Well the last issue has us showing Fantomex not being in a good place. In fact it closed with a look that made him appear to be wanting to kill off the rest of his team! This issue? That isn’t even touched on. It is a plot line that looks to be being drawn out but I have to say, I am fully OK with that. This is one of the most spectacular issues yet as the fight scenes are great and we get multiple revelations of what is going on with our characters. Not enough to end most of the mysteries but WOW! Things happen here! Big things!

Ever since the first issue of this series we’ve seen Marrow not all quite there in the head. On top of that she keeps talking to someone throughout the entire series. Was it mentally someone else out there? Was it someone actually controlling her mind or watching through her eyes? Was it a past lover? Well this issue lets us know and it is something that completely took me from left field.

With how much she wanted her mutant powers back, Marrow was willing to give up anything to have it happen. The risk she took, though, is one I can’t imagine anyone choosing. She did. It didn’t pan out. So she’s on the edge of sanity. On the one hand when she found out what happened I instantly felt sorry for her. On the other hand when the main enemy reveals something else, my sorrow turned to disgust.

Did I mention the main villain? Thats right! Since Fantomex restrained himself from killing everyone last issue we found out where the big bad guy is hanging out and it is an all out incursion onto his floating hover-yacht. There is a lot of fighting here and at the beginning, things are looking good for our heroes. Marrow is kicking butt, Cable has a big gun he shoots a missile at the yacht at with from the sky, all typical things in the day of X-Force. Even when things seem to be going down, we have Marrow finding out what happened and she has a little breakdown that initially events the odds as she goes berserk. Once she is taken out, the rest of the team seem to have their collective behinds handed to them due to a new temporary super soldier serum that turns people into killing machines that the guards here have taken. So yes, basically things don’t go to well for our heroes and in the very end we actually see one of the team get blown away completely.

Of course, I suspect that means next issue we’re going to be getting another member’s secret. Spurrier has once again given us a great range of character in his writing as well as used his amazing form of trickery. Loving the writing and now that Molina is on board I think visually we have ourselves a well rounded comic. (Can someone send him back in time Terminator style so he’s on the book from day 1? Please?)

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X-FORCE #5
Writer: Simon Spurrier
Artist: Jorge Molina