Uncanny X-Force by Rick Remender Omnibus

Uncanny X-Force (2010) #1-7

by Rick Remender (Writer), Leonardo Manco (Illustrator), Jerome Opeña (Illustrator)

Rick Remender puts the uncanny into X-Force in an epic, critically acclaimed run!
Psylocke, Archangel, Deadpool and Fantomex sign up to Wolverine's secret squad of assassins, but their first mission - to find and deal with the reborn Apocalypse - casts a long shadow. As X-Force struggles to come to terms with their actions, one among them unravels in what could only be called the Dark Angel Saga. Startlingly familiar Deathloks, a return to the Age of Apocalypse, a warring Otherworld, and the all-new, all-deadly Brotherhood of Evil Mutants await in Remender's extraordinary exploration of the ethics of execution.

Collecting: Uncanny X-Force 1-35, 5.1, 19.1; material from Wolverine: Road to Hell; X-Men: Spotlight

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, X Men, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book, Superheroes

928 pages, Hardcover

First published March 25, 2013

About the author

Rick Remender is an American comic book writer and artist who resides in Los Angeles, California. He is the writer/co-creator of many independent comic books like Black Science, Deadly Class, LOW, Fear Agent and Seven to Eternity. Previously, he wrote The Punisher, Uncanny X-Force, Captain America and Uncanny Avengers for Marvel Comics.

Reviews

[Baba · Rating 3 out of 5]

A second attempt at a dark black ops X-team, which could have been done a lot better, in my opinion. The violence seemed overdone and the 'darkness' was all a bit theatrical. The development of Fantomex and Deadpool's characters were pretty good however. Lots of kudos for marketing impact, but thus maybe the book's expectations were raised too high? 6 out of 12, Three Star read.

2018 read

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rick Remender's X-Force is one of the most perfect X-Men sagas ever written. Period. End of review.

OK, a bit more:

This volume is great in large part because it tells a coherent story over about three years worth of comics. It's all about a young Apocalypse, and what comes from the decisions that X-Force makes concerning him. This plotline runs strongly through the initial arc, The Dark Angel Saga, and Final Execution. What's particularly amazing about it is how the saga constantly progresses, with each storyline continuing on with the repercussions of the last. In fact, that's a general description of the style of Remender's writing here: some of the arcs are quite long, with Final Execution coming in at 10(!) issues, but they never get dull because Remender is constantly advancing the story.

This volume is great in large part because of the characters. Remender really brings life to them all, and makes me care about Fantomex for the first time ever.

The volume is great because of its careful adherence to continuity. Everything from the Mutant Massacre to the Captain Britain comic to Wolverine: Origins and so much more is relevant here.

This volume is great because of gorgeous art.

The two stories least connected to the overall arc (Deathlok Nation and Otherworld) are weaker than the rest, and that's particularly obvious when reading everything here, as one cohesive storyline, but nonetheless, this is a wonderful release.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series is considered by many in comic fandom to be one of the very best X-Men-focused comic book runs in history. Although there is a lot to praise about it, I can't fully agree. Remender takes over writing duties on X-Force with a new series that picks up with the mutant hit squad shortly after the events of Second Coming. The team is now fully covert and unsanctioned by anyone in the X-Men and to make matters crazier, they have added Psylocke, Deadpool and the reality-skewing Fantomex to the squad.

Remender does a commendable job of following up Kyle and Yost's preceding X-Force run, furthering the themes of the team being a kill squad and how that challenges their sense of morality. As they partake in a variety of dangerous adventures, including the hunting of a child clone of Apocalypse, time-travel, a trip into the pocket-sized city that Fantomex carries around with him, and dimension-hopping back to the Age of Apocalypse, their sense of what right is challenged at every turn.

I was a little confused, as I normally am with Marvel books due to not being fully familiar with every little bit of story, so that affected my enjoyment a bit. But what really bothered me was the overindulgence in Remender's writing (something that you tend to see in other examples of his work). The constant narration here, especially when it switches POV's, is a big pet peeve of mine in comics. And things tend to get a bit overcomplicated as well.

But I can recognize the ambition and the grand ideas here and totally understand why it's beloved. It's interesting to see the toll that the team's actions take on each member and how it threatens to tear them apart. I just wish that the creators went further into that emotional territory with bigger stakes and a more compelling focus on the moral quandaries rather than the usual punch-out fights.

This very hard-to-find omnibus hardcover edition covers the entire series, also compiled in these two way less expensive deluxe trade paperbacks:

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was a lot here in this omnibus so I’ll break it down by arc.

Apocalypse Solition 3.25 stars
Deathlok Nation 3.25 stars

Both of these two arcs were decent. What hurt their score was Remender writing them in a way that could be difficult to follow at times. Great art tho.

