Our Actions Are Not Our Own In X-Force #24

We return to our Russian retreat as the Chronicler weaves a wicked tale! What do Mikhail and his weaponized reality-warping writer have in store for Colossus and Kayla? And back on Krakoa, will Black Tom escape the Beast’s innards? All this and more in X-Force #24 by Benjamin Percy, Martin Coccolo and Guru-eFX, and Joe Caramanga.

Ari Bard: It’s time for a field trip on the Magic School Bus X-Force style! This issue our stops include the dark void where the Chronicler controls (part of) reality, and a journey to the center of Hank McCoy.

Kenneth Laster: Beep Beep! This definitely in an interesting issue with a lot to chew on and simultaneusly a silly silly time for a third of it. Let us make like Hank to Black Tom and digest this puppy!

Views from the Void

X-Force #24 | Marvel | Coccolo, Guru-eFX

Ari: Alright after 24 issues of data pages and two issues of full-on teases and confusion, we finally know what the chronicler can do. How did it feel to find some answers behind a primary mystery that’s been looming over all of these hanging plotlines?

Kenneth: I found the Chronicler super interesting! An incredibly powerful pawn for Mikhail to have and toy in the broader mutant toy box. I’m not sure if this initial reveal was incredibly thrilling but I’m more into the potential of the character beyond this event, if that makes sense. The quirks of his abilities that they can only go so much outside of someone’s behavior make him an interesting tool to be used to explore the potential of characters actions (which we’ll get into more later) and while I don’t know if I’m into what those powers are doing here, I think those abilities are a really interesting tool that could be used down the line.

Ari: I think that the power set is cool and the limitations make for a more interesting character, but the Chronicler’s core essence seems to be that he’s being held hostage, and so a lot of the character’s actions seem to be at the whim of others. As you said, he’s a tool but nothing more. Also, I am very confused with the lettering choice for when Chronicler’s writing his stories. It looked like a very bland font choice and all of the ‘L’s showed up bolded. I’ve enjoyed Joe Caramagna’s lettering up until now, but this choice really threw me off.

Kenneth: It’s not the most exciting font for sure–I can’t tell if it’s meant to be the same or similar to the data page font but it feels artificial in such a strange way. Which I guess could be the point to tie in with the Chronicler’s power set but I can only imagine much more interesting ways to convey that sort of unnatural shift in the meta narration. For now it definitely reads as raw functionality so the reader doesn’t think it’s the standard caption box.

Please Let This Be A Normal Field [Mission]…

Kenneth: Meanwhile on the verdant shores on Krakoa, Black Tom is maneuvering his way past the gonads of everyone’s least favorite war criminal, Hank McCoy. I have to say this was a fun enough adventure as a b-plot. Was as wack-a-doo as usual X-Force fare but didn’t exactly rewrite the game. What did you think of our Journey to the Center of the Beast?

Ari: Plot-wise, there’s nothing game changing going on here. This is an out of control little miscreant causing some trouble inside of Beast’s entrails. Most of the fun came in the form of Black Tom’s lines such as “haggis hole” “taken a wrong turn at the gonads and somehow ended up at the spleen,” and “who cares about your poochy belly and filthy suppers?” Honestly, it’s pretty impressive that even Black Tom, who I view as relatively patient, is tested by Beast’s irritation and lack of gratitude. Sure his life may be in danger, but would it hurt to say thanks? The core problem at the heart of this plot (and the rest of the plots really) is that plot is all there is. We are no longer learning anything we don’t already know about Beast or Black Tom as a character and that’s a problem. It’s what cements a Big Two book in the realm of mediocrity.

Kenneth: That’s a good observation Ari! On the surface Black Tom running though Beast’s guts (I said what I said) should be a really fun time, but you are correct that it’s really missing any sort of forward momentum on a character or thematic level. You get the sense things are happening but losing the anchor of really spending time and getting to know these characters in the process. I think that’s what kept the action figure mashing action in early issues pretty compelling and why it feels like this title has been stalling out along with a few other wave one Krakoa book. Hanks stabbing out his eye to preserve Krakoa was wild though right?

Ari: Yea, the most interesting thing to me about this issue is Beast’s extreme aversion to dying when a lot of mutants would happily sacrifice themselves to fully eliminate a threat like these Russian Dolls. It’s pretty clear to me that Hank is definitely worried about something getting lost or discovered during the resurrection process, so that’s a fairly fascinating mystery. In the meantime, I think that you accurately summed up my view of this book on the whole each month which is “action figure mashing action” at this point.

Kenneth: Playing with toys is fun and all but at some point we gotta go inside and eat some brussel sprouts. Speaking of agriculture–Colossus lives on a farm or something!

The Metallic Marionette

Ari: The mystery behind Colossus’s sudden behavioral changes is also revealed! Our (not so) beloved Piotr is a puppet for Mikhail and the Chronicler revealing Krakoa’s secrets to the Russians through paintings. I must say, while the reveal was kind of brilliant, the amount of time it took us to get there and the circumstances surrounding it were not, because this leaves unanswered questions about whether or not Piotr suddenly gets absolved for his actions towards Domino, something that has not been touched upon since around X-Force #9 and that Kayla was a mutant created and populated with zero character or personality just to be killed by Colossus. How did you feel about this reveal, Kenneth?

Kenneth: I’m very mixed! The reveal with the Chronicler’s influence toward Piotr is very interesting especially within the constraints of how his powers are explained (although I may be misreading) where there’s only so much the Chronicler can change Piotr’s behavior and that it has to be somewhat true to his character. If I’m reading that literally it’s sort of damning towards Piotr in that hurting women is just another thing he’s capable of. While the Chronicler can exacerbate that it’s still within the realm of his behavior, which tracks with his pretty shitty history as we’ve seen beyond this title. I’m not sure if it’s meant to be read that deep but it’ll be very interesting to see if this is where Percy is going with this.

However the text of this is a bit more disappointing in that the book truly fridges Kayla and the whole meta of the Chronicler’s power can be read as more of a lampshading than anything deeper. Sure it’s based on the big bad’s insistence and there’s a gesture to Kayla’s agency but it’s such a blip it really falls flat. It feels even more hollow in just how nothing of a character Kayla has been since her first appearance. No backstory, no idea how she and Piotr met, just exclusively existing to be Piotr’s girlfriend he kills. Quite disappointing in the immediate sense of this issue.

Ari: Definitely. I am pretty disappointed in Percy for this narrative decision. The scene wasn’t even drawn out long enough for me to fully appreciate the discovery that Kayla made. The paintings of Krakoa aren’t heavily featured in any of the panels and there’s no big closeups or elaboration that tells us what kind of secrets Colossus is revealing, just secrets in general. Your read on Chronicler’s powers seems correct and makes some things more interesting. I’m wondering if the Chronicler’s powers are related to some sort of Russian nationalist identity? Can he control Piotr because Piotr feels more Russian than Krakoan? That would be a really fascinating exploration of pride and the usefulness of nationalism that I don’t think Percy would ever get into.

Kenneth: That’s a great idea! The Chronicler–really just a lot of potential that I don’t think will go anywhere in this arc.