X-Force #38
X-Force storms the Man with the Peacock Tattoo’s compound in X-Force #38, by writer Benjamin Percy, artist Robert Gill, colorist GURU-eFX, and letterer Joe Caramagna. This issue closes out the XENO storyline with a fast-paced, action-packed, and emotional ending that proves why this book is an underrated gem.
X-Force make their way to Genosha and are attacked by titanic guards. The team rips through them and goes into the compound as the Man with the Peacock Tattoo looks for Max. The team finds their way into the lower levels, with Omega Red uplinking XENO’s computer to Krakoa when Deadpool comes across the Omni-Mutant, an amalgamation of X-Force, just as the MwtPT gets Max and brings him in for vivisection. The Omni-Mutant makes short work of the team and is about to kill them when Max intervenes. The young boy saves the day, and Domino decides against personally taking revenge, allowing the MwtPT’s test subjects to have their vengeance. X-Force takes Max to Krakoa, with Domino hoping she’s finally let go of her scars.
Percy closes out the XENO story in the best way possible. A pretty big weakness of the Krakoa Era has been the way it ends storylines. From all of Howard’s books to Duggan’s Marauders, the ending of major stories has been lackluster, and that’s at best. Percy has dodged this pretty well in his books, and he dodges it here. This last issue feels right for a storyline blow-off, grabbing readers’ attention from the first page and never letting go.
This is a well-written, fun comic. The pacing is just right, the action buoys things along, and it has a nice emotional core, with Domino walking back into a house of horrors and realizing that she doesn’t have to let them rule her. She saves Max from ending up like her, which is enough. On top of that, Omega Red goes out of his way to save the team, showing that maybe, just maybe, he likes everyone more than he lets on. Percy has done a brilliant job with thawing out Omega Red, and it will be interesting to see where he takes the creator next.
Gill and GURU-eFX have made a wonderful team, and this issue is no different. From X-Force battling rejects from Attack On Titan to the Omni-Mutant’s attack, this book looks excellent. Gill’s pencils get better and better with every issue. His detail and linework are the best they’ve been in his run yet. He’s come into his own on this book, and it’s great to see. GURU’s colors make the whole thing sing, but that’s to be expected by this point. He’s low-key Marvel’s best colorist.
X-Force #38 ends a long-running plot that has been built since the first issue. Percy, Gill, GURU-eFX, and Caramagna give readers a hell of an ending, balancing action, plot, and character. This book has been burning it up, and this story keeps that up.
