A lot happens in this issue. And it's all very strange.

We find out Magneto's parents were part of the testing scientists on Weapon X, which means Magneto is either Canadian or grew up in Canada, and we find out he was born a mutant and his powers are the reason he got away from the Weapon X program or Mutant X program or whatever it's called.

Beyond that, we then find Xavier as an instructor trying desperately to teach his students about Faustus and just like in the first X-movie, Magneto is in the back of the room, and their minds meet. Kinda like their first loves.

But Xavier can't read Magneto's mind, only the thoughts being projected toward him. And Magneto thinks maybe their powers act as a counterbalance (similar to the Summers' boys in the regular Marvel U). Magneto also read Xavier's book, which is where he got the idea for the mutant sanctuary, and they build it in the Savage Land.

While the flashbacks are going on and Xavier is complaining about being so far-removed from the world, the FF and Danvers start to believe that the thing that turned on is a weapon, and then that weapon starts to spread. The Ultimates find it, Spidey finds, the X-Men find it, it's all over the place. And it was in the Savage Land during the creation of the sanctuary.

It's all a little weird. There is a lot going on in this issue, and there are a few bits that don't match up. According to Ultimates by Jeph Loeb (hopefully not canon), Scarlet Witch invented the dinosaurs there. Yet before she was born, they are there, alive and flying around.

The question of how Xavier and Magneto are mutants is still there. Magneto could have been blood-testing, but what about the scores of mutants that exist all over the world? Was blood being given out in hospitals with the mutant gene in them? Is it all about the super-soldier serum or was it a flu vaccination being given to people at one point or another?

There are lots of questions that come out of this book, which is great from the standpoint of a conspiracy nut.

And that is Bendis' greatest feat here. Yes I was annoyed by last issue and Cap's retold origin, but this issue makes me think there is more below the surface. That maybe Cap was a variation on the mutant just like Wolverine was and Nick Fury was and I'm assuming Kingpin is. Still assuming, mind you, but we're cooking on all cylinders.

Guice and Bendis are a solid team. They aren't flashy here, they aren't blowing you away with new ideas on art and prose, but they are telling a great story that actually makes me care about the Ultimate universe outside of Spider-man again, and it's been awhile since I've cared.

So as my conspiracy brain is working things out, I just have one thing to say: there's only two issues left, how the hell are they going to tell the whole story between now and then? And why can't Bendis write Ultimatum?