X-Force is in shambles after the Hellfire Gala, but a few are still alive thanks to Colossus, for better or worse. Colossus has been controlled by his brother Mikhail for some time, but coincidentally, Orchis beat him to it the day he was going to strike Krakoa. Most of the X-Force team is trapped, and it’s up to Sage and Domino to save them. The X-Force are working off reserves with mutants a target, and the team is more needed than ever.
X-Force #44 is a heavily Domino-focused issue, who is going solo to get answers and find Mikhail. She’s in Russia to start the issue and going it solo. That puts this issue steadily in a covert ops place, which is a nice return for the series, as this is what the X-Force was set up to be.
Along the way, there are some economical check-ins with the portion of the team that has been captured. Writer Benjamin Percy shows how each member gets their comeuppance from Mikhail or is kept busy enough not to escape. There are also good bits about Sage’s state after her trouble with alcohol and check-in with Mikhail’s man who is controlling Colossus.
Domino is getting some answers.
Credit: Marvel
The meatiest part of this issue involves Domino escaping a highly deadly Orchis threat. Robert Gill draws a great sequence, be it Domino sneaking into a location or escaping near death. The scene gives the issue the pop it needs to satisfy action fans. The moody and dark scene to open the issue captures the atmosphere X-Force–and really all mutants–are in, thanks to colors by GURU-eFX.
If you have loved the Krakoan era, this issue feels essential. The state of Krakoa itself is touched upon, for instance, and the data pages add a bit of commentary as well. The rarity of superhero comics to last this long with a single writer is impressive and it shows considering the threads that are touched upon that have been building for years. We may, or maybe not, closing in on the end of the Krakoan era, but the many threads touched upon here prove it has had great value.
On some scale, though, this issue is essentially a table-setting affair. That includes what Sage and Domino acquired and the scene in the final few pages. In hindsight, the Domino action is a lengthy means for a McGuffin to progress things, so this issue ends up being a good part of the larger story, but one made up of check-ins.
X-Force #44 hammers home the awesomeness of Domino while setting up many key pieces for what is building towards an excellent finish.
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