Inglorious X-Force #8: A Forced Flop

Inglorious X-Force #8 follows the team in their strike against Kali, the antagonist of this arc, while Domino enters her own quest to reunite with old friends.

Kali is a villain with an amazing setup and a subpar execution. The character is a mutant influencer who uses social media to push her agenda. Particularly in 2026, where social media is used as a tool to push propaganda, Kali has the potential to be relevant commentary on the current political climate. The previous issues established this idea that Kali would be a metaphor. Kali exploded onto the social media scene and revealed herself as the leader of the Mutant Liberation Front (MLF). Cable even believed MLF propaganda would lead to the eventual future assassination of President Kamala Khan. The setup was there for greatness. However, Kali falls flat on her face and devolves into an extremely generic X-villain, serving as little more than a gimmick for this series.

Continuing the trends of the previous issues, the Inglorious X-Force continues to lack any interesting team dynamic. The characters neither like nor hate each other; they work together simply because Cable told them to work together. Archangel and Hellverine, who have been established to clash in previous comics, have little banter in this issue; their love triangle with Boom-Boom sees no development in the slightest; they don’t disagree on anything; they act like friends. Cable praises the two aforementioned mutants, along with Kamala Khan, for becoming more like Boom-Boom: a loyal member of the team. None of these characters, especially Kamala Khan of all people, indicated any disloyalty to the cause. Cable’s reflection comes out of left field; it’s forced character development.