Milligan's X-Force at 20

[dreamglide]

It will probably get lost in the shuffle of the Fantastic Four's sixtieth anniversary and, to a lesser extent, Deadpool's thirtieth, but X-Force 116 by Milligan and the Allreds hits the big two-o this May, and it kicks off what I feel is an absolutely tremendous run between X-Force, X-Statix, and the mini-series X-Statix Presents Dead Girl, which serves as a coda in addition to commenting on the nature of death in mainstream superhero comics.


After (almost) twenty years, what are your thoughts on this run, be they positive or negative? Were you reading it as it came out, or did you discover it later? I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts.

[Whim]

the first mistake was calling it X-Force since you know it had nothing to do with X-Force and such.

besides that they really aren't X characters and never appear outside their own bubble of weirdness. other than doop making random appearances elsewhere.

safe bet we'll never see any of them in Krakoa or any X-titles just like it's been.

better off staying on it's own and not using the X name.

but really was never a fan....

[K7P5V]

Happy Anniversary to Milligan's X-Force. Truly a weird reading experience. Still love the nihilistic artwork

[shooshoomanjoe]

the first mistake was calling it X-Force since you know it had nothing to do with X-Force and such.

besides that they really aren't X characters and never appear outside their own bubble of weirdness. other than doop making random appearances elsewhere.

safe bet we'll never see any of them in Krakoa or any X-titles just like it's been.

better off staying on it's own and not using the X name.

but really was never a fan....

Several x characters popped up. The original X Force, Prof X, Wolverine.

[Master of Sound]

Several x characters popped up. The original X Force, Prof X, Wolverine.

They did plan e revival, but I think that idea can canned, due to Covid. Was it not?

[Foon4000]

I had most of the original run in floppies until they 'disappeared' from my childhood wardrobe storage. I bought most of it back in a charity shop for £70 and have not regretted it.

This run presaged the nihilistic, late-stage-capitalism, post-end-of-history, Info Wars hellscape of the world after 9/11.

Pity Milligan's run on regular X-men was so ****.

[Lockheed]

I adored this run and have the individual issues and the Omnibus. It looks like the pandemic killed the revival, but maybe they'll bring it back. I did get the one-shot at least.

I think it has aged wonderfully. The only lasting sting is that Marvel censored his plans to have a resurrected Princess Diana join the team (they inserted a generic princess instead). It would have been and still would be in bad taste, yet I think that was what gave the run so much bite. He really had some wonderful commentary on celebrity right at the time that reality television and the rise of the internet came into their own.

Also, a lot of the characters showed up in the short-lived X-Men '92 to fill out the student roster. Dead Girl, too, was in last week's Strange Academy. I'd love to see them mix in with characters in Krakoa - although Lord knows we don't need yet another X-title at the moment.

[Uncanny X-Man]

They did plan e revival, but I think that idea can canned, due to Covid. Was it not?

I believe CB Cebulski said on his Twitter some time ago that the X-Cellent is still coming, although it might be in the form of a limited series rather than an ongoing.

[Uncanny X-Man]

I had most of the original run in floppies until they 'disappeared' from my childhood wardrobe storage. I bought most of it back in a charity shop for £70 and have not regretted it.

This run presaged the nihilistic, late-stage-capitalism, post-end-of-history, Info Wars hellscape of the world after 9/11.

Pity Milligan's run on regular X-men was so ****.

Milligan is one of those writers who's either amazing or very mediocre, which is even more frustrating because you know when he's invested in the concept and characters he can produce excellent comics. But his writing over the years has been so uneven you never know "which" Milligan you're going to get when he's announced on a project.

[Pav]

I read the whole series when the omnibus came out, then read the Dead Girl limited series as well. I thought it was absolutely brilliant social commentary, but also just fun comic books. I was ECSTATIC when I found out the series was being rejuvenated as The X-Cellent and bought the oneshot; here's to hoping we do eventually get a true follow-up. I was also stoked to see Dead Girl show up in Strange Academy, considering their relationship in her miniseries, and I'd love to see her continue to be a supporting character in Strange's comics. But what I MOST want to see is the inclusion of the X-Statix characters into mainstream X-Men stories while still perhaps holding onto the original tone/themes of their original appearances.

Specifically, I've long wanted to see Lacuna brought back. She was always on the periphery of the X-Statix team, and due to her powers, I think she'd make a great addition to the mainstream X-comics, either as hero or villain.

-Pav, who also loves how Doop has become seen as a somewhat legit X-Man...

[Dante Milton]

I mostly enjoyed X-Statix, but looking back I think I liked Allred's art more than Milligan's writing. I also have no desire to revisit that world, some things don't really need a sequel or follow up.

[Captain Buttocks]

It was fabulous at the time (especially the sheer delight they took in printing unappreciative fan letters) but I like that it had a definitive conclusion.

THAT BEING SAID - it worked quite well at the time as an off-beat addendum to what was a line-wide different direction at the time. With Hickman's reboot being a similar approach to the Morrison/Casey update I could see the appeal of trying to recapture that lightning in a bottle feeling, but it might be best left alone.

I still giggle at Solomon O'Sulivan's introductory speech, and the ludicrously bonkers "a member will DIE!" issue. Good times.

[Thundershot]

I read the whole series when the omnibus came out, then read the Dead Girl limited series as well. I thought it was absolutely brilliant social commentary, but also just fun comic books. I was ECSTATIC when I found out the series was being rejuvenated as The X-Cellent and bought the oneshot; here's to hoping we do eventually get a true follow-up. I was also stoked to see Dead Girl show up in Strange Academy, considering their relationship in her miniseries, and I'd love to see her continue to be a supporting character in Strange's comics. But what I MOST want to see is the inclusion of the X-Statix characters into mainstream X-Men stories while still perhaps holding onto the original tone/themes of their original appearances.

Specifically, I've long wanted to see Lacuna brought back. She was always on the periphery of the X-Statix team, and due to her powers, I think she'd make a great addition to the mainstream X-comics, either as hero or villain.

-Pav, who also loves how Doop has become seen as a somewhat legit X-Man...

II would LOVE to see X-Statix characters integrated into Krakoa. There was so much wasted potential in most of them...

That said... I had NO IDEA Dead Girl appeared recently! That’s awesome!

[Odd Rödney]

safe bet we'll never see any of them in Krakoa or any X-titles

Well, you're wrong there buddy.

Behold! Tike Alicar & Doop from Cable #1.

CF38BD36-EA57-409D-9951-4DD3A03F4E09.jpg

[MYCMTSC]

the first mistake was calling it X-Force since you know it had nothing to do with X-Force and such.

besides that they really aren't X characters and never appear outside their own bubble of weirdness. other than doop making random appearances elsewhere.

safe bet we'll never see any of them in Krakoa or any X-titles just like it's been.

better off staying on it's own and not using the X name.

but really was never a fan....

If Doop, arguably the weirdest character from that group, can make mainstream appearances then I think the rest of the team could make it.