Review by Ian Keogh

Elsewhere the mutant society of Krakoa has fallen to pieces, leaving mutants once again mistrusted by humanity at large and now outlawed across most of the planet. X-Force remain isolated from other mutants, and as Vol. 9 opens they’re picking up Wolverine and retreating to a pre-prepared bolthole in the Arctic. The issue of whether or not Colossus could be trusted, the cliffhanger ending to Vol. 8, appears to be dashed off in a text page, but thankfully Benjamin Percy isn’t just taking the easy option, and it’s a prelude to old wounds not being so easily healed.

If there’s a plot running through X-Force from the start it’s been the gradual ethical corruption of the Beast, and Percy’s pulled some sleight of hand concerning that. When the Beast’s attempts at dominating the future via assorted clones were foiled in Vol. 7, you may have forgotten that the original article was still at large. Well, he’s back.

Daniel Picciotto draws the opening chapter very nicely, but it’s Robert Gill’s attention to detail on display over the remainder of this slim collection. However, quantity doesn’t always equal quality, and while Percy has rarely shone on X-Force, he ends with his strongest collection. It’s because he takes a really surprising and heartwarming turn, at least for readers familiar with the Beast as a member of the Avengers, which was, admittedly, a long time ago. The emotional pull overall is X-Force having to deal with someone they know to be a possible world altering threat, yet he was once one of them. In that context the arrival of Orchis provides a welcome target.

This becomes one of those stories where so much is set in motion there’s a feeling it can’t possibly be concluded here, coupled with the sinking feeling it’s just going to lead into another story. Well, that doesn’t happen. The ending may be rapid, but narrative pace is apparent throughout and the finale works in every other respect, particularly with regard to Beast being true to his beliefs no matter how abhorrent they are. Percy even finds a way to settle everything back in the box in an orderly manner for future use. All in all, the best of the run.

This isn’t quite the end for Percy’s X-Force as they’re bit players in his final two volumes of Wolverine.