Dark Angel saga part 1 - 4 stars
Dark Angel saga part 2 - 4 stars

Both of these arcs were great. Deals with Warren and his battle with Archangel. Some good stuff here that also had well done artwork.

Otherworld 2.5 stars

This was definitely the weakest link. Otherworld is in battle with the Goat man as they were calling him. Cool twist as to who he was but the art sucked the life out of a story that was just OK to begin with. Some of the most terrible art I’ve seen. Made it hard to tell what was happening at times.

Final Execution book 1 - 3.5 stars.

This deals with the X-force of the future if the path they are on continues unchecked, killing people or jailing them before they commit the crime. Decent story.

Final Execution book 2 - 4 stars

A nice closing to this book. The new brotherhood of evil mutants final play is put into motion and Wolverine has to make some hard choices. Overall a pretty solid omnibus. 3.5 stars.

[Omni Theus · Rating 4 out of 5]

FULL REVIEW - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uZNB...
Remender is (One of) the Best at What He Does
OVERALL RATING: 4.25 stars
Art: 3.75 stars
Prose: 4.5 stars
Plot: 4.25 stars
Pacing: 4.25 stars
Character Development: 4.5 stars
World Building: 4 stars
This series was really really well done. It is tight and really delves into human choices like revenge, killing others before they inevitably kill many others, love vs lust and redemption. Typical to Remender's style, expect the unexpected. This omni lives up to all the hype and truly is a gem. Most of the omni has exceptional art except the Excalibur arc which is an abomination and really got under my skin that the editors would sully this run. I also cannot stand anything Age of Apocalypse but I have to admit it was used well in this series which is a mammoth concession from me that still surprises as I type. Deadpool is the best I've seen in a serious/semi-serious run. Even better than Cable & Deadpool which I figured would never be eclipsed. Overall - must read. I had a lot of fun with this. Just a smidgeon below 4.5 stars for me so settled at 4.25 (probably the highest of that grading).

[The Lion's Share · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's been a lot of hype about this series and boy does it deliver and then some. It's about the slippery slope of wolverine and his cronies' decisions to take justice into their own hands by killing off threats before they become a problem.

This book has everything, my favourite villain apocalypse, an introduction ( for me anyway) to Captain Britain and the omniverse, the age of apocalypse (a better version of it) and the brotherhood of mutants, plus tons and tons of secrets and incredible fights. This story misses nothing.

I haven't read Rick Remenders Fear Agent yet it's on my shelf, but until I do this is RR's best by far!

Finally the artwork is brilliant throughout especially opena's and the book is beautiful.

A must own and a must read.

[Jirka Navrátil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bez rozmýšlení je tohle nejlepší komiks, který jsem kdy četl. Již předtím jsem četl complete edition 1/2 asi tak 3x a po reprintu Omnibusu jsem si to dal samozřejmě znova. Pro mě osobně to je to nejlepší co kdy u Marvelu vyšlo.

[OmniBen · Rating 2 out of 5]

(Zero spoiler review)
But then again, I barely read enough of this to be able to spoil it, even if I wanted to, so quickly and completely did it chase me away with its complete lack of characterisation, pacing or anything approaching an interesting issue. These supposedly amazing runs that end up being wholly disappointing are really starting to get on my tits. I believe, in fact, this was actually the first superhero omnibus I bought. It's been sitting on the shelf for a couple of years now, waiting for the time when I needed a fantastic run to read. Well, that time was now, and as they say, cometh the hour, cometh the man. Unfortunately, Remender must be an impostor for said man, because this pissed me off so much, you would have thought it kicked my dog, shat in my cornflakes, then slammed the door on the way out. This had very, very strong Astonishing X-men vibes. By which I mean another ridiculously overhyped run that failed to deliver on anything, save for mediocrity. I didn't care about any of these characters. I didn't care about the plots/ I didn't care about the inane dialogue or the lack of natural flow between panels. I wanted to care, I really did. But no amount of trying was going to salvage this stinker.
As a short aside about the art, every artist I saw during my brief tenure with this book was good to great, though I don't dig the digitised colours and hyper realistic style. This book suffers for one reason, and one reason alone, and that is Rick Remender. I generally like the indie stuff of his I've read. Think I'll stick to that in future.
That said, it appears I am in the minority here, as most everyone else really digs this run. But for those who want an alternate opinion, here it is. Give it a wide berth. 2/5


OmniBen.

[Samuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Took me a good few weeks to finish, but I made it haha. Thanks to my goat Kesh for getting me this one for my birthday🙏🏻 I really appreciate it dawg

I pretty great run all around. The art, especially for the first half or so, is amazing. The art later on isn’t quite at that same level, but I still liked it.

