The smash-hit video game Marvel Rivals is all about bringing together Marvel heroes and villains from across different timelines of the Multiverse in a big clash. And when it comes to comics, one of the most enduring and popular alt-realities is the Ultimate Universe, which is currently in the midst of a full rebirth.
Now, in Ultimate X-Men #11, writer/artist Peach Momoko has dropped a reference that ties in directly to the video game incarnation of one of the most popular Duelist heroes in Marvel Rivals - and it's one that's also aimed at long time fans of Peach Momoko.
Spoilers ahead for Ultimate X-Men #11
Ultimate X-Men #12 by writer/artist Peach Momoko, script adaptor Zack Davisson, and letterer Travis Lanham deepens the mystery of the Children of the Atom and the newly formed X-Men's mission to free the mutants that have become victims of its cult. It also gives us the first confrontation between Kanon, the Ultimate Psylocke, and Hisako/Armor, co-founder of the X-Men.
In the midst of their brief fight, Kanon reveals that she is not just a mutant, she's the direct descendant of Sai, the psionic samurai hero of Peach Momoko's Demon Days saga who is adapted from the mainstream Marvel Universe hero Psylocke - who also just so happens to be the version of Psylocke that is in Marvel Rivals, potentially coming straight off the page to the game.
Though many of the default heroes of Marvel Rivals have flavor text and visual styling that is unique to Marvel Rivals, Sai is taken directly from writer/artist Peach Momoko's Demon Days comic, which recasts characters from the Marvel Universe into a world influenced by Japanese mythology. The connection is so direct that it's not only cited in Psylocke's in-game bio, the default Psylocke skin is taken almost whole cloth from Peach Momoko's art and design.
While most Marvel Rivals heroes have some alt-skins that tie directly into a specific era or comic, Psylocke/Sai is one of the few whose default presentation in the game is tied to a specific comic.
This has led to speculation from fans about whether the Marvel Rivals version of Psylocke is meant to be the exact same incarnation of Sai that appears in the comic - meaning not a game-specific interpretation of Sai, but the actual character, straight off the page.
While Peach Momoko's Easter egg adds some fuel to that speculation, it also raises some interesting questions about the possible comic book connections between Demon Days and Ultimate X-Men, and whether the timeline of Demon Days is merely mythology in the current Ultimate Universe as Armor suggests, or if it's actually possibly the same timeline, given Kanon says she's a direct descendent of Sai, and displays similar psionic abilities.
Whatever the case, Ultimate X-Men #11 is a treat for fans not just of Peach Momoko's ongoing Marvel canon, but also Marvel Rivals fans looking for direct connections to comics. And it does the best thing a comic can do, which is raise interest in finding out what's going to happen next in February 26's Ultimate X-Men #12.
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