X-Force #4 Review

X-FORCE #4
Written by Chris Yost & Craig Kyle
Art by Clayton Crain

With X-Factor's current funk post-Messiah Complex, X-Force continues to be the best X-title currently being published. Yost and Kyle, with Crain's beautiful artwork (I love it, some might hate the digital-ish drawings), have made a team consisting of Wolverine and half a dozen or so knock off Wolverines, for lack of a better description, into an team I care about. I'm not trying to fool you. This isn't the most character driven book on the market, but it's not just glorified blood and guts for 22 pages (more like 18 or 19 =p).

X-23, in particular, probably due to the fact Yost and Kyle created her, has been excellent in this series and, while I didn't agree with her inclusion at first, they've managed to make her return to her living weapon origins and make it believable. This issue, coincidently, gives us an excellent inner monologue from Laura as she calmly and collectively goes over the mission progress and state of mind of several characters, mainly Wolverine, in regards to Rahne's current condition. I loved her reaction to Wolfsbane's de-winging of Angel and the recalling of what Logan said to her, prompting her to just stop fighting and let Wolfsbane tear her apart in leiu of killing her as she originally intended.

My lone complaint with the issue is how fast it seemed to read. We get a quick dialogue with Wolverine, a recap of current events with Rahne and then her brainwashed betrayal, of which only X-23 questioned the Purifier's even leaving Rahne alive to be found, and the dismembering of Angel. This lead to the creation of the Purifier's new choir, a group of devoted individuals with Angel's Apocalypse technology laddened wings grafted to their backs, acquired from Angel's detached wings. The issue ended with Archangel, the blue, metal winged Angel of Death version of Angel, being reborn in spectacular detail, thanks to Crain's artwork.

Verdict - Must Read. Not much story progression, aside from the creation of the Archangel choir, but a lot more character development than I expected from this title and I'm seeing signs of some long term viability in this hack and slash book.

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