Ultimate X-Men #66

Issue Date: 
March 2006
Story Title: 
Date Night
Staff: 

Robert Kirkman (writer), Tom Raney (pencils), Scott Hanna (inks), Gina Going-Raney (colors), Chris Eliopoulos (letters), Omar Otieku (production), John Barber (assistant editor), Nicole Wiley (assistant editor), Ralph Macchio (editor), Joe Quesada (editor-in-chief), Dan Buckley (publisher)

Brief Description: 

Cyclops meets up with the Professor, informing him that almost everyone is going out to have a fun time after the recent troubles they all had. Xavier, having a dinner date with a beautiful woman instead, gives his permission. Scott and Jean go visit the Westchester movie theater, where they have a whole room for themselves. However, Jean has a fight with Scott, wishing he became a little more spontaneous in their relationship. Scott gives her a passionate kiss, making her a bit happier. Kurt and Colossus go and visit the still-comatose Dazzler at the hospital, where Kurt admits he had feelings for her before she became an item with Warren. They have to teleport into the closet for safety, though, when a nurse enters. Kurt disliked it, but Peter smiles he didn’t have such a bad time. Iceman and Rogue are left alone at the school. At first, they avoid each other’s presence, but Rogue takes the initiative to meet up with Bobby at his room. There, she confesses that, due to the fact of her having Gambit’s powers over her own and can now touch anything she wants, they share some passionate moments. Elsewhere in upstate New York, a boy finds his parents dead. After dropping Kitty off in the city so she can fight criminals together with her new boyfriend, Spider-Man, the Professor meets up with his dinner date. He gets introduced to Lilandra Neramani of the Church of the Shi’Ar Enlightenment, who offers him a big amount of money and believes they’ll become good friends. Storm and Wolverine visit a bar where they play some pool. After leaving the bar, Wolverine gets approached by an old enemy of his… Sabretooth!

Full Summary: 

Xavier’s…

Cyclops finds Xavier in the Danger Room. Scott asks the Professor why he is there, since everyone has been looking all over the place for him. Xavier claims he is just practicing his powers, defending that every mutant at this school has still got a lot to learn about their powers, including him. He mentions he’s confident his telekinesis could provide him with the means to walk again. He asks Scott what’s on his mind. Scott explains that he thinks everyone is going out for the night. After all the business with Emma’s students and Magneto, not to mention with the Ultimates and the Fantastic Four, Scott thinks everyone needs to blow off some steam.

Xavier thinks that will be good for everyone, joking that lately Kitty seems to be the only one who gets out to do anything. But Charles realizes that’s only so she can have her little adventures with Spider-Man. But he thanks Scott for reminding him. He mentions that the car service will arrive at the school any minute now, and Charles doesn’t want to be late for his dinner date. Scott is a bit startled to hear the Professor has a date. Charles smiles that he’s handicapped and not dead. He is meeting a woman, though will be discussing business with her. But still, he sees it as a date.

Scott smiles that he understands it: it’s a business date but the woman is attractive enough for the Professor for him to wish he were on a date. Charles jokes that he thinks Jean is finally rubbing off on Scott, which is not a bad thing. Scott defends that actually, Jean is in the other room changing clothes and getting ready. Scott jokes that he thinks Jean made him say what he just said.

As they walk out, Kitty approaches Scott and the Professor. She asks Scott if he and Jean are going to the movies in Westchester or stay at the school. Scott explains they’re staying home. Kitty notices Storm and Wolverine leaving. She asks Logan for a ride, but he doesn’t have room enough on his bike. Charles smiles that his car will arrive here shortly, so he could easily drop her off on his way to the restaurant. Kitty cheers and happily hugs the Professor. Charles takes off to freshen up a bit, and Kitty mentions he’ll meet him in the foyer. She leaves with Scott, and asks him what movie he and Jean are going to see. Scott honestly doesn’t know.

Kurt asks if anyone has seen the Professor. Kitty explains that she’s meeting him in a minute. Bobby jokes at Kitty that, now that she and her new boyfriend are going on a date again, she must be his new sidekick instead of a girlfriend. Kitty defends that she doesn’t know what Bobby is talking about. She thought they were going to be nice against each other again. Bobby remembers, joking he forgot about that. Jean descends the stairs, and she and Scott leave. Charles arrives as well. He notices that the car has arrived and tells Kitty they have to go.

Kurt holds the Professor, asking if he can take one of the cars to go visit Alison at the hospital, since he didn’t have a chance to go visit her yet since her accident. The Professor gives his permission. Peter asks Kurt if he can join him as well, since he too hasn’t gone visit Ali. Hesitant, Kurt agrees for Peter to tag along. Rogue comes out of a room, surprised asking where everyone is going. Kitty explains where everyone is heading, and sarcastically jokes that it’ll just be Rogue and her ex here at the mansion. Once everyone is gone, Bobby goes back to his room, avoiding Rogue’s presence.

