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.