In a perfect world, X-Force wouldn’t be necessary. Unfortunately, we aren’t so lucky. Mikhail now has the Cerebro Sword containing all of Krakoa’s secrets, a (supposedly) Omega Level mutant at his disposal, and an uneasy relationship with the evil organization who used Domino’s body parts for villainous deeds. Will Beast be able to get to the bottom of things in a morally sound way? Certainly not! Will Colossus ever stop being pitied? We sure hope so! Ben Percy, Bazaldua, and Guru-eFX bring us X-Force #12.
Ari Bard: Oh geez, uh… Bad boys for life am I right?
Kenneth Laster: I immediately pictured Colossus and Beast as Will Smith and Martin Lawrence and that mental image is the best thing those two can offer me! But this issue is definitely Deeply Terrible Man vs. Deeply Terrible Man. A lot of things came to a head in this one and boy, oh boy am I in a mood to bully Hank McCoy! So let’s hop into it!
Malevolent Meetings in Mother Russia…
AB: Hmm… Well I think this means that Quentin didn’t actually die last time, and instead was just brutally maimed, so streak broken I guess.
KL: I think an obituary would say he would “die from his wounds” so I’ll count it with a pending RIP for Quire. But speaking of Quire, who knew his dying over and over again would lead to some consequences with XENO and Mikhail Rasputin planning on using his Omega level telepathy to upgrade their soldiers. That may be jumping ahead but just when I said last issue that I was curious when all these threads would be brought together, lo and behold! What were your thoughts on *gestures* all of that, Ari?
AB: Honestly… I didn’t love it? Percy really seems to get lost in his own intrigue when it comes to these XENO folks, and I found the scenes between them and Mikhail to be relatively poorly constructed. It’s really one scene chopped up and split throughout the issue, and it’s very expository and static until the very end. As far as the overall plot goes, I am happy that various threads are being brought together, like you said, but the execution on this one feels a little lackluster. Even with XENO’s treatment of Domino, because they are still so shrouded in mystery, it’s hard for me to feel any sort of way about them, and I’m not very familiar with Mikhail either, so as villains, they just aren’t doing very much for me right now.
KL: I definitely see what you’re saying about the XENO plot not moving very far in this issue, but for me just getting confirmation that they were still in play was big enough and I’m getting a sense that X of Swords and the need for a hook for issues to come left them a bit sparse in this one. But Quire’s Omega powers being brought into the fold was enough for me to get back into them even though like you, I’m not familiar with Mikhail and the Peacock man’s design is the most distinctive thing about this group. Honestly they are overshadowed by the OTHER villain of this series.
AB: I assume by OTHER villain you’re talking about the people of Terra Verde, and you’re definitely right there. I’m not sure if it’s design, abilities, motivations, or all of the above, but Terra Verde provides a much clearer picture for me. I know exactly who they are, what they can do, and what they want, and the mystery is on when and how they’ll strike. With XENO, I may know their motivations, but we still don’t know who they are, and that’s making it hard for me to latch onto them in any meaningful way. I think the best way of putting it is that XENO and Mikhail are currently people I see as threats because of the resources and people they have, not because of who they are. The threat is their genetic sequencing abilities and the Cerebro Sword and Quire in their possession. Sure it took some planning and execution to get those things, but I just don’t have a memorable persona to attribute the evil deeds or characteristics I’m seeing yet. Nonetheless, I am interested in continuing to follow the threads and see where they lead, especially if the answer continues to be Quentin Quire’s demise. You know who else is toying with various threads in a villainous way…
Beast Be Scheming
AB: This buffoon sure is up to plenty of no good in this issue. I’ll definitely get to his schemings and downright awful viewpoints in a minute, but when did this man find the time to get so toned? Bazaldua definitely made Hank one chiseled Beast with those abs, that’s for sure. According to Sage, always trying to do what’s right while still sneaking a little bit of wrong in there could be Beast’s motto, but from my perspective, there’s plenty of wrong to attribute to Beast. His genuinely lack of care for Sage in this issue really makes me sick.
