Review by Ian Keogh
Deadpool is the title star, but although X-Force feature, this is more about Cable’s concern with keeping his timeline viable. To that purpose he monitors Francis Talbot in the 20th century, as at some point he’ll invent the time-travelling technology invaluable to Cable in the future. As this story starts Talbot has invented a prototype, but his mistake was supplying it to Deadpool to alter events of Operation Desert Storm so his grandson didn’t die in combat. Deadpool is first seen slaughtering British during the American Revolution, so obviously has his own agenda.
Cable and Deadpool have either teamed-up or fought each other many times in the past, not least as team-mates in X-Force, but Duane Swierczynski presents this as their first meeting, which has some novelty. Because time travel is involved, any iteration of X-Force is up for grabs as they attempt to stop Deadpool messing up history, so Swierczynski opts for Boom Boom, Cannonball, Domino and Warpath. That, though, is largely irrelevant as they’re only included to make up the numbers.
Why Deadpool is tearing through history is revealed to readers, but not to Cable, possibly because it would stop the plot almost at the start rather than dragging it through four chapters lacking spark or inspiration. That certainly doesn’t come from Pepe Larraz, who as far as possible draws only figures leaving colourist Nolan Woodard to add some depth with flat colour backgrounds. We might be taken to various historical events, but under Larraz they’re almost irrelevant to the bangs and flashes. They might as well be set at re-enactment meetings as there’s no attempt at period detail beyond uniforms.
Deadpool vs. X-Force is by the numbers, with the joke ratio from the Merc with the Mouth falling far short of expectation, further diminished by dull art.
