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X-Force (2024)

X-Force, Vol. 1: Fractures

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Collects X-Force (2024) #1-5.

From the ashes of the Krakoan era, Forge leads an all-new, all-different X-Force! In a fractured world, the brilliant mutant Forge uses his powers of invention to devise the only a handpicked team of mutants for off-the-books missions so dire, so integral to the fate of the Marvel Universe, there's no time to ask for permission! Forge leads Rachel Summers, Betsy Braddock, Sage, Surge and new sensation Tank…as X-Force! But with increasing threats across the planet, Forge may also need to recruit some specialists for each target - first up, that regenerating degenerate, Deadpool! But when the next world fracture is detected in Wakanda, can the team possibly stop…the Black Panther?! Things really get explosive when Nuklo brings Earth to the brink of destruction - but with the Nexus of All Realities under threat, will the Man-Thing be friend or foe? And will everybody reach the end of the first volume alive?!

Kindle Edition

First published March 26, 2025

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35 people want to read

About the author

Geoffrey Thorne

169 books73 followers
Geoffrey Thorne is an American novelist and screenwriter.

Thorne was born in the United States and currently lives in Los Angeles, California.

After winning Second Prize in Simon & Schuster's sixth annual Strange New Worlds anthology with his story "The Soft Room," he went on to publish more stories in several media tie-in anthologies as well as the Star Trek: Titan novel Sword of Damocles.

As a screenwriter, Thorne has worked with Disney, Cartoon Network, STARZ, developing various properties. His TV work includes BEN 10: ULTIMATE ALIEN & OMNIVERSE, LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT and the hit TNT series', LEVERAGE and THE LIBRARIANS.

Thorne is the co-founder and writing partner in GENRE 19, a studio he formed with artist Todd Harris in 2008.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
Profile Image for Chris Lemmerman.
Author 7 books123 followers
April 2, 2025
Stop me if you've heard this one - leader of X-Force does something stupid, thinking it'll be better for the world, but it's likely going to drive them into being a villain and going too far. Yeah, we're doing this again, but it's Forge this time instead of Beast.

Forge pushes his powers towards the Omega level, creating the Analog, a little sphere that tells him where the world's about to fall apart. Grabbing Captain Britain, Askani, Sage, and new character Tank, he forms a new X-Force to save the world without anyone knowing about it. The usual.

What I like about this new version of X-Force is that they don't stop. From the first issue to the last, I don't think there's a single page of downtime before things are falling apart again. It's frenetic, and it's fun, and it means that all of the problems Forge is creating as well as solving are going to compound until someone (probably Betsy) explodes at him.

There's also a variety of problems to face, instead of just your usual anti-mutant hatred. There's a big monster blob that they throw Deadpool at, a dimension-hopping Nuklo, and a magical time dilation in Wakanda, and that's all just in the first five issues. This book's a lot of fun.

And of course the art's great, because Marcus To, hot off his Excalibur run, has returned to the X-Men world and I will always sing the guy's praises.

Everything old is new again, with a few little twists and turns to keep things interesting. I'm excited to see where X-Force goes next.
Profile Image for Tyler Jenkins.
561 reviews
January 14, 2025
Solid team, follows characters I like that I don’t think were ever used well during Krakoa specifically Rachel and Betsy, I hated all the Otherworld stories from that era so it’s nice to see them in a solid team on Earth. I’m just having a hard time finding footing with the series, not really sure what it is I’m just not connecting with it yet.
Profile Image for Adam Fisher.
3,607 reviews23 followers
September 11, 2025
I've covered two of the flagships, the cosmic, and the street level already, but X-Force has, an pretty much always will be, the covert or black ops mutant book. This team seems to be handling missions from an intelligence-based viewpoint and not the sheer violence of previous iterations (Yes I am talking about you black and gray suits Uncanny X-Men), which is an interesting take. Very interested to see if this book will link into something that all X-Books will be involved with.
Highlights:
- Team: Forge, Sage, Captain Britain (Betsy), Askani (Rachel), Surge, Tank (is this actually Colossus in disguise?), and Deadpool (briefly, and on a paid per mission basis)
- Forge has created something called The Analog, which is a small magic ball that helps him determine where world-altering events are going to happen, so that the team can be dispatched to stop them before it gets out of hand. He wants them to be very in and out, covert in nature.
- An Essex (where in Sinister in these new X-Books?) based company has a gloopy mixture that gains sentience, Wakanda has a magical artifact in the wrong hands, and former Avengers villain Nuklo are all part of the various fractures they have to shut down.
- The Nuklo event draws in Avengers from a different timeperiod/dimension/universe (they never really do explain) and eventually ends the Volume with Surge's death and Sage quitting the team.

