Uncanny X-Force #1 Review

Nitty Gritty:
Writer       -  Sam Humphries
Artists       -  Ron Garny, Dana Miki
Cover Art  -  Olivier Coipel, Laura Martin

The Story (MAJOR SPOILERS):
Since the early days of my comic book addiction I've always loved X-Force.  From its first inception with Cable, to the most recent lineup featuring Ororo and Psylocke.  The stories have not only touched on key events in the Marvel universe, but they have also brought some amazingly personal looks into the backgrounds of some of the most decorated Marvel superheroes.

The new Uncanny X-Force begins with Betsy Braddock (Psylocke) and Ororo heading to meet up with a contact to tie up some loose ends from Betsy's past.  She is given this non-mission by Wolverine who is now the headmaster at the Jean Gray School for Higher Learning, a school started by Professor Xavier.  This prep school is a sanctuary for young mutants who wish to learn how to control their powers, and also put them to good use in protecting humans and mutants alike.  

Betsy Braddock (Psylocke) had been gone for about 6 months prior to her return.  Now she is a student at the Jean Gray School for Higher Learning,  and  she is finding it hard to adjust to more of a normal life.  Her previous experiences have left her worn and bitter, and Headmaster Wolverine is tired of her creating trouble at what is now his school.  He tells her she needs to get away, and gives her a lead to a loose end in her life that would give her a good excuse to get away for awhile.  Psylocke takes (or is ordered to take) Ororo with her to make contact with one of Wolverine's spies out in the field.  The informer is a short little guy named Puck, a friend of Ororo and also a pervert who lives for information and loose women.

Puck has been investigating a new drug in the area called TAO which has been distributed by Spiral, a mortal enemy to Betsy.  TAO has a mind controlling side affect that creates a hive-mind between those who use it frequently.  As soon as Betsy sees Spiral she attacks while Puck and Ororo use the distraction to investigate Spiral's stash.  

When they get in to Spiral's vault, Ororo and Puck find a young mutant girl who seems to be controlling those who are under the influence of TAO.  In the mean time, Betsy holds Spiral hostage in the midst of an angry mob of brainwashed addicts.   This part is to be continued in issue #2.  

The last of the comic introduces Fantomex and Lucas Bishop into the foray.  Bishop was last seen like 2000 years in the future, and there is literally nothing more with him in this issue. 

However, Fantomex's intro is a bit more fascinating.  First of all, he is now 3 people instead of 1.  After the results of the previous Uncanny X-Force series, Fantomex was cloned again.  However, when this happened each of his 3 brains grew into a new person.  One of them is a hottie named Cluster (which Fantomex makes out with at the end of #1 WEIRD), another is Fantomex himself, and the third is only known so far as the Evil Triplet (queue Twilight Zone music). 

Critique and Observations:
Seeing the return of Psylocke immediately made me a fan of this series.  Her interaction with Ororo was very intuitive to how their relationship will strengthen throughout the coming issues.  Puck is also a very strong supporting character that meshes well with Ororo and Psylocke aside from the fact that Puck is a raging pervert that I hope will continue to make Betsy uncomfortable.  

I would've liked to have seen more of an introduction to the conflict between Betsy and Spiral.  There was a brief image of what went down between them, but I know many who pick up this comic may not know what happened.  If you are one of those "not in the know", I suggest checking out their history.  It is a good read.

The last bit I would like to talk about is the progression of Fantomex.  In the previous series he not only showed the patience and understanding of a hero, but he also had a very villainous side to him (i.e. he killed a kid).  Now there are 3 separate bodies for Fantomex so I am excited to see how much trouble he has to get himself out of, that he put himself into. 

The Breakdown:
Artwork:       4 out of 5
Story:            4 out of 5
Cover Art:    5 out of 5
Cost:              $3.99