Welcome, X-Fans, to another uncanny edition of X-Men Monday at AIPT!
To fix a broken world, Forge is assembling an all-new, all-different kind of mutant team in X-Force #1, written by Geoffrey Thorne and illustrated by Marcus To — and on sale July 31, 2024. Along for the ride? Well, that’d be Betsy Braddock, Rachel Summers, Sage, Surge, and Tank. Oh, and that soon-to-be summer movie star, Deadpool!
What can we expect from this new “From the Ashes” X-Force team, including their interpersonal relationships and future adventures? Let’s find out, straight from Geoffrey.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
AIPT: Welcome to X-Men Monday, Geoffrey!
Geoffrey Thorne: Thank you for having me.
AIPT: As this is your first time appearing in the column, I’d like to give readers a chance to get to know you better. So, what was your first X-Men eXperience as a fan?
Geoffrey: HAH! Easy! Giant-Size X-Men #2, Roy Thomas, Neal Adams, Tom Palmer. It was X-Team 2 (The originals, plus Havok and Polaris) vs. Sentinels as drawn by NEAL FREAKING ADAMS. Go read it. The scene where the Sentinels take out the Living Monolith is GOLD. After that, I was always on the hunt for what the hell these X-People were about, what was this conflict? Mutant? WHAT is THAT? I lived in back-issue bins and boxes for years, backfilling my X-collection after that.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
And It was a freaking REPRINT! I didn’t even know those existed back then.
It wasn’t my first-ever comic book but, even as a child, it hit me hard enough to stick with me to this day.
AIPT: Those mutants will hook you! OK, X-Force. What would you say your “From the Ashes” run has in common with past X-Force series and what makes it stand on its own?
Geoffrey: It has zero in common with past iterations of X-Force except that a couple of its members have been on prior X-Force teams. This isn’t a continuation of any of those. Not picking up any prior threads or closing off any supposed errors. Nor is it a commentary on or rejection of any of those, good or bad. 100% new. Jump in without any prior knowledge, folks.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
It stands on its own because of everything I just said. New team, new mission, new dynamics.
That said, Krakoa is over but it left a scar on a lot of folks, which is causing minor-to-major bends in their behavior and worldviews going forward.
AIPT: Intriguing. Let’s break down your cast, starting with Forge. As a character, what made Forge the right mutant to center this new iteration of X-Force around?
Geoffrey: I’ve been fascinated with the character since his first appearance. I want to get into what kind of person he is, first and foremost — how he sees the world, based on his past, and how he interacts with a world that he sees largely as a series of simple-to-complex problems to solve, mechanically. He doesn’t just “make stuff.” I want to explore what he actually does.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
That was the core and shape of this book when I pitched it.
Once we started nailing down plot details, Tom Brevoort and Mark Basso thought this was the right book to be the new X-Force. Obviously, I agree and here we are.
I just like Forge. I always have. Forge is awesome. After I locked in on Forge, the rest was just dominoes falling down.
AIPT: In an interview with ComicBook.com, you mentioned Betsy Braddock isn’t thrilled to join the team, but does so due to her girlfriend Rachel Summers’ interest. Where is Betsy’s head at going into this series, post-Krakoa?
Geoffrey: Lady Elizabeth Braddock has a great number of things to juggle. The aftermath of Krakoa’s fall, obviously. Her forced split focus between her life in 616 and her duties as Captain Britain and Otherworld. Also, she’s got this new relationship with this insanely powerful and fairly volatile and mercurial girlfriend who’s brought her own baggage on this journey (which is CONSIDERABLE).
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
I think she can be forgiven for wanting to take some private time to get her feet under her again.
She ain’t gonna get it.
AIPT: Speaking of that girlfriend, X-Fan Antonio Pascual pointed out that in recent months, we’ve seen Rachel play an important role as Askani — protector of the timeline. Antonio wanted to know if we’ll see any further development of this side of Rachel in X-Force.
Geoffrey: Spoilers. Sorry. No way to answer that without blowing up things I’m either doing or intentionally not doing. I will say that, like the others, Rachel has interested me, on her own, for some time, quite separate from whatever she’s got with Betsy. There is definitely something going on with her and not all of that something is good. SOME of it is VERY good, yes, but not all.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
AIPT: Tank. Everybody’s wondering about Tank. X-Fan Neil asked if this is the same Tank from Eve L. Ewing’s Ironheart series.
