X-FORCE #11: From Russia With Hate

Benjamin Percy rejoins the threads of a plot first hinted at in X-Force #7 as the Russian threat turns out to be deadlier than Krakoa even suspected and mayhem ensues. The deadly play on the Russian nesting doll idea is both clever, gross and violent from the get go as Percy splits the story between the chaos on Krakoa juxtaposed and then intersecting with Colossus’s personal journey as he seeks to keep himself apart from the violence but is eventually drawn back into it. There is violence and mayhem galore as ultimately the true target of the invader’s machinations is revealed on the last two pages and focus on Colossus earlier on is brought even more sharply into focus. Shout out to Percy for the clever foreshadowing in issue #7, it’s right there and I know several people speculated correctly on who the unknown mystery enemy was so it’s not a total surprise.

The ultimate goal though did catch me off guard although it shouldn’t have been as where we going and the massive X-event approaching but I won’t lie I had all but forgotten about the Cerebro Sword (shame on me). Mutantkind once again finds itself on the back foot in an issue that proves there are those who have the means to really hurt Krakoan society and that Krakoa is by no means invincible or invulnerable. The data pages bring the mysterious Chronicler alluded to before into view again and while their identity remains mysterious the story told in the first person paints them as possibly benign or a potential ally to mutantkind but that’s just my interpretation. Wasn’t fond of Beast’s rather cavalier attitude to the violence done in the early pages but that’s a minor personal gripe. The Krakoan at the end reads Mother Russia.

Jan  Bazaldua is back on art duty (interesting coincidence that she was also on the aforementioned issue seven) and as usual, she does a great job in the line art department showing off that she is a master of dynamic movement and also being able to get a lot of information onto pages with clever paneling that is busy but never feels cluttered. Guru-eFX is a great match on colors this issue and while there is plenty of action this issue my favorite two pages have got to be the second last two involving Quentin Quire. Both are beautifully drawn, colored, and laid out in every single way from an art perspective in my opinion.

That brings us to the cover. The cover looked at alone is an excellent cover from Dustin Nguyen. Eye-catching, bold but ultimately it’s a complete red herring (sorry). Or is it? In the literal sense, Omega Red is most definitely not in this issue. Not a single panel. However, if you look at Colossus versus Omega Red as more symbolic of what happens in the book then it begins to make a bit more sense… whether this was deliberate or not I no idea but I like that it can be read or interpreted that way.