REVIEW: X-Force # 1

by Fanboy SEO · Published November 12, 2019 · Updated November 12, 2019

Here’s my review for X-Force # 1 by Benjamin Percy, Joshua Cassara and Dean White. Its out now from Marvel Comics.

Continuing the trend of setting up various points of interest for the new mutant nation of Krakoa, we got X-Force and its all about intelligence and security. Traditionally speaking, X-Force had always been about mutants taking the fight to their enemies; sometimes its normal but usually its bloody. There were a few volumes that had a different tone (i.e. the X-Force team with Psylocke hunting down Fantomex) but usually its all about violence.

This book shares the tone with the bloody X-Force books of old. The cool thing for me is that its going to mix-up X-Force regulars with some new blood. For the old guard we’ve got Wolverine, Domino, Colossus (he was with Cable’s team back when Nathan had a giant robot arm, remember that?).

Then there’s the new guys joining this team including Jean Grey, Beast, Black Tom Cassidy, Sage and Quentin Quire.

And that’s where the fun really begins, these characters gelling and making a cohesive team that responds to threats to mutants; and there’s no lack there. In fact in the first issue alone, there’s a number of casualties that shock the team even when they should not be worried as much because they already have their nifty deus ex machina in the form of the Resurrection Five. And yet, everybody involved in this story is surprised. That’s the weakest part of the book to be honest, guys like Wolverine and Jean Grey acting shocked at death despite being killed themselves and resurrected in House of X.

The strongest point has to be the writing. Percy writes good stuff; like how every sanctuary has a predator or two which gets the ball rolling on the book’s mission-vision. Ultimately, that plot/ angle gets turned up to the 11th with the appearance of the book’s first enemy; a group who seems to be the new incarnation of the Purifiers.

Joshua Cassara and Dean White does gritty art for the book and it matches the tone for the title. Colors are a little muted for tamer scenes but when there’s blood involved, it suddenly looks gorgeous. We don’t see much dynamic action scenes here but I’d like to stay with the book to see how Cassara does that. I hope to god though this won’t be one of those books where they fight but yet look like they just posed around. I want stylistic violence and that’s not yet here. There are glimpses of how promising the art is here though with a particular scene involving Black Tom.The scenes were also done in such a way that it feels fluid, like watching a scene from any generic TV cop-drama or military-drama… only its on paper.

And because this is a Dawn of X book, it should tie-up with other titles and that’s exactly what it does opting to go with the Marauders book which starred ~~Kitty~~ Kate Pryde and her team of X-Men.