As you know, superheroes are honorable, noble and just. They fight evil but still obey the law. Sometimes, however, you have to break the rules and be more brutal. That's when the anti-heroes from the X-Force group enter the action.
Find the seed
After the events of Apocalypse Method, X-Force with Wolverine, Deadpool, Archangel, Psylocke and Fantomex must once again take care of saving humanity. Especially since they made quite a mess themselves in a way. Instead of destroying the world (it is not about our planet, but about an abstract dimension enclosed in a glass ball), the heroes decide to spare it and thus let the danger threatening the Earth develop in it. Meanwhile, after a psychic attack by Shadow King, Warren Warrington’s second personality, Archangel, is released. Worse, he’s going to be the new Apocalyps! In order to take over the world, he must find the Seed and with its help destroy life on our planet and rebuild it according to his own ideas. Thus, its inhabitants would consider him a god. Of course, the Riders of the Apocalypse help him in carrying out his plans, and a dark version of the Beast from a parallel dimension. So X-Force must stop him. However, will they be able to? And more importantly – how much will they pay for it?
Triangles and triangles
Uncanny X-Force: Era Archangela is the second volume about the history of anti-heroes led by Wolverine, published in Poland by Mucha Comics. It consists of the material originally published in notebooks 8-19. American writer Rick Remender for the script for the entire story. The author set himself a difficult task. He decided to throw the team around several different worlds, and at the same time make the reader not get lost between them, and at the same time keep the action fast. He succeeded in both of these plays. We are well aware of where Wolverine and his companions are all the time. Although at times we will find ourselves among a whole group of heroes (apart from X-Force there are also supporters of Apocalypse and X-Men from another dimension), the plot keeps its sense all the time and we do not have to go back a few pages to see what is going on at the moment . And on top of that, we get new fights and surprising twists. When we think that everything will be fine, suddenly a villain appears, spoiling the group’s plan, and vice versa – when everything starts to decline, suddenly an unexpected ally saves the day. So there are times when our jaw will drop.
Unfortunately, the screenwriter did not fully cope with the relations between the characters. While our X-Force, their allies and enemies are characteristic and the author tries to devote even a short moment to each, their mutual relations are much weaker. This looks best on the Deadpool – Fantomex line. It is impossible not to like this duo. Not only are they funny in their verbal skirmishes, you can see how hostility turns into friendship. At times, Logan also joins their arguments and the trio becomes even more interesting. The love triangle between Warren, Psylocke and the aforementioned Fantomex is much worse in this respect. Remender is obviously a sensationalist, but romance isn’t his job anymore. The heroes seem to love each other, they cannot live without each other, sometimes they also cheat, but everything seems artificial and made by force. The fact that Archangel and Betsy Braddock’s relationship is immensely significant to the plot of the second volumeX-Force , but the writer could have presented it better or invented it and kept it to a minimum.
Only for adults?
Over the drawings for Uncanny X-Force: Age of Archangelseveral artists worked. They all did not have an easy task. They had to capture the vision of Remender’s adventure on paper, jump between worlds, sometimes fit a dozen or so heroes on one page and make the recipient not get lost in all of this. Jerome Opeña and Esad Ribić had the most work. It was this duo who had a mission to take us to the dark dimension and show us the clashes between individual groups. They did a great job of their role. Their works contain a lot of details, the line pleases the eye, and the color palette reflects the emotions accompanying the characters and does not allow us to get lost even at the moment of the greatest carnage. It should also be added that the frames they present are marked by brutality. So be prepared for blood spurting, limbs being severed, and bowels flowing out. Plus, you should also get their account for that they managed to capture the strongly abstract world in an interesting way. Billy Tan, it is up to us to introduce us to the whole story. It was he who showed us how Archangel becomes Apocalypsen. While the plot invented by the scriptwriter himself rendered quite well, he did not show the character’s face clearly. These seem underdeveloped, and thus as if washed out of feelings. Mark Brooks, Scott Eaton and Robbi Rodriguez also contributed to the album. Their task was, among others showing us two Wolverines from different worlds, introducing the dark X-Men, as well as drawing the end of the whole adventure. Although you cannot complain about them, only the last of these men stands out above the average. Unlike his colleagues, he used a more severe line, perfectly reflecting the atmosphere accompanying the X-Force team.
One more thing. I don’t know if the cartoonists set this as the main goal or if they organized a competition among themselves, but each of them showed us very accurately … Betsy Braddock’s ass! As you know, Psylocke usually wore a tight-fitting and very modest costume. That is why quite often artists had the opportunity to present her buttocks to us. You have to judge for yourself which version they look best in. But the heroine herself would have nothing to be ashamed of!
The fly will not leave us alone
The publisher of Uncanny X-Force: Era Archangela on the Polish market is Mucha Comics. Once again, the editors rose to the occasion. We got a hardcover album, and the next notebooks were transferred to chalk paper. Inside, apart from the adventure itself, we find comic book covers, their alternative versions, as well as some sketches created by Jerome Opeña. In addition, an introduction has also been prepared, telling us about the X-Force group itself, as well as about their adventures presented in the previous volume. This is extremely useful, especially since at the very beginning of the title we are thrown into a whirlwind in which we could quickly get lost.
The adventure continues!
If you thought X-Force had a lot of work in Apocalypse Way , you’ll be surprised at how many challenges await them in the Age of Archangel ! Rick Remander bet on action and did very well. We have interesting plot twists, a lot of fights and a lot of humor. But could we expect anything different from Wolverin or Deadpool? The graphic side also looks great, and you can turn a blind eye to minor shortcomings. If you have read the first volume, go ahead and reach for two, and I guarantee that you will not be disappointed. Just a note! The ending opens the gates to our next adventure! Therefore, be prepared that the three of them will also have to be included in your collection. But if it is as good as its previous parts, then we won’t complain!
