Itās a new era on Krakoa but X-Forceās job remains the same: do what needs doing to protect this sacred land. First, X-Force is on the offensive to stick a blow at Orchis in X-Force Annual #1 by Nadia Shammas, Rafael Pimentel, Carlos Lopez, and Joe Caramagna. Then they pivot to defense against an attack from within in X-Force #27 by Benjamin Percy, Robert Gill, GURU-eFX, and Joe Caramagna.
Zachary Jenkins: In 1931 a British Brigadier-General wrote a journal entry about the attitude of one of his fellow soldiers saying āI fancy Military Intelligence to him is a contradiction in terms.ā Since then itās become a famous oxymoron, military intelligence. Itās a belief that the leaders of the free world donāt truly know enough to run it. Iām just old enough to remember a time before the United Stateās twenty-year catastrophe in Afghanistan, Iāve become jaded about the military and the ideas of American imperialism masquerading as exceptionalism. Itās why Iāve been enjoying this era of X-Force. This is a book about bad people trying to justify their horrific actions. Are they justified? Thatās a harder question to answer.
Cassie Tongue: Thereās something to be said for a creeping new take on a character finally becoming definitive: whether you agree with it or not, having a settled, consistent arc of growth helps the storytelling move better, faster, and more efficiently. Beast is in his biggest Bastard Era yet, and itās been a long time coming. Really digging into the unpleasant guts might leave a stain on some of that old fun-loving energy, but heās had a lot of unparalleled power, power corrupts, and I have to say: itās refreshing that weāre not pretending he (and others) donāt straight up suck right now. To be blunt.
Field Trials
Zachary: Our first story comes from the X-Force Annual. This isnāt written by series scribe Ben Percy, but instead by Nadia Shammas. Readers may not be aware of Shammas, her biggest work has been with things like a Ms. Marvel OGN for Scholastics and the recent, and highly acclaimed, Squire. Some may have noticed her from Newburn from Image, but itās fair to say she is a newer name in direct market comics.Ā
We will be hearing a lot about Nadia Shammas in the years to come.
This Annual takes a one-and-done approach that distills the core of X-Force into a pure, serialized form. This is the black ops team doing an op. Itās fun action, quippy one-liners, and a saved day. Itās also framed with Emma Frost, fresh from her Inferno power plays, scoring up her leverage with the closest things Krakoa has to a military. It adds a level of intelligence to the proceedings. This is still an action comic, but a thoughtful one that does a lot with limited space. Cassie, what did you think of this episode?
Cassie: This is a beautifully scripted and structured comic made full-throttle by Rafael Pimentalās graceful, character-led art. In many ways, this feels like a classic X-Force story: itās a down-to-the-wire adventure of impossible odds eventually overcome by teamwork; it plays with the affordances and constraints of the teamās mutant gifts; it makes time not just for a few witty lines but for unsentimental acts of caring and service between teammates. Plus, it has a ticking heartbeat of a mystery: it knows how to play out clues, when to reveal information, and when to hold back a conclusion. Thereās an elegance to it that you have to admire, and an energy that I wish was more consistently reflected in the mainline. Donāt you love it when an annual really hits the spot?Ā
Zachary: It gave me what I wanted. This is a solid issue that knows it canāt upset the status quo but works as a tryout to prove that these creators have what it takes to steer a bigger ship.Ā
I enjoy how they lean into the intelligence angle, Orchis wants to know about these mutants, but so does Beast. He canāt torture them to get the information, they are his allies, but he is willing to let his enemy do the dirty work. A heady concept in decision making asymmetric information, where one party knows more than the other. This is a powerful tool and gives you leverage.
Beast, in his shortsightedness, just wants the information because thatās āhis jobā. He is the head of X-Force, he needs all the military intelligence he can get. He doesnāt care that the power of that intelligence comes from him knowing something his enemy doesnāt. His actions threaten to weaken X-Force and Krakoa as a whole. Since the start of this run, Percy has been setting up Beast to be a victim of his own hubris. Shammas does a great job emphasizing that point in this one.
Cassie: Weāre moving closer to the inevitable fall that follows all that pride. The question is: how much damage can Beast do to Krakoaās safety before that happens – and who else will suffer as a result?
Oversight
Zachary: X-Force #27 is a bit of a different beast. Itās a very direct follow-up to X Lives Of Wolverine, looking at the repercussions of Omega Redās ātime coupā. While a title like the phenomenal Sabretooth is reckoning with the carceral state, X-Force grapples with the moral ambiguity of their violent actions in a different way. Sage takes center stage and chooses not to let the Quiet Council deny their deniable operations. She admits that what X-Force did to Omega Red way back in issue #15 is what got them in this situation. Sage advocates for mercy.