The story’s also pretty damn good. I didn’t even know who the hell Fantomex was at the start but I grew to really like him as a character by the end. Basically every member has great character arcs and moments though, which were fun asf to read.

Overall, this is a run I didn’t know much about but I’m glad I collected and read. Now onto the bazillion other things I gotta read😭

[Davy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wavered on giving this 4 or 5 stars but the Dark Angel saga sealed the deal… 5 it is! Rememder was one of the writers I first got into when I started reading comics so I typically enjoy whatever he writes but this stands on a level of its own. He is a master at taking a character and reinventing what’s possible with their power set (eating the flesh of someone with healing factor to have unlimited food). It’s the turning of tropes like these on their heads that makes this a near perfect, self contained run!

[Emily Matview · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rick Remender and Jerome Opeña’s “Uncanny X-Force” is a wonderful and surprisingly moving reinvention of the X-Universe’s resident “claws and guns” series that explores the physical and emotional toll that comes from being asked to take a life for the greater good.

The X-Men don’t kill. But does this look like the X-Men to you, bub?


Things start with Wolverine and Archangel reviving the X-Force moniker for a black ops team featuring a who’s who of X-Men willing to cross that line - Psylocke, Archangel, Deadpool and Fantomex. Their first mission is to stop the resurrection of En Sabah Nur, better known as longtime X-Force adversary Apocalypse. Killing Apocalypse is a no brainer, but what if the only way to succeed also involves killing an innocent child? Lines are drawn and the choices made here influence the rest of the series.

Prior to "Uncanny X-Force," Remender was best known for this:


Don’t get me wrong, “Frankencastle” was fun, but his work here is on another level. While previous volumes of X-Force focused on violence this volume differentiates itself by being about the consequences of said violence. Remender raises tough questions and draws a fascinating parallel to the plight of real world soldiers.


Remender deserves leaps of praise for taking the character of Fantomex, a throwaway Gambit pastiche from Grant Morrison’s X-Men run, and making him one of the most compelling characters in mainstream comics. He deserves similar praise for his work with Deadpool, dialing back the cartooniness of the last ten years for a take that rivals Joe Kelly’s definitive run.

Warning: Ol' 'Pool will get you to shed one single manly tear by the book's end.


There, there, bub.

The pacing is excellent – you can tell Remender went into this book with a clear vision of where things were headed. The character interaction is spot on and the storytelling is so confident, especially when it comes to the Archangel subplot. Oh, and the book has a sense of humor, even if it’s mostly hidden behind three layers of angst.


So what about the art? You need two things to do a good job here – the ability to draw great action and the ability to convey emotion in the characters, some of whom are in full facial masks. Opeña nails it and has a great attention to detail.


Artists like Esad Ribic and Billy Tan do good work following in Opeña's footsteps after he leaves the series midway through, but the real art star is Dean White. The painted colors he provides, filled with heavy greens and blues, perfectly compliment the moodiness of the book and go a long way towards giving this series a consistent feel.

Don’t let the blade-filled covers fool you. This is a deep story that will stay with you for a long time.

Bonus! Me and Remender at the Vegas comic con:


kit: Twitter | Tumblr

[Cameron Rice · Rating 5 out of 5]

When asked what is a must read X-men book, what's an arc that one must find. Uncanny X-Force by Remender has to be put on that list. In my opinion, it's as vital to an X-men fan as Morrison's New X-men and Whedon's Astonishing.

There are many aspects that make this run work, but in the end it's the fact that it's one giant story. It's a story that asks difficult questions, and has a moral center. It's 35+ issues asking the question, "Is murder acceptable? Even if it seems justified. And what does that do to someone" To ask that question in a superhero comic, especially a comic that has Wolverine has a main player is a daring task, but Remender is willing to ask it, and answers it wonderfully. This is a volume with something to say. Truly a must read.

[Aildiin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this because of the recommendations and I have to say I am glad I did.
The whole 35 issues examine the consequence of murdering someone before he commits his crime and shine a new light on some of the x-men franchise characters ( especially Fantomex which I only knew through the New X-Men).
I highly recommend this.
As a bonus, very little knowledge of the X-Men continuum is required and this is a self contained book with no tie-in.
Especially a must for any Wolverine and Psylocke fan.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uncanny X-Force Omnibus from writer Rick Remender, with a host of talented artists. This collects Remender’s whole run on the series.

This omnibus marks my first delving into these massive tomes. I have read plenty of normal sized graphic novels, and there is The Boys Omnibus volume 1 I have read, but this is a whole different size and amount of story. Apart from Wolverine I have wanted to dive into the mutant side of Marvel for quite some time, this seemed like a great way to do that.

