New Beginnings - Cable & X-Force #1

After this year's earlier review of Marvel Now Point One it was safe to say that I was more than a little excited by the prospect of this new title. OK, I admit that Cable and Forge are not characters I have any real knowledge about, however the teaser that we were given was great. Couple that with the previewed cover for issue #1, and I was sold from the moment I saw it. So was I right?

Staying with the artwork, my expectations were quite high. The combination of Salvador Larroca and Frank D’Armata is one that has been seen before on Invincible Iron Man, and it has a huge amount of detail in it. I am biased as Larroca has probably my favourite comic book artist and this occasion is one that will simply further that. The lines are smooth and clean with plenty to take in through every frame. Everything seems to have been carefully considered, all the way down to the reactions and facial expressions of those who aren’t in the forefront of the frame. For me he even managed to make Dr. Nemesis - from behind his mask - appear nervous in a fantastic little section where Hope is reunited with Cable.

The character makeovers are good too. A new version of the team has been designed, without compromising who they are. The attention to detail gives greater depth for this as well, with all the technical aspects of Forge and Cable being further emphasised.

My only complaint is the colouring. Throughout D’Armata's prestigious career his use of colour has been vast, but for whatever reason it appears that all he is left with is mainly green and its various shades to use. It doesn’t lessen the comic but was something that stuck out for me.

The story is written by Dennis Hopeless (X-Men Season One and Avengers Arena - also out this week) and starts with a seemingly destructive scene being broken up by Havok and his team of Uncanny Avengers. There’s actually quite a tongue-in-cheek moment when Alex comments on the bad name the Summers family is getting - referring to Cable’s Dad aka Cyclops. The story skips back to a few days earlier where we learn how Cable received his new arm and also how the team is put together (with the exception of Colossus).

Domino receives the lion's share though as we follow her in a slightly humourous fashion on a job, but this is essentially a bridge to bring her in as well as catalysing the meeting of Cable and Hope. All this capitulates in a vision that Cable has had (complete with severe headaches) as it comes true; a ship wrecks itself on a beach seemingly infected with the techno-organic virus that he recently became rid of.

The story was so good I'd devoured it before I knew it. The old adage of time flying when you have fun was ringing true. I was left wanting to see and know more, which in my book is a very good sign. Admittedly though, there wasn’t much more than set up in the first issue and although you can guess the path that it will go down given Cable’s past. I really enjoyed this title and immediately asked for it to go on my pulllist the moment I got a copy in my paws (without even reading it I have to add too) and I haven’t been disappointed. For old and new readers of X-Force alike I would suggest getting a copy.

Matt Puddy is excited to learn that issue #2 is out next week!

The Lion's Share - the road to Avengers Vs X-Men

Marvel need a win. Blackest Night trumped Siege in 2010 and the New 52 has crushed Marvel this past winter. All eyes are on the potentially epic knockdown, drag out, battle royale the House of Ideas is about to unleash upon us: Avengers Vs X-Men.

Some of the top creators on Marvel's roster come together to craft a story that will have potentially massive ramifications. Many years in the making, Avengers Vs X-Men sees the return of the Phoenix force, an entity that first appeared in the late Seventies and is synonymous to many comic fans with the character Jean Grey. An incredibly powerful energy being, the Phoenix often bonds with a host as it did with Jean and later her daughter Rachel Summers. The seminal work in this instance is certainly the Dark Phoenix Saga, now available in hardback.

The Phoenix itself has been a lingering influence throughout the X-Men comics in recent years, but hasn't been an overt presence per se. Then during last year's Point One one shot, there was a chapter featuring a Nova centurion (possibly Richard Rider, although could it be his brother Robbie?) fleeing ahead of the returning Phoenix Force - as it destroyed whole worlds in its path. The Phoenix is heading for Earth and has already chosen its new host. The so-called mutant messiah, Hope Summers. Solicitations for Avengers Vs X-Men suggest that the mutant superheroes believe this will be a good thing, despite past negative experiences with the Phoenix Force entity. The Avengers believe it will mean the end of all life on Earth and all evidence seems to support this!

So who is Hope Summers, the young woman at the heart of this coming maelstrom? To answer that question, we need to wind back to 2004 and Avengers Disassembled, the beginning of the modern Marvel Universe metaplot. In this book - the first Avengers story arc by Brian Michael Bendis - the heroes are torn apart by shocking tragedies. In the final act we discover that mutant Avenger the Scarlet Witch was responsible for these horrors. Driven insane by grief, Wanda's unstable mind has begun to blame her fellow Avengers for the loss of her children and so she lashed out with her reality altering chaos powers. She is taken away by her father Magneto and the Avengers were forced to disband, reuniting later as the New Avengers, adding fan favourites Spider-Man and Wolverine to the roster.

The story of Wanda picks up with House Of M, as the X-Men and the Avengers come together to confront Magneto and Professor X, who have been sheltering the Scarlet Witch following the events of Disassembled. Killing her is discussed as the only viable option, leaving her brother Quicksilver distraught, and in desperation he convinces the emotional vulnerable Wanda to remake the world nto one which could make everyone happy. The House Of M world is one ruled by mutants - in particular Magneto. Over time - and with the help of a strange girl called Layla Miller - the heroes regain their real memories, once more assembling to challenge Master of Magnetism and his children. Realising that Magneto's dream of mutant supremacy has always been more important than his love for his children, Wanda puts the world back to normal, but with one startling difference. No more mutants.

