Summary

• The Shadow King is revealed as the villain haunting the latest incarnation of Marvel's Ultimate X-Men, with the psychic antagonist getting a nightmare-fuel horror-inspired redesign by writer & artist Peach Momoko.
• Meghan Hetrick's variant cover for Ultimate X-Men #5 showcases the updated design for the Shadow King, featuring familiar elements with an even more sinister twist than ever before.
• The new version of the X-Men in the Ultimate Universe must unite to face the Shadow King's dark telepathic attacks, as threatens the young mutants in Japan in Peach Momoko's spellbinding reimagining of Marvel's most famous franchise.

Warning: Contains potential spoilers for Ultimate X-Men (2024) #5!As the Ultimate Universe’s X-Men begin to assemble, the identity of the villain that has been haunting the series’ young mutants is finally unveiled. The mutant known as Armor’s mysterious stalker has been revealed to be a new iteration of the classic X-antagonist, the Shadow King. Peach Momoko’s fresh take on the evil entity is a perfect fit to face off against Earth-6160’s X-Men team as their first adversary.

Momoko’s Ultimate X-Men series has taken inspiration from horror manga and J-horror to great effect, and her shadowy villain is perhaps the most unsettling figure to be featured in Earth-6160 thus far. Meghan Hetrick’s Ultimate Special Variant cover for Ultimate X-Men (2024) #5 provides the best first look at the updated Shadow King character in this universe.

Hetrick’s spine-chilling cover illustrates Momoko’s X-Men villain with a few common staples of the Shadow King’s appearance, including the fez hat, round glasses, and eight tendrils connecting his creepy shadow creatures. However, the new version of the character may be even more sinister.

Ultimate X-Men Introduces A Twisted Take On Classic Villain The Shadow King

Ultimate X-Men #5 – Written & Illustrated By Peach Momoko; Variant Cover By Meghan Hetrick

Though more details about the character and his motivations are still to be revealed, it’s evident that this Shadow villain harbors resentment and anger towards Hisako, and the Ultimate X-Men of Japan must assemble to fend off his dark telepathic attacks.

The Shadow King is a multiversal threat to the X-Men that has taken on many nightmarish forms, with the new Ultimate version giving the character another horror-influenced redesign. First introduced in 1978, the villain made his debut in the form of Amahl Farouk. In reality, the Shadow King is a true Omega telepathic entity that can take on many forms. While Amahl Farouk is the most common and well-known vessel for the Shadow King, the updated Ultimate version of the character seems to have a new host.

Earth-6160’s version of the villain has been haunting the young mutant Hisako in relation to the tragic death of her friend Tsubasa. Though he first had only antagonized her in his disturbing shadow forms, Momoko’s Ultimate X-Men (2024) #2 showed, his new human or potentially mutant, form shrouded in the dark and surrounded by paper drawings. Though more details about the character and his motivations are still to be revealed, it’s evident that this Shadow villain harbors resentment and anger towards Hisako, and the Ultimate X-Men of Japan must assemble to fend off his dark telepathic attacks.

The Ultimate Universe’s Horror-Tinged X-Men Line Comes Into Focus

SHADOW KING First Appearance: X-Men #117 – By Chris Claremont, John Byrne, Terry Austin, & Glynis Wein

As the redesigned Shadow King character officially makes his mark in the issues of Momoko’s Ultimate X-Men, the twisted horror-inspired villain may prove to be the most threatening in the Ultimate line overall.

The reinvented X-Men are primarily young mutants in Japan, as Marvel had made it clear that they wanted to refocus the X-Men’s Ultimate counterparts away from the most traditional mutants on the team, like Wolverine and Cyclops. Armor’s new mutant friend Maystorm, Surge, Nico Minoru, and now Psylocke assemble to shape the universe’s new X-team, and the coming issues will reveal how they fare against the terrifying Shadow King. However, with the antagonist seemingly not featured in the evil Reed Richards’ Maker’s Council, it seems there will be more villains for the mutants to contend with just around the corner.

While Earth-6160’s heroes are gradually empowered to battle the supervillains assembled by the evil Reed Richards, Momoko’s Shadow King stands out as a different kind of antagonist for Ultimate Marvel. With a seemingly personal vendetta against young mutant Armor, and a connection to the ultra-powerful multiversal evil entity that has terrorized the X-Men for decades, he’s a powerful first villain while the new team comes together. As the redesigned Shadow King character officially makes his mark in the issues of Momoko’s Ultimate X-Men, the twisted horror-inspired villain may prove to be the most threatening in the Ultimate line overall.

Ultimate X-Men #5 will be available July 17, 2024 from Marvel Comics.