Going into this I did have some doubts. I have recently read Rick Remender’s Captain America Marvel NOW! run which was very inconsistent and impacted left, right and centre by events.

The Uncanny X-Force is very self contained. There are minor references to what is happening in the wider Marvel universe but it doesn’t impact the story here.

So what is Uncanny X-Force about? It follows a black ops, unsanctioned team of mutants that are willing to get their hands dirty to get the job done. The team is co-led by Logan/Wolverine, and Warren Worthington/Archangel.
The other team members include: Deadpool, Psylocke, and Fantomex. Going into this I was very familiar with the character of Wolverine, Deadpool has cropped up here and there, but the rest of the team I did not know.

Of course with it being a black ops team, the content is for mature readers. There is a fair amount of violence and blood but also a lot of dark themes throughout.

You can have little to no knowledge of the characters of the team going into this book and you will be fine. Each character is fully fleshed out and gets their own storylines and moments to shine across the series. Of course if you are seasoned X-Men fan you will pick up on all the little references.

The storylines contained within this omnibus are as follows: The Apocalypse Solution - the villain Apocalypse is now a kid, the X-Force team set out to kill him. There are a lot of questions raised here about the morality of killing a child if you know who they are going to be, is their life and choices predetermined? Is the kid going to turn into the villain Apocalypse. The conclusion of this and these areas of morality follow the characters for the rest of the story. Great introduction to the team working together. Good balance between all the characters, with maybe a focus on Archangel once the storyline gets going.

Deathlok Nation is the next major storyline. This introduces us to the character of Deathlok and we get more insight into the character of Fantomex. The latter being a character that really grew on me across the run. This also gives us a bit of a background to the Weapon Plus/Weapon X program. It also introduces us to the trippy landscape of The World.

The Dark Angel Saga is the next main storyline. Following Warren as he tries to deal and control his darker nature of the Archangel. We also get more insight into the relationship between Archangel and Psylocke. This is one of my favourite parts of the book due to it dealing with alternate realities and parallel universes. In comics this lets us see different versions of characters and the creators can have a bit more freedom.

Otherworld is the next storyline that follows and this deals with the fallout of The Dark Angel Saga. We get to spend a lot of time with Psylocke and Fantomex through this part and it links back to those questions mentioned earlier and the ideas of morality. It also introduces us to the strange reality that is Otherworld and Captain Britain. I really enjoyed this more fantasy and magical story. The only downside here being the art style being my least favourite of the whole book.

Final Execution is the final arc in this book. Everything comes to a head here. Wolverine and Deadpool especially get their moments to shine here. It has all been building to this epic conclusion and showdown. Again it is bringing up those themes of morality. Is someone always destined to be evil or can their course be changed?

The story gets a satisfying conclusion and an end. You don’t need to track down other books. You get the whole story of this version of X-Force.

The art styles changes throughout. For the most part it is the modern, realistic style. The colours for the most part are toned down too, including the mostly monochrome outfits of the team. Don’t expect to see Wolverine in his yellow and blue. There are some very well done, I’d like to say Jack Kirby-esque moments concerning The World location. The art fits the different storylines very well throughout.

Overall this was a fantastic, albeit dark story set in the X-Men corner of the Marvel universe. Plenty of sci fi moments too. That darkness is balanced out, mostly by Deadpool and his humour.

Wolverine is one of my favourite Marvel characters, but Uncanny X-Force got me to care about the rest of the team equally. I look forward to seeing and reading more of Deadpool, Fantomex, Psylocke, and Archangel wherever they show up.

I highly recommend checking this out if you want a darker X-Men story. If you are already a fan of Wolverine and Deadpool, there is plenty to love here. But you can go into this book with zero knowledge and get just as much enjoyment out of it. I’m personally looking forward to diving into more of the mutant side of Marvel.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

There were so many things I loved about this omnibus (Deadpool! Fantomex!) I also learned a lot about why Warren is the way he is currently and some other things I had missed.

[Brandyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

"This is what they want from me. And it's what I'm best at. Soon as someone's gotta be opened up who gets the call? And I let 'im. Let it define me. Let it lead to X-force. Team sized excuse to kill, to bring some friends with me. An Alcoholics Anonymous meeting with a mandatory drinking contest."

An intelligent and witty examination of the more violent side of superheroes, but one that never feels ashamed of what it is.

Wolverine, Psylocke, Archangel, Fantomex, and Deadpool form a new version of the edgy 90's idea of an X-men book, a team formed to proactively kill threats before they can truly become problems. A team made of hardened killers who will kill again. Their first target is a newly revived Apocalypse, to get to him they end up battling through Apocalypse's "Final Horsemen" in a brutality made beautiful thanks to Jerome Opena's art. But when they reach the end of the gauntlet they find that the newly revived Apocalypse is just a boy. The team hesitates, but only for a moment, Fantomex takes the shot, the mission was a success.

