This collection brings together the final comics of the XForce series. We get to see how each character handles the aftermath of the epic climax that all of the civilians have forgotten. They are scattered now, but they are still ready to deal with whatever comes next. It’s a decent collection and it’s especially intriguing if this is your first XForce comic. At least I can now approach this volume as a member of the general audience!

The first comic deals with Layla Miller and Madrox. Unfortunately, Madox has been turned into a demon and he can’t really talk anymore. He seems to be losing his mind and things aren’t looking so good. Things get worse when a kid steals Madrox and gets someone to help him in using the Dark Arts to bring his mother back to life. Layla must stop these two before Madrox does something that he may regret!

The first comic was all right, but there didn’t seem to be much of a point. The kid brought his mother back, but it was a pretty iffy deal as things didn’t go according to plan. Did Madrox do what he did on purpose to take revenge on the kid? I don’t know and I won’t really give it much more thought.

The next comic involves John Maddox and Wolfsbane. John is attacked from a couple of thugs with guns and they quickly take out most of the congregation in the church. Wolfsbane grabs the gun and stops them before leaving. After having a talk with Wolfsbane, John learns why she has gone over the edge. It’s been a rough trip for her and it’s all thanks to Strong Guy…or at least part of it is thanks to him. John needs to help her get over her troubles and learn that life can be fun again.

Again, this was a decent comic, but it doesn’t have much going for it. John admits that he didn’t care too much when the innocents were destroyed and it makes me doubt him as a character. Wolfsbane was all right as well, but it’s too bad that she went crazy. By the end, it seems like she’ll be back to normal.

This next comic was definitely the most convoluted and I can’t say that it succeeded. Rictor is stuck in a gladitorial arena and he’s forced to beat up whoever he fights. One day, he ends up going against Shatterstar and the latter doesn’t recognize him. Something is definitely wrong, but things get even dicier once the resistance arrives and rescues them. Longshot is part of the team and he also doesn’t know Rictor. It is explained that Rictor is in the past and they don’t know him yet so then they go into a time chamber and get to witness one of the heroes being born. Longshot explains how he’s actually his own father and son and a lot of other plot twists that do nothing except make the story more confusing. This story didn’t really have a plot and it didn’t really have an ending. You’re left shaking your head and just hoping that the next comic is a little more intense.

Quicksilver appears in the next comic, which should make things interesting or completely wreck things. Polaris goes to a bar to drink as much as she can and eventually the bartender tells her to stop. After she proves her power to him, the cops arrive. Unfortunately for them, the cops are quickly blown away and Quicksilver is forced to join the fray. He’s here to take Polaris in and hopes that she’ll come quietly. Polaris decides that now is a good time to take Quicksilver down and they engage in a fight.

This was easily the best comic of the batch and it’s always nice to see a hero vs hero match. Quicksilver has speed on his side so I wasn’t doubting his victory for a second, but it still made for an interesting battle. The bartender was also pretty brave given the circumstances and it’s hard not to like him as a character. He knew the score and he even tried to warn the cops when they went up against Polaris.

Next up was a comic which mainly featured Darwin. He’s mad about what Hela did to him and he wants to find her so that he can become normal again. We are left to assume that she gave him the powers that lets himself turn to jello and other things to survive. It’s actually a pretty useful power, but maybe it has some drawbacks. After Darwin takes out some thugs he meets up with M and they talk about the good ole days.

Well, this definitely wasn’t the best comic of the batch. M and Darwin meet up for a few minutes and quickly decide to be more than friends. That’s comic book life for you! It’s pretty sad and it’s hard to take Darwin’s complaints about his powers seriously. So far, I don’t see any negatives to it and it may as well be an improvement.

Finally, we get to go back and see Layla and Madrox again as they conclude their story arcs. Layla is threatened by one of those hardcore Marvel cosmic entities that we come across once in a while. He explains that he is being destroyed, but before he completely leaves, he’s going to try and make Layla’s future miserable. He quickly blows up, but that sends the cops scrambling and they attack Layla. Layla has a high tech forcefield, but these guys have a large cannon that is extremely powerful. Madrox is going to have to step in, but will it be as a demon…or as a man!?

