By this point, there have been quite a few versions of X-Force. In addition to the several led by original founder Cable, there are the various black ops teams that usually involve Cyclops or Wolverine (or both). There is also the mutant celebrity team that later became known as X-Statix. There are probably a few others that I am forgetting.
In short, it is a name that has a lot of history and sees a lot of use. Today we are here to talk about the latest iteration of the team, launching once again under the leadership of Cable in Inglorious X-Force issue 1. Not everything is as it seems this time around, though.
When Will Then Be Now? Soon!
We start out with Cable at an unrevealed time in the future, where he is trying to prevent violence against the first mutant president of the United States. It is here that things spiral out of control, and Cable finds himself in the present day with significant gaps in his memory. He soon finds direction thanks to a message carved into his cyborg arm: a list of names.
One recruitment montage later, the newest X-Force is born:
Archangel: Fresh off his stint with the previous version of X-Force, Warren Worthington III finds himself at an impasse in his life. This allows Cable to lure him back onto another black ops team.
Hellverine: The son of Wolverine, he is trying to find his place in the world. Cable offers him a way to chart his own future.
Boom Boom: One of the founding members of the original X-Force, she is glad to see Cable again and get some excitement in her life. It does not matter what the mission is.
Soon, this new team is on its first mission to face down the newest version of an old enemy, the Mutant Liberation Front. X-Force arrives on the scene in time to help Ms. Marvel prevent the Mutant Liberation Front from blowing up a facility that manages a mutant-detecting app. This is quite awkward. Cable then hits Ms. Marvel with the revelation that in the future, she is the first mutant president. He was unable to save her then, but he and X-Force can do so now.
However, there is the fact that one of the members of the team is going to be her future assassin.
Common Threads
Whenever you have a story with Cable, you know there is going to be some time-related nonsense. It is hard to avoid, given his own backstory. This one is pretty restrained so far. The gaps in the memory of Cable help us as readers by taking away much of his foreknowledge and putting us on a more even playing field so far as knowledge of the overall happenings.
Cable has always been an interesting character, thanks in large part to all the possibilities contained in his backstory. At the same time, he has never been a very likable character. I guess having spent so much time on his own or with only an artificial intelligence companion for company, he is going to be a little lacking in the interpersonal skills department.
The idea of Ms. Marvel, Kamala Khan, being the first mutant president in the future is an interesting one. She is such a strong character, although personally I am not a big fan of her suddenly being a mutant in addition to being an Inhuman. But that is the price we pay for movie synergy. I know all these futures that Cable sees or comes from are all only possible ones and that the future is not set in stone, but I would be very interested to see how this particular one plays out.
Intelligence and Logistics
The creative team for this newest take on the X-Force name is Tim Seeley as writer and Michael Sta. Maria on art. Up until now, Seeley has done mostly DC work, including multiple Batman books and a lengthy run with the character Dick Grayson (or Nightwing). The only Marvel work I can recall from him was a Shatterstar miniseries, which is its own X-Force connection in a way. Sta. Maria, on the other hand, has done nothing but Marvel work up to this point, most recently the Ultimate Hawkeye one-shot. The cover of the issue was supplied by one of the "Young Guns" of Marvel, R.B. Silva.
The writing in this issue is good. There is an air of mystery or confusion over the proceedings thanks to the gaps in the memory of Cable. It does not feel like Seeley is trying to hold the hand of the reader, nor does he bombard you with massive infodumps to make sure you know every single in and out of what is happening. It is a delicate balance, but he handles it with aplomb.
The art is detailed but experiences some shortcomings overall. There are many panels where the faces of everyone are very expressive, but there are just as many where the faces are just too lined. Cable himself is a particular example of the latter. In many panels, his face has so many lines on it that it looks like he is all kinds of scarred up. There are some pages where the staging and angle are weird, making for some odd looks and questionable perspective in a few panels. In others, the action is well-staged and everything is easy to follow. It just comes across as the luck of the draw, no pun intended.
Time After Time
In conclusion, Inglorious X-Force issue 1 is a strong start to this new ongoing series. Cable has assembled an intriguing team with just enough of a sense of menace and mystery about them, while fan-favorite character Kamala Khan finds out something pretty cool about her possible future. The "there is a traitor in our midst" trope is way overdone (especially amongst the X-books), but given the time travel and the gaps in the memory of Cable, maybe there is a twist coming for this one.
Either way, this was a very good first issue. If you have any nostalgia for the X-Force property, are a fan of Cable, or if you like stories of rough men and women who make the hard choices so that good people do not have to, then this just might be the book for you.