Newsarama: Yes, we know, X-Force is led by Cable once more in the Marvel NOW! relaunch, with Cable & X-Force #1 coming in December from Dennis Hopeless and Salvador Larroca. Turns out, though, Uncanny X-Force is led by Psylocke, in a book featuring her and a whole new team of "killers."
Uncanny X-Force #1 arrives in January 2013, following the end of Rick Remender's critically acclaimed run to the book of the same name in December. Written by Sam Humphries with art by Ron Garney, the book will focus on the mutant ninja Psylocke, as speculated thanks to the interview with Marvel SVP of Sales David Gabriel on Friday. The book, teased as "KILLERS" two weeks ago, was officially revealed on ComicsAlliance today through an interview with Humphries.
The book will have a decidedly different mission from the Cable title, picking up six months after Remender's story ends. As for that squad? Storm is a surprising addition to the team, as she's never been viewed as much of a "killer," though her post-Avengers vs. X-Men status may influence that. Puck, formerly of the Canadian superteam Alpha Flight (also formerly of the dead status) and Spiral, Mojo's six-armed enforcer are confirmed members, though Humphries promises the roster will number more than just four, as they "have a few more characters joining the group in the first few issues." Of the first four, he says they're "wild cards. They're all strong personalities, they're all strong in terms of their powers, they've all got dark secrets and they've all got a rebellious streak."
While Puck may seem like a strange choice to some, Humphries likens him to "a Canadian Indiana Jones, an adventurer." Psylocke, meanwhile, "is a survivor," and her situation post-Rick Remender's run will be directly addressed.
In an additional interview with Marvel.com, the writer addressed the oddball choice of Storm. "Odd one out? Don't forget Storm is still the same person who ran off into the Tokyo night and reappeared sporting leather street wear and a mohawk! I see everyone in this book as a wild card, especially Storm. Without saying too much, the events of AvX creates a bond between her and Betsy that will take them into the events of the book together."
Uncanny X-Force will explore the "situations and beings and all sorts of dark secrets that you can't find anywhere else" in the X-Universe, said Humphries to CA. He expanded, saying both old fans and new will find things they'll like about the book. "Long-term X-Men fans will definitely find juicy bits to sink their teeth into. Familiar characters, familiar locations, familiar themes. But my job is to take these into the context of X-Force and present them in a whole new light. To see a new, perhaps dark corner of locations you've seen before," said the writer.
Specifically, this team won't be hanging out around the Jean Grey School or Utopia much. Instead, they'll be trotting the globe (and beyond). "What we're going to do is cut this crew loose and let them roam around the world to various locations," Humphries said. "Some are real-life locations, some are Marvel Universe, some may not even be on Planet Earth."
The Marvel.com interview also revealed the first villain of the series: Bishop. Cable, the leader of the other X-Force team and series, was of course chased through time with Hope at his side by his fellow time traveler, and Storm has a prior relationship with the man with the M tattoo. Bishop will be greatly affected by his final destination after Cable scrambled his time traveling ways. "He was abandoned in the year 6300 AD," Humphries told Marvel.com. "The dude has been alone, thousands of years in the future. A man goes through a lot of changes trying to get from 6300 AD to the present day. It is going to be an ugly reunion all around."
Humphries also hinted that his title may interact with Dennis Hopeless's Cable & X-Force, especially thanks to Bishop.
"But we've also got two books with two very different focuses. To put it simply, Uncanny X-Force are the hunters, and Cable & X-Force are the hunted. Will the two books intersect? Well, one book has Cable as a leader, and one has Bishop has a bad guy. There's a volatile history there that could be powerful enough to draw in both teams."
Humphries promises readers that he's very conscious of following Remender's run, one of his "favorite books since before Marvel even knew [his] name."
“For so long, my life has been out of control. Chaos and serendipity, wrapped in insanity. I have suffered, I have lost. Not just my life, but my very soul, my self. But no more. Now I know who I am.” – Elizabeth ‘Betsy’ Braddock, daughter of Otherworld, mutant, telepath, telekinetic, defender of the realm and, above all, X-Man.
17 comments:
Spiral!!?? After all she's done to mess up Psylocke's life! LOL!
That image of her is horrible. I love Psylocke, I hope Spiral can get Betsy back in her real body during this series, but I don't know about this series...
Adrian, that would be awesome. And if Ricochet Rita can't due that for her, Bets should chop off all six of her arms and both legs with that katana... so bitch can no longer dance the Wildways. Also, Spiral is completely insane and always has an agenda. Even when she was part of Freedom Force, she was a lunatic and a schemer who kidnapped Rachel Grey after Logan tried killing her.
The body issue is a dead horse. Stop beating it.
As for the line up, I'm interested. I love Betsy and Ororo. And Puck is a very unique character. Also I really want to see what makes Spiral join them in the same team.
The image by Manara is ok. The only problem is that she's not holding the sword properly. That's not how you hold a katana.
I agree. The British Body is long gone. For the record, Betsy has always embraced her new form.
