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X-Statix (Collected Editions) #2
X-Force, Vol. 2: Final Chapter
Break out the Kleenex and the body bags as the X-Force embarks on its most hazardous mission yet. Whose swan song will it be: The Orphan's? The Anarchist's? U-Go Girl's? Or maybe even Doop's?
Collecting: X-Force 121-129
Collecting: X-Force 121-129
224 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2002
5 people are currently reading
116 people want to read
About the author
Peter Milligan
1,304 books391 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Peter Milligan is a British writer, best known for his work on X-Force / X-Statix, the X-Men, & the Vertigo series Human Target. He is also a scriptwriter.
He has been writing comics for some time and he has somewhat of a reputation for writing material that is highly outlandish, bizarre and/or absurd.
His highest profile projects to date include a run on X-Men, and his X-Force revamp that relaunched as X-Statix.
Many of Milligan's best works have been from DC Vertigo. These include: The Extremist (4 issues with artist Ted McKeever) The Minx (8 issues with artist Sean Phillips) Face (Prestige one-shot with artist Duncan Fegredo) The Eaters (Prestige one-shot with artist Dean Ormston) Vertigo Pop London (4 issues with artist Philip Bond) Enigma (8 issues with artist Duncan Fegredo) and Girl (3 issues with artist Duncan Fegredo).
Series:
* Human Target
* Greek Street
* X-Force / X-Statix
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Peter Milligan is a British writer, best known for his work on X-Force / X-Statix, the X-Men, & the Vertigo series Human Target. He is also a scriptwriter.
He has been writing comics for some time and he has somewhat of a reputation for writing material that is highly outlandish, bizarre and/or absurd.
His highest profile projects to date include a run on X-Men, and his X-Force revamp that relaunched as X-Statix.
Many of Milligan's best works have been from DC Vertigo. These include: The Extremist (4 issues with artist Ted McKeever) The Minx (8 issues with artist Sean Phillips) Face (Prestige one-shot with artist Duncan Fegredo) The Eaters (Prestige one-shot with artist Dean Ormston) Vertigo Pop London (4 issues with artist Philip Bond) Enigma (8 issues with artist Duncan Fegredo) and Girl (3 issues with artist Duncan Fegredo).
Series:
* Human Target
* Greek Street
* X-Force / X-Statix
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
July 9, 2017
Further comedic exposition of the celebritization of the superhero genre. The heroes become self entangled ego driven media whores of the Hollywood idol culture, making heroics a secondary motivation. These heroes are dying to be in the spotlight; literally.
February 8, 2022
The Final Chapter of the X-Force is just as crazy and unpredictable as the first one, but with more added depth.
March 27, 2025
3.5 Stars
May 9, 2022
Well what do you know most of the characters lived longer than 2 issues this time!
Normally I don't have a huge problem with characters dying quickly, but it usually works better in books than it does in comics.
Volume 2 was definitely better than volume 1 was, but it still had the same issues as volume 1. The characters got their much needed development and the main trio U-Go Girl , Anarchist, and Orphan/Mister Sensitive were by far the best. Dead Girl was awesome too. Also, The Spike . Who were the other two guys again? Nobody knows... And finally we get Lacuna. Lacuna has cool powers, but may also be the most annoying character ever.
DOOP! Doop is the best. Still saying stuff in random symbols that I'm too lazy to use the decoder to translate, but he is still the best. Go Doop! In fact issue 123 is completely focused on him saving the whole X-Force team. I don't know what is going on inside of his head but it is crazy.
The last story arc had some decent bad guys that had been experimented on and got some pretty cool powers out of it, but in a way it was partially ruined by the CIA guy. He had the dumbest excuse for his obvious "betrayal". Terrible writing.
As much as I liked it the problems I had with it make it so that I can't rate it any higher than a 3/3.5.
Normally I don't have a huge problem with characters dying quickly, but it usually works better in books than it does in comics.
Volume 2 was definitely better than volume 1 was, but it still had the same issues as volume 1. The characters got their much needed development and the main trio U-Go Girl , Anarchist, and Orphan/Mister Sensitive were by far the best. Dead Girl was awesome too. Also, The Spike . Who were the other two guys again? Nobody knows... And finally we get Lacuna. Lacuna has cool powers, but may also be the most annoying character ever.
DOOP! Doop is the best. Still saying stuff in random symbols that I'm too lazy to use the decoder to translate, but he is still the best. Go Doop! In fact issue 123 is completely focused on him saving the whole X-Force team. I don't know what is going on inside of his head but it is crazy.
