By Steve Morris

Another teaser has been de-teased! Sam Humphries and Ron Garney have been announced as the writers for a relaunched Uncanny X-Force series, which starts this December. Perhaps wisely, Marvel are drawing a line at the end of Rick Remender’s tremendously successful run with the book, in order for the new creative team to start things fresh and shake things up. And how will they do this? Well, Spiral’s going to be in it.

Not as the main character, alas. The biggest name in the cast is Storm, a character who has grown from strength to strength over the last year, thanks in large part to Brian Wood. The character has re-emerged as a leader in his recent adjectiveless X-Men, and stood alongside Cyclops when the Schism hit. However, she wisely decided to gently push herself away from him just before the giant flaming bird re-entered the picture, meaning she’s gotten out of the event clean. Not many can say that!

Psylocke will also be appearing in the title, alongside Puck and Spiral. So c’mon — let’s get into this. They’re the big hook here, so we may as well get into this.

Spiral, if you aren’t aware, is one of Marvel’s best villains. Typically working alongside Mojo, Spiral is a six-armed sword-wielding sorceress who likes doing mean things to Longshot. She was also responsible for putting Psylocke in the Asian body in the first place, but don’t hold that against her – she’s actually really good fun, especially when in a full-on Chris Claremont monologue. She wears a helmet.  Her powers are activated through hand gestures, jive, and dance. She does mean things to Longshot. She is a crazy, bizarre choice for this team, and we should all salute Sam Humphries for using her. Gaze upon her:

Puck, on the other hand, is the Canadian Bull. Despite his small stature, he’s a pugilist of the highest order, with a sensational moustache and proud, dignified bald head. Formerly a member of Alpha Flight, Puck has also spent a fair amount of time as a villain/anti-hero, mainly in various recent Jason Aaron storylines. Again — he is bizarre, and there is absolutely no way to tell how he’s going to interact with Storm. Or Spiral. This is the most eclectic X-Men team in years. The two X-Force books look to be going in a completely different direction to anything else, and it’s really kinda fascinating.

However, given the lack of promotional art, it’s damned likely that Marvel are hiding somebody from us. And likely, that somebody won’t be revealed until the end of AvX. Namor seems likely, given his total absence from any other preview material for Marvel NOW! We don’t yet know what the mission of the team will be, although Humphries does say that this will take place 6 months (in universe) after Remender’s run concludes. And Spiral will be in it, with Puck.

Issue #1 is out in December, as part of Marvel’s newfound appreciation for the “X-Force” branding.

9 COMMENTS

  1. Say no to Spiral! The X-Men already have a sorcerous, sword-wielding teleporter! We don’t need no Mojoverse immigrants stealing her job!

    They’ve got my interest for this book, thanks in no small part to Garney’s excellence. The characters aren’t exactly a list of my top faves, though, so I’ll be curious to see what other characters are brought in. And whether Spiral is really Illyana in disguise, yes maybe possibly who knows?

  2. This line-up is definitely from the “That’s so crazy, it just might work!” file. And I do love Puck, but it’ll take a lot more than my favorite hirsute Canadian for me to invest in another monthly Marvel book. Might go for the trade if I hear very good things about it.

  3. Why would Storm be in a book promoted as “killers”? I mean, STORM – a killer??? Is that what she is now, post-Black Panther split?

    Anyway, jumping ship with this. The only reason Remender’s X-Force did well was down to him, his firm vision and the artists. Do Marvel think Uncanny X-Force was a success without all that – that the characters did it all on its own – and that the book has enough audience for TWO X-Force books? (Yeah, two X-Force books ain’t going to confuse newcomers, d’oh). They’re really stretching things with this – and neither concept follows the one previously set. The concept that had all the sales and success. Oh yeah – and there’s probably going to be a crossover down the line. You know, “Watch the two X-Force teams fight like you’ve demanded!”

    But saying that – nice to see Ron Garney’s still about.

  4. Richard – I entirely agree with you. Remender did the impossible – make X-Force the best written ongoing on the stands. Moving forward without him, on TWO books, no less, is just crazypants.

  5. “Long-term X-Men fans will definitely find juicy bits to sink their teeth into. Familiar characters, familiar locations, familiar themes. But my job is to take these into the context of X-Force and present them in a whole new light. To see a new, perhaps dark corner of locations you’ve seen before,”

    Geez, is anyone else vexed by this? That Marvel continues to aim bks at existing fans? What about everybody else not a long-term X-Men fan, but likes the X-Men concept?? Wasn’t Marvel Now meant to be for new and lapsed readers?

  6. Is familiar stuff really a sell? You’re writing an in-continuity superhero book. If you didn’t use familiar stuff, you’d might as well do your own indie superhero project.

  7. Kard “Wasn’t Marvel Now meant to be for new and lapsed readers?”Lapsed readers–maybe. New readers? Don’t make me laugh. They haven’t had a large infusion of new readers since maybe the early ’90s.

  8. I am so looking forward to seeing Spiral on the team! She looks awesome with a nifty X-Force suit! :) I can’t wait to see her, Storm and Psylocke interact!

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