Is the idea of Xforce a dead concept?

[primetime21]

So I'm asking this question basically to see you feel the concept of the kill squad has run its course. I know the new Uncanny will probably be somewhat like an Xforce...but is it time to revamp the concept? If so how would you do it? I just think about certain characters and I see when people come up with their dream lineups and some characters always end up in some kind of Xforce. Its almost like that's the only place for them. Characters like Cable, Marrow, Domino even Psylocke. But then the books haven't been doing well. So is it the concept itself that's old and played out and just dead?

[Complexed]

They ruined it by making Wolverine the focal point. Now people only associate with him/Deadpool. Cable tried to take the reigns back, but Storm's shoddy X-Force team ruined that attempt by disenfranchising the brand even more.

[TickTock]

Let it rest, it peaked with Remender's run. Then, Marvel tried launching two lesser (but still decent) books. Then the latest volume just completely tanked. It'll pop back up again in a few years.


Alternate answer: MARVEL IS TRYING TO MURDER THE X-MEN FRANCHISE AND THEY'RE STARTING WITH THE SMALLER BOOKS FIRST OMG ITS SO CLEAR HOW CAN YOU NOT SEE THIS RAAAAAAAGE

[CraigTheCylon]

Dunno. Maybe.

But I feel like you're asking 2 separate questions, because 'X-Force' does not necessarily mean 'kill squad'. It can mean that, and it certainly has meant that for a few years, but it's not exclusively a title that demands murder as a plot mechanic. The earliest X-Force, which I've been poring over a lot recently, was basically just New Mutants filtered through the lens of '90s attitude with a muscly gun-toting chap added as leader. It looked aggressive and violent at the time, but compared to modern comics it's actually quite light-hearted. The 'kill squad' motif didn't kick in until Kyle & Yost relaunched the title post-Messiah Complex, and while it's stuck mostly to grimhook violence and dark costumes since then, we're still not far removed from Hopeless' Cable & X-Force, which was pretty much The A-Team with mutants and just as broadly silly as its inspiration.

With Bunn's Uncanny skewing towards grittystabland, I'd say that a lighter touch would be best for a new X-Force if it has to be launched at this time. Find a job for them that's politically iffy and clearly breaking the law but is morally right and ideally doesn't rely on constant murder. Shake up the roster too - keep some of the expected commando-types but add in some newcomers, maybe some NXMers or any of the scores of kids Aaron and Bendis introduced but left up in the air. The kind who might be jaded with the typical X-Men status quo but want to do something proactive. Remember, you might think of Cable, Domino, Psylocke or X-23 as X-Force mainstays...but so is Boom Boom. Not everyone in the book has to be a killer. For all we know, Goldballs could thrive in X-Force.

But, given the choice, I'd think it wiser to simply leave the title alone for a few years. The Kyle/Yost book's success was at least partly down to the title having been retired for a good while before it began, long enough for people to feel wistful about its absence. Since then we've had constant X-Forces, so maybe the appeal is simply wearing off through overexposure. It doesn't (or shouldn't) take much thought to find homes for the typical X-Force crowd in other books, so they can remain visible enough that when they 'reunite the band' it'll mean something to readers.

[Factor]

The books were ruined by bad editorial decisions, not by the concept. Launching TWO X-force series after the conclusion of Remender's run was overkill, especially considering the quality of UXF vol.2.
Then they decided to condense the two teams, which was a good decision, but the cast wasn't so appealing and the art choice was pretty bad. I actually liked what I read, but Spurrier's writing can be divisive.
For an X-force book to work again, they'd have to put more popular characters on the team and choose a more marketable creative team. The concept itself is pretty simple and the book used to have a very clear role in the franchise. Honestly, the biggest obstacle for a new X-force is probably the new Uncanny X-men.

[Sardorim]

No, they're just called Uncanny X-Men now as X-Men is the easier selling name.

[coveredinbees]

Humphries finished out the story. They don't need X-Force anymore. There can be as many kill squads as you want, but that one's finished and it was spectacular and moving.

[Galerion]

The Kyle/Yost book's success was at least partly down to the title having been retired for a good while before it began, long enough for people to feel wistful about its absence.

I feel like another point about Kyle/Yost run was that is was connected to the rest of of the books. The Purifier attacks which lead to the creation of X-Force were a part of the New X-Men story and If you wanted to get the full picture about the Messiah Trilogy and about Selenes actions on Genosha you had to buy X-Force too.
That is definitely something that has been missing in the more recent X-Force runs. They were completely separate and their own thing.
Also the reason for the creation of Kyle/Yost X-Force(Purifier attacks on the mansion, blowing up a school bus full of mutant kinds) was a very good one. I think it isn't enough to just say "Yep were are now X-Force. Let's kill some randoms." Another thing that has been missing I feel.

