Joshua Cassara delivers some stunning, brutal and beautiful art in this issue. The characters are drawn beautifully and with great style. The action is brutal and laid out like an action movie. A great looking issue. Read Full Review

This is yet another good issue in a series that has taken me by surprise. It continues to do a good job with its characters, flesh out the various departments of the X-Force and adds in action and CSI style detective work too. I can't remember the last time I was this excited for a title to flesh itself out because once we're aware of all its parts it's going to go hog wild with its action and thriller storytelling. Read Full Review

X-FORCE #4 is a well written, entertainingly action-packed thrill ride that elevates Ben Percy to new heights. Percy finds imaginative ways to get so many characters involved while telling a remarkable story thats original and hard to forget. Fans, this is the X-story you need to read. This is the X-Book thats a must for any pull list and with the cliffhangers Percy throws out at readers each issue, he leaves fans with something to talk about from one week to the next. Readers, go get X-FORCE #4 and add this to your pull list. You can thank me later. Read Full Review

It takes the new status quo for mutants and builds on what was a flop in #1 in order to deliver a shock so good it'll still be on your mind a few comics later. Read Full Review

While most of this book soars, including the visceral, hold-nothing-backnature of the action scenes, it isn't quite a perfect book. Read Full Review

Overall this is still one of the best books and I thoroughly enjoyed it. We get a hefty dose of action, intrigue, drama, comedy and more death. Read Full Review

I really like the premise of the brains and the brawns. It is a trope that is often used in narrative fiction but this comic executes it well. Read Full Review

Prelude:
X-Force has been amazing so far. Let's see how Percy goes this issue, now that the team has officially formed.

The Good:
I love how ruthless these enemies are. Cold, calculating and efficient. It works greatly with this new status quo from Dawn of X.

Likewise, how tactical this book acts is great. I love these introspectives that Percy did this issue.

Anything involving the Quiet Council is usually great and this issue was no exception.

Forge was interesting here.

In a similar vein, I quite liked the infographics. Simple, but effective.

Art was pretty good throughout. Some issues but otherwise good.

The Bad:
Nothing.

Conclusion
A superb issue from Percy. Exactly what I wanted from X-Force and it doesn't hold back. Just wonderful. more

X-Force is officially my pick for best Dawn of X title. The art is constantly amazing, Percy understands these characters, and Percy perfectly uses the elements of suspense and violence. That last page might be the most haunting page of Dawn of X since Professor X died. Incredible

A great read here in my favorite issue yet. Percy and Cassara are proving to be a pretty good team with this series thus far. In this issue, specifically, Percy does a a really nice job with his pacing, in my opinion. It starts off a little slow with the Quiet Council, but continuously speeds up a bit until Wolverine is, basically, chopped in half. I don't doubt he'll be resurrected or healed soon, depending on if he ends up being dead or just severely injured, but it was still a wild moment and an awesome way to close the issue.

THE GOOD:

-The art is damn good.

-Again, this series has by far the most interesting villains of the DoX line.

-The political thriller aspects of this are really well fleshed out and make for a solid reading experience.

-Oh man, I love Forge. His daily planner was great, too.

-It’s a really well-written comic. I’ve never been a fan of Percy before this. Granted, I’ve only read Green Arrow and Nightwing, but still.

-The ending was really good. I can’t wait for more of this series.

THE BAD:

-Maybe a bit more could be done for the characters. They’re not bad at all, and I find them compelling, but I would like to see more complex characters. That would really have solidified this issue as perfect for me. As it stands, it’s really close, though. It’s just, the characters are usually so great, when you have such a plot-focused issue like this, it stands out. more

This is such a fun book.

X-Force continues to profit from a scalpel-sharp clarity of purpose that sets it head and shoulders above the messier DoX titles. This is gory pull-no-punches mutant espionage action, like an R-rated James Bond, and it is terrific.

Holy Mother this is good. Every page grabs your attention with its fantastic art and dialogue. From start to finish this was nothing short of perfection. I cant imagine not reading this title especially if you are reading any other Xmen Comics. This issue had so much to say and adds a great deal to the entire Xmen franchise right now. Percy and Cassara are a match made in heaven, these two compliment each other so well and give one of the smoothest reads Ive had in a while.

Holly fuck, there's so much happening in this book, and it seems to still be reaching its full potential.

A story well done with great art. The best X-men book right now!

Good set-up for the carnage to come. Also liked the definition of X-Force as a "Mutant CIA".

"X-Force is a go!"

That ending. So gruesome, so awesome.

There's so much awesome in this book. I'd give it a 9 but there's a panel where Jean's legs are drawn super funny and I have to knock this down by .5 because of that lol

I've been a huge fan of Forge dating back to the '90s. He's a great character that plays the combo role of Iron Man and Reed Richards but for the X-Men. Forge is also the only character that I can recall that had a believable romance with Storm. Although Marvel has seemingly memory-holed the Storm Forge relationship it stands out as a milestone for each character.

This issue gives Forge a proper intro to the current Dawn of X landscape. He naturally takes on the role of armorer for the team and also seems to get his rocks off by giving Wolverine a hard time. There are some nice exchanges between the characters and although don't recall Forge being this snarky he makes a nice addition to the cast.

The book also formalizes X-Force as Krakoa's C.I.A. Branch. The situation is a little more complicated than that but it gives the series purpose and justifies the team's mission going forward. The remainder of the comic focuses on the mission to get back at the human group that assassinated Xavier and mutilated Domino in the previous issues.

The comic looks decent in most spots. Joshua Cassara doesn't have the most bombastic style but it's atmospheric and works best when he illustrates the more disturbing elements of what's happening on the page. There's action but this is primarily a dialogue-driven issue aside from the closing segment of the book. It's also to see the 90's blue and gold uniforms again and Forge looks great in it. The colors are consistent with the rest of the series but the palette doesn't use many colors which makes the comic seem pretty drab despite the above-average script Ben Percy provides.

X-Force #4 isn't earth-shattering by any stretch but it's a solid addition to the series and ongoing story arc. There's also a pretty messed up cliffhanger and it will be nice to see how our heroes get out of this situation.

Rating: 8/10 more

Overall it was pretty good. Not sure I'm a huge fan of them dying every issue so easily. Like, how the hell did they ever survive this long without being able to come back from the dead. And one thing that is really bothering me is how Wolverine gets blown in half. He heals AND is basically indestructible. He is not deadpool. I can't believe no one else has mentioned it. Is it adamentium lite? Benjamin Percy get your head out of your butt!

+ Like • Comments (2)

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CrazyforRAMU - Jul 6, 2020

Note that Logan and Quire's injuries exactly match where the previous page showed them going through the gate. It wasn't the commando's explosives that chopped them up, it was the gate shutting on them. I'm comfortable with "mysterious techno-organic teleportation malfunction" being strong enough to bisect Wolverine.

Beyond_Batman - Jan 12, 2021

very late i know lol. But thanks that makes more sense

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" Xavier gets shot-- but he's ressurected. Xavier gets robbed-- but he's a billionaire. "
- SAMUEL SHAW

I very much enjoyed Forge’s schedule.