Uncanny X-Force

          While I clame to be impartial towards the rivalry of DC and Marvel I must admit that I have, for around a year, liked DC much more. I do not really know why, just some where back I decided to read more Superman and Batman than X-Men and Spiderman. Now with the DC relaunch and none of the stories really mattering anymore I decided to give Marvel a chance and I remembered really liking this series when it first came out so I decided to start my re-reading of Marvel with Uncanny X-Force.
          In this issue the X-Men continue to work with Dark Beast to try and help Angel get rid of Archangel. To stop this new heir of Apocalypse, Dark Beast needs something called the Life Seed, but that means he and the X-Force have to go back into his own dimension.The X-Force go to Dark Beast's old lab to retrieve the Life Seed, but they are stopped by Nightcrawler, Sabertooth and Sunfire (the ones from the dark reality). After much fighting Shiro destroys the Life Seed and Dark Beast runs away into the original dimension, stranding the X-Force. Then relizing that the X-Force weren't clones made by Dark Beast, Nightcrawler, Sabertooth and Sunfire take the X-Force to their hide out (Atlantis) where they meet up with Professor X and Jean Grey.
         I have said I don't like alternate reality stories before, (because I find them unoriginal) and this was an Alternate reality story. However it wasn't just about the alternate reality it was mainly about Apocalypse. As I wrote that I noticed many similarities between this comic and every single other alternate reality story. They went to go retrieve something/someone, there was a complication, they get stranded, and then they meet up with other people that resemble people from their own universe. So I was planning to write this and say that the comic wasn't what you would expect and it was different from other alternate reality stories, but I was wrong, it is very typical. The only real differences were that the X-Force already knew this universe existed, and the other one (which was actually much better) was meeting up with different versions of dead friends with them. The attachment that the X-Force felt toward Nightcrawler was well done and the shock Wolverine and Jean felt when they saw each other was captured perfectly in just one panel where you couldn't even see Wolverine's face. So this was not a great story by Rick Remender, but Mark Brooks did an amazing job on pencils. He really made this comic much better.



Grade: 7.5/10
Buy at: www.mycomicshop.com

Uncanny X-Force

          I had never liked these X-Men spinoffs, actually (recently) I've never really liked any of the X-Men series, nor did I like Deadpool. (which is kind of X-Men) But when Angle, Wolverine, and Deadpool are all in the same series I had to check it out. I'm just saying now that I've had no experience with Fantomex, or Psylocke.
          The series starts off with Deadpool going on some covert mission to a cult sort of thing, well, until he was knocked unconscious by a giant statue. Then we see Psylocke's dream, she dreams that Angle is arguing with Archangel, and Archangel is killing both of them. Angle and Psylocke both wakeup and argue about lying to each other when they get a call, not really sure what about, probably Deadpool. Then there is a competition between Fantomex and Wolverine, and Wolverine wins. I was then a little confused when the X-Force just kinds of meets with no lead up. They go to where Deadpool was and they get attacked by the giant statue, after they overcome that and rescue Deadpool, you see Apocalypse as a small boy, and Angel declares that he's going to kill him.
            I found this issue confusing. I don't know who called Angle, or what about, Angle later said something about how Deadpool was gathering info about something for years, and I don't know what, and most importantly I don't know what brought the X-Force back together. (Although I Fantomex just decided to get them all back) But as I was reading I barley noticed, what I did notice was great writing, great art, and the best written Deadpool I've ever seen. It's like the way Bendis writes Spiderman, Remender writes Deadpool like I've always wanted to see him. Another character that is done really well in this series is Fantomex, he had a very nice classiness about him, but I still don't know anything about him. (I'll be sure to look him up so I'm prepared for next issue) Angle, Wolverine, and Psylocke were also written well, but not as well as Deadpool and Fantomex. For a series like this I would usually comment about "starting in the middle of the series," but the trailer for this series took that thought right out of my mind.
           This was a really good issue, with great art, and great writing, there were just a couple of holes in the plot, most of which I would consider irrelevant.



Grade: 8/10
Buy at: www.mycomicshop.com