Geoffrey: Tank is a member of Forge’s team, picked by Forge to do what the “tank” in every Battle Hobo party does. IOW, Tank hits things REALLY hard. Most of those things don’t get up again after. Sometimes, Tank flies the jet.
AIPT: Tank is versatile! X-Fan Avery wanted to know what inspired you to put Surge on the team. And X-Fan JG Piff asked if you could give a hint as to what’s in store for her.
Geoffrey: I’ve liked Nori since she first showed up. I liked ALL the New X-Men/Academy X kids. As with Forge, I felt they and she, specifically, never got much shine after their initial run so, she was always going to be on the team. Yes, I have plans for Nori. She’s the youngest and she’s the only person on the team who hasn’t actually killed anyone. The fall of Krakoa may have hit her hardest of the group. What’s she doing about that? Come find out.
AIPT: X-Fan alliterator said Sage is still a pretty mysterious character. What brought you to her and is there any chance we’ll see more of her backstory in X-Force?
Geoffrey: Love. Sage.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics and Comicbook.com
She was, after Forge, the only character who was going to be in this book from the jump. I like her power. I like the mystery of her past. I wanted to get both her and Forge out of their perennial “person in the chair” or “tech support” roles and put them on the front line. She and Forge have somewhat complementary powers, though it doesn’t seem so at first blush. Yeah. I like Tessa a LOT. We will see lots of little bits of her life beyond the X. It ain’t what you think.
AIPT: Artist Marcus To is no stranger to the X-Men line. Why is he the perfect artist for this X-Force team?
Geoffrey: I’ve been ridiculously lucky to work with the illustrators I have in the past and Marcus keeps my streak going.
One, he’s put in his own time on the X with stints during the Krakoan Era. He can draw his ASS off. I never think a book is really real until the art comes in. Even Marcus’s thumbnails are filled with so much energy it makes you lean in. The finished art NEVER fails to blow my entire mind.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics and Comicbook.com
On a practical note, he seems to have a facility with drawing disparate locales in such a way as to make them both vibrant AND grounded which, for what this book is doing, is a must.
Clean lines, dynamic composition, engaging design. What’s not to love?
I’m asking him to draw a lot of crazy stuff so I just hope he doesn’t get sick of me. He is the PERFECT collaborator for this book,
AIPT: Finally, X-Force #1 features Deadpool, but Marvel did say we’d see a revolving door of guest stars. So, who else can you tease for the X-Force adventures to come?
Geoffrey: Spoilers. All I’ll say about that is, not every guest will actually be on the team; we’ll be pulling in cameos and guests from all across the space and time of Marvel 616 (and beyond). It’s not Mutant Marvel Team-Up but we will be doing a LOT of traveling and stepping over lines so that’s going to bring in some folks one might not expect to see elsewhere.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
What can I tease…?
This book is about saving the world by any means necessary, so we will be traveling, fast and far. We will see some weird locales and characters and we’ll discover that there’s maybe something even more dire going on than Forge first thinks. What’s worse than the end of the world? Come find out.
AIPT: Happy to! But on that note, Geoffrey, thanks for stopping by X-Men Monday at AIPT!
X-Fans, for this week’s X-Men Monday eXclusives, we get to reveal X-Force‘s next Marvel guest star, via the solicitation and covers for X-Force #4, on sale October 9, 2024!
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
X-FORCE #4
GEOFFREY THORNE (W) • MARCUS TO (A) • Cover by STEPHEN SEGOVIA
TANK VARIANT COVER BY CLAYTON CRAIN • TANK VIRGIN VARIANT COVER BY CLAYTON CRAIN
Variant Cover by JUAN FERREYRA
MAN-THING STRIKES AS THE NEXUS OF ALL REALITIES IS AT STAKE!
The Nexus of All Realities is in danger – meaning if X-FORCE can’t seal this Fracture Node, they’ve got more to worry about than just one ol’ Earth! What extradimensional forces stand ready to take down FORGE’s team? And the Nexus’ guardian, the MAN-THING – is he friend or foe? The all-new X-FORCE series continues to turn up the heat…and wait’ll you see what we’re cooking!
On Sale: 10/9
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
No new edition of X-Men Monday next week as everybody in comics will be at a little West Coast get-together called San Diego Comic-Con. Hopefully, there’ll be enough news coming out of it to hold you over until we return.
Until then, X-Fans, stay exceptional!
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