This is the inciting incident of the book, Fantomex may have pulled the trigger, but they're all still complicit in these actions, and this opens the floodgates to guilt and the consequences of their sins both old and new coming back to haunt them.

The rest of the book focuses on the toll this action, and the actions they have to take moving forward as a result. No one in X-force is truly good, but they're not complete monsters either, and the characters struggle between crossing that line. This is best brought out by the character dynamics.

Wolverine is the stalwart leader of the team, and the one most accustomed to this life. It takes until the end for his conviction to be truly tested, because it's that deeply rooted.

Archangel literally has a war going on inside his head between his two personalities.

Fantomex has the understandably the most guilt about his decision, and the actions he takes as a result of that guilt could pose as more of a threat than anything X-force itself does.

Psylocke arguably loses the most in this whole series, the world just takes and takes and takes from her, and despite all the violence and gore the hardest thing to see in this whole series is her breaking bit by bit.

Deadpool is the heart of the team, being the only one to openly condemn Fantomex, with the rest feigning acceptance for his acts, or at least not bringing it up.

Despite the books questions of "Is killing to prevent more killing an actual solution?", Nature vs Nurture, and what constitutes a good person, the book doesn't give very many clear answers, with the book's explosive final story putting each of it's (remaining) cast members in a different spot.

With a rotating cast of spectacular artists, the outlandish concepts that Remender plays with (They go to the moon, to the future, fight future cyborgs while still in the present, a lot of mind control stuff, Alternate Dimensions etc. etc.) never feels dull and the visual identity of the series is consistent but fluid.

It's just one of Marvel's best books ever, self-contained (Though admittedly drenched in X-men lore), hard hitting, well written, and having actual thematic weight. It's pretty much everything that people who don't read Superhero comics say that they aren't, while still never feeling like it's ridiculing the types of heroes and stories it's examining.

[Myles Likes Tacos and Rice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Upon multiple reads, I feel this run is a bit overrated. The first 2/3rds are perfect, but the last 10 part arc just dragged on. Also the Betsy Fantomex relationship just didn't have any chemistry for me

Still this is a must have for any X-Fan and the extras in this collection are outstanding. The history of X-Force section and the script to colours example stick out

I get why people consider this the best X-Run of all time, its adult themed, its dark, it has the best Deadpool ever written (not too meta and a side character), and it featured popular characters that all had great chemistry.

My bias probably lies in myself just getting bored with anything Shadow King related and also not liking runs that have multiple artist with drastically different styles. Still I'll probably read this at least once every 5 years

[Camilo Guerra · Rating 5 out of 5]

- PONTE LA ARMADURA !!!

35 números , toda la saga completa de Rick Remender donde crea una iteración de X-force, mas proactiva que nunca pero...¿de verdad tan proactiva?, ¿donde están los limites para salvar a la comunidad mutante? .Una saga completa, con su inicio y su final.

LO BUENO:De lo mejor que he leído de Remender, con un equipo que gusta, amenazas que de verdad dan miedo , en especial la sombra de Apocalipsis ronda todo el tomo, ¿quien puede ser?, ¿que puede pasar?, y me encanta como desarrolla los personajes, incluido un deadpool muy bien escrito( al nivel de Waid) , un Arcangel que asusta y desespera, un Fantomex que ya hubiera querido Grant Morrison como su creador haber tenido muchas ideas que se ejecutan con el espía mas cool de la compañía de la M roja. Los artistas son de un nivel alto, con un Jerome Opeña que se sale en cada pagina, un Esad Ribic cumplidor , un Phil Noto que me sorprendió mucho,, un Julian Totino Tedesco que en dos números hace un trabajo hermoso, lleno de dinamismo ,potencia y un aura de y otros que dan el nivel que se merece el tomo.

LO MALO: Billy Tan

[Aidan Hepler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not quite at the level of Supergirl or Doom Patrol, but holy shit this was good. It's gonna be a comic run I remember, and there's a reason it has such a high rating!! I love how the whole time Remender tells a story of people who you aren't supposed to agree with but still like, and then when they eventually come around, it's all the more satisfying!!

On top of that, this story is an emotional rollercoaster, cause wow. Sometimes I was cheering for our mc's, sometimes I hated them, and sometimes(angels death and the memory) it brought me to tears.

[Sage · Rating 4 out of 5]

What happens when Super Heroes start acting like real heroes? What happens when Deadpool isn't a total moron without depth? Who is this Stormshadow/Snakeyes dude with multiple brains? When did Archangel become such a wuss? These are all questions I had when I first started reading this Omni.

