12 Days of X-Mas: X-Force #102

In our 12^th Day of X-Mas, we are looking at the “Revolution” era of X-Force. Revolution was a neat idea. Warren Ellis and a writer sharing his sensibilities took over some of the lower-selling X-Books like X-Force and X-Man. In this case, Ian Edgington is along to do the scripting.

Ellis goes back to his creation Pete Wisdom to bring some direction and snark to the title. No longer a generally mutant-interest book, Wisdom’s new focus is cleaning up the world’s “secret histories, alternative truths, and crimes against humanity.” A discerning reader could probably find some early version of Planetary, Global Frequency, and other Ellis works in this version of X-Force.

The team includes a bomber-jacket wearing Cannonball (who looks a lot beefier than I remember), a dark-clad Warpath, and a midriff-baring Meltdown (who I believe is dating Wisdom? There is chemistry there, at least). The only member who looks like an actual super-hero is Bedlam, sporting a red shirt with a distinctive X on it.

Whilce Portacio is a well-respected artist whose style meshes well with this high concept. With such a science-fiction/horror feel for the X-book, Portacio is able to show off his strength with moody scenes and concepts. X-Force doesn’t look so much like super-heroes, but they look like post-modern television stars, which was probably the point.

I don’t like this as an X-Force comic. I like my Marvel heroes bright and spandexed. Ellis’ penchant to make his characters dangerously cool with bad attitudes has gotten a bit old now, but it was still pretty “revolutionary” when this came out. And I like the core concept behind the book. More than anything else, giving the team a clear goal and reason for existing makes this a GOOD comic and one worth checking out.

I hope you enjoyed the 12 Days of X-Mas! X-Force really had a wild time over the years, with some absolutely fantastic artwork. There is one era I’m purposely avoiding, but that’s because I plan to cover it when I look at a different series during a different holiday. 

12 Days of X-Mas: X-Force #82

In the continuing saga of great artists, this issue of X-Force features future superstar Jimmy Cheung. This is a pretty neat glimpse at his early work because unlike some of the other artists we’ve seen so far, Cheung already has his style pretty well established. He’s not perfect, things can look a bit too cartoony, but man, he’s already quite good.

John Francis Moore has the team setting up shop in San Francisco with a pretty reduced lineup. Dani Moonstar, Siryn, Warpath, Meltdown (formerly Boom Boom), and Sunspot make up the team at the start of the issue. I had totally forgotten that Sunspot and Boomer were dating. The pairing is no odder than the one with Cannonball, although dating two best friends is always an interesting choice for new drama.

Another forgotten (to me) character makes his debut in this issue. Jesse Aaronson (later known as Bedlam) shows up asking the team to help out their former mentor Domino. (Both Bedlam and Domino will end up filling out this era’s roster by the close of the issue.) This all sets up with a new villain called the Gryphon along with a strange new Marvel science-villain organization. Thanks to some sharp character design from Cheung, even the low-level guards and flunkies are pretty interesting and unique looking. I’m not sure I buy the threat-level they pose to the team, but the look pretty good in their slimmed down, Mandroid-ish armor. (In a great twist, there is no psyche-shielding on the power suits, so Moonstar just drops each of them with one hit.)

I’m not a huge fan of the “team uniform” look, because it takes away so much of the visual flair of super-hero comics. Sunspot can make out just fine in a uniform, but Warpath and Siryn lose so much of their unique palette and contrast on each page.

This is another FAIR issue of X-Force. This is something of a trend at this point. Moore does a nice job giving each character a voice (and making Siryn an effective leader) but there is nothing ground-breaking here. That will have to wait for tomorrow’s issue. 

12 Days of X-Mas: X-Force #70

Check out the nice turnaround from the last issue I reviewed. About thirty issues ago, the team was rededicated to its mission and bidding farewell to founding member Cannonball. Now, with John Francis Moore writing, it is time for another split. Fortunately, Adam Pollina is still around on pencils, although I think he’s getting quite a bit of help from his inkers at this point.

