Ultimatum: X-Men / Fantastic Four

Part of Marvel’s “Ultimatum” event, this 2009 one-shot from writer Aron E. Coleite and artist Mark Brooks focuses on the Syndicate, a new team of villains who emerge in the Ultimate Universe to prey on the chaos left in the wake of Magneto’s global assault. While the X-Men and the Fantastic Four fight for survival separately, this issue spotlights the opportunistic Syndicate as they carve out their own deadly agenda. It’s a dark, fast-paced tie-in that broadens the scope of the event by showing how the world’s villains react when heroes are at their most vulnerable.