Rob Liefeld Returns X-Force To Its '90s Heyday in Killshot
The original X-Force series blew the minds of X-Men fans when the first issue hit the shelves in 1993, and now that milestone is celebrating its 30th anniversary with creator of X-Force Rob Liefeld returning to the series for the upcoming one-shot X-Force: Killshot! Liefeld was responsible for turning the New Mutants team from a next generation X-Men book into something entirely its own, and way more brutal, in the form of X-Force. While the X-Force title has taken on a different meaning in the current X-Men storyline, X-Force: Killshot will return fans to the original team for a high-octane story only the ‘90s could deliver.
In the current X-Force storyline, the team no longer operates outside of the X-Men but is instead its hit squad. Since all mutants gathered together on Krakoa and turned the island into a sovereign nation, the X-Men have become more of a country’s military, under the same scrutiny as any other and therefore restrained by international peace agreements. In other words, if wrongdoing is happening in a country where the X-Men are not sanctioned to operate, they cannot help those who may be in danger. The Quiet Council of Krakoa came up with a solution to that problem in the form of X-Force, their own spec-ops team that operates outside of the law.
The original X-Force was not even remotely as political as the current run. Liefeld’s X-Force simply followed a team of mutants who would use deadly force against a foe if the situation required it, whereas the X-Men would always opt for life. The X-Force team wasn’t worried about getting their hands dirty in pursuit of mutant justice. The special one-shot will bring fans back to that straight-forward, action packed world not just in style but also in characters both good and bad. X-Force: Killshot will be written and drawn by Liefeld and will focus around the original X-Force members including Cable, Shatterstar, and Domino who will break into five factions scattered throughout time in order to take down this iteration’s arch enemy: Stryfe.
Stryfe is a clone of Cable who was raised and then abandoned by Apocalypse who only wishes to bring death to his heroic counterpart and rule every timeline with an iron fist. Stryfe was taken down in the ‘90s crossover event X-Ecutioners Song, a story in which he was the central villain. While Stryfe supposedly died in the crossover, the villainous clone has returned for one more firefight with Cable and the rest of the original X-Force, and now it seems the fate of the timeline is at risk.
While originally a villain of the X-Force, Deadpool will seemingly also be joining the team in this fight across time with Stryfe. Not only will Deadpool be involved, but the relatively new Rob Liefeld character Major X, who was not introduced in the ‘90s but was later written into the narrative in a limited series, will also be joining the upcoming fight. So far there is limited information about the specifics of the one-shot, but if it lives up to the promise of returning the X-Force to its ‘90s heyday, then the information available is all X-Men fans need to know going into the assuredly high-octane and action packed X-Force: Killshot! The X-Force: Killshot Anniversary Special will be available to purchase November 24.