X-FORCE #22 – May 1993

Ordnance Weighed In Blood

Credits: Fabian Nicieza (writer), Greg Capullo (penciler), Conrad/Candelario (inkers), Chris Eliopoulos (letterer), Tinsley/Moran (colorists)

Summary

The Professor sends Cannonball and Sunspot on an escape pod, while Lila Cheney teleports everyone else away from Graymalkin’s explosion. The Professor tells Cannonball that when the escape pod lands, this extension of his self will be terminated so that no one will gain access to his programming. After arriving at X-Force’s Camp Verde headquarters, Lila Cheney says goodbye, while X-Force receives a message from Externals Gideon and Saul. They want Cannonball to trade himself for his captured teammates. Meanwhile, Grizzly and Domino attempt to download Department K’s information on Cable, only to be confronted by the new Weapon PRIME. In Boston, Deadpool threatens his old girlfriend Vanessa, while another mercenary, Sluggo, kills her friend Tina.

Approved By The Comics Code Authority

Vanessa’s friend, Tina, has a giant hole blasted through her body.

Greg Capullo has eliminated most of Boomer’s yellow shirt on the last page, so the colorist has to make her chest yellow to keep things Code-approved.

Review

This is the type of comic that fell out of fashion once stories began to be tailored for trade paperbacks. There is no main plot to this issue, as it resolves the main story from the previous issue while advancing three subplots. I’ve always enjoyed this type of “soap opera” storytelling, probably because it was so common in the early comics I read. I like the way these issues give you the impression that a lot of important things are happening at once. It’s certainly an improvement over last issue, where the ongoing threads just seemed to stall.