This Omnibus is broken into four (I believe) acts, all tied together with an overall theme - what happens when Super Heroes kill (preemptively) ? The first two acts are fantastic.... Excellent stories, great character development. If I had finished the book here, I'd have rated it six stars. A refreshing look at some old characters. I even enjoyed Deadpool enough to buy the Joe Kelly Deadpool Omnibus!

Unfortunately, good things don't last and the third act brings (drags?) the reader into Otherworld-lore... for those of you that loooooove Captain Britain, this tickle your fancy. For those of us that enjoy Captain Britain but don't feel that he 'fits' into the X-Universe (sorry Braddock family, he doesn't) then this is an unnecessary distraction. I guess maybe you could argue that it acts as some sort of character building exercise for Psylocke but really, it's just weird and boring.

Luckily, the final act does a decent job of tying everything together to present a (somewhat) coherent storyline.

What else? Remender dips into the Fear Agent storylines a bit, borrowing from his ‘utopian evolution’ concept with some time travel mixed in… Deathlok is a weird Obi Wan Kanobi death cyborg that helps move the plot along. Some classic X-Foes are mixed in here which are quite enjoyable. Clearly, Remender is an X-Fan (he discusses his fandom in detail in the extras).

The book is well put together, excellent Marvel binding as always (DC, please take note). The book without the dust jacket is a nice white (caution - it does get dirty) and the extras are 'OK'. Included is a brief history of the X-Force as told from Wolverine's point of view. There are also two one-off shorts (Wolverine and Deadpool). The Wolverine one is interesting but the Deadpool one is just stupid. Maybe I'm too old and just don't get it. Hopefully Joe Kelly's Omnibus will open my mind a bit more.

I enjoyed this book a great deal but it really slowed down in the middle. I had recently read Fear Agent too and as mentioned before, Remender borrowed a bit from that title. I still enjoyed it and would recommend to any Marvel fans out there.

[Get X Serious · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's no way I wasn't going to like this. X-Men assassin squad written by Remender? Yeah, I'm in.

Mutants, and more specifically, X-Men are often faced with tough decisions in a world that hates and fears them, leading them down some dark roads. Thus the formation of X-Force. An elite squad of assassins that operates under the radar of literally everyone, even Cyclops, who currently thinks the group has disbanded. They do the dirty work so that the larger mutant community can keep their hands clean.

X-Force takes a much more "kill 'em all" approach to their missions, leaving a trail of bodies in their wake. Sometimes those bodies are innocents caught in the crossfire... sometimes they're children. I know that the world is often dark and bleak for mutants, facing oppression and even genocide at almost every twist of the plot, but this comic is vastly darker than any other X-Men comic I've read (even the illustrations are overwhelmingly dark), and our protagonists struggle with their broken morals and fractured psyche much more than they fight any "physical" villain.

And then you've got Deadpool. This was actually my first real Deadpool comic, which seems weird, but I've always gone out of my way to avoid him because something about his humor rubs me the wrong way. Anyhow, I have this idea that the way Deadpool behaves in this series is nothing like his "normal" self. He never breaks the fourth wall, his humor is vulgar but never offensive, and he isn't selfish or amoral, often being the one most willing to sacrifice for the team as well as second guess their morally questionable choices. Honestly, if Deadpool was always wearing a white X-Force outfit (and written by Remender), he'd be one of my favorite characters, but alas, he is not.

[Dean Olson · Rating 5 out of 5]

While to some the idea of a secret X-men hit squad sounds dumb, this book was amazing. I read and enjoyed the X-Force run before this by Yost but then Remender took it to the next level. The art is super sharp throughout the series. I love the black costume designs. Best Wolverine costume. The best part of the books is the character interactions and group dynamics. Bringing Fantomex back and on a team is a great move. The book was full of great ideas. One of the best x runs and just in general. Read it.

[Rick Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some fair number of highs in Remender's Uncanny X-Force run. The idea of following a clandestine group of killers with questionable morality is always fun, even if a little overdone, and adding the moral complexity of what killing does to a person is an interesting enough direction. The first arc, "The Apocalypse Solution", finds the team addressing this question when Apocalypse is resurrected by his Horsemen as a young child. Can the child be saved, or is he doomed to bring about global genocide? The new X-F0rce team grapples with this quite well, all while Jerome Opeña delivers some fantastic artwork. The implications of this arc bleed into the subsequent arcs, and overall that progression is quite well done all the way through the end. The "Dark Angel Saga" is easily where the book is at its strongest, and remains one of the best X-Force stories ever. It explores an alternative version of Age of Apocalpyse, and it is well done both from story and from an art standpoint.

