It wouldn’t be a true new age of X-Men without the X-Force, a mutant-filled team not too far from the Thunderbolts or even DC’s Suicide Squad. The members of the team typically decide to make the decisions and complete the tasks other squeaky characters refuse to do, giving the team a gruff reputation throughout the vast majority of its duration. That much is definitely the case in writer Geoffrey Thorne and artist Marcus To’s new X-Force series, part of Marvel’s “From the Ashes” X-Men publishing initiative.
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Unfortunately for longtime fans of the series, the latest debut is a bit of a snooze from some high-flying, pulse-pounding, wall-to-wall action that may often accompany the team. At the root of the story is Forge, lonely and depressed after the fall of Krakoa and his miserableness filters out into the pages of the comic, making things dark and bleak from cover to cover. Not even the trademark snark of Deadpool can lift the debut from its dreary depths.
As with most X-books, X-Force also features an ensemble, something that can crush a title if a writer doesn’t balance things well enough. Though Thorne’s script doesn’t quite crumble under the weight of the X-Force ensemble, the characters don’t soar through intriguing plot points or interesting character beats. Then there’s To’s line art, which lends itself more to kinetic action pieces, only for the script to call for ample dialogue and walk-and-talk scenes that take up the majority of the space throughout the comic. That said, the team’s new costume designs are far enough from anything we’ve seen before to put what shine it can on the series.
X-Force #1 neither sinks nor swims, it simply is – and that much is the cardinal sin of the medium. The issue is unable to stand-out from casual superhero storytelling, and it’s a rather tame debut to follow one of the best X-Men eras Marvel has ever published. It doesn’t help that the team, and story itself, is framed around a rather insufferable Forge, a character who brings the whole issue down.
Published by Marvel Comics
On July 31, 2024
Written by Geoffrey Thorne
Art by Marcus To
Colors by Erick Arciniega
Letters by Joe Caramagna
Cover by Stephen Segovia & Bryan Valenza
