November 13, 2024 (cover date January 2025); written, penciled, inked, and colored entirely by Peach Momoko, with English script adaptation by Zack Davisson and lettering by VC's Travis Lanham.
First full appearance of Akihiro (Earth-6160): the hairy, tube-laden patient in the Children of the Atom's infirmary who identifies himself to Shadow King as 'the first mutant' — his first (unnamed) appearance had occurred in issue #6.
First full appearance of Mei Igarashi's maternal grandparents (Earth-6160).
Central action set-piece: Maystorm (Mei Igarashi) and Surge (Noriko Ashida) clash in a lightning-versus-lightning showdown, leaving Surge weakened and drained.
Shadow King (Shinobu Kageyama) awakens from his coma in the cult's infirmary and encounters Akihiro, who claims his blood has been used by the Children of the Atom to awaken dormant X-genes in young mutants.
Akihiro's role is a deliberate inversion of Earth-1610 lore, where Logan was the original Ultimate Universe's 'first mutant' and his blood was used to create other mutants — a parallel noted by multiple commentators.
Back matter continues Momoko's series-long practice of explaining Japanese customs to Western readers; this issue spotlights the Bunka-sai (cultural festival) observed at Irodori High School.
The issue is set entirely within Earth-6160 Japan (Kirisaki City / Hi no Kuni) and features no crossover with the broader Ultimate Universe cast (characters such as Captain America, Tony Stark, or Nick Fury do not appear in this issue).