Two mercs, an animal, an angel and one girl
The new X-Force team book is here and I was really looking forward to this ever since I read the Wolverine: Road to Hell prelude.
First off: One thing I keep on hearing is how many people don't like to see Deadpool in this book. I can agree with most of them that Deadpool is being over-exposed at this moment and that this seems like a gimmick. However, people should realize first that the Deadpool that Remender shows us here is totally different from the Deadpool in all his other current ongoing books. Remender seems to have based his Deadpool on the classic version before Daniel Way took on the character. Thus there are no inner-voices, no pool-o-vision and other of that weird stuff. This truly is a brutal and deadly merc with a mouth.
This being said I truly believe that Deadpool can be a really good fit for this team. He's dark and deadly enough. He bring somewhat of a 'comic relief' to the book, without acting really ridiculous and becoming less deadly. And the interaction that the other members have with him is great.
About the team roster: I love it. Wolverine is of course perfect for this book. I was happy to see Angel return as well since I love to see him in his Arcangel form while struggling to keep his control. Psylocke got added to the roster as well, and while I don't really know her character that well, I'm pretty excited to get to know her. Plus her relationship with Warren seems to have returned and beside that she seems to be helping him control the Arcangel persona. The team is also joined by two mercs: Fantomex and Deadpool. I already expressed my feelings on Deadpool on this team, and I'm totally to see more of Fantomex, which I find a great character that isn't used enough in books.
My only complaint here is that I would've loved to see Domino return as well. She'd be a perfect fit for this team: Her interaction and sexual tension with Wolverine 'd be great. Fantomex 'd probably hit on her as well. Her interaction with Deadpool 's always great. She obviously is deadly and dirty enough. And I liked her a lot on the previous team.
About the story: So far, I'm really liking this. I think Apocalypse is a great choice for a first villain. He's a well-known and very dangerous villains of the X-men and he will affect Angel and Wolverine on a very personal level. This immediately raises the questions whether or not Angel will be able to control the Arcangel persona and how will Wolverine respond to fighting Apocalypse? I also liked the way everything and every member was presented in this book. Maybe the presentation of Fantomex could 've been a bit better, but it definably wasn't bad either. The scene with Angel and Psylocke was great. And I liked the opening scene with Deadpool sneaking about.
So basically I loved Rick Remender 's writing of the story and his take on the characters so far and the art was great. It takes some getting used to the first few moments, but I really like it. The only issues I had with this book is that I really would 've wanted to see Domino in this and I think the Fantomex scene could 've maybe been a bit better.
Rating: 5 / 5 !
People should really buy and read this book. It's great, and you definably shouldn't be afraid to see Deadpool appear in this.
( This review - including some others - can also be found here on my blog )
