In a perfect world, X-Force wouldn’t be necessary. Ben Percy, Joshua Cassara, and Dean White’s X-Force #1 shows us a world that is anything but perfect. Krakoa is caught off guard during an assault by a mysterious military force. A force able to complete its’ mission of killing Charles Xavier.
Kenneth Laster: Alright Ari, it’s time to get deadly serious with this brand new volume X-Force. We’ve got intrigue, intel, and an interesting cliffhanger, all the things we would come to expect from the debut of the Krakoan CIA. Move over James Bond and whatever Tom Cruise’s character’s name is in Mission Impossible! [Ed. note: Ethan Hunt] We’ve got Black Tom Cassidy!
Ari Bard: Right you are Kenneth! Although in this case, the only one that screams superspy to me is Domino. Percy made one hell of a splash with that opening scene, and I’m definitely excited to see how he handles the world of espionage in this new status quo!
X-Tra Full Of Black Tom Cassidy
KL: Black Tom is back baby! While Logan and Hank have a moment in the jungles of Krakoa exploring the natural fauna of the island, the arguable star of the issue, Black Tom Cassidy makes his Krakoan debut. Black Tom is serving a really interesting role as Krakoa’s security system due to his abilities to transform plant intelligence to neural intelligence. Which sure sounds like some science to me! Ari what are your thoughts on Black Tom’s new gig?
AB: Definitely, I think that “security features” data page was definitely a strength for the issue, and Percy seems like he’s really excited and ready to use all of the mutant abilities and unique features to his advantage. However, with exception to Black Tom and Jean, it doesn’t feel like there was much care given to the other characters.
Additionally, some of the scenes are just straight up confusing. The first time I read the scene in the airport, I had no idea what was going on. I definitely think Percy was a bit more concerned here with how this book “looks,” i.e. tough and bad-ass, and less so with how it “feels” i.e. genuine.
KL: Jean also gets a pretty decent showing in terms of use to Krakoa and her use with healing newly arrived mutants as ferried by Marauders’ very own Kate Pryde. Jean serving as a bridge in terms of communication and her empathy at the forefront is always a great aspect of her character to see even in relatively small doses in this issue. My favorite metal son, also reappears which is very exciting but maybe that’s too much plot too fast? [Ed. Note: Poor Petey got messed up by his Russian country men.]
AB: Not so fast! I definitely appreciated the scenes with Marvel Girl [Ed. Note: That’s her name now whether we like it or not], as well. The line, “I can’t tell you where they hurt, because they hurt everywhere” really shook me. This is the first time in a while that I could feel Marvel Girl as an emotional bridge like you said, and I can’t wait for more.
Now we can move on to some X-citing X-position. [Ed. Note: We have fun here.]
X-Position
KL: CHARLES XAVIER GETS SHOT IN THE DANG HEAD!
AB: WHOA WHOA WHOA slow down there! We can’t just start with the bombshell, otherwise they won’t read the rest of this article. First we have to unpack some of the other major elements. To start off, Domino seems to be in a bit of trouble. These evil cult members sure mean business, that’s for sure. Who are they? Why do they have their beliefs? What’s their larger plan? I sure don’t know, but I do know one thing, their masks sure are shiny, and Domino has really gotten herself in a sticky situation.
KL: Guess you could say they need some…conteXt. Who needs all that “development” when you have cool masks and a peacock suit jacket? Curious how connected they are if at Xavier’s visit to Sokovia or the buff looking squad that parachutes down on Krakoa towards the back half of the issue. I feel like we don’t get enough of any of them to get a clear picture of a grand or insidious conspiracy but I’d be pleasantly surprised if they weren’t all connected. Krakoa is said to have enemies, plural, so it might keep things fresh if they weren’t. But speaking of borders, let’s hit that visit to Sokovia and Piotr Nikolayevich Rasputin’s secret mission to Russia.
AB: Sokovia was a hell of a time. A very quick in-and-out operation.
KL: A wholes page worth! But a very suspicious page. That champagne sip was either something or just heavy handed foreshadowing. There’s no way to tell.
AB: It’s possible that the darker circle in the champagne on the last panel was a tracker, and that’s how it all connects, but its definitely not as clear as it should be. A real tough call. [Ed. Note: The script in the back of the digital edition makes this explicitly true.]
KL: Dang I totally missed that! Thats why they call you Ari the Eagle! Do they? They should! [Ed. Note: We are now.] That’s not the other piece of intrigue though! Our big tin man Colossus has been behind Russian borders aiding the escape of mutants and got very banged up for his troubles.
A”TE”B: I appreciate all of his hard work, but I feel like that was glossed over a little too much. I could say that about a lot of scenes really, the book just jumps from scene to scene with the only commonality being the presence of one large, beefy man. It’s very jarring.
