X-Force #5 – Review

By Craig Kyle, Christopher Yost, (Writers) and Clayton Crain (Artist)

The previous issue of X-Force was, in my opinion, the strongest yet. Everything about it seemed to suggest that the series was finally moving in a positive direction as the story, characters, writing, and artwork came together really well. Unfortunately, X-Force #5 isn’t quite as strong as I had hoped, but it does take the story in an interesting direction that I believe will pay off well when the arc concludes next issue.

This issue focuses mostly on the division between Matthew Risman and Bastion, the leaders of the Purifiers. Risman comes to recognize the error of his ways in allowing Bastion to seize control of the Purifiers and plans to take action into his own hands by using the winged-warriors (created last issue). Bastion, meanwhile, continues to manipulate the Purifiers through William Stryker in order to bring about the total destruction of the remaining mutant race. For a Purifier-centric issue, the story works well, but it makes the inclusion of X-Force seem like an afterthought. To be honest, the team doesn’t do a whole lot. Wolfsbane is once again in Purifier captivity while the rest of the team chases down an enraged Archangel and that’s about it! The issue lacks any sense of balance between the two storylines and suffers because of it.

By framing most of the issue around Matthew Risman, readers are given a glimpse into the humanity of some of the religious extremists. When Risman is in control of the narrative, things work extremely well. But I must say that Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost disappoint when it comes to everything else. There are a few solid lines of dialogue, but, as a whole, anything outside of the Purifier storyline feels like filler. In short, the storytelling style works well, but the rest of it is average at best.

Visually, X-Force #5 is a pretty good looking book, but a little bit of light would go a long way. I understand the dark, gritty look and it fits the style of this series extremely well, but sometimes it gets a bit out of control. When the action comes across as more confusing and muddy than kinetic and bloody, it might be time to lighten things up. That said, the larger scenes are quite impressive and the character work continues to improve so I can’t come down too hard on Clayton Crain.

Overall I feel that X-Force #5 presents an equal measure of the good and bad aspects of this series. It is a decent, but slightly below-average read. (Grade: C-)

-Kyle Posluszny