Eric J. Moreels
Dec 20, 2002, 10:58 am
<a href="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/previews/0303/Ultimate_Xmen_30.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/previews/0303/Ultimate_Xmen_30t.jpg" align=left alt="Ultimate X-Men #30 preview"></a>In 2003, the Ultimate X-Men are set to come full circle as writer Mark Millar wraps up his tenure on the series as he began. Beginning in January with Ultimate X-Men #27 and running through to May's issue #33, 'Return of The King' focuses on Magneto ascension back to power and the revivification of his ultimate plan as the war on mankind hits overdrive.
<a href="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/previews/0103/Ulti_XMen_27.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/previews/0103/Ulti_XMen_27t.jpg" align=right alt="Ultimate X-Men #27 preview"></a>"'Return of The King' is the final part of my two and a half year run on this book," Millar told X-Fan. "This is where I get to set light to all the little fireworks I've been planting since issue one. Every plot thread established since I started will be tied up here; from whether Charles Xavier is mind-controlling the students to do what he wants to who that damn cat has been all along. It's also where we see the return of characters like Nightcrawler, the Muir Island cast and perhaps Gambit to a lesser extent."
"Most importantly, however, it's also Magneto's big story. This is what he was planning when he was interrupted by the Sentinels at the end of issue five. This is his big play for dominance over homo-sapien and his plan makes 'The Tomorrow People' look like two girls pulling each others hair in the schoolyard. It's a lot of fun."
Millar said that as the Ultimate War mini-series was borne out of events in the 'Hellfire and Brimstone' arc in Ultimate X-Men, it will all come full circle as the conclusion of the War will, in turn, fold into the 'Return of The King' arc.
<a href="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/previews/0203/ULT_WAR_4.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/previews/0203/ULT_WAR_4t.jpg" align=right alt="Ultimate War #4 preview"></a>"When I started these books, we were all adamant that we weren't going to have Spidey appearing in Ultimates and so on," Millar explained. "Too many characters are a treat for the fanboys, but a sensory overload to the casual reader. Think about {the shark from} Jaws appearing in The Godfather and then getting taken away by the spacecraft at the end of Close Encounters. It's just too much."
"That said, the events of Ultimate X-Men #25 and the return of Magneto were exactly (precisely) the kind of mission the Ultimates were put together for so it would be foolish for them to ignore what's happening. Ultimate War is essentially the establishment response to the return of Magneto and 'Return of The King' is basically the X-Men finishing the job. Without spoiling issue four, we find a very different X-Men by the time they re-emerge in their own book. A very, very crucial difference has occurred in the pages of Ultimate War."
The conclusion of 'Return of The King' in May's issue #33 also marks Millar's departure from the series he has guided since its inception. Millar told X-Fan that the decision to leave the series wasn't an overly-difficult one, as he had always envisaged his tenure as having a distinct end.
<a href="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/previews/0203/ULT_XMEN_29.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/previews/0203/ULT_XMEN_29t.jpg" align=right alt="Ultimate X-Men #29 preview"></a>"The funny thing is that I'd made the decision before I started the first issue so I always saw this as a four or five book run," Millar revealed. "Everyone said I was crazy because this book really does generate a lot of money in royalties (by far my biggest earner), but I think you have to stick to your guns and the final arc is the one I've been building towards. Chase the cheque and you'll never really stretch yourself as a writer. I'll miss the characters, I'll miss the editorial team, I'll miss seeing pages from Adam {Kubert, series artist} every week more than anything in the world, but I'm pleased to wrap up on the best arc and hopefully make everybody miss me when I'm gone. Get off the stage when their still clapping, that's what I have engraved on my forehead."
As to what the he has planned post-Ultimate X-Men, Millar told X-Fan that he has plenty in the offering across several different media formats.
"{My} Ultimate X-Men wraps in May when {X-Men 2} comes out and (hopefully) we're on maximum interest," said Millar. "A month or two later I launch a very big project for Marvel, but the details will be under wraps for at least another couple of months. I don't start writing this until I finish Ultimate X-Men and, as long as I don't get too drunk over Christmas, I should have my final script in Adam's hands before I take off on holiday at the end of January."
<a href="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/previews/0203/ultimates_10.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/previews/0203/ultimates_10t.jpg" align=right alt="Ultimates #10 preview"></a>"My tenure on The Ultimates, of course, will run until around Summer 2004 and I'm also launching a revamp of a very famous Marvel franchise somewhere around the end of 2003. This won't be an Ultimate book. This will be something set in the Marvel Universe and, now that I think about it, my first real project for mainstream Marvel. It's something Joe suggested to me weeks ago and I originally turned down but then, on the flight back from a Marvel meeting in New York last week, I suddenly came up with a great way of doing it and called Joe as soon as I got home. I genuinely can't wait to get moving on this revamp, the details probably going public somewhere around late spring."
"My agent is talking to several animation and movie places about the creator-owned stuff and the slightly unusual way we're doing this is selling the Hollywood deal first and doing the comic later. All three artists are already lined up for each of these three books (one eight parter and two four parters) and we're shooting for an October launch. Outside of comics, I'm working on a children's book thanks to Mister Neil Gaiman and I want to have that completed by late Summer."