Excited to see where they go from here. Good read though. Excellent starting point.
Profile Image for Khurram.
2,373 reviews6,691 followers
May 22, 2025
It's not as good as I wanted to book to be. A couple of good moments and characters, but overall, it's just okay for me. This is not my favourite X-Factor team by any means.

Forge knows the world is in ruins. He turned his mutant ability to fix it one fracture at a time. He will need a team, but will they be willing to pay the cost that Forge is?

I am so glad they split Betsy (Captain Britain) and Kwannon (Psylocke). They are seeding each X-Team with one of my favourite characters. Psylocke in X-MEN, Gambit, Wolverine and Rogue in Uncanny, now Deadpool and Sage in X-Factor.

For Deadpool fans, DP is only in the second half of issue/chapter one. I might get volume 2 just to give this series a fair got, but I am not overly excited over it. The book finishes with a varient covers gallery.
Profile Image for Rickey.
519 reviews2 followers
June 6, 2025
This would've been 5 stars had it not done what it did at the end to one of my favs. I love Forge and Sage and I love the idea of him using his gifts to the upmost potential to save the world over and over again. All while using whatever people he needs to complete that task.
Profile Image for Adam.
259 reviews5 followers
November 21, 2024
Very mish mash, much like most of this new era, with a massive disconnect to the previous era.
Profile Image for Harry Alliss.
24 reviews
April 5, 2025
Strong start, always fun trying to keep up with whatever madness Forge does.
476 reviews
April 8, 2025
solid reinvention

Thorne brings a proactive new take to the Xforce brand and does a solid job calling back to the past while doing so.
Profile Image for Jason.
4,564 reviews
June 10, 2025
3.75
Solid team. Good art. The story drags a bit, though. Doesn't keep me engaged. Too plot-driven.
Profile Image for H.C TOWERS.
Author 3 books2 followers
March 21, 2025
Love vol.1 and the team coming together all over again
Profile Image for Liz (Quirky Cat).
4,986 reviews84 followers
June 22, 2025
3 1/2 stars rounded up

Summary:

There’s a new threat on the horizon, and only Forge can see it. While the rest of the mutants are focused on recovering from the fall of Krakoa, Forge can see the writing on the wall. If he wants to keep the world safe, he’ll have to assemble a secret team to help him achieve his goals.

Forge’s new team, dubbed the X-Force, will consist of Sage, Rachel Summers, Betsy Braddock, and Surge. Though the latter was a surprise addition to the team. Together, they’re going to track threats across the planet, trying to stop them before they spiral out of control.

Review:

I’ll admit, I was a bit on the fence about X-Force when I first started reading it. Mostly, I was keeping up with it because I was desperately trying (and somewhat failing) to keep up with all the comics in From the Ashes.

X-Force Vol. 1 introduces a pretty solid team, and I don’t much care that Surge was a surprise; I love her. It’s nice seeing different heroes get a chance to shine, especially ones like Sage who get tucked to the side more often than not.

The team dynamics are interesting, so far. I think they need more time to work together to really get into the swing of things, which is pretty standard. They’ve been more focused on dealing with problems than finding ways to work together, you know?

As for Forge, well. He’s a complicated character. I get that somebody has to make the tough calls, and that’s the whole point this series is trying to make, but that doesn’t mean I have to like him. Or agree with the calls he’s made thus far.

That said, I am pretty bummed about the news of X-Force getting canceled. I think this series needed more time to get up and running, as it had a lot of ground to cover.

Highlights:
From the Ashes
Forge at the Helm
Deadpool Cameo
Different X-Men Team

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Profile Image for TR Naus.
134 reviews1 follower
January 10, 2026
I spent the entire time reading this volume in a state of confusion. Forge builds a predictive device that he calls the "Analog." It detects fractures that threaten our world and selects team members to join Forge on missions to close them.