With Zero Tolerance wrapping up, Cable has decided it is time for the team to go underground to continue their mission. The only problem is? He never cleared that idea with the team. So instead of the young mutants taking on new identities and sticking with Cable, instead they strike out on their own. I enjoyed seeing Cable take the news so well; he realizes that the adult soldiers he raised can make their own decisions.

So Cable’s out. But so are some other regulars. Domino is dealing with some pretty brutal treatment from the Zero Tolerance camp, so she needs some time on her own. Worst of all, Ozymandius shows up claiming Caliban for Apocalypse. Cable would have stood up for his teammate, but I guess Ozymandius is sporting some powerful telepathy himself. After slipping Cable a mental mickey, no one even knows Caliban in in trouble. Warpath is trapped in a weird cartoony world with the Vanisher. I can’t really remember what the heck is going on with that weirdness.

Pollina really shows off his skills with the Warpath and Vanisher stuff. The sudden alterations between cartoon-like dogs and savage creatures is jarring, but due to Pollina’s excellent stage-setting, it looks continuous too. Some of the pages look like Pollina spent a good amount of time making folks look great. But other moments… I can’t even recognize Pollina’s art. Siryn is a great example of this; she looks spot-on and charming for most of the issue, but suddenly she loses detail towards the end of the issue. Very strange.

I like where this book is taking the team, and the characters are all developing nicely. But the lack of a clear conflict (including the odd non-confrontation with Cable) keeps this from becoming a really strong comic. FAIR it is.

12 Days of X-Mas: X-Force #44

With issue 44, we’re in the Jeph Loeb and Adam Pollina era of the team. As I will continue to say as I do these reviews, I’m absolutely floored at the level of artistic talent that transitioned through this book. Any editor would dream of a bullpen of artists coming through.

Adam Pollina’s superstar status isn’t quite earned in this debut issue. The characters are all a bit on the cartoony side, and there are times when the anatomy shifts a tad. But the seeds are here. The top-notch facial expressions. The unique takes on costumes and civilian clothes. He also uses geometric shapes to fill in panel backgrounds, which Liefeld did for a short while back in issue #1. It’s a neat effect, one I’d like to see used more today. Pollina doesn’t shy away from making his male characters just as attractive as his women. (I just read on Wikipedia that Pollina worked for an adult comics publisher before Marvel, so I guess I see how that happened!)

I also love his big, dopey Caliban. This is my favorite take on the character for sure.

Jeph Loeb’s story picks up with the team hanging out at the X-Mansion as Cable and Cyclops debate what to do with the team. I like the respect the team holds for Cyclops. These days, Scott Summers is so close to a villain that I find myself remembering his old status fondly. Loeb has the characters all doubting themselves quite a bit. They are definitely in the “student” aspect of their personalities, totally going along with Cable and Domino’s leadership.

It is pretty fun, considering how established the X-Force roster is after 44 issues. There has been a fair amount of turnover, but the core of the New Mutants team is still here. Cable, Domino, Warpath, Sunspot, Rictor, Shatterstar, and Boom Boom are all still hanging around. Sabretooth is in his mindless animal state, kept safely locked away in the Danger Room. So basically, the issue is all talking, with the team debating what Cable is going to do with them. In the end, it is pretty much status quo with one big change; Cannonball is off to join the X-Men. The cover gives it away a little bit, but that’s OK. I remember thinking it was a big deal when Sam Guthrie made the grade to full X-status. Now that he’s an Avenger, it is crazy seeing how far the character has come.

I’m pretty intrigued to see what was going on in the next issues, though! The issue ends with Siryn (mouth clamped, of course) being taken into a mental institution. I don’t remember what happens there at all!

This is a pretty GOOD comic, covering an interesting era in X-history. The best part? Pollina’s fantastic Sunspot! 