[CraigTheCylon]

I feel like another point about Kyle/Yost run was that is was connected to the rest of of the books. The Purifier attacks which lead to the creation of X-Force were a part of the New X-Men story and If you wanted to get the full picture about the Messiah Trilogy and about Selenes actions on Genosha you had to buy X-Force too.
That is definitely something that has been missing in the more recent X-Force runs. They were completely separate and their own thing.
Also the reason for the creation of Kyle/Yost X-Force(Purifier attacks on the mansion, blowing up a school bus full of mutant kinds) was a very good one. I think it isn't enough to just say "Yep were are now X-Force. Let's kill some randoms." Another thing that has been missing I feel.

Yes, very good point r.e. relevancy. I've said (well, 'complained about' really) this before but the typical comics audience has a knack for choosing books based on perceived importance - the individual story matters less than its contributions to the larger mythos. The Kyle/Yost X-Force was an integral part of the X-verse back in the Utopia days, tieing into the 'Messiah Trilogy' arc very closely and even starting its own crossover tale (Necrosha) which bled into other books. Readers who may not have been interested in buying an X-Force book normally would likely have felt compelled to do so for this one purely because it seemed majorly important. The series that followed have been satellites at best to whatever the current flagship was, and while Remender's Uncanny X-Force got away with being a self-contained story told across alternate universes by virtue of featuring both Wolverine and Deadpool plus a selection of very big-name artists, subsequent series haven't been so blessed.

I will say that Cable & X-Force did give its team a reason to exist and operate in their fashion, one that tied in with both the shape of the X-verse post-AvX and Cable's status after Avengers X-Sanction, but it wasn't quite as immediately shocking as schoolbus explododeaths. And the Spurrier series' inciting incident was never acknowledged outside of that book so it wasn't a big eye-catching thing. If the Alexandria incident had somehow tied in with one of Marvel's ceaseless cycle of EVENTS~ maybe it would've drummed up more interest, who knows.

[BlkGldBlu]

I loved X- Force is was a change from the status quo camp style xmen.
X- Force was dark and gritty, it was " thrre is no exit option" Team.
To me it was the X-men answer to Thunderbols SuicideSquad.
I always pick Marvel Knight anything cause 9/10
Its an awsome ride.
Marvel Kinght tells storie i want to read. Stories that cross a ethical moral line, and Xforce wad one of them.
But s constant running team would make the current xmen obsolete. X- Force should be a seasonal team. Only to be seen in extreme circumstances.
Should there be in X-Force team? Yes i believe there should be one. Dose it go against Xavier and the Xmen? Yes it does, but doesn't mean we dont need one.

[BlkGldBlu]

They ruined it by making Wolverine the focal point. Now people only associate with him/Deadpool. Cable tried to take the reigns back, but Storm's shoddy X-Force team ruined that attempt by disenfranchising the brand even more.

Agreed .

I was dying to see Storm in X-FORCE . No one knows how much i want to see a blade wielding blood runner Storm . But instead i got uncanny xforce storm which was the correct name for this team.
Ucanny xforce should be the girls club of the xmen. Just mix all the people you think are bad. Rouge deadpool Gambit Emma Danger Dr.Nemisis Magick Hellion just a fun mix.


Any time i think there going to do something cool with storm marvel ruins it. Check out Avengers. UXF. BP&Storm

[Dupe1979]

Maybe X-Force could take over the old X-Factor role of being a government affiliated strike team to deal with mutant issues, it could still be aggressive and militaristic but it could also be more political and not so focused on simply assassinating everyone, (a horrible objective for a X-franchise). The actual X-Men could go back to openly objecting to murder, instead of every X-Man having his or her own wetworks team.

I imagine any future incarnation of X-Factor is more apt to use the XF Investigations or Corporate XF concepts as launching points.

[Hariel0079]

They ruined it by making Wolverine the focal point. Now people only associate with him/Deadpool. Cable tried to take the reigns back, but Storm's shoddy X-Force team ruined that attempt by disenfranchising the brand even more.

False, Wolverine wasn't the focal point and it is his comfort zone much like Cable and all the characters who are very similar.

The cable and deadpool deal didn't really take off til early 2000's

Storm didn't ruin anything as Vol. 2 of UXF was all Psylocke centric.

[Kuwagaton]

I think the best they did was give it to Milligan and Allred. Aside from that, we have Uncanny and Extraordinary, and between them alone it's really difficult to see more space for room.

[ciscostudent561]

Wat is XF posed to do
Who runs it