But there are some real dragging portions in this run, starting at issue #20 with the Otherworld arc. Captain Britain drags Fantomex into standing trial for his past actions and threatens to have him erased from all reality. The story is pretty nonsensical and everything that follows becomes a bit of a chore to read. The final arc, "Final Execution", is a step up from the Otherworld plot since it returns back to the moral crux set up in the first arc. But it does suffer a bit from being dragged out a little too long and felt overly melodramatic in execution.

I think it's somewhat more worthwhile to discuss Remender's Uncanny X-Force run from the perspective of the individual characters:

Wolverine, the stalwart figure of any X-Men book, is presented as the leader who must brush aside his innate sense of honor to get things done. It does make for an interesting dichotomy within the character at times, but it can easily be argued that this has been done a lot already in other Wolverine comics.

Psylocke serves as the moral backbone for the team, apprehensive about the darker aspects of X-Force's mission. She makes for the most interesting contrast to the other characters, though unfortunately too much of her story is mired in relationship issues with her teammates.

Deadpool is the heart of the team, so to speak. While other Deadpool books can make him a bit annoying, Remender does handle the voice of the character well. He is a killer who quips, but at the same time there is a clear moral complexity to the character that shines through.

Archangel is the character on which the most interesting story beats rely, and it works well. He does come off as bit of a plot device more than a character, but it is through his relationship with Psylocke that the reader gets some emotional connection to him.

Fantomex is the team wild card, and perhaps the main reason to read this run. Seriously, this is probably the best Fantomex run yet. There can be a bit too much similarity between him and Deadpool's characterization (and even look), but overall Remender does a great job distinguishing the character.

Aside from the core five teammates, other members to jump in. The standouts being Deathlok and Nightcrawler, who do add a bit of levity and diversity to a team of just hardened killers.

Overall, Remender's run has its highs and lows, with the net result being an interesting character study on some classic characters. While I would have liked more for the clandestine team of killers to be running more black ops types of operations than reality hopping and time travel shenanigans, I still overall like this run (overall score would be about a 3.5). A lot of people find that the artwork drops in quality after Opeña leaves the book, but I disagree. The run is stacked with talent - Esad Ribić, Billy Tan, Rafael Albuquerque, Mark Brooks and others all deliver spectacular set pieces really well.

[Tyler Davies · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uncanny X-Force was a blind buy for me after I'd heard nothing but good things. I can say without a doubt, this is one of the best marvel runs I have read.

Rick Remender has crafted a fantastic saga within the pages of Uncanny X-Force as our central team of Wolverine, Angel, Psylocke, Deadpool and Fantomex face off against a young apocaylpse, the shadow king and the reavers... and that's only in the first 10 issues! It's easy to drop in fan favourite villains, but to use them in unique ways after over 50 years of x-men history is an impressive feat. Remender also uses his central team to the best of their abilities and I like how he uses the events of the book to develop our characters. Reading an interview in the back of the omni, the author notes how any deaths in the books are treated as big events and that's very true. You can see how the traumatic events of the book take their toll on the team.

The standouts in this book were definitely Psylocke and Deadpool. Psylocke is one of my favourite x-men of all time so it's no surprise she would be a highlight of the book. However, I don't think I've ever seen her so vulnerable before, as a lot of the events here really affect her personally. I also love the creative choice to show her telekinetic powers as a pink butterfly outline! I was shocked that Deadpool was a highlight as he is usually treated as a very comedic character. While that remains true, I love the deeper layers we see of him here. The prime example of this was the dialogue in the latter parts of the book where he says that he wants to feel like a hero and that the force are like his family.

While not all the arcs are worth 5 stars (especially Otherworld), the ones that are remain some of my favourite X stories. My favourite without a doubt was the dark angel saga as this not only had such an epic scale, but also some of the best moments for our team.

Without a doubt, this was fantastic!

[Tacitus · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the few omnis of a standard monthly series that I've been able to finish completely.

This run follows the team through an alternate dimension, Otherworld, and a time travel adventure. What to do with Apocalypse and his offspring is a recurring plot device throughout. This could,have gotten boring, but what makes this series stand out are the characters and their relationships; this has been a Marvel trademark that gets a new dimension here.

Psylocke, Angel, and Fantomex are the stand-out characters in the squad, as they are given the most elaboration and development in the series. Deadpool and Wolverine play supporting roles; the fact that they don't dominate says something about Rememder's skills in balancing these 2 stars woth the other 3. Also noteworthy is the dialogue: it's consistent, always lively, and true to each character. As a result, Rememder's writing was always a pleasure to read. A bunch of side characters also pop in and out, and Remender is able to give them their own voices, identities, and purpose.

