Brothers spar, and brothers fight, but do brothers kill? It may come to that in X-Force #46, which brings to the forefront a story that’s been years in the making. Benjamin Percy pits Colossus against his brother after he is mind-controlled and used. Now free of mind control and inside a pocket prison dimension, Colossus must make a decision he will never forget.
This issue is about the conflict between brothers, but it’s also a prison break. Inside the prison dimension are also the remaining X-Force members, which include Wolverine, Omega Red, and Kid Omega. With the aid of Doctor Strange, Domino and Sage enter this dimension that’s near collapse. What seems to be holding it together at the start of this issue is Colossus, which is fitting given his ability to never break or bend.
A couple of things work really well in this issue, which includes the violence as Deadpool and company slay many tiny soldiers. It’s ongoing and frustrating, and as Domino puts it, “f&*$ nesting dolls.” Another is Chronicler, who gets two prose-style data pages to detail his thoughts and current status. His mutant ability to control the mind of someone through the story is quite compelling, and it’s nice that he gets so much focus in these prose sections.
“Brothers don’t shake hands, brothers gotta hug!”
Credit: Marvel
The action does feel like a lot of noise, some of which is unnecessary or a bit boring. Heroes fighting endless nondescript characters tend to have that effect. Colossus also pulls out a “try a bit harder” trope to win the day, which is also a bit of a bummer. He’s facing his brother, and it’s all come to this, but it ends in a quick moment. Did his brother not see it coming since he didn’t think he had it in him? It’s unclear. It doesn’t help that all the fighting is in a black void, which somehow has chunks of rock to stand on but no walls or doors. It makes the action hard to follow and random.
It’s also very strange they just let the Orchis agent go–especially give the events of the Hellfire Gala and many mutants seemingly fine with killing humans–further separating this from the other X-Men books. But hell, we got a resolution, and now it’s time to judge Colossus. Given the length of this ongoing story, it’s nice to know there is an end in sight.
X-Force #46 gets us closer to a major story arc finish line but does so with nonsensical action. There are good bits and bobs in between, but for such a long-running story, it feels like a rushed chapter, to say the least.
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