The Good

You can't deny that there's a plethora of X-Men comics. What's great is we're seeing more and more each book having its own feel. This version of UNCANNY X-FORCE has given us a slightly odd mix of characters and we don't necessarily have an official team just yet. The pieces have sort of fallen in place, driving some of the characters together. With Bishop's surprise appearance and beast-like nature, there's been a compelling draw to this title.

This is where we start to get some answers. We've seen that Bishop isn't in his right mind. We know he was in the far off future but that doesn't explain the growls or giant bear presence Psylocke witnessed in their final battle. It's a good thing that Betsy is a telepath because it allows her and Storm to enter his mind to try to get to the bottom of things.

The issue takes place on two fronts. We see the inside of Bishop's mind along with flashbacks as well as what Puck and Spiral are doing during this trip through the psychic plane. Having art by Adrian Alphona and Dexter Soy gives a great contrast between the two portions. Sifting through Bishop's memory is indeed a trip. Sam Humphries mixes things up by having Puck and his charming personality shine in the spotlight. Humprhies also has another player make a move that sets things up wonderfully for the next issue.

The Bad

While it is nice having this team remain separate from the other X-characters, it does feel a little odd that they would try to handle figuring out what was up with Bishop and contain Spiral on their own instead of calling in reinforcements. It could be argued that Storm, Psylocke and Puck are more than enough to deal with the two but obviously things won't go as smoothly as they planned. It's more that this isn't an official team and they decide to deal with the situation on their own.

The Verdict

Sam Humphries is carving out a nice little corner of the X-Men universe in this title. The two-fronted battle with Spiral and Bishop is over but there are still pieces they need to sort out. We get some answers as to what's been going on with Bishop since we last saw him and there's a nice cliffhanger teasing us as we have to wait for the next issue. Normally having two artists is a pet peeve but it works perfectly here as the story takes place on two fronts. The method and location where Psylocke and Storm decide to keep Spiral and investigate the inner workings of Bishop's mind is a little odd but for the sake of the events that follow, it works. As we see more and more of these characters together, I can't wait to see what else Humphries has planned.

It just bothered me how nobody saw what came at the end. I mean yes it's a comic, but no, Puck was just drunk & Spiral just tied up neither of them were blindfolded.

I believe they were both intended to be drunk and doesn't Fantomax have magic trick illusion powers?

It was a very odd sequence.

I just realized this after so many issues: how did Bishop recover his right arm? O.o

Anyway, I just wanted to say that I think the scene where Storm destroys one of Bishop memories of him wanting to kill Hope is a VERY BAD EXCUSE to bring him back to the hero side. VERY VERY BAD AND LAZY EXCUSE. Specially when apparently he's already taking the route of the repent guy that is actively working to make up for his sins with all that stuff from the order and killing revenants.

If that destroyed though is later used as part of his rehabilitation it would be a joke.

The girl is fantomex. Can't she used an ilussion while the two were busy fighting/drinking whetever?

Was Cluster ever shown to have the same powers as Fantomex?

wait so Bishop officially part of the good guys again? And Did Spiral "join" the team?

Absolutely. That scene pissed me off no end. The dude murdered a whole planet worth of people in an alt future!!! If they use that as a core reason for his rehabilitation then I'm dropping the book. It's fine if that was a scene purely to show Storm's disbelief and horror, but nothing more. Bishops road to redemption, if there is one, needs to be a loooong one. He makes Wanda and Cyclops' actions pale in comparison. He was basically a much slower and crueler version of Dark Phoenix. DP wiped out a billions in and instant, he did it slowly, over many years.

Not until now. Remember guys, she and dark Fantomex are both clones of Fantomex. The only difference is in their minds. Three brains for the original, now only one per Fantomex. They all have the same powers.