Upstate New York…

A man finds himself in a big, empty mansion. He calls out to his dad, but doesn’t get an answer. He wonders where he is.

New York City, the restaurant…

A waiter informs a beautiful woman that her guest has arrived. The woman thanks him. Xavier arrives at the table, apologizing for being late since he had to drop off Kitty in the city for her date. The woman isn’t disturbed, since this gave her time to order some wine. She suggests they skip to the point of this meeting. Xavier agrees, interested in what this is all about since his lawyers failed to tell him much about the woman in front of him. The woman explains that her organization has recently learned of Xavier’s separation from the U.S. government and, more specifically, their funding. So, she thinks that the first thing Xavier should know about her and her organization is that they would like to give him a substantial amount of money.

Westchester cinema…

Jean asks Scott to hurry up, as they are about to miss the trailers. Scott doesn’t care, but Jean does, since she sees the trailers as the best part of the movie.

Westchester General Hospital…

Kurt teleports himself and Colossus in Dazzler’s hospital room. Peter asks Kurt why he used his powers to get inside, since visiting hours aren’t over yet. Kurt explains that someone with his appearance can’t just walk in somewhere. Kurt sighs, thinking that of all girls at the school, Alison would choose the devil over the angel.

the Nowhere Special bar

Storm and Logan are playing some pool. Storm already won two games and tells Logan to get the balls ready again. Logan does, and tells Ororo she might want to stop using her powers, like they agreed. Logan jokes that either the table is rigged, or they’ve got trouble of tiny gusts of wind guiding Ororo’s balls into the pockets. But Logan is confident that Ororo wouldn’t know anything about that. Storm smiles, agreeing with that last statement.

Logan coughs, as he can’t stand the many smoke hanging around the bar. Storm doesn’t understand that, remembering that, when Logan first came to Xavier’s, he always had a cigar. She wants to know when Logan lost his tolerance. Logan admits he lost it right after he moved into the school and can’t even stand cigars now. He guesses that change in his behavior has got Jean’s name written all over it. Storm smiles that Logan should ask her to improve his game. Logan smiles that he could, or perhaps Ororo could stop cheating.

Xavier’s…

Rogue sneaks by Bobby’s room. She hears him laughing and asks Bobby what he’s doing. Bobby turns around, mentioning he’s just watching the new national pastime and watching funny videos on the internet. He invites Rogue to join him, if she wants to. She agrees.

Westchester cinema…

Scott and Jean are sitting alone at the theater room. She is having it cold, and telepathically informs Scott about it. He gets the hint and puts his arm around her shoulder.

Westchester General Hospital…

Colossus mentions he didn’t even knew Kurt had feelings for Alison, as she was an X-Man for such a short time. Kurt hears someone coming in, and quickly teleports him and Peter away. The stench of his teleportation stays hanging in the room. The nurse smells it, but suspects that someone put something wrong in Alison’s I.V. Hiding in the closet, Kurt admits that this wasn’t one of his best ideas. Peter smiles at him.

Westchester cinema…

Jean angrily and telepathically asks Scott they didn’t really come here simply to watch the movie. Scott turns over to kiss her, but Jean angrily turns away from him.

the Nowhere Special bar…

Ororo is about to win another game. Logan notices another man staring at her and doesn’t like it. The man suggests to Ororo that she dumps Logan and instead joins him to have a more fun night out. Ororo smiles that won’t happen, and tells the man to move along. He refuses. Logan defends that the man tries to suggest that question to him now, and they’ll see what happens next.

Xavier’s…

Bobby and Rogue are still laughing at the funny videos. Bobby thinks the one with the monkey was the funniest one, but Rogue likes the one with the guy surfing on the truck better. Bobby looks at her, asking if that’s true. Rogue confirms, but quickly turns away from Bobby since she noticed she was looking at her eyes. Bobby mentions that they look exotic to him, and just likes them. Rogue is surprised that her red and black eyes don’t creep Bobby out. Not even a little bit, as Bobby even compliments Rogue that she looks pretty as ever.

Rogue is glad to hear that and gently touches Bobby’s shoulder with her hand. Bobby asks her to wait, remembering her powers. Rogue claims that she doesn’t have her old powers anymore, since she absorbed Gambit’s abilities, meaning she can touch anything now. She kisses Bobby, but doesn’t notice that she is accidentally kinetically charging up Bobby’s shirt.

Bobby does notice and jumps away. He transforms into Iceman. The shirt explodes but, thanks to the fact Bobby changed into his mutant form, he remains unharmed. Rogue smiles that the explosion saved her the trouble of ripping it off from Bobby’s chest. She jumps off her chair and quickly, passionately kisses him!

Westchester cinema…

Scott and Jean are kissing each other. Jean waves one of her hands, and a sound is heard. Scott wants to know what that was, but Jean claims it was just a bug she killed. Scott admits that he noticed Jean has been acting a little strange lately, and suggests they need to talk about that.

