X-Force #35
Things with X-Force come to a head on Krakoa and in space in X-Force #35, by writer Benjamin Percy, artist Chris Allen, colorist Carlos Lopez, and letterer Joe Caramagna. This issue ties up some loose strings and does some great character work.
The issue cuts between the breakout at Beast’s prison and Krakoa before coming together. In the prison, Beast is working as the breakout happens. Sevyr and Solem rip through the Mercs, with Solem sending Sevyr after Beast. Maverick decides to get out of there, so Beast turns one of the prisoners into a monster. On Krakoa, Sage’s sorrow over getting Dominio hurt makes her reach out for help, which Domino is happy to give. Omega Red lets them know they’re getting a message, and they learn about Beast’s prison but have no way to get there. Red helps them find Beast’s secret gate, and he and Domino go to the prison. Meanwhile, Solem realizes the gate is open, so he gets Beast’s monster’s attention so Sevyr can get to the hero and sends it through the gate. Beast hides and is found by Omega Red and Domino, while the monster attacks Sage, who defeats it using her reserve liquor and some phosphorus flares supplied by Black Tom. Domino and Red bring Beast home.
The issue opens with Beast experimenting, dumping his subject out of an airlock. It leaves no doubt that this is the actual Beast doing the worst possible things. This - combined with Immortal X-Men #9 showing Sinister in possession of Dark Beast’s head - is Percy’s way of letting readers know this is what Beast has become. For some fans, it’s been hard to imagine that Beast has gone this far, but this character has been going in this direction since the end of Avengers vs. X-Men. This is what the world has made Beast, starting with Dark Phoenix Cyclops breaking his heart and the Beast joining the Illuminati, and unlike other X-Men with Krakoa, he’s embraced it. Percy has shown that Beast is perfect for X-Force but that he’s also terrible. He’s willing to do anything, which is good and bad.
The Sage stuff is a nice payoff for her character. There’s a moment when Domino and Omega Red leave her, and she opens a drawer. Readers know there will be a bottle, and there’s a second where it seems like she’s going to drink it. She doesn’t, and the bottle comes back later in the issue. Her alcoholism has been an interesting thread and what X-Force has done to her juxtaposes well with what it’s done to Beast. He embraced the insanity. She tried to numb herself to it.
Allen and Lopez do an okay job on the art. They get the work done, but the art is nothing spectacular most of the time. There are some cool panels here and there, but it’s all just kind of average really. There’s some good character acting, and the colors look wonderful, but the art is just kind of there, but in a good way at least.
X-Force #35 is a fantastic comic. Percy does an excellent job of juxtaposing Beast and Sage and how they’ve dealt with their jobs. It’ll be intriguing to see where the book goes from here. Allen and Lopez’s art is alright. It’s not bad, but it’s not great either. However, this is still a really good comic.