KL: My arc as a casual X-Men fan to being here today has seen me go from regarding Hank McCoy as the bouncing blue Beast with warmth in my heart to staring in horror as he admits to reading about the panopticon and saying “now there’s a great idea!” Oh my god that man needs to go into the PIT! I agree his carelessness towards Sage being so early in this issue, surely was a sign that he was going to get worse and worse! Him making an attempt to inter Krakoans with Russian ties was gross enough but to make it a spectacle to provoke shame was just–yikes isn’t even the word! I am incredibly curious where Percy, or even the X-line, is taking Hank after this because this was a lot.
AB: I have to agree, if Hank McCoy has communicated one thing it’s that the bar can always go lower. Every time you think maybe Beast will come around or maybe he is truly well-intentioned, Beast makes sure to knock you upside the head with a sucker punch for ever thinking something so foolish. His plans for mutants with Russian ties are indeed despicable, but I suppose there always has to be one mutant who still agrees with fascist principles. The hole for Hank McCoy is getting deeper and deeper, and at this point, I am just wondering whether or not Percy’s intentions are to get him out or to have him join the Hellions.
KL: Hank becoming a part of the current Hellions team would be such an interesting idea and I honestly would love to see it. Speaking of mutant men we don’t like…
Piotr’s Predicament
AB: MASSIVE MAN alert! Our beefy boy has returned to ask for more of our pity and sympathy, and I, for one, am not having any of it. Percy tries to be clever and pit Beast and Colossus on opposite sides here thinking that we’ll have to pick one, but I don’t think so! I have plenty of hate for the both of them. I hope Beast’s plan fails and Colossus is found guilty. Take that Percy!
KL: As much as I have grown to hate Piotr Nikolaievitch Rasputin, I cannot abide by Hank in this one and I do say “Booo” for me having to side with Colossus. All he did in this was demand to be pitied and, while deeply irritating, as far as I know is not against the three laws. However a lot of the pushback towards X-Force was from Kayla, who is still just a complete mystery to us and I’m struggling to figure out if that’s because she’s more than she’s letting on or if she doesn’t have a lot of backstory because Colossus’s massive amount of guilt and angst takes up so much space she doesn’t have any room to say any part of her deal. The last data page gives me hope for the former. But just like with Beast, I am so curious where Percy is going with these two.
Piotr is terrible to women and painfully annoying on his best days but Beast is truly committing a variety of war crimes in every panel he shows up in and I am going to be in awe if Percy manages to tie these two into a story that tackles both of their behaviors. I doubt it especially with X of Swords looming large but if we exit this event with Beast and Piotr getting their karmic Comeuppance I will eat my hat. I am trying to cook more so it will be a useful challenge. Ari would you like to declare you will eat an inedible object for the record?
AB: I’ll gladly stand in solidarity and eat a hat alongside you if both Beast and Piotr get their Comeuppance by the end of X of Swords. It’s pretty unlikely, but I’m hoping Percy can somehow pull this off. I will say that he seems to be much better at finding voices for established characters than he is with new ones. Kayla and Xeno just don’t have as clear of a definition as these established characters do, but as far as Percy’s voices for Logan, Hank, Quentin, and Sage go, he feels right on the money most of the time. I think Kayla is new character, despite many familiar features and might be a way of manipulating Piotr behind the scenes. I will never take Beast’s side on anything, but no way am I joining camp Colossus either.
KL: Alas we must resign ourselves to become simple, unbiased spectators to the unfolding trials and tribulations of Beefy and the Beast.
X-Traneous Thoughts
- I think it might be a foreshortening issue, but I think it’s so funny how Domino is trying to have a sentimental moment w/ Piotr while her gun is INCHES away from Kayla’s face.
- We didn’t talk about The Chronicler but our own Nola Pfau did over at WWAC, so check that out.
- Ken’s SFX Corner *Pun Edition* (As Brought to you by VC’s Joe Caramanga):
- Mikhail turning this guy to stone? More like Grim Carey in the KRINCH Who Stole Christmas..
- What do you call a mutant who does war crimes? A DOOFus!
- Being teleported in by an evil Russian to have your Omega-level telepathy harvested for anti-mutant bio-terrorists? Aw SHZZZ!
- Is Piotr farming anything other than those purple flowers? Is that self-sustaining?
- Colossus has done some very bad things, but there are some people angrily looking at him when he steps through that portal that have no business judging.
- I miss Black Tom…
Ari Bard is a huge comic fan studying Mechanical Engineering so he can finally figure out how the Batmobile works.
Kenneth Laster is a critic, cartoonist, and cryptid with a movie degree.
