Uncanny X-Force 1: The Apocalypse Solution

Comic Info

Wolverine: The Road to Hell #1

Reprints Wolverine: The Road to Hell #1 and Uncanny X-Force (1) #1-4 (November 2010-March 2010).  Wolverine and Angel have taken the reigns of X-Force and still intend to use it to do the dirty work that the X-Men can’t and won’t do.  Based out of Cavern-X, Wolverine and Angel have assembled Psylocke, Fantomex, and Deadpool to join in their mission.  When Deadpool discovers Apocalypse has been reborn, X-Force heads to his base on the moon to stop him.  Apocalypse is being protected by a whole new group of Horsemen and X-Force faces a challenge.  If X-Force defeats the Horsemen, do they have what it takes to kill Apocalypse…even if he is a child?

Written by Rick Remender and illustrated by Jerome Opena, Uncanny X-Force Volume 1:  The Apocalypse Solution collects the first four issues of Uncanny X-Force (Volume 1) and their first appearance in Wolverine:  The Road to Hell (illustrated by Leonardo Manco).  The series was well received by fans and critics.

I have always been an X-Force fan.  Being a huge New Mutants fan, I remember when X-Force was launched by Liefeld (he does a fun variant cover of Uncanny X-Force #1) and despite being mostly art over substance, I still enjoyed it…probably far past its prime.  With the basic original X-Force team (aka the New Mutants) helming their own series, there is more room for a new team of X-Force.  After a dark turn in the previous volume of X-Force, Remender continues the dark style of the book but with a fun new team.

Uncanny X-Force (1) #1 Rob Liefeld Variant

Individually, I’m not a big fan of many of these characters in this book.  I think Wolverine is so overplayed and his character just can’t seem to decide if he is bloodthirsty or on the side of Xavier.  Deadpool is obnoxious in his own series…not in a good way…and I can’t figure out why a character who keeps having cancelled series keeps getting them.  Angel has never been right since the whole Archangel thing, and Betsy was cooler as a British supermodel with a hood.  Fantomex was fine in Morrison’s X-Men run, but always feels out of place in others stories.  Here however, they gel nicely…despite some story issues.

The story in this first volume is a bit tedious with way too many fights with the Horsemen.  I like the basic message of the story and the functioning of the team helps keep it on track, but I wish Remender would go for a bit more straight forward story.  I like what he’s trying, and it is definitely worth sticking with this series to see where it is going.

Opena’s art is good, but I wish the color set was more distinctive.  It is sometimes hard to follow the action and characters with his designs and the colors used with them.  I also kind of have the “covers blend together” issue with this series if you are trying to pick up individual issues.  It isn’t bad, but there is room for improvement.

Uncanny X-Force 1:  The Apocalypse Solution isn’t for everyone.  It probably helps if you have some background in the characters since most of the story is tied to the characters’ pasts and not relayed here.  Apocalypse maybe wasn’t the best choice as a starting point for readers, and I can imagine that many were confused by the story.  Uncanny X-Force 1:  The Apocalypse Solution is followed by Uncanny X-Force 2:  Deathlok Nation.

Related Links:

Uncanny X-Force 2:  Deathlok Nation

Uncanny X-Force 3:  The Dark Angel Saga—Book 1

Uncanny X-Force 4:  The Dark Angel Saga—Book 2

Uncanny X-Force 5:  Otherworld