"Roadtrip" X-Force: From the Beginning!

[Justin K.]

I love Jim Cheung's Selene.

[Regino]

I've been perusing my old catalog and decided to look over some of the Roadtrip issues. This was right around when I stopped reading comics for a few years when Marvel got really bad.

I still don't like these issues. I can't believe what they did to Reignfire which was a cool concept. And jeez, that movie producer who they hooked up with. That was just bad.

[Psycwave]

Ugh. I hated this about his run. Everything else was spot on, except for that.

I laugh everytime I think about them. He never should have gotten rid of the psychic arrows. If Dani is ever repowered she just needs those abilities.

[FiddleFaddle]

Quantum Powers do sound cool to have.

I hate the NM so I'd no problem with Magma being evil again or at least being more of a bitch, anything really! She's so boring. I mean she almost killed Dust once.

[Prodigy55]

X-Force #96
Family Secrets
John Francis Moore and Anthony Williams

Back home from their incredible Genoshan vacation, X-Force have all split up for the day. The main story here focuses on Sam and his quest for the past. It all starts in the Beaumont Correctional Facility in Arkansas. Here lives Sam’s uncle, Luke, and Sam decides he needs to pay a visit. But instead of visiting the normal way, Cannonball plucks his uncle right out from the recreational area and takes him to a Texas strip joint. And now begins the eventful tale!

First off, Luke explains how he wound up in Genosha and dealing with Delphi. After a botched international smuggling attempt, Luke was stuck in the country without a passport. The only way off was to cut a deal with Delphi and in return he gave her a memory. Years later, Sam would receive this memory in a box. But what was this memory all about? Did Luke and Papa Guthrie murder some men? Well, no.

It all started 10 years ago. Luke was working a fellow named Randy Lee, committing armed robbery and what not. But during their escape, Randy Lee was shot and killed. It was then that it all started to get weird. Randy’s body slowly turned into a hideous monster. Luke pulled over, buried Randy and decided to quit this mission. But he was curious and went to check out the cargo he was carrying. He opened the crate and inside was an enormous… thing. A man? A monster? A statue? Either way, Luke was in way over his head, but he called the number he got from Randy Lee and a man named Finn promised him payment to deliver the cargo. Luke decided to stop off at his house first, only to find that someone was raiding it!

Across the country…
On a rooftop, Tabitha is demonstrating her growing skills with her time bombs to an impressed Jesse. She assures him that with time, he’ll be just as good at fighting as the rest of X-Force and also compliments his newfound kung-fu prowess. But unknown to the pair, a Triune Understanding agent is watching them from afar. He confirms Tabitha’s mutant powers and mentions that she will serve the Understanding well.



Back in Texas…
Luke, in between staring at the dancers and chugging beers, continues his tale. Luke fled from his house and went straight to his brother, Tyler. After explaining the story, Luke enlisted Ty’s help and the two went to deliver the strange item. A young Sam followed them and hid in the back of their truck. Luke, Tyler and Sam got to a place called Big Susie’s to deliver the package and were greeted by two agents, Finn and Weller. Meanwhile, Sam went to the back of the complex and saw the true operation. There were dozens of men in biohazard suits, moving children in and out of machines and cages. But before Sam could do or say anything, he was caught by another agent and brought before Finn, Weller, Ty and Luke. He told his father that they were experimenting on some kids and it all got worse from there.



San Francisco…
Danielle Moonstar and her new friend, Jennifer Kale, are relaxing and doing Tai chi. Dani explains to Jennifer how her powers nearly consumed her back on Genosha. She felt like she was losing control. Without warning, the Demon Bear appears! Dani chases after it, but it disappears as quickly as it came.

Sao Paulo, Brazil…
Selene, the Black Queen of the Hellfire Club, is hanging out in her hotel room with her new guest, Sunspot. He tells her that he doesn’t want anything to do with her, but she tells him to check out what she has in the other room. To his surprise, she has a SHIELD member hostage, the very same one who was in charge of cleaning up after the Reignfire incident in Las Vegas. Selene assures him that he isn’t really a SHIELD agent, and that he’s working for someone else. Damocles.