That comic was one of the more interesting ones and I’d say that it was the second best. It’s always nice to see cosmic entities admit that they’re doomed and we did get a decent action scene. In the end, Madrox decides that it’s time to not save the world anymore and they’ll leave it to the other teams. It may not be the most heroic thing to say, but there are hundreds of heroes already protecting Earth, so maybe they don’t need an extra two.

The art was decent for this collection. It’s definitely not quite as good as the Magik miniseries that I just finished reviewing, but it was all right. The art is definitely a lot more modern, but some of the facial expressions will make you grin or cringe. Hopefully grin because the characters are usually grinning in those panels. The fight scenes look pretty good although we don’t get many opportunities to witness them.

So, this collection was decent. The main drawback is that most of the stories didn’t have much of a plot. It’s expected since this is the aftermath of a big event, but you would expect something a little more epic from the final issues. This series ran for over 250 comics and now I can proudly say that I read the final ones. It’s not a bad ending to the series and fans should be okay with it. I may have enjoyed the comics more if I was familiar with the characters, but that probably wouldn’t have helped a whole lot.

Madrox is a demon for most of his screentime so I didn’t get to see him that much. As a demon, he was pretty shady and he could barely control himself. So far, I can’t really say that I’m a fan of him. Layla is a much better character and she does her best to get through this tough time. It’s rough since the cops aren’t very understanding, but she can get past that. Her barrier is pretty cool and it would be nice to see how it stacks up to some real villains.

Rictor, Longshot, and Shatterstar are hard to talk about since its so convoluted. Shatterstar is basically a clone of the real Shatterstar and Longshot is a figment of their imagination that was produced from a clone of Shatterstar and turned into him. I had to facepalm at all the twists that were happening and the cherry on top was this guy who claims to have created all life on Earth. This guy is apparently a god and I cringed as he talked about creating an army to defeat Mojo. If this guy is so great then Mojo shouldn’t scare him! The base is pretty understaffed as well and Mojo breaks in pretty easily. I can’t say that I like any of the characters in this comic. I want the real deals…let’s forget the clones!

Polaris isn’t at her best in this comic since she just wants to drink as much beer as she can. She also decides to beat up Quicksilver for the fun of it and gets into a fight. She’s a tough fighter even when she’s had too much to drink, but drinking never solves anything. At least she didn’t do anything crazy, but she did take a chance and nearly destroyed Quicksilver. Quicksilver promised to pay for the damages that she caused, but the Avengers won’t be too happy about that. Quicksilver is actually a decent character in this comic…even if he overreacts when Polaris attacks him. She was obviously not in her right mind at the time.

John isn’t really a great character in this collection. He’s not in the best mood to be preaching and he seems to be fake. He doesn’t care when the villains come in and start firing. That immediately meant that I wouldn’t be rooting for him as a character. Wolfsbane was all right at best, but I didn’t really care for her either. She had a pretty sad story coming in, but she didn’t handle it very well. It’s good that she stopped the crooks but I don’t know…I still couldn’t find myself rooting for her.

M seemed to be an all right character at first. She looked around until she could find the X Factor members and she seems to have escaped death. Unfortunately, she meets Darwin and things go downhill. I don’t like Darwin either as he seems to have a “cup is half empty” view on life. He’s basically a downer as far as heroes go.

One problem with the collection is the fact that most of the characters are unlikable. Even if there had been a lot of action, it’s possible that it wouldn’t have saved the comic. It’s like how the Runaways could never become great since I didn’t like the members involved. Characters are key and when the portrayals are unlikable…then it’s game over. The comic didn’t really have any big negatives but it didn’t really have any positives. That is actually the main problem that the collection has aside from the characters.

I hate to say it, but one way to save that would have been to add in some guest stars. Mojo and Spiral were a start and the magician at the end seemed like she had potential. If the collection had thrown in the Avengers then that could have given the comics a pretty big boost. Guest stars are a last resort to get attention but sometimes a comic has to take that chance. It’s an easy way to earn points and this is one of those times where the points are really necessary.