The last story arc had some decent bad guys that had been experimented on and got some pretty cool powers out of it, but in a way it was partially ruined by the CIA guy. He had the dumbest excuse for his obvious "betrayal". Terrible writing.
As much as I liked it the problems I had with it make it so that I can't rate it any higher than a 3/3.5.
January 31, 2021
I love how Milligan gets to make jabs at popular media, on the one hand it can feel a bit dated with their references and the specific ways they do it... but on the other hand, celebrity worship has only gotten stronger and in hindsight so culture of the early 2000s can be absolutely bizarre. I love what this volume does with The Anarchist and U-Go Girl, giving them great arcs that flesh them out as fantastic individual characters (despite how one-note they appeared in the first volume). I'm less fond of "The Orphan", though, he's sort of just there to accompany everyone. He's got his own flaws that make him interesting but I'm a bigger fan of the supporting cast.
I loved the first half of this volume, and while there are some fantastic moments in the second half it was too drawn-out for me. Most of this series so far has been quick, jumping from happening to happening like episodes of a TV show, but the big closing arc was more like an actual arc, and kept playing with cliffhangers in an annoying way. It's probably closer to how reality TV does it, which makes it more 'authentic' as a superhero version of that in comics form, but it was frustrating to read.
I loved the first half of this volume, and while there are some fantastic moments in the second half it was too drawn-out for me. Most of this series so far has been quick, jumping from happening to happening like episodes of a TV show, but the big closing arc was more like an actual arc, and kept playing with cliffhangers in an annoying way. It's probably closer to how reality TV does it, which makes it more 'authentic' as a superhero version of that in comics form, but it was frustrating to read.
September 4, 2018
Milligan's meta-commentary and Allred's pop art continues to sparkle here: yes, the cult of celebrity and the angst of X-men culture are spoofed (Sensitive Guy oozes as a parody of Cyclops even if unintentional) and yet for a comic that is often cavalier about character death and characters actually stay dead--this arc actually does manage to be legitimately moving in that regard. The fact that an all Doop issue that is basically without comprehensible dialogue works so effectively in this is a testimony to how strong a writer Milligan can be.
May 6, 2011
Well, it looks like the X-Force name is copyrighted and the team needs to think of a new name!
A specter of Death has risen from the grave, maggoty and pointing at the three core members!
Who the hell is Lacuna and will she pop up as the team's newest member?!
What's up with Doop's crazy psychedelic pimple?!
Who will die next?!
Exploring media attention, homosexuality, how to disappoint your parents, and death, this trade paperback is a punch! I thought the bit with Doop's pimple was pretty wild. (Who or what the hell is Doop anyways? He is barely mentioned in X-Force, but he is in almost EVERY page!) Lacuna sparkles as a hero wannabe turned celebrity media voyeur. Somebody dies, and everyone hurts, though most won't admit it.
And... the team finds a new name!
A specter of Death has risen from the grave, maggoty and pointing at the three core members!
Who the hell is Lacuna and will she pop up as the team's newest member?!
What's up with Doop's crazy psychedelic pimple?!
Who will die next?!
Exploring media attention, homosexuality, how to disappoint your parents, and death, this trade paperback is a punch! I thought the bit with Doop's pimple was pretty wild. (Who or what the hell is Doop anyways? He is barely mentioned in X-Force, but he is in almost EVERY page!) Lacuna sparkles as a hero wannabe turned celebrity media voyeur. Somebody dies, and everyone hurts, though most won't admit it.
And... the team finds a new name!
October 7, 2023
This volume closes out Milligan's & Allred's X-Force run in preparation of the X-Statix relaunch of the title. Though it starts off slower than the previous volume, the series allows many of the individual team members to evolve a fair bit more. Though many of the X-Force teammates aside from Orphan are vapid individuals, some further depth begins to show beneath the cracks. U-Go-Girl has forsaken her goal to take the leadership role as her romance with Orphan continues to develop. Anarchist beefs with the other black member of the roster, Spike, acting as added subtext on minority representation in comics. Vivesector and Phat covertly begin dating and trying to figure out how they can claim some of the spotlight that is usually reserved for Orphan, U-Go-Girl and Anarchist. And Doop gets a lot more attention with the infamous wordless "'Nuff Said" issue that allows the reader a peak into the enigmatic Doop's mind.
