Deadpool \u0026 X-Force Omnibus by Fabian Nicieza

Deadpool \u0026 X-Force Omnibus Reviews

• 
  Cameron H

  Who can resist a comic that introduces itself each issue as “An X-Force in Your Brain Jam?”
  
  (Just a head’s up for Deadpool fans who might be interested in this book because of his top billing, he’s only in about a third of this Omnibus. I was mainly interested in the X-Force stuff, but I know Deadpool is a pretty big deal right now. I wouldn’t want someone to buy this under false pretenses.)
• 
  Ross Warburton

  3.5
  Takes about 10-15 issues to get going, but after that it's pretty fun.
• 
  Shannon Appelcline

  This is a really varied omnibus, containing a mix of X-Force, Cable, Deadpool, and a few related comics. Still, it feels like the right content, because these comics were all closely tied at the time, primarily thanks to Fabian Nicieza, with plots jumping all around between them. So, it's good to have them in one place and arranged carefully to show the progression of the storylines. (And really, these X-Force omnibuses have become X-Force and Cable omnibuses, containing complete contents of both comics. Meanwhile, this is the intro to Deadpool, before his comic spun off in its own direction.)
  
  Who Mourns the Hellions? (NW #31). It's great to have this New Warriors story collected, as it's integral to the X-line. And it's great having a follow-up to the unnecessary killing of the Hellions. But, oh the retcon, that New Roma was all a delusion is absolutely horrible, in the top-ten worst-retcons-ever sort of way. (Apparently, Claremont later offhandedly wrote the retcon off in X-Treme X-Men.) [2/5].
  
  Open Hand, Closed Fist (XF #19). It's great to see X-Force ever-so-briefly back in the mansion, and this issue really uses that premise to best advantage by creating a nice character piece that shows us who X-Force is, and how they've changed since they were under Xavier's tutelage [4+/5].
  
  Assault on Graymalkin (XF #20-22). This is a nice ode to Cable's legacy that really focuses on what he means to the kids — and speaking of kids, this is the story that really lets Sam comes of his own. But it's also got some endless fighting, and it's even endless fighting with SHIELD, which is a pretty old trope by now [3+/5].
  
  Compromising Positions (XF #23). The Externals were actually a good concept: immortal mutants. Mind you, the actual Externals we met were '90s silliness. In any case, this is a pretty good story too, with its continued focus on Sam as the new leader and X-Force taking the fight to their enemies [4/5].
  
  Prisoners of Fate (XF #24). Returning to the Rusty & Skids plotline was a good choice, since they were horribly misused post-X-Factor. But this comic ends up just using them as MacGuffins, which is disappointing [3+/5]
  
  Rocks & Wave (Cable #1-2). Starting the Cable series in the future probably looked good on paper, as it gave a chance to explore his history. But there's really nothing interesting about these two issues, as we meet a bunch of flat characters who help Cable (and Kane) MacGuffin back to the past, which is where we probably should have started [2/5].
  
  Back to the Present (Cable #3-4). It's good to get Cable back to the present, and there's some interesting material her about his relationships with Kane and the Six Pack. Unfortunately, the comic is otherwise really fractured, and a lot of that is because it spends at least half of its time setting up Deadpool: The Circle Chase and X-Factor #25 [2+/5].
  
  Deadpool: The Circle Chase. It's amazing how much this first Deadpool mini-series is derived from X-Force, but all the main plot elements, from Tolliver's will to Vanessa's return are drawn straight from that comic. The difference here is that they feel more like real characters and real plot elements, not cartoon. The appearance of Zero may in fact be the height of the comic, as we really see what he is for the first time. (As for the rest, it's a long, pointless MacGuffin hunt and too many long, pointless fights) [2+/5].
  
  Fatal Attractions (XF #25). The first half of this comic is Cable's long-awaited return to the fold, which is well-presented, particular as it relates to his relationship with Sam. The last half is a tie with the Fatal Attractions crossover ... but it manages to be almost totally self-contained, and has some important storybeats for X-Force, related to the fate of Graymalkin ... and Cable [3+/5].
  
  X-Treme! (XF Annual #2). Combine an awful '90s name with a skater-punk dude ... and you actually get an interesting character. His Shi'ar connections are obvious from the start, and this whole story about mutants and removing powers foreshadows some work that Morrison would do much better ... [3+/5].
  
  Reignfire (XF #26-28). This is perhaps Nicieza at his best, really setting his mold on X-Force. Though he returns to the MLF, he makes it his own by involving Dani Moonstar and introducing a new mystery in the form of Reignfire. This arc also has some great characterization in the first issue and some great consequences in the last, making it all around an interesting milestone [4/5].
  
  Sinsear (Cable #5). An assassin sent back from the Apocalyptic future is a great premise, but this is a dull fight that mainly serves to set up the Tolliver mystery [2+/5].
  
  Nomad (Nomad #20). A story that was included because it's a Six Pack (Three Pack, really) story by Fabian Nicieza. It's an OK caper [3/5].
  
  Arcade (XF #29-30). Though the Arcade two-parter drags things down with its dull fight against mobile Murderworld, there’s some nice character introspection, particularly surrounding Siryn, and the return of Adam X-Treme is nice (though it doesn't add anything to his story) [3/5].
  
  Fathers & Sons (Cable 6-8). This is the arc that creates the modern origin of Cable as the true son of Scott and Madelyn and the source of the Stryfe-clone. In doing so, it reverses some of the more shocking reveals of
  X-Men: X-Cutioner's Song, which is a bti of a shame, as they were somewhat trope-breaking. It also resolves Rob Liefeld's murky "Tolliver" story by revealing (somewhat unbelievably) that he's actually Tyler, Cable's son. No, it doesn't make much sense with what came before. This big pair of retcons is wrapped in with the return of Stryfe, but the comics are too busy painting a new background for Cable to be that interesting plotwise. Still, the background is something good to have as the Cable comic enters the back half of its first year [3+/5].
  
  Legacies (XF #31). Some great background on Siryn and her relationship to Black Tom, and a very nice, very human look at the Juggernaut. This is pure character work, but that's often what Nicieza does best [4/5].
  
  Deadpool: Sins of the Past. A good continuation of the story of Black Tom and Siryn (and Banshee) that doesn't meld entirely with the "Legacies" story, but is close enough. And back in this long begone age, having a character as different as Deadpool was probably interesting [3/5]