With the Fall of X literally spinning out of X-Men: The Hellfire Gala 2023 on the same day as Wolverine #35, you better believe fans will want Beast to get his comeuppance. His rise to power and ability to commit atrocities has grown so that only a vigilante hero like Wolverine could stop him. With Maverick by his side, Wolverine is tasked with stopping a Beast with an army of Wolverine and Beast clones. It won’t be easy, but with the help of the X-Force, maybe he has a chance.
And that’s where this story picks up. Beast is about to meet up with Wolverine and make a deal, but first, he tells his clones a joke. That joke is a lesson of sorts to eat every prey, not just a single one, and his clones clearly don’t get it. The prime Beast is clearly off his rocker, and maybe that’s the edge Wolverine needs as he bides his time to get the X-Force inside to disrupt everything.
If you like X-Force you’ll love this issue, as it’s basically an issue of the series. That’s in part because Wolverine is less of the focus while he uses his words to keep prime Beast busy. Writer Benjamin Percy utilizes Deadpool well in this issue, using his sense of humor to great effect. At one point, he even comments on how the word balloons are being read incorrectly. Whether or not that was an accident fixed by Deadpool, knowing he is in a comic, or if it was planned, really doesn’t matter. It just works.
How freaking badass and scary is that base?
Credit: Marvel
This issue continues to edge towards horror. Penciler Juan Jose Ryp and color artist Frank D’Armata let the blood flow when Deadpool gets cut in half, and the headquarters of Beast is all kinds of creepy and macabre. The art is nicely detailed, with the techno-organic interiors looking realistic and unnerving. The atmosphere outside is exceptional with rain caking our heroes in dark grays. It’s as if they are meeting on the edge of Hell.
If you’re looking for a definitive conclusion, you’ll need to curb expectations. I won’t spoil the ending, but clearly Percy is saving Beast for another day. There’s certainly a win on the hero’s side of things, but the climax is not a word you’d use for this ending. If anything, the last page is more of a setup for Wolverine’s next adventure with Ghost Rider. This ending doesn’t bother me–Beast being an evil and distasteful jerk is quite fun–but paired with the lack of Wolverine taking charge and it feels a bit misguided.
If you want to see Beast take a loss, check out Wolverine #35. Less an issue of Wolverine and more of a good chapter of X-Force, this issue is filled with action, and Deadpool steals the show more than once in the best of ways.
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