Wolverine and Domino are thrown together when Domino crosses the wrong people in a violent and bloody adult action packed tale of double crosses and animal attraction. Will they survive the experience and each other!
“X-Force: Sex + Violence”
X-force: Sex + Violence #1 Chapter 1
X-force: Sex + Violence #2 Chapter 2
X-force: Sex + Violence #3 Chapter 3
Authors: Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost
Penciler: Gabrielle Dell’Otto
Inker: Gabrielle Dell’Otto
Colours: Gabrielle Dell’Otto
Letterer: Cory Petit
Publisher: Marvel Comics
What you need to know:
In September 2010 Chris Yost’s and Craig Kyle’s two year run on the third incarnation of the X-Force as a covert operation team, is coming to an end and would lead into the beginning of the now legendary Rick Remender run of Uncanny X-force but not before Yost and Craig put out this 3 part graphically violent but beautifully illustrated mini-series centred around Domino and Wolverine which is pencilled, inked and coloured by Gabriele Dell’Otto.
This black ops version of X-force consisting originally of Wolverine, Warpath, Wolfsbane and X-23 with Domino, Archangel and Elixer joining later. It is formed by Cyclops to deal permanently with threats to mutant kind with deadly force.The X-men and specifically mutant kind are currently calling the “Utopia” of Alcatraz their home.
The Story opens in a bathroom, a shot, cut, bruised and bloodied Neena Thurman Aka Domino is spitting blood and teeth into a sink while Elixer asks from another room if she’s okay… Domino lies but Foley sees her through the door and in shock asks what has happened to her. Domino acts flip and shrugs it off as we see a flashback to her apartment on Nob Hill in San Francisco and fight between her and an unknown assailant in hi-tech armor. Back to the present with Domino telling Elixer to heal her which he agrees to do but just as he’s about to Wolverine shows up and demands an explanation from Domino before he will let Elixer heal her…
What you will find out:
Turns out that before Domino hooked up with X-force she was doing private jobs. Not kills as she explains to Wolverine but in this case a heist except this time she unknowingly took a job from the assassins guild. Wolverine presses her and flashback to the past where Domino is facing off against the Hand in a dockyard on a pier. She explains that the Hand had set up an operation in New Orleans, which the Assassins Guild took exception to, and they hired Domino (for luck) and her crew promising them a massive haul of money and weapons. During the firefight, Domino realizes who she’s dealing with but is focused on the score. Heading off in search of the promised cash and arms only to discover that the Hand has actually been trafficking human beings specifically young woman. She frees them and leaves the Hand and guild to deal with each other…there is a good comedic moment while Domino is telling the story with Elixer naively asking who the Hand is and Wolverine literally facepalming himself as Domino tells the story. all of a sudden Wolverine grabs a gun and shoots the closed door off its frame to reveal X-23 has been eavesdropping while Domino has been telling her story. Wolverine tells Laura who wants to get involved to stay out of it.
We Jump to Domino and Logan driving in through the streets of San Francisco in his car and Neena is arguing with Logan that she doesn’t want or need his help with this and for the first time brings it up that the reason Logan is helping is that he wants her. Before he can refute or deny this he’s shot and the car flips and crashes with Domino extricating herself from the wreck first to find herself confronted by armored members of the assassins guild. A fight ensues with Domino’s wisecracking as a counterpoint to the bloody violence going on and when Wolverine regains consciousness and enters the fray things get even more violent with claws eviscerating, stabbing and bullets flying till its just Wolverine and Domino left back to back covered in assassin blood. With adrenalin pumping the two turn to each other and then they are clinched in a passionate kiss which is interrupted by the voice of Razorfist a member of the assassins guild with prosthetic swords for arms calling out Dominos given name and demanding to know where the money is.
Wolverine is really pissed with Domino for leaving out this not so minor detail of the money from her earlier explanation cursing her as the fight gets underway again with Wolverine taking on Razorfist in bloody one on one close quarter combat which see’s Wolverine getting run through but ultimately beating Razorfist and threatening him with his life if he ever sees or hears of him again. All the while Domino continues to make jokes about the situation and in the end, a defeated Razorfist is told to take a message back to Belladonna, leader of the assassins guild, that message is very clear. Stop coming after Neena or else.
We flashback to the heist in the pier and Domino explains that when she found the girls she stole a truck to get them out and that’s what she did dropping them off at the embassy. All this time as Domino has been recounting this they have been walking as she finishes they enter a warehouse. Wolverine questions Domino as to where they are going. Domino shows him a truck. Its the one she stole on the pier that day…she opens the back to reveal a literal mountain of cash, $237 000 000 give or take.. and it’s at this point that Domino, With a grin on her face, propositions Logan asking if he wants to get a room and “work it out” well you can guess what happens over the next two pages.
New Orleans and Razorfist is reporting back to an angry Belladona and the assassins guild of his failure to get Domino and that Wolverine is now involved. Razorfist reveals he managed to plant a tracer on Wolverine when he stabbed him and Belladona who demands that a favor be cashed in and all private contractor assassins be called in. The call goes out and several respond.