Why?

The team is racing around the world on missions based on vague instructions that I still don't fully understand. There were plenty of monsters from the fractures, but it never really came together as a cohesive, world-threatening plot. I felt like I was reading about a series of tactical drills.

The inclusion of alternate worlds and multiverse versions of characters felt like a misstep. The multiverse is an overused trope that requires a high bar of "why now?" to work. Here, it felt used solely to rotate in alternate characters with no staying power, distracting from the main team’s development and contributing to the overall sense of a disjointed narrative.

The lineup was a struggle. I am not a fan of Rachel Summers or Elizabeth Braddock, and this run didn't change my mind. Their roles felt redundant and interchangeable. I do love Sage, but she was incoherent, scattered, and lost within the script. I understand that she was burnt out from the Krakoa devastation, but she was so out of character that it got distracting.

I normally love X-Force, but this relaunch feels mechanical and confusing. Despite the fantastic art, the lack of character heart and the muddled "Fracture" premise make this a rare miss for the franchise.
Profile Image for Wendy.
84 reviews
July 10, 2025
Honestly, the visuals are kinda eating. Love the new costume and color scheme, also Betsy with lilac hair? That's new for me but she looks great. Also why does Sage look like Vayne with those red glasses and hair-do? All she needs is some crossbows and silver bolts.

Ah, classic. Any time Wade is with the mutants they always just use him callously. I honestly can't stand it when they treat him like he's disposable. They do the same to Wolverine but at least he gets basic decency. But sure, Wade does some questionable shit (they have too, I mean letting Mister Sinister on the Quiet Council? ha, okay), and none of them have any room to judge. I get he's annoying but damn do I have less sympathy for mutant causes each time they treat characters who have been othered like shit and they cry wolf when the same thing gets done to them - real hypocritical of them.

I don't really get the point of continuing X-Force. I get that in the From the Ashes era, mutants are once again persecuted to a higher degree than before and can't really do much in public anymore but why need a clandestine team? You literally have Uncanny X-Men fighting mythical beasts and a villain that calls herself 'Mommy'.

Shame they only had DP in one issue, I picked this up for him because I thought he'd be in the whole volume. After halfway I got pretty bored of it. They're just going from one fight into another - it's all the same. All two stars go for Deadpool.
Profile Image for Andrew.
809 reviews17 followers
September 12, 2025
The Krakoa burnout has me still slow to enter into these. Is it bad that I was happy to see this book had already been canceled before I even started it? I know when this was announced, nothing attracted me and I more wish X-Force had a break.

Something I liked, Forge is taken seriously. I've really disliked that he's become a joke character.

Unfortunately the MacGuffin he creates is an expositional prop house. It drives the story and team forward but we, the reading audience, could care less about the ensuing drama.

Which connects with a sadness that comes with this book. A character that has had little love for maybe a decade and a half was getting a starring role. But said character gets Thunderbirded. I am not against a character I enjoy dying, but I want it to matter. The stakes presented mattered, but the story being told... I just didn't care. My sadness is not for the character dying, but for the character dying in a book that no one will care about. Perhaps Thorne is/was doing something with this. I wonder if he got enough pages to do said thing before his book got axed. I wonder if I'll ever read those pages.
Profile Image for Dakota Morgan.
3,420 reviews53 followers
October 14, 2025
Forge supercharges his inventing abilities to create an orb that identifies "fractures" - potential world-ending threats, in other words. Seems like these would be easy to identify through other means (like, the news) since they're mostly giant monster attacks.

In any case, Forge pulls together a fun team of X-heroes as a new X-Force to tackle these fractures. We get two quick hitters (with one surprisingly great Deadpool cameo) and then a longer battle against...Nuklo? The extended time with this particular adversary kind of hurt the coolness of the fractures idea since Nuklo is a giant gold man who yells "NUKLO!" I guess he's also related to dimensional ruptures that are pulling monsters out of who-knows-where.