KL: Well one of these beefy men turns out to be a part of a very dangerous strikeforce that attacks Krakoa! [Ed. Note: This strike force is designated as “The Reavers” in the script.]
The attack on the island really bummed me out! I know it was supposed to but I really have been into the idea of Krakoa as mutant paradise and I was hoping we’d have a little longer before a dark massacre. It feels a little too soon into DoX and especially a #1 issue but I guess we need to set up stakes and intrigue. Speaking of intriguing…do we get to the cliffhanger?
A”TE”B: I think we do. Take it away!
KL: CHARLES XAVIER GETS SHOT IN THE DANG HEAD!
A”TE”B: HE SURE DOES! This is probably the most important moment to happen in any DOX book so far, and it’s the kind of thing that hits real hard after a whirlwind of chaotic action. It really felt like the moments right after a tornado hit and everyone is still in shock. This is definitely something Hickman has been rightfully hyping for awhile, and I’m excited to see how this ripples throughout the other DOX books.
KL: I may argue about it’s importance due to the Egg-citing new system of Krakoan resurrection. But Percy, Cassara, and White really do sell that moment of the “BANG” and Sage begging the cast for Krakoa to be wrong. Cassara and White’s work on that final page is really impactful. While the rest of the plot had its ups and downs, that page is what makes me excited to come back.
X-Ecution
A”TE”B: For all of the ones and zeroes that Percy is passionate about behind the scenes, the question ultimately remains, does this matter? From everything Hickman set up in HoxPox and from the shocking final page, it’s clear that this does, but I’m not sure it feels that way. This was pitched as “mutant CIA” or some sort of special forces team. All of the other books have done a fantastic job at nailing their pitch on issue one. Here, the closest thing we get to a spec ops team are the invaders. Am I missing something?
KL: You’re not wrong Ari. I do think part of my issue with execution was with characters and dialogue. I feel like Percy goes all in with tone and concept over character. We spend a good amount of time setting up plots and building threats that we don’t end up spending any time with really any of the characters on the cover other than Black Tom and Jean. In addition there are a lot of moments of dialogue that just feel like they are meant to be something but miss the mark. There are lines like “when you’re safe you’re soft” that get full panels of space that just feel dripped in “badass sauce” that makes this book feel like it’s two steps too many into grim for grim’s sake.
I think something that have set the other books apart has been their commitment to characters operating within this Krakoan status quo and exploring a certain hook within it. Marauders is Kitty and crew exploring the hook of Krakoan gateways and who has access, Excalibur is Betsy and crew exploring the hook of Mutant Magic and Krakoa. X-Force so far feels like a handful of any characters exploring the hook of…humans hating mutants but this time on Krakoa which doesn’t feel nearly as forward thinking as other DoX books.
I will say there were still things X-Force did really well especially Cassara and White on art. Thoughts Ari?
A”TE”B: I definitely agree with a lot of your thoughts Kenneth. Percy manipulates the world around him pretty well, and artist Joshua Cassara and Colorist Dean White do a great job showing off the vibrant and natural island of Krakoa. When are we getting The Tourist’s Guide to Krakoa: Flora and Fauna? It’d have to be written by Black Tom Cassidy himself of course. I like his new position and I think it works well.
At the same time, the purpose of this book did not seem to set up something for the future, it seemed to simply go all in on giving the audience shock factor for the now. The book looked great but had little to offer in terms of what lies ahead beyond the big shocker. All in all, for better or worse, X-Force #1 set a very intriguing status quo for the rest of the other books in DOX. I just wish it focused more on setting an interesting status quo for itself.
X-Traneous Thoughts
- The best dressed mutant Teleford Porter a.k.a the Vanisher makes a tiny cameo in the attack scene. Welcome to Krakoa, Vanisher…sorry about the mess.
- Loved seeing the Morlock’s Healer and his big wizard beard. We hope he’s comfortable on Krakoa.
- Her name is Marvel Girl. Get used to it.
- Hoping Percy will read the room and reveal Black Tom is Dracula. [Ed. Note: I’ll never get tired of this joke.]
- The fashion sense of the bad guys is really on point. Krakoa really needs to catch up in that category.
- Sage has some pretty cool moments too.
- The Krakoan reads: Regicide
- We also have coverage of New Mutants #1 and Absolute Carnage: Weapon Plus #1 today. Check it out!
Ari Bard is a huge comic fan studying Mechanical Engineering so he can finally figure out how the Batmobile works.
Kenneth Laster writes, draws, and studies Film and Gender Studies so he really hopes you’re hiring!
Ari Bard is a huge comic fan studying Mechanical Engineering so he can finally figure out how the Batmobile works.
Kenneth Laster is a critic, cartoonist, and cryptid with a movie degree.
