The Good
The "shock value" of a scene or a moment in a comic isn't what makes it "good," but it certainly helps. In the latest issue of UNCANNY X-FORCE Rick Remender delivers moment after edge-of-your-seat moment that will have you wishing there was more to read. What makes this issue good is that when you get to several of the shocking moments in this issue, none of them feel out of place or sporadic. Remender has been steadily leading up to the events that befall the X-Force over the course of the last ten issues, so even though you know something crazy is going to happen, you don't expect it and it all makes a lot of sense.
Remender's heroes are tragic, flawed and often have to stoop to the low of the villains they are fighting and that's what makes this X-Force team different. And although these good people have to do bad, very bad things; they do not want to. Take, for example, the moment that Wolverine kills a certain character in this issue; he doesn't do it without feeling a tremendous amount of remorse. You feel bad for both characters, too. I think that in general Remender does a great job tugging at the heartstrings of readers by leaving you with no choice but to feel sorry for both of these characters.
This is an absolutely phenomenal issue. The pacing is perfect; it's fast and a lot of things happen in this issue one after the other and I think that's important to recognize. And although the pacing is a little bit fast and a lot of things seem to come at the reader at once, I think that considering we've had the last ten issues of build-up, this issue makes sense. It feels appropriate. It is, however, nothing short of gut-wrenching. This is definitely a comic I won't read just once, but many, many times. It will be interesting to see where Remender takes these characters next.
The Bad
Nothing bad here, a brilliant issue.
The Verdict
This series is almost over, and having been a huge fan of it from the very beginning, I will be sad to see it go. Yet, let it not be said that this issue went out with a bang. I loved that Remender dealt with the "nature vs. nurture" issue in his series, and although he hasn't quite proven yet that nurture can survive, he's come close. It's been an interesting ride and the (almost) final issue definitely will not leave you disappointed. I am a big fan of Phil Noto so seeing his work on this issue was a real pleasure. Like I said, the pacing of this comic was great; even though a lot of things happened in this issue, they were organized and strategic. This issue is nothing short of fantastic, I highly recommend it.