Texas…
Luke continues his story. After Sam’s revelation, Tyler demands to know what is going on. The agents begin to explain their plan. The giant figure is actually a Celestial Golem and they intend to use it, along with the children to create a new subspecies of humans. They proceeded to plug in the Celestial Golem and it started glowing and humming. Instinctively, Luke jumped at one of the men and accidently caused his gun to go off. This broke one of the devices and ruined the plans. Finn and Weller reverted to their true forms and tried to attack the Guthries, but luckily the Celestial Golem awoke and took care of the attackers.

Outside, Sam and Luke got in the truck, while Tyler went back to save the rest of the children. But when he returned, the Golem had come outside to attack once again. Just at that moment, a car pulled up (the same one that was outside Luke’s house earlier) and out came a small bald man. Sledge! He used a forcefield projector to create his own armor and he took out the rampaging Golem. As the fight continued, Ty and Luke rushed the kids out to an open field. When they got a safe distance away, the building exploded! After all was over, Sledge was the only survivor.

Sledge explained that the agents were Deviants who had renounced their loyalty to the Deviant king and were trying to create a new power base. Sledge had to destroy the Golem to keep Indigo from getting to it. After burying the bodies, Sledge decided to remove the memories of the kids. Sam also had this memory removed.

After hearing the true story, Sam and Luke left the strip club. Sam offered to leave Luke and let him be a fugitive, but the man refused. Three hours later, thanks to Domino’s help, Luke was back in his cell. Now there was one more man to see; Sledge.

Epilogue…
In the Brazilian rainforest, Dr. Chandra, Dr. Joshua and Indigo are meeting. Dr. Joshua has brought something special. The remnants of Project Nineteen. Reignfire!

NEXT: SUNSPOT AND SELENE TAKE ON THE DAMOCLES FOUNDATION!

[Prodigy55]

Great issue with decent art, that builds up tons of subplots. I love how it ties everything together from even the earliest issues. The Damocles Foundation, Selene, Reignfire, Sledge and even pre-X-Force stuff like the Demon Bear are all colliding. I love Dr. Chandra, btw.

FYI, the Triune Understanding is this crazy cult in the MU. The Avenger, Triathalon, was a member. I don't really know what they really are since I forgot what happened to Triathalon, but they're not good.

[Psycwave]

I thought this issue was just okay. Nothing really spectacular but not really bad either. I guess it was mainly due to Sam being such a big focus and I never cared for him.

[Prodigy55]

I'll never understand your Cannonball dislike. Papa Guthrie is hot as hell though. Just look at that square jaw and those manly arms.

[Dani Justice]

I'll never understand your Cannonball dislike. Papa Guthrie is hot as hell though. Just look at that square jaw and those manly arms.

All I see is a square head and some horrific hair. But hey, thats what they make paper bags for.



I dont like this artist too much, but the issue wasnt terrible.

[Prodigy55]

X-Force #97
Cracked Foundation
John Francis Moore and Anthony Williams

After the last Cannonball-centric issue, X-Force #97 focuses on action, action and more action. We start with a brief history of Celestials and the creation of Deviants, Eternals and Humans. Odysseus Indigo is part of a rogue faction of Deviants, trying to gain great power. And in his possession, lies the key. With his recently recovered Celestial Gatherer unconscious, Odysseus plans to use Reignfire’s near-limitless energy to awaken the beast and restructure his DNA and rewrite the genetic template of his future generations.

Meanwhile, Selene and Bobby watch on from above. Selene brought Bobby here to help stop Indigo and she knows that with Reignfire in play, Bobby will do anything to destroy it once again. But before the pair can act, The Sword of Damocles attacks them. After a short battle, Sunspot is bested and Selene’s magic is shut off by Indigo himself.

Detroit…
We’re re-introduced to Sledge and, in his company, Ulysses and Arcadia. Sledge knows that Indigo is in possession of another Celestial Gatherer and is formulating a plan with Ulysses to destroy it. Right at that moment enters X-Force. They had begun searching for Sledge at the end of last issue and are surprised to see Arcadia and Ulysses along with him. Sledge explains to Cannonball that the monster he destroyed 10 years ago, threatened the future of the world. And now, the same forces have acquired another similar power. Elsewhere, Arcadia and Dani Moonstar meet for the first time since the transformation episode back in Kentucky. Dani demands to know what Arcadia has done to her, only to be answered with another strange question. Arcadia has been having dreams of the Demon Bear! They get closer to each other and a spark of blue energy erupts. Ulysses confirms that Arcadia granted Dani the same reality warping powers as her and when in close proximity, the two react.



But enough about that (for now). Ulysses and Sledge gather the team and explain the mission. With the Gatherer in his possession, Indigo no longer needs Arcadia’s powers. He plans to jumpstart the next evolutionary step!

Back in the Deviant outpost…
Sunspot and Selene have been imprisoned in a power-dampening chamber. Selene tries to get Bobby to calm down, but he doesn’t want anything to do with her. She tries to make him realize that Xavier’s dream is useless to him. He’s much more powerful than that and he needs to join the Hellfire Club, which is now run by Selene herself.



Elsewhere…
Ulysses, Arcadia, Sledge and X-Force meet with a Deviant, and employee of Indigo, who helps them infiltrate the outpost. The employee, Veeg, reveals that Indigo has recently captured 2 people; a human and a mutant. He teleports X-Force to the chamber and Sledge proceeds to open it. To everyone’s surprise, Sunspot emerges. Sam tries to hug him, but Bobby is not happy. He accuses X-Force of not caring about what happened to him. Tabitha quickly fires off some comebacks, but the argument stops when Selene comes through the door. Sunspot explains that Indigo has Reignfire and they need to stop them now.

The Arena…
Dr. Chandra and Dr. Joshua begin preparing the Celestial Gatherer. They plan on fusing his body with the remnants of Reignfire, in order to revive it. As a precaution, they’ve removed any remnants of Reignfire’s personality so he can’t take over the Gatherer body. But before it can awaken, X-Force barges through the wall. They rush towards Indigo, but are quickly paralyzed when he uses his own power-cancelling abilities. Immune to his brother’s power, Ulysses confronts Indigo and the two begin fighting. Arcadia tries to help, but she too becomes paralyzed by Indigo’s eye.



On the other side of the room, Sledge slowly makes his way towards the Gatherer. But before he can destroy it, Selene punches him out of the way. She infuses it with magic and awakens the beast under her control. With the Gatherer’s strength, Selene devolves The Sword into primitive beings. Fearing this power, Indigo asks what she wants. Damocles now works for Selene and the Hellfire Club! But now that his attentions have been turned to the witch, X-Force has regained their power. Through some kind of mental link, Dani and Arcadia both fire energy at the Celestial Gatherer, destroying it. Now Selene is furious; she attacks X-Force with a massive burst of energy!

NEXT: SELENE AND AN INFERNAL ALLY MAKE THINGS HOT FOR X-FORCE IN THE HELLFIRE CLUB.

[Prodigy55]

Solid issue, but nothing really spectacular. This focused on action too much and I prefer the ones with more character drama. But it's nice to see all the pieces coming into one for the big conclusion soon.

One of the best covers ever. I'm digging the art here, but I still wish it was Cheung. The Demon Bear stuff in this issue and last one are getting me really excited for the next arc.

Oh and I LOVE Dr. Chandra. Can we replace her with Dr. Rao?

[Psycwave]

Yeah this issue was pretty decent. The cover definitely did steal the issue for me though.

[Justin K.]

Finaly, we get close. The whole Sunspot Hellfire Club deal, as much as I have no interest in Sunspot, was a good pickup again for the book. That and it leads directly into the story that I long awaited since the New Hellions one. Might I add, Selene looks awesome on this cover. So evil, so sinister, not over-sexualized. That's my kind of Selene.

[Prodigy55]

X-Force #98
Temptation
John Francis Moore and Jim Cheung

X-Force #98 starts off with on a much calmer note. Roberto DaCosta wakes up in an expensive hotel room and is instantly greeted by his agent, Lenny Delmonico. What’s going on? Bobby is led out on to the balcony and he’s shocked to find a massive crowd of admiring fans. Sunspot is the new solar-powered sensation! As he watches the adoring crowd, a small girl tries to climb up to his tenth floor balcony. She loses her footing and falls, only for Sunspot to fly down and catch her. The girl faints as Bobby puts her on his couch. Seriously, what’s going on?