The meta humor continues in this volume, and here the two running gags is the tease of a character death and what the new team name will be. An obvious ploy to retain readership interest, but it's really funny with the execution. The jokes are great throughout and are accentuated by Mike Allred's striking pop art aesthetic. Joining him on art duties are Darwyn Cooke and Duncan Fegrado. Cooke is a natural fill-in artist for the series with his own cartoonish style matching perfectly with what Allred has created. Fegrado, a talented artist in his own right, does feel a bit out of place here. Fegrado handles the artwork for the final issue of the X-Force run, and it unfortunately doesn't really work that well. It's similar to how Sean Phillips draws this X-Force team in the final issue of the Brotherhood miniseries, with gritty linework that takes away from the more absurd yet endearing designs cultivated by the Allreds.
The meta humor continues in this volume, and here the two running gags is the tease of a character death and what the new team name will be. An obvious ploy to retain readership interest, but it's really funny with the execution. The jokes are great throughout and are accentuated by Mike Allred's striking pop art aesthetic. Joining him on art duties are Darwyn Cooke and Duncan Fegrado. Cooke is a natural fill-in artist for the series with his own cartoonish style matching perfectly with what Allred has created. Fegrado, a talented artist in his own right, does feel a bit out of place here. Fegrado handles the artwork for the final issue of the X-Force run, and it unfortunately doesn't really work that well. It's similar to how Sean Phillips draws this X-Force team in the final issue of the Brotherhood miniseries, with gritty linework that takes away from the more absurd yet endearing designs cultivated by the Allreds.
July 4, 2021
4.5 stars
I enjoyed this even more than vol1; with the characters established, Milligan has more room to explore their interpersonal dysfunction and melodrama, with plenty of great laughs too. This also manages to be the rare self-aware media satire that still works 20 years later. I’m in similar retroactive awe that Marvel released a comic so soon after 9/11 that cast the CIA in a villainous role working to enrich the profits of the pharma industry, and that it’s funny instead of cringingly preachy. Plus there’s a silent Doop-heavy issue that reminded me of Morrison’s notably silent New X-Men issue with Jean Gray and Emma Frost telepathically exploring Professor X’s mind, and of course I’d realize later that both issues came out the same month as part of a line-wide silent issue initiative.
The Allreds’ pop art continues to be gorgeous, and Darwyn Cooke mixes things up with an issue in his similarly simple but pretty style as well.
I enjoyed this even more than vol1; with the characters established, Milligan has more room to explore their interpersonal dysfunction and melodrama, with plenty of great laughs too. This also manages to be the rare self-aware media satire that still works 20 years later. I’m in similar retroactive awe that Marvel released a comic so soon after 9/11 that cast the CIA in a villainous role working to enrich the profits of the pharma industry, and that it’s funny instead of cringingly preachy. Plus there’s a silent Doop-heavy issue that reminded me of Morrison’s notably silent New X-Men issue with Jean Gray and Emma Frost telepathically exploring Professor X’s mind, and of course I’d realize later that both issues came out the same month as part of a line-wide silent issue initiative.
The Allreds’ pop art continues to be gorgeous, and Darwyn Cooke mixes things up with an issue in his similarly simple but pretty style as well.
June 4, 2017
As I go through this chronological X-read, there aren't too many titles that make me wish that I had been reading them at the time that they were initially being released as single issues. This series, though... I'm really disappointed that I missed out on it until now. I liked the first volume, but absolutely loved this one. A great story with a whole lot to say politically and socially. Still not my favorite art, but it works for this series.
One thing that I do find odd between this and Morrison's X-Men is the odd jump in mutant population. Just a year or so earlier in the Marvel universe, it was still rare to be a mutant but now there are literally millions of them everywhere. Since it is in both titles, I assume it was something decided higher up but it seems odd to me.
Read this series, though, if you haven't yet. It is definitely worth it.
One thing that I do find odd between this and Morrison's X-Men is the odd jump in mutant population. Just a year or so earlier in the Marvel universe, it was still rare to be a mutant but now there are literally millions of them everywhere. Since it is in both titles, I assume it was something decided higher up but it seems odd to me.
Read this series, though, if you haven't yet. It is definitely worth it.
January 4, 2022
Among the comedy and the satire, there’s some proper storytelling here - albeit doused liberally in absurdity - but Milligan and Allred are absolutely having the time of their lives (and Cooke and Fegredo are perfect pick up artists). The masterpiece, probably one of my favourite things Marvel have ever published, is the issue from the perspective of Doop which is just a joy and very, very funny. This was never going to be a massively popular comic, but it does feel like Milligan is really going for broke with this as his finest work
July 14, 2019
Slam dunk number2
Peter Milligan
Mike Allred
Darwin Cooke
Laura Allred...