12 Days of X-Mas: X-Force #32

Happy New Year!

The Younghunt. Oof. Fabian Nicieza has written some fantastic comics over the years, but there are some mighty iffy concepts out there too. It doesn’t help that the villains teaming up to partake in the hunt are a pretty weak mix. Sienna Blaze, Shinobi Shaw, Trevor Fitzroy, and Graydon Creed are not grade-A villains. Mostly (now) forgotten second-generation villains that didn’t end up having much staying power, it is hard to take them seriously. The only other hunters in the issue are rocking absolutely awful 90’s looks. Fenris, the neat brother/sister villain team, are clearly the coolest villains in the issue. But they look bad.

For the first part of a crossover with the New Warriors, there isn’t a whole lot of Warrior goodness happening. Justice is hanging out with Shinobi Shaw and making overtures towards joining the Hellfire Club, but it is all a cover. Dwayne Taylor shows up too, but I don’t think any character ever refers to him as his Night Thrasher identity. It took me a moment to remember who he was!

Its too bad, the idea of hunting down former members of the New Mutants and Hellions is a strong one. I had almost forgotten that Firestar was a former Hellion. I’m tempted to read more of the crossover to see if she has any nice moments with Warpath or any of the other mutant-focused characters.

Again, as the first part of a crossover, why oh why would we have to spend so much time on the boring Guthrie farm? There has never been a good reason to spend a lot of time with Cannonball’s generic family. Even seeing early-days Husk doesn’t help if she’s acting this silly and doe-eyed. I was amused to see Cannonball and Boom Boom frolicking around at the ol’ swimmin’ hole, though. Their relationship is something else that I had totally forgotten about.

I’m also curious to see what is happening in the next X-Force issue I read. With most of the team really starting to mature, I am not sure Cable is really a necessary part of the team. His obscure future talk and fatherly advice are unnecessary at this point. I want more Rictor. I want more Shatterstar. I want more Siryn. I don’t need to hear Cable talking about responsibility and his lost son from the future!

How lucky was this book artist-wise? From Rob Liefeld to Greg Capullo to Tony Daniel? Daniel’s art isn’t my cup of tea, but there is no doubt he’s got dynamic pencils. Every gal looks super hot and every guy has the same face and long hair, but the directing in the action sequences is fun. I do wish I had read one of his issues that didn’t spend so much time talking on a farm.

This one is only FAIR. I can’t give a comic that spends most of its time whining on a farm a top rating. 

12 Days of X-Mas: X-Force #25

Wow. Raise your hand if you remember these insane hologram covers. These things seemed pretty awesome on the trading cards of the time, I’m not sure it works so well just glued on the cover of a normal comic book. It is still cool, but it certainly prevents any uniform type of look on those covers.

So this is part of the Fatal Attractions storyline, almost a crossover, but not quite. There is a “mystery” villain, but I’m going to go ahead and spoil Magneto’s involvement now (20 years later). But while Magneto is the big bad of the issue, most of the fighting is between X-Force and Magneto’s disciple Exodus.

I always like it when Magneto uses his powers in a way that makes sense. After lurking in shadows for most of the issue, when it comes down to it, Magneto and Cable finally battle it out. Now, Cable is a half-metal cyborg, so how long do you think that fight should go? Fabian Nicieza does a nice job keeping Cable’s involvement an overall “win,” but boy, that is a short fight. Cable honestly shouldn’t have much of a chance against the master of magnetism. Since Cable manages to bring most of his recruits home and save the Professor (the AI program that helped raise Cable), he can claim a win, but c’mon, Magneto whipped up on ol’ Nate.

This is one of those issues where the rich history of the X-Men really makes for some interesting interactions. When Exodus takes most of the team up to Cable’s former spaceship, the mystery antagonist might still be shadowed to the reader, but the characters have no doubt about who they are speaking with. Cannonball and Sunspot spent years with Magneto as their mentor, so when he shows up as the mastermind, they aren’t concerned. It is pretty neat seeing the way Magneto sort of backs down and flatters his former students too. The characters’ history makes the moment work.

Greg Capullo does another nice job with the art in this issue. Exodus is a bit of a challenge, though. Not only is his 90’s look ridiculous, but I have absolutely no idea what his powers are. When Exodus uses his vague powers take on the X-Force team, it just looks like big blasts of random energy. Seriously, what the heck can he do besides be ominous and menacing? (And sport a sweet mullet?)

Another thing Capullo’s art really emphasizes is how strong the team line-up is at this point. Rictor might look like another 90’s bozo, but aesthetically, his green and brown toned costume really looks good in the group. Warpath’s red and blue still takes up a lot of space on the panel, contrasting with Shatterstar’s white, Feral’s orange, and the pinks and yellows for Boom Boom. Capullo does a really nice job with the team action, and Nicieza has the personalities and power sets into an interesting and useful mix. This is a well-rounded superhero team.

This isn’t a great comic, merely GOOD, but it is an easy, fun read. The art keeps the book interesting, and frankly, using Magneto makes the book feel more important than it has so far. This is definitely on the stronger side of the X-Force books I’ve sampled so far. 

12 Days of X-Mas: X-Force #15

Here we go, Greg Capullo! 

And man, does the art take a turn for the better! Capullo is a respected artist and huge draw now, but this is one of his earliest assignments, so he’s nowhere near as polished as he is on Batman. That said, there is no denying the immediate improvement in storytelling and anatomy that he brings.

Capullo gets to show off with a couple nice fights, too. Deadpool vs. Cable works out pretty well, with Deadpool rocking some Spider-Man poses as he throws down with Cable. I can’t say I understand why Cable wants to go punch-for-punch with DP, except that it looks cooler and more “comic book-y.” 

Capullo is the best X-Force artist (so far) at drawing women too. Domino looks fantastic. Without her metal facemask and in some conveniently torn clothing, she looks fantastic. As a more mature reader, I question why her pants now look like a thong and how she got a conveniently placed hole on the chest of her costume, but I’m sure younger Timbotron didn’t mind.

The other fight goes by a tad quicker, but still shows off the team’s powers nicely, Crule suddenly re-enters (almost like a movie skipping back a few seconds) and comes after Cannonball once again. I swear, it is like a few panels of last issue just get erased and Capullo gets to do them over with his better pencils. Is that possible? 

This time, Cannonball barks out some orders, setting Shatterstar and Feral after the close-quarters combatant. It’s pretty neat seeing Cannonball treated like an effective team leader. Sam Guthrie was one of my favorites when I was younger, and THIS is how I liked seeing him. Confident and battle-trained, he’s much cooler than he was in the earlier issues. More importantly, with Cable gone, there is actually a role for Cannonball to play. With Cable around, Cannonball barely deserved a few lines of dialogue. Now he’s making decisions and recruiting his best friend Sunspot back onto the X-Force roster.

Man, do I like Siryn. Her costume is so dynamic and cool; I can’t help but like her. That under-arm cape is tremendous! And while Liefeld made his mark drawing Shatterstar and Feral, Capullo is no slouch. Both characters look really nice in these pages. I remain stunned that Shatterstar’s padded facemask can look so neat under so many artists’ pencils! Crule, though? He’s awful. From his name to his generic look, I’m remembering why I blocked this storyline from my memory all those years ago.

This GOOD comic is back to being art-driven, but now it is being served by Fabian Nicieza’s plot and pacing. This is the best it has been since I started re-reading.

Tomorrow, we see how the X-Force team responds when placed into an X-crossover…

12 Days of X-Mas: X-Force #14

We are in uncharted waters here, folks. I chose this issue to review because I thought it was the debut of dynamic penciller Greg Capullo. (You may have heard of his Batman work? Or Spawn?) But it turns out Capullo only did the cover, and the interior pencils are by fill-in penciller Terry Shoemaker. 