Overnight, the world population of mutants totalled only 198. All the others had lost their powers, an event that became known as Decimation. To make matters worse, the mutant birth rate fell to zero. The Beast went to incredible and frantic lengths to verify the extent of Wanda's actions in a story collected as X-Men Endangered Species. Then, just as the mutant race seemed to facing total extinction, the mutant detecting computer Cerebro exploded - overloaded by the birth of a powerful new mutant in Alaska. Scrambling to investigate the X-Men find themselves embroiled in a battle with the Purifiers and the Marauders for the life of the baby.

This was complicated by the arrival of the future mutant cop Bishop, who has once traveled back in time to try to prevent his dystopian world. Bishop had sought various potential culprits but now felt that this baby would become the monster responsible. X-Men Messiah Complex is a bloody, brutal read and well worth your time. Finally the time travelling paramilitary son of Scott Summers, Cable, took the baby and disappeared into the future intending to raise her as his daughter, naming her Hope.

Over the course of five volumes (Messiah War, Waiting For The End Of The World, X-Force/Cable Messiah War, Stranded and Homecoming), Cable and Hope move further forward in time, constantly pursued by a determined and deadly Bishop. In a clever narrative conceit, each volume seems Hope growing older and becoming more experienced - getting ready to embrace her destiny. Finally, she and Cable return to the present day in an incredible story called X-Men Second Coming, a story which ended with the seeming death of Cable and the acceptance of Hope Summers into the X-Men.

Since then, Hope has struggled to find her place in the world. Her arrival was followed by the detection of five new mutants - the first since her birth. She can also seemingly activate emerging mutants though so far she has been unable to help those who lost their powers during the Decimation. Perhaps because of this there are those who see her as a destroyer and not a potential saviour, especially after numerous ominous signs and portents. And now the Phoenix Force is coming for her.

If that wasn't enough, the Scarlet Witch is back. Her first appearance after she disappeared at the end of House Of M was in New Avengers 26 - the Ballad of Clint Barton & Wanda Maximoff (collected in New Avengers Vol 6: Revolution) - as a seemingly innocent young woman, stripped of her tortured memories and devastating powers. Since then she has been seen in Avengers The Childrens Crusade with some fairly interesting revelations and unsettling ramifications.

Finally as a precursor to the Avengers Vs X-Men storyline, Avengers X-Sanction is currently on the shelves - a four part miniseries showing us the true fate of Cable. Ravaged by the techno-organic virus that has plagued him since birth, Cable's intended final act was to save Hope by sending her back to the present day. He then disappeared into the timestream expecting to die. Awakening in the future, Cable found his old mentor Blaquesmith with an ominous prediction about Hope's future fate at the hands of the Avengers. With less than 24 hours left to live, Cable has made one last timeslide, intending to neutralise the Avengers before they can harm his daughter. Wonderful foreshadowing for the coming events of AvX.

This brings us up-to-date and ready for Avengers Vs X-Men. Two mutant powerhouses are on a collision course as it is - and throwing in the Phoenix Force will have dire consequences for the Earth's population. No wonder the Avengers feel required to intervene!

Explore the Marvel history of the past decade and get ready to choose your side, or simple dive in with your gut feeling! Either way, this year looks set to be something special for Marvel.

Ben Fardon suspects that the epilogue to Avengers Vs X-Men will lead to a reboot for the whole Marvel Universe. What's good for the goose might be seen as good for the gander after all. Mixed feelings about that possibility.

New Beginnings: Avengers X-Sanction

He has been seen as a time traveller and a terrorist, a freedom fighter and a mercenary and most recently a father. Cable has been many things but now how will he be viewed as the main protagonist in the four part miniseries X-Sanction?

Written by Jeph Loeb, the first issue is a varying storyline jumping from present to future and back again, setting up the story. One thing it doesn’t clearly address is how this has all happened, though considering the last we saw of Cable was being fully consumed and ultimately ended by the technovirus he constantly struggled against. This in itself will leave a lot of fans and followers wondering what has gone on, but I also have to ask is it necessary to explain here?

Loeb works very well with the ambiguous nature of Cable by placing him at odds with the Avengers, starting to take them down individually. It only becomes clear later in the story as to why and after seeing him with Falcon and Cap, claiming he will take them all down, it does start you thinking about how he will if that’s the plan (considering there is a Hulk on the team it is certainly an interesting thought)? Cable is a desperate man willing to die once again for the girl he knew as his daughter.

If I'm honest the premise - especially in Cable’s case - is a well used one but the twist to this is the overriding paternal instinct. As Cable is such an intense character it is only amplified which I don’t find to be a bad thing. Using The Avengers as “the Bad Guys” is an interesting move but one which I can’t see carrying considering their high moral standards.

As I’m also aware of the upcoming crossover where the Avengers will be pitted against the X-Men because of the Phoenix Force and using Hope as a vessel for it, I am left asking if this little series is necessary. I feel that this is going to go one of two ways, either as a vehicle which introduces a key factor or as a pointless filler.

Stalwart Ed McGuinness has provided the artwork which I didn’t think matched up to the story. It is true to his previous work but I just felt it lacked depth. Cable has always been depicted as an overly muscular alpha male type with the virus taking a part of him adding to the detail in his persona but here it feels as if the work is unfinished or lacking further detail. It’s only in the close up shots of any character that you get a better look and feel for them. McGuinness is also a foreground artist. The backgrounds are open and are simply there to provide a loose feel to the frame not adding any value.

I think that regardless of the end motivation of the mini-series, anyone who followed Messiah Complex or subsequent arcs will like this. I wouldn’t say it’s a reasonable jump on point but the story is strong enough to carry a reader and possibly hook them for all four issues.

Matt Puddy is gearing up for the end of the year with a look back at some of the best of 2011