All hit it out of the park in this concluding volume of their run on X-Force. A few characters go, a few come around and Dead Girl one of my favorite characters is introduced. Of course while the X-Force title was gone for a while, the team continued in the equally great, off the wall, X-Statix!
Peter Milligan
Mike Allred
Darwin Cooke
Laura Allred...
All hit it out of the park in this concluding volume of their run on X-Force. A few characters go, a few come around and Dead Girl one of my favorite characters is introduced. Of course while the X-Force title was gone for a while, the team continued in the equally great, off the wall, X-Statix!
March 15, 2018
This series is so crazy. I can’t believe how I barely remembered any of it. I’m so glad I came back to it.
August 12, 2020
this actually got better. still very weird, but with actual character development
November 13, 2020
Really great series that is emotional and funny simultaneously. Still digging the art and writing.
March 2, 2021
The first two issues in this book are so-so, but the rest are top-tier X-Force/X-Statix.
August 11, 2021
Another couple of deaths. And a pretend relationship that turns onto a real but closeted one.
January 27, 2024
Continues to be entertaining and, at times, prescient. The art is amazing, and you couldn’t ask for better fill in artists.
August 15, 2024
Very Ok. I didn't read vol 1 and just jumped in but didn't enjoy enough to ever pick up another one. I also don't get the green guys but I kinda like it
October 1, 2024
‘Nuff said
October 3, 2024
3.5/5.0
May 12, 2010
Reprints X-Force #121-129. X-Force looks for new members as the team continues to die and learn that they might not be able to be X-Force for much longer. Milligan and Allred continue their genius lampoon of X-Books with over-the-top characters with over-the-top attitudes. Allred's art is great but there is a nice guest issue from Darwyn Cooke and a less than impressive guest artist of Duncan Fegredo. The story is a little less punchy than the first collection, but still has a lot of fun telling itself. It also contains one of the better Marvel "'Nuff Said" issues (the month where all the issues had no written dialogue) involving Doop and the writing script for it to explain what is going on.
August 5, 2016
Lacuna (121-122). Huh. Two issues spent on recruiting that's not even successful There's some fun discussion of race and genre tropes here, but this doesn't have the strength of the early issues [7+/10].
'Nuff Said (123). I've never been impressed by Marvel's no-words month. This came off better than most because of Allred's artwork, but beyond that it's totally skippable [6/10].
Edie & Guy (124). Some nice background on Edie, but after this I was happy to get back to "bigger" stories [7/10].
Space (125-129). This was the story that reminded us that no one was safe, and it was a great reminder that this X-Force wasn't a typical superhero comic. Beyond that, we get great media manipulations and a fun storyline [7+/10]
'Nuff Said (123). I've never been impressed by Marvel's no-words month. This came off better than most because of Allred's artwork, but beyond that it's totally skippable [6/10].
Edie & Guy (124). Some nice background on Edie, but after this I was happy to get back to "bigger" stories [7/10].
Space (125-129). This was the story that reminded us that no one was safe, and it was a great reminder that this X-Force wasn't a typical superhero comic. Beyond that, we get great media manipulations and a fun storyline [7+/10]
May 18, 2015
Basically readable but a bit too weird. And I don't want to read reality tv in my comics anymore than I want to watch it on tv. Actually the characters and situation are kind of interesting. But it is all basically pointless. Except for the pages where we were inside Doop which was just plain stupid. It could have been a lot worse.
June 13, 2016
This read closer to a traditional story arc feel, but perhaps was less novel because of it. It did have me laughing out loud on several occasions (just ask Emily). It's too bad about the two guest art issues because Allred's style is impossible to emulate and losing it just makes the whole book seem tonally off.
November 12, 2012
I love everything Marvel. The storylines are incredible! They have everything you could want: action, adventure, comedy, romance, political intrigue, allegories, metaphors, etc. Some stories drag, some end too soon.
June 2, 2012
A refreshing twist on an X-Men title. Could have used some better editing, but I liked the focus on the media, race issues, sexuality, and the overall quirkiness of the characters. Especially enjoyed the silent issue. Very creative and weird.
May 24, 2017
Really a lot better than I remembered! Had to up my rating from 3 stars.
December 6, 2010
Uhh, see review for New Beginnings. Bonus Baby Boomer/Gen X conflicts and comic book script in the back!
May 14, 2012
Whole series is terrific.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews