X-Force: Difference between revisions

[[File:X-Force_Vol_1_1_Wraparound_Cover_7192.jpg|frame|[[The Dark Age of Comic Books|Nineties!!!]]]]

 

 

 

 

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[[File:X-statix_003_2220.gif|frame|[[Post Modern|Post-post-post-modern]] superheroes.]]

 

The second major incarnation of X-Force began in 2001, continuing the same issue numbering. The new creative team of writer Peter Milligan and artist Mike Allred, after the previous creative team ended their run with the team caught in an explosion that led to the media declaring the team dead, created a new team of X-Forcers who were [[Dead Star Walking|shockingly killed]] at the end of the first issue. The series continued, with a [[Anyone Can Die|famously rapid turnover of characters]], as a satirical superhero series based around the idea of second-division superheroes as vapid and self-centered celebrities out for fame, fortune and kicks. The series explained the change-over with the notion of a millionaire software king creating his own team of super-heroes, with the X-Force name being taken from the previous team without permission. Around a third of the way through the run, the title was changed to ''X-Statix'' when Cable (off-camera) sued the new team over the use of the title (in truth however, the revamp was a huge hit and Marvel wanted to cash in on it via a relaunch). Unfortunately, the relaunch came with the killing off of the book's most popular character (U-Go Girl), which became a topic of fairly frequent discussion within the story itself. Further complications involved a planned storyline involving the resurrection of Princess Di, who was changed into a pop idol when Marvel chickened out at the last minute. Sales tanked and led to the book's cancellation in late 2004. Despite the deaths of all the surviving characters in the [[Kill'Em All|last issue]], there was a later ''Dead Girl'' [[Spin-Off]] mini-series that had many of the dead team members involved in an adventure in the [[Heaven|after]] [[Hell|life]] with [[Doctor Strange]], satirising the [[Death Is Cheap]] nature of the Marvel universe.

Also in 2004, Marvel brought Liefeld and Nicieza back for a six-issue ''X-Force'' miniseries returning to the original characters, which posted decent sales despite a critical drubbing and Liefeld's using some of his previously unused art for other titles in the book. A Shatterstar miniseries followed, but neither was extended.

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In early 2006, former ''[[X-Men: Evolution]]'' writing team Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost took over the teen team ''New X-Men'', bringing with them their creation Laura "[[X-23]]" Kinney. They took that team through the aftermath of the [[House of M]] storyline and introduced The Purifiers, Reverand William Stryker's [[Corrupt Church|fanatical mutant-hating army of followers.]] After the cancellation of ''New X-Men'', Kyle and Yost launched a third incarnation of X-Force as a black ops team sanctioned by Cyclops to combat The Purifiers in a way that the X-Men - who are trying to re-establish themselves as a respectable, law-abiding superhero team - never could. He puts [[Wolverine]] in charge of the new group, with members James "Warpath" Proudstar, X-23 and Rahne "Wolfsbane" Sinclair, and the team is soon joined by Warren "Angel/Archangel" Worthington, Neena "Domino" Thurman and Josh "Elixir" Foley. Reaction to this series was extremely mixed, with the book consistently rating in the top 30 for monthly sales, but many critics seeing it as an example of [[Darker and Edgier]] taken to self-parodic lengths.

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[[File:X-Force_8098.jpg|frame|Don't mess with them]]

 

The title is currently undergoing another, albeit smaller, relaunch as the ''[[The Adjectival Superhero|Uncanny]] X-Force'', continuing on the work done by the previous team but with a slightly different roster consisting of Wolverine, Archangel (the only members from retained from the last team) and adding Fantomex, Psylocke and [[Deadpool]]. The previous team was disbanded by Cyclops, who decided they are no longer needed, this one is a result of Wolverine and Archangel thinking otherwise. As Logan states, it has only one rule - no one can know about them. While reaction to ''X-Force'' vol. 3 was decidedly mixed, ''Uncanny X-Force'' as been hailed as a modern classic.

 

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=== The first series contains examples of: ===

 

* [[Time Stands Still]]: Lacuna's powers

* [[To Hell and Back]]: the ''Dead Girl'' mini-series.

* [[Tonight Someone Dies]]: Played with for all it's worth in one storyline with the entire team worried about a prophecy to this effect. {{spoiler|U-Go Girl dies.}}

* [[Torch the Franchise and Run]]: although Milligan and Allred still did the ''Dead Girl'' spin-off mini afterwards.

* [[Absurdly Sharp Blade]]: Not only do Wolverine and X-23 have their adamantium claws, Warpath carries several knives and ArchAngel is fond of shooting metal "feathers" through the air.

* [[Anti-Hero]]: Pretty much the entire point of the comic.

* [[Animal-Themed Superbeing]]: Wolverine and Wolfsbane.

* [[Badass Crew]]: With the addition of Domino, six out of seven members of the team have at least double-digit body counts.

* [[Painted-On Pants]]: In full effect, with both [[Mr. Fanservice]] and [[Ms. Fanservice]] versions.

* [[Pint-Sized Powerhouse]]: Neither Wolverine, X-23 or Wolfsbane are especially tall, but angering ''any'' of them will probably be the last thing you do.

* [[Really Seven Hundred Years Old]]: As noted above, Wolverine is just [[Older Than They Look|older than he looks]]. But he seems like an embryo next to Selene, who physically looks to be in her mid-to-late 30's at the most. Turns out she's really '''17,000'''.

