It manifests across time and space and universes. “I serve a natural cosmic force for evolution,” Archangel suggests, and Remender suggests that Apocalypse isn’t so much a character as a concept, like Morrison did with the Phoenix. It’s a raw force designed to serve a purpose without any compassion or humanity. Remender pitches Apocalypse as an ontological force, akin to the Phoenix. This is why children play such an important role in the story – from the first child version of Apocalypse, to Angel reborn with the innocence of a child and even Daken.Īpocalypse haunts Uncanny X-Force, in what might be the single best use of the character in the history of the X-Men franchise. This makes it something of an effective companion piece to Kieron Gillen’s Uncanny X-Men, which meditated on similar themes.
It’s about fate and free will, as against the sheer force of nature. It’s about optimism competing against cynicism. Uncanny X-Force is, against all odds, the story of light competing against darkness. “These jobs need doing, and we’re going to shoulder them so the others don’t have to.” Indeed, Worthington seems to justify X-Force’s conduct in a manner quite similar to the logic that the wealthy blonde playboy Ozymandias does in Watchmen, the other influential book that shifted comics towards the cynical. He’s using imagery associated with one of the comics most associated with starting the “dark and gritty” trend in mainstream comic book publishing. It is, to be frank, the darkest possible portrayal of Batman.īy using this iconography, Remender invites comparisons to The Dark Knight Returns and the darker and grittier portrayals of Batman. Archangel describes Worthington as a weak coward, and seeks to consume him so that it may live. When it rants and raves inside Worthington’s mind, struggling to break free of the mental cage holding it, it feels almost like a shout-out to Frank Miller’s take on the Bruce/Batman relationship in The Dark Knight Returns. Archangel is violent, aggressive and animalistic. Worthington has a dark secret buried inside his mind. Has the character come to be defined by that period of his history? Is he just the face of cynical and nihilistic comic book violence? Wolverine is a character who saw his popularity sky-rocket during the nineties, when he was portrayed as an increasingly violent and brutal anti-hero. When he talks about “letting” his brutality “define” him, what is he talking about? He isn’t quite aware of the nature of his existence as a comic book character in the same way that Deadpool is, but there’s a hint of self-awareness there. In a way, Wolverine seems to be leaning against the fourth wall there. Soon as somebody’s gotta be opened’ up, who gets the call? And I let ’em. No matter what they say - This is what they want from me.
“Place where it’s okay to let the animal out because it’s in the club’s handbook?” He reflects on his own complicity in the matter, whether he’s simply rationalising behaviour that other people expect from him. “Is it the real reason I keep X-Force runnin’?” Logan wonders at one point. He just fancies it up.” He’s just made it legitimate. As Sabretooth observes of Wolverine towards the climax of the run, “He’s just another killer. At one point, he compares X-Force to “an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting mandatory drinking contest.” There’s a lot of soul-searching about what the organisation says about its members, and to what extent they are trying to justify or rationalise behaviour that has been programmed into them. There’s something quite tragic and grotesque about the way that Wolverine has recruited all these haunted and damaged individuals. Even Deathlok, who joins the team in the second arc, is a psychotic human host bonded with a pacifist AI to become an homage to The Terminator. Angel was converted into Archangel and forced to serve the genocidal villain Apocalypse as the Horseman Death. Psylocke was abducted and brainwashed to serve as an assassin of the Hand in the Uncanny X-Men issues of the Acts of Vengeance crossover. If you are a creator who is interested in setting up an AMA please see the AMA instructions in the FAQ.Wolverine, Fantomex and Deadpool are all survivors of the “Weapon Plus” program, a secret organisation which preyed and experimented on mutants to help craft the perfect living weapon. Check your pictures for piracy links before posting them. Links to pirated material or piracy sites will result in an immediate ban. For reading suggestions, please check the FAQ. Please read our image policy before submitting one. Please wait for further announcements about voting for new flair images. Requests for new flair image creation is closed. To set your flair please use the flair picker. FAQ - Recommendations - Weekly Pull List - Questions and Suggestions - Swag Bag Friday - Discord Server