Overall, this wasn’t a bad collection of comics, but it wasn’t very good either. We didn’t really get a sense of danger in any of the comics and we only got a handful of fights. The Rictor story involved too many time loops and the twists are unneeded. Give Longshot a better origin story and then things will be looking up. This is a decent comic to pick up, but it’s not very interesting. Considering that these are the final issues of the series, you can maybe cut it some slack. Instead, I recommend checking out the New 52 Justice League #1. It’s supposed to be pretty intense!

Overall 5/10

Time for another Xmen related review to keep the hype going for the new film! This one actually does deal with time travel, but I have to admit that I had not counted on that bonus. This collection brings 5 comics, 4 of which are the complete Magik series. Unfortunately, this was before Magik became the epic hero that she is today…(or was)

The first comic starts off in a pretty intense way as the X-Men are thrown into Limbo to save Magik. They had been having a pretty good day, but Magik seemed to go into a trance. Shadowcat quickly followed her, but they were both brought to Limbo. Once the other Xmen arrived, the battle for their lives began! The Xmen had to fight and keep on fighting Belasco and S’ym. Unfortunately, the two villains had homefield advantage and Belasco is basically immortal. Things do not go very well for the heroes and the ending is pretty tragic.

The final four comics of the collection are about Magik and the 7 years that were taken from her in during the ending of the first comic. She was brought back to Limbo and things went from bad to worse as she slowly started to turn to the dark side. The heroes were basically shattered and nobody would be coming to help. Magik would have to learn to channel her powerful abilities and defeat Belasco once and for all. An elderly Storm and a changed Shadowcat are her only allies in this cruel world.

Well, I have to say, you can hardly blame the Xmen for being so mad at their predicament. It really bites to be a mutant and the comics continue to prove it. If you’re not being destroyed for the 10th time or being hated by humanity, then you’re probably getting beaten up on by a villain. Unlike the Avengers and FF, most superheroes won’t be coming to your aid. For whatever reason, The Avengers, Spiderman, and Fantastic Four never seem to be in the area when the Xmen are in trouble. I’m sure that it’s just coincidence but it doesn’t make it any better for the mutants.

This collection will be pretty frustrating if you don’t like it when the villains get away with everything. As with Sword Art Online and any decent slasher film, it’s hard to really leave the collection on a happy note. Magik finds a way to get back to Earth and master her abilities, but it’s almost too late. She was forced to compromise her ideals and destroy both of her friends. Not a very bright outcome for her.

Things were pretty bad for the Xmen as well. All of them were either destroyed or corrupted to the dark side. The comic felt like the Mutant Massacre arc as the Xmen are completely overwhelmed and they know that they don’t stand a chance. Even Wolverine admits that he wouldn’t want to face off against S’ym again and he actually recommends that they retreat even if it means leaving the older Storm stranded and forced to face off with the villains on her own. It was a little uncharacteristic of him, but it shows how terrified Wolverine was. This was something that he had definitely not been expecting.

The comic also falls into one of the big holes. Animal violence! It’s been a while since I’ve had to deduct points for that, but this comic decided to go all the way. It’s always sad to see those innocent creatures go down for the count just because someone wants to prove a point. It was definitely not needed as we already understand that this is a very grim world. If only Cyclops had been around to help…alas, he is apparently having troubles of his own and he did not answer his communicator.

Magik is basically the main character of this series and she goes through a lot. You really feel bad for her since nobody is really there to help at times. She must learn how to make it in this world on her own and the odds are definitely not in her favor. The darkness does tempt her on several occasions, but temptation is something that everyone goes through. The important part is that she ultimately makes the right call and she doesn’t murder the villain when she gets the chance. That definitely wins her points in my book and she can be labeled as a true hero. She made mistakes as she lived through these adventures, but she is trying to correct them. I doubt that many other heroes would have been able to survive in her stead.