Though, since it seems like Betsy will be leading the squad it makes one wonder how they become allied with Spiral.
Maybe it is her body, that Logan is holding - charred, battered and broken. Xavier is dead. Perhaps she's destined to become the next Psychic-Cripple?
Fixing a situation like that would be a fair reason for Psylocke to seek Spiral out....
I kind of agree that the body issue is a dead horse, but at the same time I don't think it is fully appreciated that Betsy was a badass of a different nature, before she became a ninja. She doesn't NEED to always be a ninja and as a Brit myself, I would like to see her even just honouring her English heritage, let alone becoming a ninja once more. Mostly, she plays homage to the Japanese side of her.
I'm digressing. Anyway, this looks potentially awesome, if done right. The biggest what the hell right now is Spiral - and honestly? I wouldn't put it past Spiral to want to play with her again - so I want to see how that will all pan out in game.
Here's hoping to some new awesome, people.
Look what Humphries said to CBR: "I can't spoil anything, but at the end of Rick's run, we leave Betsy in one situation, and in the first issue of my run, we pick up six months later, and Betsey is definitely in a life transition point. It's kind of being in that moment that kicks off the events of that first arc."
Considering what Humphries said, I think Betsy will end Rick's run severely injured, maybe burned, specially if we take into account the picture of Wolverine holding a female burned body. If this fact becomes true, Spiral could be in the team to switch Psylocke's body one more time, since her asian body will probably be in a really bad shape.
mixed feeling about this...so happy betsy will be the focus and with storm again....excited also about the tension spiral on the team will create...puck....the only male? kind of meh! hoping they add at least two more guys...magneto, northstar, gambit or maddrox would make me very happy.....not very familiar to the writer or the artist....hope they're good...and creative...a book with a line up like this needs twists and good writing...and new costumes! saw some art of ron garney only in uncanny x-men 18....thought it could be more dark for uncanny x-force but at least betsy will look hot! his emma did!
I read the full interview at Comics Alliance. The cast for the new UXF seems... weird. But then again, Remender's cast was also weird (and so was Kyle and Yost's), so I'm actually eager to learn more about it. Plus, I like all four characters announced so far; I think Puck and Betsy would actually be great friends (going out for a drink at a pub, telling dirty jokes to each other and stuff like that), many people should already be curious about Spiral's reasons to want to be in the team (and Psylocke's reasons to let her in), and it will be unusual (but probably in a good way) to see Storm following Psylocke's orders instead of the opposite.
Humphries seems to have nice ideas for his take on X-Force; it's a pity that he sounded quite vague about what they will be doing and what are their motives, but I guess he wasn't allowed to reveal much about the book.
Overall, I really want to read this book. But why didn't Marvel reveal the official cover for the first issue (with logo and all, like they've been doing with all the other revealed books)? Maybe there are other members of the new X-Force that appear in the cover? Maybe Psylocke does get severely burned (or physically different somehow) and that will be shown in the official cover (but not in Manara's variant one)?
nice to see the x-women making a comeback in Marvel Now
I'm surprised Wolverine's not on the team... But at the same time, I'm glad. We do NOT need Psylocke and Wolverine dating... No, just no. That and Wolverine is on way too many teams and in way too many books.
They try to fit wolverine into too many roles. He's on a kill team and a school teacher?
Marvel.com gave some more news about this book:
* Bishop will be the first villain in it (returning from the timeline where Cable left him);
* There may be some crossover or intertwining stories between Cable & X-Force and Uncanny X-Force, considering Cable's ties to Bishop.
But they still didn't show the official cover...
You mind if i say i'm not that satisfied? Storm on a killer team, Betsy working with Spiral... and Puck?? I can't say i'm enthusiast but let's wait and see, Humphries may surprise us
Psylocke is leading her own team, which has never been done before. This is awesome... although the first 3 members they revealed are admittedly strange, but not inexplicable. Spiral provides a good source of conflict to Betts for obvious reasons. Storm is a natural leader, and I wonder how she will adapt to taking orders from a former teammate. As for Puck... *scratches head*... you got me there. Whatever the case, Psylocke is LEADING her own team. It's about damn time.
It's fair to say to start with the Spiral is my favorite character in the Marvel-verse. So, I am thrilled that she is finally getting a steady spotlight (for as long as it lasts) in a main stream book. As for how to hook her into the title, with the previously mentioned copious amounts of blood and explosions planned for this title, it seems like this team may very well play firmly into the hands of the Spineless-Ones audience Mojo has enthralled. The chance to be front and center on such a production could certainly placate her need to dance center stage. I also agree that if it is Psylocke who is badly damaged in the last of Remender's run, and with her history with Spiral, I can certainly see a trip to the Body Shoppe, a promise of action and a back-stage pass that Mojo has lacked since the death of Kwannon to entice Spiral onto the team. From a line-up perspective given the globe/dimension traveling nature of the series, you need the best teleporter in the business, and crazy or not, Spiral has that in spades.
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