Shoemaker’s art is fine, but it is a bit cartoony. It’s brighter than Liefeld’s crosshatched work in the first issues. I think I see some Chris Batista-like details in the faces, and Larry Stroman’s style in the figure work. So a book that launched to feature the artist is saddled with a workmanlike fill-in, but clearly the art-driven direction of the book is taking a back-seat.

Fabian Nicieza is still writing, and things have cleared up nicely. The book opens with Cable and Domino infiltrating Tolliver’s estate while Cannonball and the rest of the team take on SHIELD. This era is clearly part of the confusing Externals plot, a storyline I have worked hard to block from my memory. The silly-named Crule shows up to kill Cannonball at the end of the issue, because… I think the Eternals are sort of like Highlanders? There can be only one… (maybe?) The main team doesn’t have much time to decide on their future plans. There is some talk about a long-term plan for the team without Cable’s influence, but they can’t really decide on a plan before Crule’s arrival.

I remember being very surprised by the other big development in this issue. When Domino and Cable get inside Tolliver’s home, they find Domino tied up against the wall. That’s right; the Domino who has been appearing in this book since the New Mutants days is in fact Vanessa, Deadpool’s sometime girlfriend. The real Domino has been captured and tied up for all this time. I do appreciate that Cable seems to zip through Tolliver’s other flunky at the close of the issue, setting up a big Cable/Deadpool throw down for next month. Of course, Deadpool seems to kill regretful Vanessa as he arrives, so it isn’t all fun and games.

While the art isn’t as fun as the early issues, the plot does move along more smoothly. Having Nicieza plot and script his own stories does seem to have improved the pacing of the issue. This is still only a FAIR comic, but it is getting better as the pacing and story improve. 

12 Days of X-Mas: X-Force #4

Here we go! Rob Liefeld must have been focused on this issue for the past few months, because this book looks a ton better than issues 2 and 3. The horizontal layout challenge must have been a fun one, because Liefeld’s art hasn’t looked this good since issue 1. Sure, Cable is still wearing that absolutely atrocious metal armor with the prongs; and Cable’s thighs are still unbelievably huge, but almost everything else in this book looks better than the last two books.

Liefeld’s Spider-Man is distinctly McFarlane-esque, which makes sense since this story crossed over with McFarlane’s title. There are almost no backgrounds throughout the entire issue, but that time seems to have been made up in details on the core characters. Juggernaut (sporting glowing red eyes in most panels) looks demonic and dangerous. The mutants battling him look great, with some nicely detailed panels for Siryn and the other ground-level fighters.

The storytelling suffers on the Cable-centric pages. Either Cable is walking or the hand holding his huge gun is just mysteriously switching for no reason. If there were backgrounds or more of a sense of motion, I’d probably know which it was, but as I said; no backgrounds. Cable also acts like a tough guy in his panels, blasting Black Tom as he dangles down an elevator shaft. Somehow missing at point blank range, Deadpool just pops on panel to rescue Mr. Cassidy before he buys the farm. 

Unfortunately, the Tolliver sub-plot bleeds over into this story big time, with Deadpool porting out Juggernaut too. And after the heroes had just gotten his helmet off too! (Now, I’m not certain how much a difference that made. It sure doesn’t seem to me that even the entire X-Force team (plus Spidey) could stop Juggernaut. Juggs is no worse for wear after 30-plus minutes fighting the heroes. This is a well-choreographed boss fight that really feels big-time thanks to the horizontal page gimmick.

Spidey just doesn’t fit in that well with the X-folks here. (This is in the married Spider-Man era, so it was nice to see Spidey making references to Mary Jane.) There aren’t really any good “connections” for Spidey among the X-Force roster, so there aren’t any great bonding moments. It’s too bad; I know Fabian Nicieza could do more if there was a kindred spirit amongst Cable’s young troopers. Heck, I think the strongest bond for the web-slinger is Juggernaut due to their past conflicts.