The plot definitely loses the thread towards the end of the volume, but there's also a huge, heroic conclusion () and the promise of more fractures to address. Definitely a highlight of this volume is the character work for these random X-individuals. They might not be same as their Krakoan versions, but they're interesting and well worth following nonetheless.
Profile Image for Shannon Appelcline.
Author 30 books168 followers
April 20, 2025
The big threat of the post-Krakoa era was that an overly conservative new editor would hire writers to produce comics from the 90s, heavy on fighting, light on characterization. Or plot. Or innovation. Or interest.

X-Force is perhaps worse than we could have expected, because it's just all pointless fights against pointless enemies that we don't care the least about. The X-Force resolves one problems and they are immediately whisked off to the next. No break. It's like a series of bad cartoons.

After the events of the last issue ("Hey, let's fridge a beloved character to generate controversy and sales") and after the character assassination of Forge, who becomes an evil Machiavellian monster over the course of the volume, I'm also ready to say "XXXX You, Forge. I quit."
Profile Image for Joey Nardinelli.
882 reviews2 followers
October 9, 2025
Wow, forgot to input that I finished this one. It definitely wasn’t the worst of the current run — sort of wastes Deadpool and Tank felt wildly underdeveloped but I was also glad to see Betsy and Rachel getting some time to just do hero things together. I think my problem with this run is that the pairing of Sage and Forge never felt great and Forge’s new MacGuffin that sends X-Force to stop inexplicable Earth-ending threats that sometimes have a twist to them just felt like a contrivance I couldn’t really get all that into. The art was fine, and I do love a good Man-Thing cameo so I guess there’s that. Curious how much of this I’ll remember by the time I get to the next volume (which I already have access to thanks to the library…).
78 reviews1 follower
June 24, 2025
Boring storyline. Unlikeable characters. Shoddy villain.

What's not to like?

None of the team wanted to be there. Forge is a character I am nonplussed with at the best of times, and he was SO unlikeable and uninteresting in this. Furthermore, the narrator lady (I don't know her name as it is barely mentioned) is again unlikeable and her powers are confusing - she's supposed to be super intelligent but this makes it seem like all her powers come from the goggles?! Weird.

Only alleviating qualities really are the decent art, cool costumes, and use of Betsy Bradfock and Rachel Summers, whom I enjoy.

Terrible - 2/10
Profile Image for Ross.
1,545 reviews
September 29, 2025
We've already watched a near Omega mutant run X-Force into the ground and betray his long time friends...

Guess you better give Forge a chance at betrayal now. He pops some pills, jumpstarts his 'make stuff' ability, and comes up with this little mini globe that highlights hotspot disasters. Fix a fault and save the world. This team is built on secrets and lack of time. I don't know how far you can go with those concepts without pumping the brakes and explaining some things.
====
Bonus: Deadpool as cannon fodder? Unique take
Bonus Bonus: What did Forge do to his brain that he hides behind a psi band?
Profile Image for Adam.
259 reviews5 followers
April 7, 2025
Forge is an interesting character. And I would like to read more of him, especially post Krakoa. But this series just isn't it.

All the characters feel off. Sage hasn't been herself since nearing the end of the Krakoan Age, so that's somewhat expect. But Rachel and Elizabeth are quite out of character and their relationship feels forced here.
Profile Image for Craig.
2,895 reviews30 followers
May 20, 2025
Some promise here, but the story gets a bit derailed when they have to face a giant golden monster yelling "Nu-Klo" over and over, for 3 full issues. The artwork is decent.
Profile Image for Daniel Butcher.
2,950 reviews2 followers
August 18, 2025
It’s secret. So that’s an X-force. But it’s not spies or soldiers.

It doesn’t feel like a legacy book but a new one.
10 reviews
September 5, 2025
I liked it forge upgrading his powers when they went to old wakanda fixing fractures. But they did deadpool dirty killing him like that at the beginning
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
3,014 reviews
September 30, 2025
It feels weird because Forge was always X-Factor, but he's basically playing the Cable role here. The logos with the callbacks to the 90's set the wrong mood.
296 reviews3 followers
October 9, 2025
Seriously Marvel?

This is the XForce book you decide to with for a line wide relaunch.

Who is reading this stuff at Marvel and thinking this is ok?
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews

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