Bobby pins Lenny to the wall and demands answers. But he comes to the realization on his own; he’s in an illusion created by Selene. The ancient witch reveals herself and tells Bobby that he and his friends are guests of the Hellfire Club. She’s trapped each member in special rooms called Nightmare Chambers. What do they do? Well, they force you to live out your nightmares!

We cut to James’ own version of hell. He runs helplessly through his reservation, trying to warn people of their inevitable demise, but nobody hears him. Tabitha is at the scene of a crime, one she committed. The police show her the headless body of her victim, Maurice Antonini, aka Tiger. Cannonball’s version of hell takes place in a collapsing mineshaft. The workers are all dying of black lung. Jesse Bedlam has been taken into a mental institution and is tossed into a white room.



As Sunspot watches these nightmares through four windows, Selene once again offers him membership to the Hellfire Club. He refuses, saying that threatening his friends is no way to accomplish her goals. She then transports the young mutant to the white house, where he discusses the reactivation of the Sentinel program with the president. Selene explains to him that with the power of the Hellfire Club, he’d be able to sway major decisions such as this. Sunspot finally snaps and breaks the illusion in an explosion of fire. He flies out of the room to go find, and free, his teammates.

Once Sunspot is gone, Blackheart, or rather an astral projection of him, appears in front of Selene. Selene reveals her true motives for recruiting Sunspot. Apparently Emmanuel DaCosta, Bobby’s father, was always against Selene’s plans in the Inner Circle. But now that he’s dead, she wants to control his son as revenge. Blackheart tells her that to entrap a noble soul, she needs to appeal to his heroism… she needs the girl. (What girl???)

The first Nightmare Chamber that Sunspot breaks into is Tabitha’s. She’s being interrogated and is on the verge of a breakdown. Bobby breaks in and snaps her out of the illusion. In the next room, Sam continues to plow through debris and inadvertently causes even more cave-ins. All hope is lost, but Sunspot breaks him out. Elsewhere, James, who was able to shut out the illusion on his own, is trying to snap Jesse out of his trance. Tabitha slaps him and he wakes up. The five members of X-Force now go off to look for Dani. But as the leave the final Nightmare Chamber, they are attacked by a gange of Hellfire Soldiers. Believing them to be cyborgs, Jesse tries to disable them, but it doesn’t work. Sunspot pulls off one of their masks and reveals that the soldiers are actually demons.



Meanwhile, in the lowest level of the building, Blackheart himself is holding Dani. She tries to use her reality altering abilities to break free of her cage, but is only able to weaken it. Suddenly, Hela appears! She tells Blackheart that as long as there is even the smallest amount of Asgardian blood in Dani, she belongs to goddess of Hel. Blackheart then lets Dani go, just in time for her to get to the rest of the team and destroy the demons soldiers.



As the team continues on their way through the Hellfire Club, Selene appears alongside Blackheart with their special guest. Selene’s final plan is revealed in the form of Juliana Sandoval, Roberto’s dead girlfriend! Blackheart reveals that she wasn’t meant to die on that fateful day and she ended up in Purgatory. He will bring her back to life if he joins the Hellfire Club! X-Force tries to dissuade Bobby from agreeing, but the face of Juliana is too much for him to bear. He agrees to become Selene’s Black Rook and X-Force is freed and sent away.

In some hospital far away, a young woman dies and Juliana’s soul is passed on into it. The doctors will attribute her new memories and fluency in Portuguese to an aneurysm and slowly Juliana will forget that she was ever Bobby’s girlfriend.

NEXT: THE UNBERABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING DANI MOONSTAR!

[Prodigy55]

Finally, the return of Jim Cheung! I loved this issue and everyone in it. I wish we would have seen Hela vs Selene instead of Blackheart though. The Nightmare Chamber stuff was great too, especially Jesse and Tabitha's parts. The "I'M NOT CRAZY" scene is probably my favourite Jesse panel ever.

Selene's Hellfire Club needs to be brough back. She's incredible.