Tomorrow I’ll be jumping ahead in the X-Force chronology, so this wraps up the initial “Liefeld era” of the title. I remember liking it, but not loving it. Reading it over 20 years later, it doesn’t hold up that great. The art is more uneven than I remembered, although the sense of kinetic action is still strong. I still think Liefeld’s greatest strengths are his character design and frenetic action sequences. When the story slows down, when I have time to really pore over the anatomy, I have a lot of questions. But dangit, I still like the overall energy of Liefeld comics! 

12 Days of X-Mas: X-Force #3

Oh my gosh, three issues in, and I’m having a hard time. Rob Liefeld’s art, which was so nicely laid out and designed in issue 1 is really starting to look rushed. The thighs and general anatomy of the characters has gone out the window. I mean, there are panels where Warpath’s waist looks thicker than Juggernaut’s whole body! And Cable’s armor, oh my gosh, it is awful. There are two strange sharp prongs that look like they should be jabbing ol’ Nathan in the face during every fight. Juggernaut looks OK, but most of the characters really don’t look good.

But that isn’t a universal comment, because once again, Liefeld seems to be spending a lot of time on Shatterstar and Feral. Both characters look more completely penciled in. Their cross-hatching is more detailed. They have more lines on their uniforms and faces. In general, these two look the best every single issue. The list does grow here, though. Black Tom Cassidy is nicely realized on the page here. From his fantastic, over-the-top villainous posing to his moments in battle, Black Tom looks good. 

Siryn, for the most part, looks good too, but there are a few iffy panels for her too. Adding Siryn to the team does wonders for the color scheme of the team. With this early 90’s coloring, the pinks, purples, and silvers were not looking good. Only Warpaths’ blue and red really breaks up the bland-looking team. Adding Siryn's greens and yellows really breaks up the page.

I love Fabian Nicieza’s dialogue for Black Tom and Juggernaut. They sound like classic comic book bullies. It is weird seeing this much talking between Warpath and Juggsy, but it is amusing seeing the tough guy posturing. Plus, any book with a “Krathakapow” sound effect is OK by me!

  

This book is a set-up for issue 4, the “all-horizontal” issue guest-starring Spider-Man. Issue 3 doesn’t stand too well on its own, but it does pull the book out of the nosedive of issue 2. Issue one remains the high point of this FAIR series. 

12 Days of X-Mas: X-Force #2

Kane! Weapon X! With the power to shoot his hands and feet off like a broken toy! I can’t remember if he had more powers, but those are the only ones he uses in this issue. The opening pages are as dynamic as the premiere issue, but man, the overwhelming RED on the page makes it hard to enjoy. I know you can’t change someone’s costume design, but having Deadpool and Kane throw down just makes for an overall sense of red bleeding over the entire page.

In fact, I’m not sure if it is the coloring or printing errors, but this book is full of problems. Boom Boom’s awful costume is mis-colored on one page. Cable’s face is pure yellow in on another. The quality control on this one wasn’t too high, I think.

Rob Liefeld’s pencils are not as tight as in the first issue, and the anatomy on some of his figures seems more off than normal. I don’t expect realism in comic art, but I’m pretty sure that Warpath has three elbows per arm in one panel. In fact, a lot of the cast doesn’t look great here, with the grimacing and wincing through the roof. BUT, Liefeld still makes Feral and Shatterstar look tremendous. I wonder if Shatterstar was his favorite? That padded mask actually looks cool to me!

In issue 1, Fabian Nicieza really throttled back the caption boxes. They are back with a vengeance here. Kane in the opening sequence, and Feral in the back, the dialogue is heavy and obvious, not the best I’ve seen from the writer. He does do a nice job with Deadpool’s dialogue though. It’s so weird seeing the character show up in this comic as a villain. He’s working for “Tolliver,” who I don’t even remember!

