X-Force #1-6

Let’s see… Wolverine has two ongoing titles and he’s in the X-Men and in The New Avengers! Then is it a stroke of genius to make him the leader of his own team in the new X-Force or overexposure for a played out character? The first six issues give a lot of bang for their buck. The new X-Force is a black ops squad that comes in for particularly brutal missions when the X-Men don’t want to get their hands bloody. Their first mission is to track down a mutant-hate cult called the Purifiers, but when they steal Angel’s wings, turning back into Archangel and set him off on a bloody killing spree, all bets are off.

This is a book that should have been created years ago. No nonsense killing machines that are set free to do what they do best, the team consists of Wolverine, X-23, Warpath and Wolfsbane. There isn’t too much plot going on, but that isn’t what I would expect from this book. Despite the lack of swearing and sex, I still find it amazing that the level of blood and gore in this book doesn’t instantly make it a MAX title. My only real criticism would come from not being a diehard X-Men fan. There are a bunch of villains that are dropped into the book over the first six issues who you are expected to know; Mathew Risman, the Purifiers, Bastion, Reverend Craig, Stryker and the Leper Queen. Hard core fans may be able to stay in the loop, but your casual reader may feel left out. Be that as it may, the story is easy to navigate otherwise, the art is sensational and there are enough cool moments to keep you wondering where the next six issues are going.