Order Ultimate X-Men online now from X-World Comics and save! (http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=50&cat=ULTIMATE+X%2DMEN)
<a href="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/previews/0103/Ulti_XMen_27.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/previews/0103/Ulti_XMen_27t.jpg" align=right alt="Ultimate X-Men #27 preview"></a>"'Return of The King' is the final part of my two and a half year run on this book," Millar told X-Fan. "This is where I get to set light to all the little fireworks I've been planting since issue one. Every plot thread established since I started will be tied up here; from whether Charles Xavier is mind-controlling the students to do what he wants to who that damn cat has been all along. It's also where we see the return of characters like Nightcrawler, the Muir Island cast and perhaps Gambit to a lesser extent."
"Most importantly, however, it's also Magneto's big story. This is what he was planning when he was interrupted by the Sentinels at the end of issue five. This is his big play for dominance over homo-sapien and his plan makes 'The Tomorrow People' look like two girls pulling each others hair in the schoolyard. It's a lot of fun."
Millar said that as the Ultimate War mini-series was borne out of events in the 'Hellfire and Brimstone' arc in Ultimate X-Men, it will all come full circle as the conclusion of the War will, in turn, fold into the 'Return of The King' arc.
<a href="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/previews/0203/ULT_WAR_4.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/previews/0203/ULT_WAR_4t.jpg" align=right alt="Ultimate War #4 preview"></a>"When I started these books, we were all adamant that we weren't going to have Spidey appearing in Ultimates and so on," Millar explained. "Too many characters are a treat for the fanboys, but a sensory overload to the casual reader. Think about {the shark from} Jaws appearing in The Godfather and then getting taken away by the spacecraft at the end of Close Encounters. It's just too much."
"That said, the events of Ultimate X-Men #25 and the return of Magneto were exactly (precisely) the kind of mission the Ultimates were put together for so it would be foolish for them to ignore what's happening. Ultimate War is essentially the establishment response to the return of Magneto and 'Return of The King' is basically the X-Men finishing the job. Without spoiling issue four, we find a very different X-Men by the time they re-emerge in their own book. A very, very crucial difference has occurred in the pages of Ultimate War."
The conclusion of 'Return of The King' in May's issue #33 also marks Millar's departure from the series he has guided since its inception. Millar told X-Fan that the decision to leave the series wasn't an overly-difficult one, as he had always envisaged his tenure as having a distinct end.
<a href="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/previews/0203/ULT_XMEN_29.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/previews/0203/ULT_XMEN_29t.jpg" align=right alt="Ultimate X-Men #29 preview"></a>"The funny thing is that I'd made the decision before I started the first issue so I always saw this as a four or five book run," Millar revealed. "Everyone said I was crazy because this book really does generate a lot of money in royalties (by far my biggest earner), but I think you have to stick to your guns and the final arc is the one I've been building towards. Chase the cheque and you'll never really stretch yourself as a writer. I'll miss the characters, I'll miss the editorial team, I'll miss seeing pages from Adam {Kubert, series artist} every week more than anything in the world, but I'm pleased to wrap up on the best arc and hopefully make everybody miss me when I'm gone. Get off the stage when their still clapping, that's what I have engraved on my forehead."
As to what the he has planned post-Ultimate X-Men, Millar told X-Fan that he has plenty in the offering across several different media formats.
"{My} Ultimate X-Men wraps in May when {X-Men 2} comes out and (hopefully) we're on maximum interest," said Millar. "A month or two later I launch a very big project for Marvel, but the details will be under wraps for at least another couple of months. I don't start writing this until I finish Ultimate X-Men and, as long as I don't get too drunk over Christmas, I should have my final script in Adam's hands before I take off on holiday at the end of January."
<a href="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/previews/0203/ultimates_10.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/previews/0203/ultimates_10t.jpg" align=right alt="Ultimates #10 preview"></a>"My tenure on The Ultimates, of course, will run until around Summer 2004 and I'm also launching a revamp of a very famous Marvel franchise somewhere around the end of 2003. This won't be an Ultimate book. This will be something set in the Marvel Universe and, now that I think about it, my first real project for mainstream Marvel. It's something Joe suggested to me weeks ago and I originally turned down but then, on the flight back from a Marvel meeting in New York last week, I suddenly came up with a great way of doing it and called Joe as soon as I got home. I genuinely can't wait to get moving on this revamp, the details probably going public somewhere around late spring."
"My agent is talking to several animation and movie places about the creator-owned stuff and the slightly unusual way we're doing this is selling the Hollywood deal first and doing the comic later. All three artists are already lined up for each of these three books (one eight parter and two four parters) and we're shooting for an October launch. Outside of comics, I'm working on a children's book thanks to Mister Neil Gaiman and I want to have that completed by late Summer."
Order Ultimate X-Men online now from X-World Comics and save! (http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=50&cat=ULTIMATE+X%2DMEN)