The main plot isn’t a barn-burner. GW Bridge wants Kane for his anti-X-Force team, and Feral loses control and guts Cannonball while on a training exercise. I’m much more excited about the cliffhanger; Black Tom Cassidy has kidnapped Gideon and Sunspot. PLUS, Tom has just rescued the Juggernaut from a non-corporeal state.

This AVERAGE issue isn’t quite as fun as issue 1, but I’m anxious to see the team go after the Juggernaut. 

12 Days of X-Mas: X-Force #1

Merry Christmas! I hope everyone is having a nice holiday season! 

Once again, I’ll be doing a special theme for the 12 Days of X-Mas as I look at an older X-Men comic, series or theme. Over the years, I’ve changed from a more general “X-Men” theme to looking at a specific series. This year, we’re looking at volume 1 of everyone’s favorite 90’s creation: X-Force! Launching in 1991, this is going to be interesting. I haven’t read these issues since early high school!

A lot of people say a lot of things about Rob Liefeld, but I have to say, I’ve always enjoyed his work. The pencils aren’t the most realistic, but that sense of dynamic action on every page really pops. One thing that really struck me as I re-read this issue was the panel layout of each page. Liefeld never goes for a straight grid. Each page is unique, with smaller insets, partial splashes, and odd patterns and colors set behind the panels. In some cases, I had a hard time figuring out what order to read the panels, but for most pages, I found myself pleasantly engaged by the non-standard layout. Some of the background patterns even reminded me of Snake Eye’s Arashikage tattoo!

Fabian Nicieza provides the dialogue, and one thing absolutely blew me away. There is almost no narration in this issue. The story is told through dialogue, either yelled or spoken. We don’t have the yellow boxes of modern comics to tell us what is happening. That’s an even more impressive factor considering how much is introduced in this debut issue. We meet the X-Force team itself, their main target Stryfe, and his team of mutants the MLF. We see X-Force’s new HQ established. And simmering subplots are introduced with SHIELD’s G.W. Bridge.

In our debut issue, the core team is fairly straightforward. Most of the characterization is focused on Cable. There are elements of his past that I do not remember AT ALL. I forgot he kept his powers hidden from the team when this series started. I had totally forgotten that he had a father-son relationship with some dude named Tyler. I think Cable and Domino are still together in this too, but I’m pretty sure that gets retconned at some point soon.

As for the rest of the team, Domino is Cable’s girlfriend. Cannonball is the earnest young soldier seeking Cable’s approval. Shatterstar and Feral are both wildcard brawlers. Warpath is almost totally silent, although Cable does allude to the fact that Warpath’s strength seems to be increasing. Plus, I forgot that Sunspot was trapped in narrative limbo with the Externals and that silly guy Gideon. Oh man, I’m dreading that External plotline.

I really love Warpath’s costume. That is such a classic look; I wish the character was appearing in something more regularly. I also can’t resist the design on Shatterstar. That padded facemask, the double blades, the half-cape. Let’s face it, that’s a great 90’s design. Feral is pretty basic, but I LOVE that huge afro. Domino looks better without the weird shell facemask. I think her look here is not flattering. Liefeld really does have a knack for costume design. Cable’s huge vest, guns, shoulder pads couldn’t be more 90’s. I know it is silly, but c’mon, it’s also pretty awesome! I also love Stryfe and the MLF. Boom Boom and Cannonball have the worst costumes in the comic. The choice to go with pink as the primary color for both is a mistake, and the accent colors only make it worse. Oof, Cannonball has looked so much better!

All in all, this issue is an intellectual property bonanza! There are so many ideas and concepts tossed out in the premiere issue that I can’t help but find this comic dang entertaining. I don’t think it is just nostalgia to say this comic is GOOD!

Tomorrow... the 12 Days of X-Mas!

Don't forget the best part of the holiday season! A look back at old X-comics in the
12 Days of X-Mas!

Tomorrow!