* [[Scarily Competent Tracker]]: The ''entire original group'' (Wolverine, X-23, Warpath and Wolfsbane) have heightened senses, and Warpath is also an Apache indian.

* [[Sealed Evil in a Can]]: The mysterious {{spoiler|Eli Bard}} manipulates The Purifiers into recreating genocidal maniac Bastion, then into finding a fragment of the old New Mutants techno-organic enemy Magus, and after Bastion uses it to bring a group of the X-Mens's old mutant-killing human enemies back to life, {{spoiler|Bard}} combines with the entity. Not good.

* [[Star-Crossed Lovers]]: Rahne and {{spoiler|Hrimhari}}. They originally met back when Rahne first joined the [[New Mutants]], and though they fell in love, had to part ways. Now they meet again, finally consumate their relationship, Rahne gets pregnant...and {{spoiler|Hrimhari}} has to give up his own life to save Rahne's and their baby's. These two just can't catch a break.

* [[The Stoic]]: X-23. Unless it's a threat to someone she cares about, she tends to be very matter-of-fact about any given situation.

* [[Super Strength]]: Warpath

* [[What the Hell, Hero?]]: Inverted comically. You start off thinking this about Wolverine and the others. Then you remember that what they're doing isn't really that different from what they've done in the past. ''Then'' you remember that they're only together because of Scott "Mr. By-The-Book" Summers. Wolverine calls him on it more than once, and it's insinuated that Wolverine only agreed to do it because he cares for Laura, James and Rahne; and he also realized that if he refused, Scott would just find someone else to lead the team, and that person might not be as concerned as Wolverine would be with keeping them safe (or [[Jumping Off the Slippery Slope|sane]]).

** Cyclops has to perpetually keep X-Force a secret from fellow X-Men founders Beast and Iceman because he knows he'll get this reaction from them.

** {{spoiler|[[Broke Your Arm Punching Out Cthulhu]]}}

* [[Cloning Blues]]: Of a sort. A.o.A!Nightcrawler is rather annoyed that he keeps being compared to 616!Nightcrawler, [[Different As Night and Day|as they have totally different personalities.]]

** {{spoiler|Angel, who's basically a clone of Warren.}}

* [[Cool Ship]]: E.V.A., which doubles as Fantomex's external nervous system.

* [[Face Heel Turn]]: There's a reason a major story arc is called the Dark {{spoiler|Angel}} Saga. Also, {{spoiler|The Sinister A.o.A. Iceman.}}

* [[Fire-Forged Friends]] / [[Vitriolic Best Buds]]: Deadpool and Fantomex seem to be going this route.

'''Deadpool''': Too bad. [[Friendship Moment|Would have been a real sweet moment between us.]] }}

** [[The Hero]]: Wolverine, team leader and resident [[Cool Old Guy]]. Pretty disciplined when you get right down to it.

** [[The Lancer]]: Deadpool. Motor mouth, nowhere near as disciplined, but damn funny in contrast to Wolverine's seriousness. Also not seen with the team until the very end of issue #1.

** [[The Smart Guy]]: Fantomex. His teammates opt more for [[Katanas Are Just Better|bladed weapons]] while he's more of [[The Gunslinger|a gunslinger]]. Not to mention E.V.A.

** [[The Big Guy]]: ArchAngel. His "you go, I'll handle this" moment in issue #1 pretty much puts him right here.

** [[Sixth Ranger]]: Apparently {{spoiler|1=Deathlok, and now AoA!Nightcrawler.}}

* [[Funny Schizophrenia]]: Very averted with this incarnation of Deadpool. While he is still pretty funny, Remender explicitly states that he views Deadpool's mental problems as caused by very traumatic things in his life, like many real mental disorders, instead of just using it to make Deadpool funny.

* [[My Greatest Second Chance]]: {{spoiler|Fantomex actually creates a clone of Kid!Apocalypse to see if someone with his power could grow up to be a good person, rather than a dictator bent on cleansing the world of humanity.}}

* [[Never Be Hurt Again]]: Psylocke. {{spoiler|She sacrificed her ability to feel sorrow in order to save Fantomex.}}

* [[Put on a Bus]]: {{spoiler|Angel and Deathlok, who go with Genesis to the Jean Grey School of Higher Learning.}}

* [[Red Oni, Blue Oni]]: Deadpool is red, while Fantomex is blue.

* [[Shoo Out the Clowns]]: {{spoiler|In one of the chapters of Dark Angel Saga, Deadpool was fighting against the giant Sinister Iceman (the Age of Apocalypse version who betrayed his teammates by cowardly running away) when he was apparently frozen to death and he was absent throughout the arc until [[Unexplained Recovery|he got better]] in the epilogue.}}

* [[Shout-Out]]: {{spoiler|Genesis is raised in a small, out in the sticks farm town, raised by "Ma and Pa"? I think Fantomex has been reading too much [[Superman]]. He even says he wanted to teach Genesis how to be "super".}}

* [[Stepford Smiler]]: Deadpool just wants to be loved...

* [[Those Two Guys]]: Deadpool and Fantomex are definitely the odd men out in the main roster. Neither technically count as mutants, and they rarely, if ever, appear in any big X-Events. Both of them had to be hired for the team, and they interact with each other on a fairly regular basis. In the context of the ''Uncanny X-Force'' series, however, they're just as important as everyone else.

* [["Well Done, Son" Guy]]: Deadpool again.

* [[Winged Humanoid]]: Archangel, the only member retained from the previous team (not counting team leader Wolverine).