This year marks the 30th anniversary of the debut of X-Force and to mark the occasion, original X-Force leader Cable wrangles together a new X-Force team, including a Venomized Deadpool! The special one-shot, titled X-Force: Killshot, goes on sale in print and digital this November.
The X-Force that premiered 30 years ago was the successor to New Mutants and moved in a more militaristic direction after the introduction of Cable. Co-created by writer Fabian Niceiza and artist Rob Liefeld, X-Force #1 shattered sales records, selling over five million copies. Liefeld became a celebrity in the wake of the book’s success. The series was so popular that a number of characters, such as Deadpool, spun out of it and into their own books. The concept has proven versatile, and there has been some form of the team ever since its introduction. Now, to help celebrate 30 years of X-Force, Liefeld returns to tell a brand-new story that unites the various X-Force teams against their greatest threat.
Marvel announced in a press release Liefeld’s return to the property he helped make famous. The release also provided a synopsis: Cable must bring together various X-Force teams from different eras and lead them into the final battle against Stryfe, a clone of Cable and one of X-Force’s greatest enemies, at his base on Asteroid S. The time-hopping Cable will be working with his counterparts from other timelines in this effort. In addition to providing artwork, which spotlights the Venomized Deadpool, the press release offers Liefeld’s thoughts on his return to X-Force 30 years later. Calling X-Force a “big gamble” and one that that proved “life-changing,” he was “thrilled” to return, and hoped X-Force fans old and new would enjoy Killshot.
Rob Liefeld has proven a controversial creator, but there is no denying he helped make X-Force what it is today; the first issue set the tone, showing a more militaristic side of Xavier’s dream, with a leader, Cable, who clearly knew more than he was letting on, and was not above using lethal force. Fans responded to this take, making X-Force one of the most popular books of the 90s, and ultimately fueling the creation of Image Comics. Liefeld’s cover invokes X-Force’s early 90’s heyday, featuring stalwarts such as Shatterstar and Deadpool, who has apparently bonded with a Venom symbiote. The press release does not say how this came about, so readers must wait until November to find out, and it being Deadpool, fans can only guess at how he obtained a symbiote.
The Venomized Deadpool is one of the many highlights of X-Force: Killshot, which promises to invoke the book’s glory days, complete with one of the creators who made it great.
Source: Marvel