New York City, the restaurant…

Xavier admits that, when his lawyers set up this meeting, he knew next to nothing about the woman or her organization. But he did do a little research before coming to this dinner, and understands that the woman is in a religious organization. The woman confirms, explaining that the government recognizes her group as an organized religion, but claims that they are much more than that. Charles mentions that it would be wrong of him if he wouldn’t admit he had some trepidation about this proposed agreement. He can assure the woman that he’ll hear her out. He asks for her name.

The woman introduces herself as Lilandra Neramani, revealing she is Majestrix of the Church of Shi’Ar Enlightenment. She’s confident that she and Charles are going to become very good friends.

Xavier’s…

Rogue is ready to make love with Iceman. Bobby admits that he has never done this before, but neither has Rogue.

Westchester General Hospital…

Kurt quickly pushes himself out of the closet, gasping for breath, joking he thought the nurse would never leave. Peter smiles he didn’t have such a bad time in there.

Elsewhere…

Kitty is fighting some thugs with Spider-Man, complimenting him that he sure knows how to show a girl a good time.

Westchester cinema…

Jean angrily runs out of the cinema. Scott follows her, asking what he did wrong.

the Nowhere Special bar…

Wolverine and Storm have teamed-up to knock the guy that was hitting on her out. Storm thought it was fun. They leave the bar and head towards Logan’s bike, where another man approaches him. The man has noticed that Logan is still causing trouble, but isn’t surprised. Logan is startled, as he recognizes an old enemy… Sabretooth!

outside Westchester cinema…

Jean angrily shouts at Scott it that isn’t about what he did, but what he didn’t do. Scott claims he honestly doesn’t know what Jean is talking about, and begs at her to for just this once to explain it to him. Jean sadly does and tells Scott that, for him being the leader of the X-Men, he is a total coward around her! She had to ask him to make every single move he ever made on her and she’s sick of it. She thinks it’s just stupid. She mentions that she knows Scott likes her because she’s telepathic but doesn’t know why Scott can’t just take that one extra step.

She doesn’t know if it’s just nerves or fear of rejection. Jean admits to Scott that, if it’s that last one, she can tell him that she has read his mind. She knows every single thing he wants to do with her. Everything. And there are just two things she will refuse to do. The rest is fair game. So, she begs of Scott, in the future to just be a little more spontaneous. Scott passionately kisses her. After the kiss, he asks Jean how that felt. Jean smiles that it’s a start.

Upstate New York…

The strange boy continues to walk around in the big, empty mansion. He calls out to his parents, but doesn’t get a response. He knows he can’t be the only person around this place. He tries to call out someone again, just wanting to have a clarification that he isn’t alone. But nobody says anything. The boy enters a room, and finds both his parents dead! The boy fears what he has done.

Characters Involved: 

Colossus, Cyclops, Dazzler, Iceman, Marvel Girl, Nightcrawler, Professor X, Rogue, Shadowcat, Storm, Wolverine (all X-Men)

Lilandra Neramani

Sabretooth

Spider-Man

unnamed boy

his parents (both unnamed)

bar visitors (all unnamed)

hospital nurse (unnamed)

restaurant visitors, waiter (all unnamed)

thugs (all unnamed)

Story Notes: 

The battle against Magneto, Emma Frost’s students and the Ultimates occurred in Ultimate X-Men #61-65. The X-Men dealt with the Fantastic Four in Ultimate X4 #1-2.

Iceman and Kitty began dating as of Ultimate X-Men #57, but broke up when Kitty discovered that Bobby had still feelings for his ex-girlfriend, Rogue, in Ultimate X-Men #61. They had been avoiding each other’s presence since but decided to become friends again last issue. Kitty began her relationship with Spider-Man in Ultimate Spider-Man Annual #1.

After he heard Colossus openly declaring that he is gay last issue, Kurt has been hesitant to talk to his close friend.

Dazzler became comatose last issue, after she got struck in her stomach by Deathstrike’s adamantium claws, as seen in Ultimate X-Men #64.

After leaving the X-Men to hit the road with Gambit in Ultimate X-Men #53, Rogue shared a last kiss with the Cajun after he was killed in a battle against the Juggernaut, as seen in Ultimate X-Men Annual #1. Due to that kiss, Rogue has absorbed Remy’s powers and some of his personality, including his red/black eyes.

First appearance of Lilandra Neramani.

Wolverine and Marvel Girl shared a passionate night between Ultimate X-Men #5-6. He had feelings for her ever since but she hated him after finding out he was in fact a spy for Magneto. Logan completely moved into the mansion after he helped rescue the captured X-Men from Weapon X, as seen in Ultimate X-Men #12.

Sabretooth hadn’t been seen since Ultimate X-Men #30. There, he was still a member of Magneto’s Brotherhood and had to face Wolverine in a battle. Logan, having had enough of it, chose to behead Sabretooth, wanting to figure out if he could recover from it. Apparently, Sabretooth managed to do that.

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