Era #8, Part 15: X-Force #82-86

Grade: C

This is X-Force's final run in Era #08. John Francis Moore continues to tell super-hero stories about young adults trying to find their own path rather than the students turned soldiers that originally drew so many fans to the title. Jim Cheung starts as the penciler, but his style makes the team look much too young further adding to the divergence from their para-military roots.

There are some newer elements that distinguish this run from the last. The team sets up a new base of operations in San Francisco. We are introduced to Jesse Bedlam (who actually first appeared in the Age of Apocalypse title Factor X). There is also a new threat in Odysseus Indigo and the Damocles Foundation.

[3-Stars] X-Force #82 "The Gryphon Agenda" Jessie Arronson (Bedlam) approaches Domino with a deal. He will help her find Ekatarine Gryaznova (now going by the Gryphon) if she helps him find his brother. Their plan to take down Gryaznova goes awry forcing Jessie to seek X-Force.

[3-Stars] X-Force #83 "Homefront" Cannonball visits his home in Kentucky to take some time to assess his position within the X-Men. He confronts two powered people, Arcadia and her bodyguard Ulysses, on the run, but he quickly realizes that they are being hunted by a bigger threat. X-Force learns Jessie's origins and his ties to the secretive Mutant Underground Support Engine (MUSE).

[3-Stars] X-Force #84 "...By the Sword" Arcadia accidentally teleports X-Force to her location to help Cannonball fight the members of Sword. This group is hunting her and her bodyguard Ulysses for the Deviant known as Odysseus Indigo. Moonstar reveals new, unexplained powers from Arcadia's teleportation, and Cannonball is returns to the team.

[2-Stars] X-Force #85 "Possession" Skids and Locus are captives of Pandemonia. The evil witch is herself a captive in Latveria and uses Locus to escape her prison. She then uses Skids to lure X-Force into her enchanted thrall. Cannonball, Moonstar and Bedlam manage to escape and immediate search for mystic help. They find it in long time Marvel sorceress Jennifer Kale.

[3-Stars] X-Force #86 "Experimental Living" X-Force returns to Almost Reno and find it completely deserted. Something has happened, and the Agents of SHIELD appear to be behind it. Enter Odysseus Indigo and his wealthy foundation The Sword of Damocles.

Era #8, Part 14: X-Force #71-81

Grade: C

John Francis Moore tells superhero comic book stories for superhero comic book fans. They are consistent and readable, but they do not push the envelope or really explore new ground for the characters, the franchise, or the genre. And so this period is memorable in that it wasn't particularly memorable.

X-Force left Cable and the X-Men to strike out on their own. They also drop any pretense of being a para-military strikeforce to go on a typical young adult road trip. John Francis Moore does address two long dangling plot lines: the mass murder of Warpath's tribe (way back in New Mutants #98) and the mysterious connection between Sunspot and Reignfire. That is really cool for hardcore X-Force fans, but it isn't enough to save this run from being average.

[3-Stars] X-Force #71 "Destination: Unknown" X-Force start their road trip, but it isn't long before their car breaks-down. While they wait for repairs, Bobby (Sunspot) discovers that he no longer has access to his family's wealth, so the team must rely on Dani Moonstar's leftover SHIELD paycheck to fund their adventure until Bobby can figure things out. They crash at a low-budget motel where they save young Richie Alegria from being kidnapped by the mob. Richie quickly hires them to be his bodyguards.

[3-Stars] X-Force #72 "Lies and Deception" Dani Moonstar, Bobby, and Tabitha (Meltdown) protect Richie Alegria from the mob only to discover that they are after him because he owes them money to make a movie. Theresa (Siryn) joins James (Warpath) to uncover the truth about the mass murder of hsi friends and family. It was not the Hellfire Club as the clues originally suggested, but a tip from Sledge sends him to a reporter and old family friend who manages to reveal some additional clues before he too is killed by an unknown source.

[3-Stars] X-Force #73 "Stop Motion" James and Theresa are being chased by the man responsible for  the massacre of James's reservation. It is the lycanthropic  scientist that James and his brother exposed in X-Force #-1 (the Flashback issue) who reveals that he was working with Stryfe!

[3-Stars] X-Force #74 "Afterlife" James is dead, and his soul is trapped in dimension ruled by Styfe. The villain made a deal with Blackheart (a Ghost Rider villain) -- James's soul for his own release back to the realm of the living. The Valkyrie alert Dani of this unholy bargain, but they are unable to interfere. Instead, they send in X-Force to save the soul of their friend.

[3-Stars] X-Force #75 "Convergence" X-Force joins the Colossal Man festival (a Marvel parallel to the Burning Man Festival) in the desert. They are reunited with former New Mutant Xi'an Coy Manh (Karma) and Sam (Cannonball). The party of "freak and geeks" is in jeopardy when Selene arrives with the intention of using the spiritual area to open a dimensional gateway summoning unimaginable power.   

[3-Stars] X-Force #76 "Bittersweet Reunions" Cannonball catches Bobby and Tabitha kissing each other. He storms off leaving his best friend and his former girlfriend to figure how they will deal with their growing feelings for each other. Meanwhile, Domino and Shatterstar are forced against their will to fight in Arcade's Murderworld.

[3-Stars] X-Force #77 "City of Lost Children" The team happens upon the deserted small town of "Almost Reno" where they find scared mutant children -- and a SHIELD operation.

[3-Stars] X-Force #78 "Burning Desires" X-Force crash at another old teammate's pad. Skids left the world of superheroes (and supervillains) after Rusty died in X-Men (v2) #42. The reunion is cut short when Reignfire and Locus finally make their move in a very public way. They have been following X-Force and quietly making Bobby's their life hell such as freezing his trust fund, removing him from the DaCosta Board of Directors, and taking other actions in his form.

[3-Stars] X-Force #79 "Set My Soul on Fire" X-Force and Skids versus Reignfire and Locus. They receive help from an unexpected source. Dr. Joshua once experimented on Bobby for Gideon in X-Force #15. He now works for the Damocles Foundation and uses their resource to arm himself for a final confrontation with his creation. Skids and Locus disappear.

[3-Stars] X-Force #80 "The Fire Within" X-Force versus Reignfire in this story arc conclusion that ends with the origins of Reignfire. The DaCosta Board of Directors hire Heroes for Hire (Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Misty Knight, and Colleen Wing) to wrest control from Bobby, but they all learn that it was Reignfire who was responsible for all the damage and misinformation.

[3-Stars] X-Force #81 "Hot Lava" Bobby has his money back and takes the team to Hawaii to celebrate. Their vacation includes an unpleasant reunion with Sledge, Vanisher, and Risque who stole the fabled Heart of Pele. It is a an artifact that the Lava Men (Avenger foes) also want for their own nefarious plans.