The X-Force seems back in their normal timestream. Action, violence, sex - it’s all here.
X-FORCE #17
Publisher: Marvel
Writers: Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost
Artist: Mike Choi and Sonia Oback
Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit
Summary: “NOT FORGOTTEN” Part 1 (of 4) MESSIAH WAR AFTERMATH! When X-Force was pulled into the future, what was forgotten in the present? The Leper Queen’s murderous acts? The Sapien League’s attack on the United Nations using two of the X-Men’s students? Wolfsbane’s reunion with the Asgardian Wolf Prince? H.A.M.M.E.R.’s hunt for X-23? After three months, the wait is over. Find out who lives and dies as the MESSIAH WAR ONE-SHOT art team of Mike Choi and Sonia Oback returns to X-FORCE!
Review: It sure seemed to me that X-23 was going to stay in the alternate timestream to go after Apocalypse but apparently that’s just part of the perplexing ending to Messiah War. Fans are grateful that the once promising storyline has come to an end so that X-Force can get back to the caliber it once was. The hope of better writing is the one thing that keeps me from dropping the title from my pull list. Not to mention that Marvel’s Parental Advisory warning means we can back to serious bloodshed and an occasional bedroom scene.
I had been wondering what the appeal of X-23 is for fans because she just never seemed like a gripping character to me before; X-Force #17 changes that by page two when she nails the Leper Queen straight through her head with a bullet in the nick of time to save Boom-Boom. Unfortunately her timing also correlates with a H.A.M.M.E.R recon operation which captures the two exhausted super babes for the United Nations.
The Choi/Oback art has a consistent thematic feel carrying over from the Messiah War run and honestly characters like Domino have improved in representation. The issue features panels of blurred backgrounds focusing on a single character splattered with blood; then it evolves to beautiful renditions showing the clarity and smooth textures of the characters’ skin and uniforms. The blur tool does seem a bit overused when the scene shifts to Colorado but when you realize what’s happening in the action, the blur makes perfect sense to convey the sense of motion. Speaking of action, if you like your Wolverine covered in bloody slicing people into itty bits, well then, you’ll be happy with direction of X-Force now.
Did I mention a steamy bedroom scene? Yes, folks, I did! Wolfsbane and Hrimhari have their snuggle time interrupted by some rather threatening Frost Giants. This segment feels like a distraction from the meat of the book. There’s an important story being told about Bastion’s masterful puppeteering ways behind the scenes of Simon Trask’s proposal to institute a new global mutant terrorism team, the Mutant Response Division (MRDs or “Mardies”). While the three pages dedicated to the lycanthropic love scene are well done, it’s three pages that could have elaborated on Bastion.
August 6th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
My first run-in with X-23 was in X-Men Evolution, and she always seemed like an annoying and hyper, jealous eight-year-old … clone. It’s good to hear there’s a bit more to her.
August 16th, 2009 at 4:11 pm
haven’t read new X-force issue yet, just hoping the aftermath story is better than the actual Messiah War story. i was disappointed. You can check out my review at my website