Cassie: It will come as little surprise to readers of recent X-books that Beast wonāt even be satisfied by the barbaric punishment of the Pit. He suggests that Omega Redās Cerebro backups are expunged and that he suffer a permanent death. This is whatās best for Krakoa, he says, but itās also whatās best for Beast: if all traces of his actions are wiped in righteous fury, there are no telltale hearts ticking away to weigh down his conscience (if he still has one).
Zachary: One thing that I think has been somewhat lost in conversations about Krakoa is that this is a young nation of immigrants. Beast grew up American, he was raised in the half of Illinois that isnāt a Chicago suburb. For all Krakoaās grand speechifying about being evolved, itsā leaders are undeniably tied to an outdated way of thinking. Krakoa was founded on the idea that there would be no graveyards, Beastās grand plan is to ensure death comes to those he thinks deserves it.
Cassie: Percy doesnāt shy away from how critical, or difficult, this stance is. In an era that redefines even the X-Menās longtime belief in mutant villain redemption, itās rare to see someone stand in an ugly idea and own it. And itās good storytelling to follow the thread: when Beast insists he be beyond questioning and reproach by way of his title ā well, itās an extremely common political practice. Nothing here feels out of reach or out of the question.
It also provides a new yardstick for the characters around Beast. Take good old Quentin Quire, who, over the course of the book, is continuing a journey of new perspective and a little less arrogance, even as Beastās grows ever suffocating. Or Domino, whose respect one gains slowly but can lose in the blink of an eye. Or Sage, Beastās most frequent adversary. There are interesting and deeply combustible layers of tension here.
Zachary: The scenes where our cast reacts to the proposed reparations show just how much they have changed in the last few years. Forge, who maintains his own distance from the more questionable aspects of X-Force, stays ever the cynic. He might question decisions but he is still a good soldier. He does as he is told, a habit that gets him killed. Beast himself has taken stock of the situation as he slowly realizes that his old flame, Abigail Brand, is his only ally left. If only he was intelligent enough to figure out that heās sleeping with the enemy.
Gill provides strong visuals but struggles in comparison with others on the line. He lacks the drama and dynamism that Cassara had on X Lives of Wolverine. Heās a good hand but doesnāt do much to impress here. I wonder how much of that is tied to the big moments featuring an evil Cerebro helmet that lands well past imposing and right into silly?
Cassie: Thereās really only so much you can do with a glowing helmet, but itās also true that we donāt really get a sense of the gravity of an infected Cerebro helmet. Mutant life as we currently know it is built on that helmet; I wish it felt more terrifying to see it so in danger.
Design Of Experiment
Zachary: What I find interesting about these two issues coming out on the same day is how they show two different approaches to telling a similar story. Ben Percy is a novelist and a legitimately talented one at that. He is taking a long, serialized approach to his greater X-Force & Wolverine stories. Heās layering plot beats and character arcs on top of one another over time. Weāre at a pivot point, yes, but itās just an act break. Nadia Shammas on the other hand has one shot to take the groundwork Percy laid, and tell a complete tale. They are flexing different muscles and to me, it highlights the strength of the story engine that is Krakoa.
Cassie: One of the great things about reading these issues together is that while they differ stylistically, they feel linked. Youāre right that itās a sign the line is rich and the talent is strong, but I also think itās a great way to really see how characters have shifted, grown, or changed in a different setting, in a different writerās tone, moving under a different artistās hand. It offers an opportunity to really notice Percyās work and reflect on where we are in the narrative.Ā
We can see how old teammates and ex-lovers Domino and Wolverine work together effortlessly in the field; we see the near-parental care they take when Kid Omega is vulnerable and in danger (there are shades of Wolverine and the X-Men, where Quire and Logan were linked in journeys of self-improvement); we see how Beast and Emma Frost, who once adored each other (remember when he pieced her shattered diamond form together, painstakingly, in New X-Men?) now ideologically opposed and icy. Paradise has arrived; while we slept, the world changed; an annual remains a fantastic opportunity to see ongoing trends in a new light.
Zachary: I donāt think either of these issues will make converts out of readers who arenāt already aboard the X-Force express. Those who want a smart action comic that doesnāt leave you with easy answers will be pleased to know that XāForce remains exactly as it was.
X-Traneous Thoughts
- So something something sci-fi magic mixed Cerebro with Omega Red, yeah?
- Brand touching Beastās eye socket walks a very fine line between tender and unsettling.
- Rafeal Pimentel had a single professional comics credit before this Annual. Mark my words, in five years he will be a big deal.
- You think global politics have complicated the big olā Russia plot?
Zachary Jenkins runs ComicsXF and is a co-host on the podcast āBattle of the Atom.ā Shocking everyone, he has a full and vibrant life outside of all this.