While the stories are not overly deep or world shattering, they are also easy to understand plot wise, and yet filled with twists, turns, and moral complications that give the run an "adult" quality. This is appropriate, as X-force is a group of assassins, and the morality of heroic murder is a running theme.

The artwork was also consistently clear and inviting, despite the number of artist changes. Overall, it was not exactly mind blowing, but comics don't have to be when they are this well crafted, thoughtful, creative, and engaging.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Remender is not a perfect writer, but I do really like half the stuff he puts out. This is a fun series in that the X-Men characters go from the regular PG-13 that they used to be to a solid R rating. The stakes at least seem high, until you realize that everything and everyone will be resurrected within a short time. The only character fates that seem to be set in stone are the AoA characters. When they die gruesomely, it's for good. A few of the team members change, but the transitions don't seem to make sense in some cases. Deathlok leaves the team between issues, but future versions of him show up later. I think her name is Eva shows up as a replacement for Fantomex, but I don't completely understand what she is. Without giving too much away, another character is resurrected, but the sci-fi explanation makes no sense.

So, story-wise this is a bit above average. But where the series really excels is the art. Opena, Tan, Brooks, and Noto all do great work. But the Otherworld issues by Tocchini suffer because Remender's writing changes in tone and the line work is a bit too thick and muddy. This is a shame, because Tocchini isn't a bad artist, his stuff just wasn't inked and colored as well as it could have been. All in all, I really like the series, but though this may not be the popular opinion, the X-Force issues done just before by Kyle and Yost are much better and seriously deserve an omnibus of their own.

[Kamen Rider Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hasta donde recuerdo, este fue el primer cómic que leí escrito por Rick Remender y realmente lo amé. Estas son algunas de mis caracterizaciones favoritas de Wolverine, Deadpool y Psylocke (no estoy seguro en qué punto Kwannon regresa al cuerpo de Psylocke; si alguien que lea esto lo sabe, ¡ayúdeme!). Todos los personajes están geniales, con caracterizaciones consistentes, y el viaje del equipo es emocional y significativo.

Otro punto fuerte de este volumen es su atención al detalle y su respeto por la continuidad. Conecta eventos desde Mutant Massacre hasta Captain Britain y Wolverine: Origins, enriqueciendo la historia con referencias bien integradas. Además, la caracterización de los personajes es fantástica reitero y jamás me cansaré el mejor punto Remender logra que incluso Fantomex se sienta interesante por primera vez para mí.

El arte es otro gran punto a favor de esta colección, genial, incomsiste como es de esperar del cómic americano pero se mantiene

Sin duda, investigaré más sobre el joven Apocalipsis porque me interesa que todo salga bien. ¡Cinco estrellas, un viaje completamente recomendado!

[Rob Marney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uncanny X-Force is the kind of book you want in omnibus format so the logo is big enough for people to read, because it's a mark of good taste. Rick Remender takes the violent excess of X-Force and adds the kind of moral quandaries, self-doubt, and unhealthy romances that a secret superhero assassin squad would actually encounter. This is a team where Deadpool is a legitimately good character, where character development occurs in addition to the usual mind-wipe / resurrection merry-go-round, and the dialogue manages to keep the various flavors of grim brooding distinct. The art is muddy, dark, and given to big dramatic shots, which is just what the story needs.

The major downside is that the book spends an awful lot of time in alternate worlds, to provide people who can conveniently die without imperiling continuity. By the time you hit Otherworld, this is your third reality left over from books 25 years ago, and you just don't care what happens to people with the same name as the characters you love.

[Christopher McKenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love my X-Men and this was a great book on their murderous cousins the X-force. Quite a dark and violent take on the material for Marvel without being overtly "for adults". I really liked the team in this run, as well as their costume design. The art wasn't anything spectacular but it was good enough.

The story was a real banger, with the first half being its strongest. It challenges these characters making them deal with the morality of murder for the "greater good". The middle part is a bit of a drastic drop off in story quality, but it finds its bearings and finishes strong with an emotionally potent ending.
If you like X-Men this might be too dark for you, but if you are into Wolverine and all his side antics (with some solid support from Psylocke and Deadpool) then this is a must read.

[Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like 10 years ago I got this series in the paperback collected editions because it solely had Deadpool in it, and at the time that was enough for me to buy anything.
I've now probably read this run 6+ times because it's truly my favorite Marvel series of all time. The art is phenomenal (except for the Otherworld arc) and the story is insanely polished, with both high stakes events as well as great character development and interaction. This really does feel like a team of assassin with the constant arguing and distrust of motivations. Fantomex has become one of my favorite comic book characters and this series began the appreciation for him. While this definitely is the who X-shebang with time travel and alternate universes, anyone who enjoys gritty and insanely well written comic books will adore this. It truly is a Marvel masterpiece.