By request! Which of these three first issues is the best, and are any of them good enough to warrant further reading?
Before we get to the actual evaluation, I should probably start with a little editorializing. I’m not an X-Fan. Prior to reading the three issues in this column, I can safely say I’ve only read two “X-Force” books before, and they were two parts to a four-part “New Warriors” story. I know a bare minimum about Cable, and the other characters are all complete unknowns. My knowledge of various X-Events consists only of some scattered reviews I’ve read. It seems like this complete lack of awareness would make me better suited to evaluate these issues, but I’ll leave that up to you.
Written by Fabian Nicieza / Illustrated by Rob Liefield / 48 pages
The issue opens with the X-Force team gathered in Antarctica. They attack a Mutant Liberation Front base with the intention of killing Stryfe, the MLF leader. After Stryfe escapes, Cable tells Cannonball the death of his surrogate son is only one reason Cable wants to take Stryfe down. Meanwhile, in subplots, a man named Bridge is contracted by Nick Fury to bring down Cable, and a business man named Gideon trains a protege and is taken hostage in a boardroom.
The writing is early Fabian Nicieza, from a time when he hadn’t yet learned to show instead of tell. The dialogue and narration are sometimes painful, with characters outright stating how they feel. That makes me feel angry! The early pages are filled with awkward exposition, but oddly none dealing with who this team is, or why they’re fighting the MLF. In fact, based on the contents of this issue alone, you could even come away with the impression Stryfe is the good guy and X-Factor are the villains. Cable calls them “terrorists” once, neither Cable nor Nicieza provide any evidence to support the claim. There are some MLF goons who rate high enough to get names, and they appear to be a mirror image of some X-Factor members, but they ultimately do nothing but fill a few pages.
The subplots are just as weak. A caption box introduces Gideon as “a very mysterious man.” It’s a good thing we’re told this, because you may not catch how mysterious he is when you see him do normal things like “prepare a youth to replace him” and “attend a board meeting.” Meanwhile, Bridge is trying to capture Cable because…action, I guess. Fury wants Cable captured because Fury doesn’t know what Cable’s goal is.
The art is Rob Liefeld. Is there any point to examining closer? Pockets! Proportions! Expressions!
Final Verdict: 3 – This title lasting as long as it did is proof something was wrong with comic buyers in the 90s.
Written by Fabian Nicieza / Illustrated by Rob Liefeld / 23 pages
The story begins in ancient times, when Cable was riding around on horseback wearing furs. He encounters a monster named Skornn who eats life forces. This is revealed to be a memory which startles Cable in the present. He tells Domino something’s wrong just as they’re attacked by timetravlers in red tights. Cable and Domino beat them up, then go find Shatterstar battle-training at a monastery. Turns out, those red guys were after a sword which happens to be at that same monastery. The time traveling guys show up because they were tracking Cable through some techno-mumbo-jumbo. A fight ensues, and Shatterstar ends up agreeing to fight beside cable and Domino again.
It’s amazing to see how much Nicieza grew as a writer between the previous issue and this one. Two of the biggest changes, a smaller cast and showing the team’s formation, work to make this issue a much better starting point. There are a few pages with narration, but most of the exposition and character development is done through dialogue, which is more effective at showing readers who the characters are. It’s occasionally wordy, and some of the comments seem forced, but first issues featuring characters with complex histories usually are. The overall direction for the book is streamlined and clear, letting you know exactly what to expect from the second issue.
Continued belowThe art is Rob Liefield. He, too, developed over the thirteen years since “X-Force” #1 (1991). The cast feature a wider range of expressions (“wider” = “more than two”), and the proportions are…less…off. There are sometimes whole pages without a single pin-up pose! It’s easy to pick on Liefield, because he has a style which is exaggerated and goofy in a genre that usually leans more toward serious. To be completely sincere about it, his work has progressed by leaps and bounds, and it’s made very clear by comparing these two issues.
Final Verdict: 6 – Good enough to browse, and some may like it enough to buy.
Written by Craig Kyle and Christ Yost / Illustrated by Clayton Craig / 22 pages
The most recent issue of “X-Force” begins with a prose recap page which covers M-Day, the birth of Hope, and the new X-Force team’s first mission. The action starts with Cyclops approaching Wolverine and narrating a flashback to an attack on a SHIELD base. Some mutant haters called the Purifiers stole something green, and Cyclops asks Wolverine to lead X-Force and get it back. When he does, the Purifiers try to use the green stuff to revive Nimrod, the robotic mutant killer. X-Force’s attack is stopped when the Purifier leader threatens to kill Rahne. X-23 calls his bluff, and BLAM! To be continued.
Whatever arrangement Kyle and Yost used for writing this story, it worked. Through a mixture of conversation, flashbacks, and cutaways, all the team members and the Purifiers are introduced. By the end of the issue, everyone has a clear motive and attitude, including the Purifiers. For the most part, the heavy baggage these characters come with is easily put in a box and labled instead of spread out in heavy exposition. “For the most part,” because they apparently couldn’t figure out how to distill Nimrod. The damaged robot appears out of nowhere, and a severed head is put on it amid huge walls of text. Then, POOF!, the robot turns into a man and says “Mutants Detected.” He then disappears for the rest of the issue while X-Force attacks. This issue would’ve been better served if his scenes had been pushed into issue two and given more time to breathe. The final cliffhanger would also have been more grabbing if Rahne had received more page time. She was the least-developed member of the team, and Kyle and Yost provided little reason to care if she died.
The art was stylized, but it wasn’t Rob Liefield. Craig’s characters are expressive and dynamic, but occasionally leaves too much to your imagination. For all the various mutant abilities and transformations in this issue, he doesn’t show any of them mid-action. Rahne goes from human to wolf off panel. Nimrod turns into Bastion off panel. This saves precious page space, but can leave an unfamiliar reader confused about what just happened. His colors and shadows fit the atmosphere of the story perfectly, and his use of “ghosts” during X-23’s investigation of the SHIELD base is inspired.
Final Verdict: 7 – A good issue that won’t disappoint X-Fans, but not quite strong enough to hook an X-Outsider for another issue.
Final Standoff: 2008 > 2004 > 1991