Wolverine is still one of the best Xmen in this collection. He may get intimidated at the end, but he definitely has a good reason. S’ym is completely out of his league and Wolverine knows that to fight would only be to die. I’m confident that he would have made the sacrifice needed if he could get the team out. That’s why I was conflicted about him deciding to go on without Storm, but she didn’t want to go with them and attempting to force her along would have only led them all to their doom. It’s rare to see Wolverine completely overpowered by an opponent, but it just showed how high the stakes were.

Colossus is also faced with defeat and even death as he faces S’ym. Due to the fact that they are traveling through time, there are two versions of each character that enter Limbo. The first team was eradicated for the most part and Colossus was personally destroyed by S’ym. The same thing nearly happens to the current version of him, but the timely intervention of Storm and Wolverine saves him. It’s pretty sad for Colossus because he was unable to help Magik, but he definitely gave it his all in the mission. At the end, he considers leaving the Xmen and nobody can really blame him.

Storm has it pretty rough and her adventure may have been as bad as Magik’s. She was unable to escape with the others and she was forced to become Belasco’s minion. She learned the dark magic powers, but they also allowed her to call back the Xmen and help Magik. Naturally, this also meant that we got two versions of Storm. The other version did her best as well, but she got a much smaller role.

Nightcrawler is also with the gang and he does pretty well as he takes on his other form. The other Nightcrawler was turned to the darkness and after their fight…only one would stand. The evil Nightcrawler is pretty fierce and he plays a pretty large role in this arc. In the end, Shadowcat and Magik have to team up against him.

Shadowcat is the third Xmen to have a very difficult time. The original Shadowcat managed to escape to Earth, but the other one wasn’t so lucky and she was changed into a cat creature. She is very adept as using a sword, but Belasco is basically limitless in his own domain and he has absolute control over the situation. Things don’t go well for Shadowcat and her ending is pretty tragic.

Belasco is the main villain of the collection and his powers are very impressive. This is the type of villain that you would expect to fight Dr Strange and not the Xmen. Dr Strange would likely crush Belasco, but the Xmen are not well equipped to deal with sorcery at the moment. Adding to this the fact that Belasco is on his hometurf and the Xmen are completely out of their league. Belasco basically toys with the heroes for the majority of the series and everyone is basically powerless to stop him. He’s the type of villain that you quickly dislike and you really wish that someone powerful would show up to take him down.

S’ym works for Belasco and his physical power is incredible. He proved to be vastly superior to Colossus in super strength and he was powerful enough to rip off Wolverine’s adamantium claw. He really makes things tough on the Xmen in the first comic and he continues to return and make everyone struggle. I definitely didn’t expect to see such a powerful enemy in this collection and it just goes to show why it’s tough to be an Xman.

The art is very good for the collection and it’ll definitely remind you of the good ole days for Marvel. It’s basically at the borderline before “old” art and the newer looks that we get. It really feels like the 90’s Xmen show in its appearance and that’s to be expected. Things get very grim during the second half of the comic, but the art is still pretty cheerful. You would think that this wouldn’t be a good thing, but it makes you really focus on the dialogue.

One other negative would be the fanservice. It’s not extreme and this isn’t a very recent comic so they are careful to keep it safe. That being said, there’s really no reason for it and Storm just likes to become one with nature for no real reason. It’s really just there to be there and that’s always going to shave off some enjoyment.

Overall, this is definitely not an Xmen comic that I would recommend. It is great to see Magik defy the darkness and it makes for a good moral, but the journey was just too much. The first comic was pretty dark as well, but the action helped to balance it out and they escaped with a relatively happy ending. It was scary for the heroes, but in more of a horror way. Unfortunately, whatever bits of the ending that could be called happy are basically destroyed by the miniseries at the end. Belasco essentially wins as he murdered quite a few of the heroes and broke several others. Magik will never be the same after her experience in Limbo and the heroes never really found out about what happened to her. It’s easy to see how she became so messed up in the recent comics. The comic is just pretty dark and depressing by the end and you really hope that Magik quits the Xmen and joins the Avengers. Aside from that, the animal violence and fanservice don’t really help matters. If you want an epic Xmen comic, check out the X-Sanction miniseries. That one was pretty epic!

Overall 4/10