Forge Fixes The World In July’s ‘X-Force’
by Tony Thornley
The first announcement of Marvel’s auxiliary X-Men From The Ashes titles is here, and this one is a doozy. X-Force is here to fix the world.
Forge is an omega-level fixer. After decades of directing that power at machines and technology, he’s about to turn it to the world as a whole. Joining him is Betsy Braddock, Rachel Summers, Surge, Sage, and a mysterious new mutant named Tank. The team will solve the world’s problems, and they need specialists to help them do that- starting with the Merc with a Mouth, Deadpool!
The series will be written by Geoffrey Thorne. The art will come from Krakoa alumni Marcus To, which makes us hope for a few more returns. launches in July alongside Jed MacKay and Ryan Stegman’s X-Men, and prior to Gail Simone and David Marquez’s Uncanny X-Men.
“I cannot believe the reaction to my pitch with, ‘That sounds like X-Force to us,’” Thorne shared. “It’s a new vibe and a different mission, but it’s still X-Force. Looking at all the books coming out under this banner, I’ll just paraphrase the prophet, Sheryl Crow, ‘All I wanna do is have some fun,’ and looking at what I’m getting to do and what the others are bringing, I’m absolutely not the only one.”
“When Marvel approached me to be the artist for X-FORCE, I was ecstatic,” To added. “I was always a big fan of the X-books growing up, and to be a part of bringing that excitement to new and old readers alike was an opportunity I could not turn down. And the chance to draw Betsy Braddock again is icing on the cake!”
Outside of X-Men & Wolverine, X-Force has become Marvel’s most marketable mutant brand, so its inclusion in the line is obvious. What’s incredibly interesting is the pitch- this is Forge’s team and it’s all about “fixing” the world’s problems. Forge has only been associated with two incarnations of X-Force- Marvel Now’s Cable & X-Force and the just-concluded Krakoan volume. He’s much more tied to the X-Men and X-Factor squads.
The team is full of fan favorites, which we like. They’re all B-listers but they’re SOLID B-listers. Tank is another completely new mutant as well- joining Exceptional X-Men’s batch of newbies. His completely masked costume is interesting- is he truly a new character or is this one of the X-Men’s existing “tanks” in disguise? Colossus maybe?
Check out the debut issue’s cover from Stephen Segovia, and watch for more news about X-Men From The Ashes- including the announcements of Phoenix and NYX- soon!
