X-Farce.
Writer | Geoffrey Thorne |
Illustrator & Inker | Marcus To |
Colorist | Erick Arciniega |
Publisher | Marvel | 07.31.24 |
Spoilers Ahead
There was a time when comics like X-Force, X-Men, and so on really meant something. These were books that led the industry in sales numbers and fan interest. Then, somewhere along the way, Marvel dropped the ball with its merry mutants. From diminishing the brand in order to combat Fox, to later faceplants like the Krakoa era, it’s been many years since the X-Men franchise was the pinnacle of Marvel Comics. And… it’s not looking like that’s going to be changing anytime soon.
X-Force #1 by writer Geoffrey Thorne and artist Marcus To opens with Forge experimenting on himself. If I’m reading the issue correctly (which it’s possible I’m not because the exposition in these scenes is cryptic), Forge is running an experiment to push his powers closer to being Omega level. I’ve read the scene three times now and have no idea if he succeeded or what that even means for the character and his powers. Once the experiment concludes, he heads to Switzerland to pick up Sage.
Sage is apparently suffering some kind of mental breakdown from her time on Krakoa. She’s in a sort of dissociative fugue state when Forge arrives at the facility she's being treated in. The doctors haven’t been able to snap her back to reality, but when Forge shows her his new, shiny ball dubbed the Analog, it shakes the cobwebs loose. Why? Well, who can say, other than that the plot needed to move things along so she’s all better now. Seriously, that’s all the explanation the book offers. She wasn’t okay, and then she suddenly was. The two put on their fancy new X-Force uniforms and head to Japan.
The Analog is perplexing because Forge’s mission is equally obfuscated. The world has fissures in it and the Analog directs the team to these cracks to eliminate them. But what are the fissures? What does it mean that the earth has them? Why are they appearing all over the planet? This is never explained. And that’s a problem. Like NYX and X-Men, there are aspects of X-Force #1 that belie the fact that it’s supposed to be a fresh starting point for readers. This issue dumps a bunch of characters together without any real rhyme or reason and puts them on a mission that’s clear as mud. Oh, sure, the language is straightforward—if we don’t seal the cracks, the world will end!—but the book does nothing to establish anything substantial about the source of the conflict. It’s a nebulous concept that can mean anything and, thus, feels wholly unsatisfactory.
Eventually the action begins to pick up the pace in Sorachi-Shi, in Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture. The final team assembles, comprised of Forge, Sage, Betsy Braddock, Rachel Summers, and Tank. I don’t know if Tank is a known entity in the X-books or not, but I have no idea who or what he is, and the book basically gives the character zero setup. Whereas Betsy and Rachel’s connection to the team is explained, Tank is just… there. Another mutant shows up, named Surge, who tells X-Force that sludge creatures are running around eating anything that’s living. Right on cue, the sludge attacks, which brings in the issue's guest star: Deadpool.
What was that? The cover prominently features Deadpool, the most popular superhero on the face of the earth right now? And how crazy would it be if he’s only around for one issue despite the cover making it seem like he’s part of this new team? Oh dear reader, don’t you know? This is Marvel Comics. It would make too much sense to have Wade in this book and build a little synergy with the Deadpool & Wolverine movie. No, he’s here as a work-for-hire, and sadly Thorne’s voice for the character is a total dud. Virtually none of the jokes land and it’s apparent that the tone needed to write Wade is completely outside of the writer’s wheelhouse. It’s probably better he’s not going to be sticking around given the lack of a fit with Thorne, but ignoring that, the fact that the core team is Forge, Sage, Betsy, Rachel, and Tank doesn’t bode well for this series. It's a bland roster.
Eventually, the conflict ends, but not before readers get to bask in Marcus To’s excellent art. The illustrations here are delightful. Although I’m not in love with them, the designs of X-Force’s costumes are miles better than what we saw in X-Men #1 and To makes everyone look cool as hell wearing them. The action scenes with the sludge monsters are also lovingly rendered. I can’t imagine it’s easy to make generic goo both threatening and interesting to look at, but To succeeds. I don’t know how many issues we’ll get with him on art duties, but if To sticks around it will be a big help.
And big help is needed because this debut was middling. As an adventure story it does fine, setting up a simple threat that is taken down by a clever use of Deadpool’s regenerative abilities that also neatly writes him out of the ongoing story. Unfortunately, Betsy and Rachel are written as a generic couple with no chemistry—as is the case with many Marvel characters now, they’re a couple because, well, Marvel says they are, silly! Forge is entertaining but his mysterious upgrade at the start of the issue left me confused. I’m interested to see how Sage and Forge’s relationship evolves. And Tank, he showed up, so gold star, I guess? It’s bits and pieces of things that might work down the road, but one issue in, it’s all rather a mess. The book is barely worth a read, but fingers crossed that issue two starts to make things clearer.
Final gripes before closing this one out. First, there’s a narration that randomly stops halfway through the story. I don’t know who the voice was supposed to be. I guess Sage? It’s never explained and is written in a very try-hard way to sound deep and mysterious. It isn’t. Second, letterer Joe Caramagna uses this strange black scribbling graphic/effect to mask out cursing in the dialogue. Caramagna is a good letterer, but I didn’t enjoy the aesthetic of this design and hope it gets abandoned down the road. Finally, I have neglected to mention in the first couple of my From the Ashes reviews that the last page of each issue is hidden by a QR code.
These codes have been a source of consternation among fans as they’re essentially being forced to buy incomplete comics. Marvel rationalizes that this gimmick helps to fight spoilers. Uh… no. No, it does not. Worse, from a practicality standpoint, when I open the pages in a web browser, it won’t let me zoom in, meaning I can’t even read the text. I’ve had to do a screenshot of the page and zoom in on that, instead. It’s dumb, the pages are largely extraneous, and thankfully it sounds like Marvel isn’t doing them anymore after From the Ashes concludes its opening salvo.
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