Back to the hotel room where Logan and Neena are having a post-coital debate about what to do with the money but before they get into it bullets riddle the room and Wolverine covers Domino taking several shots to protect her. Domino is confronted by an assassin called Bushwacker who’s weapon is a cybernetic weapon arm. Once again Domino’s luck saves her as Logan re-enters the fray preventing her from being shot at close range. Wolverine and Bushwacker have a history and Wolverine would have killed him before if Daredevil hadn’t interfered. The fight ends with an armless Bushwacker on the floor and after a brief interrogation where he reveals how he tracked them down and that there are more coming, Wolverine does what he does best which isn’t very nice… at the same time telling Domino they need to move the cash in order to keep their leverage against the guild.
In New Orleans when Belladona receives the information that Bushwacker is not reporting in, she knows that the mutant twosome will be heading to her. She orders a sharpshooter to the airport and issues a kill order for Wolverine and that Domino is to brought back to her.
Domino and Wolverine land in the Big Easy and a panel sees them lined up in a weapon crosshair as they walk and bicker/flirt out of the airport. However, no one is shot as its revealed that the Hand have killed the assassin and intend using the mutants to track down the guild and exact revenge for being crossed before!
That night Domino and Wolverine are driving to the guild hideout arguing over Wolverines plan and flirting at the same time. they arrive at the assassins guild lair and go inside unaware they have been followed and watched by the Hand who is about to pounce when something occurs behind them but before we learn what that is we are back with Domino and Wolverine who come face to face with Belladona in her throne room surrounded by deadly assassins. Belladona offers Wolverine the bargain of Domino’s life in exchange for the money. Wolverine in inimitable style refuses a shocked Belladona stating the guild leaves them or alone or dies. Belladona questions what will happen with the money and Wolverine again shocks the assassin leader and Domino by saying all of it will go to charity. Thats when all hell breaks loose as Belladonna unleashes the assassins on them.the fight is bloody and violent with Wolverine getting half his face sliced off by a repaired Razorfist and Domino taking a spike through the leg but the two fight on. There is a pause and they are about to carry on fighting when a blade appears at Wolverines throat. The Hand has arrived. Belladona addresses them and states that the truce between the guild and the Hand stands as long as they drop their weapons which they do much to Domino’s disgust whos been trying to egg them on to attack. Wolverine however unperturbed continues offering Belladona one more chance. Belladona pays wolverine a final compliment of saying he was the best at what he did. Wolverine grins and answers that he still is as X-Force burst from out of the ninja clothing they had disguised themselves in! Between Warpath, X-23, Archangel, Vanisher, Wolverine and the rest of the team, the assassins are quickly dispatched with a bloody and brutal efficiency that leaves Belladona facing X-force over the bloody floor of the chamber. Belladona after witnessing the how mercilessly the mutants dispatch and kill the assassins makes the significant remark that these are not the X-men of old she has dealt who do not kill but something completely different and frightning. Wolverine makes it clear its over and the assassins guild leader is forced to agree to leave Domino alone and with the rest of his team are teleported away by Vanisher.
A couple of days later back at Warren’s Colorado Aerie estate Wolverine is still giving Laura a hard time about interfering when a news report comes on describing how $200 000 000 has anonymously been donated to a Japanese orphanage.Wolverine flies off the handle asking where Domino is as someone honks a car horn outside. Stepping out Logan finds Domino lying on the hood of a new replacement Mustang convertible that shes replaced because of how the last one got wrecked. After some verbal sparring and some very suggestive adjustment to the zipper of the front of her costume, they climb in the car and there’s the hilarious moment where Razorfist’s voice is heard from the trunk of the car. They drive off into the night. I won’t ruin the last panels for you but suffice to say its more than a little suggestive…
What Just happened:
This is not a comic for children first off. It’s clearly written for a much older audience with its graphic violence and exploration of sexual attraction between the main characters. Wolverine is his usual dark, violent and brooding self ( just the way I like him thanks) and the real star of the piece is Domino who’s dialogue is exceptionally well written with the back and forth between the two being a real highlight of the story, The pacing is excellent and moves rapidly along propelling the characters from one dangerous situation to the next with a dose of sex thrown in for good measure. The fascinating part for me is that Logan, while very clearly sexually attracted to Neena, doesn’t actually like her and makes remarks like “Lot of people I’d die for. You ain’t one of em”. These type of grey area themes are ones rarely seen explored in a ‘mainstream’ commercial comic book and usually reserved for more indie orientated publications. Speaking of grey or colour that brings us to the art. Italian artist Gabrielle Dell’Otto’s work on this is uber eye candy and the fact that he alone penciled inked and colored the piece is evident and pays off immensely. His use of arterial red in this book for blood (in quantities which would make Quinten Tarantino proud) as well as in the symbolic sense to represent the lustful attraction between the two main characters is excellent and perfectly on point. The muted pallet used for the rest of the book gives the whole story a gritty, hard ‘noir’ style feel which keeps with the violent and adult nature of the story.
Rating: 8/10.
Final Thoughts:
It’s a fantastic adult superhero action story with excellent writing and amazing art and enough blood, violence, and sex to satisfy those looking for a great adult and not too cerebral ride. Fan’s of Domino and Wolverine, as well as X-force, should love it … I certainly did!