When Brian Vaughan took over the writing chores on “Ultimate X-Men” last year, I wasn’t exactly fired up about it. I’ve been enjoying his “Y: The Last Man” and I hadn’t yet read the “Ex Machina” TPB, but aside from “Runaways,” his previous superhero work hadn’t really impressed me. However, his run on UXM has become the perfect example of the potential that actually lies within the Ultimate universe if you begin to look beyond simply updating classic MU characters. Vaughan turned the entire Longshot-related group of characters on their collective ear with his reimagining of them, he’s managed to make Apcalypse and Mr. Sinister far more interesting than their regular Marvel Universe predecessors, and with this annual, he’s taken the rather stale Rogue and Gambit relationship and completely upended any expectations you might have had regarding the characters.

For years now, annuals have been nothing more than oversized comics with nothing special to really seperate them from the “regular” issues of their series. Marvel’s made a point with all of their Ultimate Annuals to have a major event take place in them that will have lasting effects on the monthly series, but the twist that Vaughan delivers the UXM corner of the universe is by far the most surprising and intriguing. It’s one of those issues where the art (provided by the newly Marvel exclusive Tom Raney), writing and story developments have come together in such a way that you can imagine it will be referred to by collectors 10 years from now as a “key issue.”

I very nearly passed on this and the other Ultimate annuals due to their $3.99 cover prices, but to be honest, they’ve all managed to be worth the extra dollar or so. While the Ultimate Spidey annual may be my favorite of them so far, “Ultimate X-Men Annual” #1 easily has the biggest and most interesting developments of them all. If you’re a fan of the regular series and weren’t sure about getting this book, trust me, you’ll be kicking yourself if you skip it.

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