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Fear Itself: Uncanny X-Force #1

Sep 2011
on-sale: Jul 1, 2011
Rob Williams, Simone Bianchi

Fear Itself: Uncanny X-Force #1 cover

Story Name:

Before the Devil Knows We’re Dead Chapter One


Synopsis

Fear Itself: Uncanny X-Force #1 synopsis by Peter Silvestro
Rating: 4 stars

A suicide bomber walks into an airport terminal and shouts “Purify!” before detonating the device. The covert group X-Force is on the case, a mutant team whose job is to do the dirty work of killing when necessary. The members (Wolverine, Archangel, Psylocke, Fantomex, Deadpool) connect the bombing to the Purifiers, an underground organization of anti-mutant bigots; the baddies also have a superhuman hostage, set for public execution. Psylocke and Fantomex crash an “End of the World” party where they meet news pundit Benedict Ryan who is secretly a Purifier and want to know what their plans are. Ryan leaps off the balcony, not wanting to be touched by mutants. After Fantomex expresses curiosity about seeing what happens he (Ryan) lands, Psylocke nags him into dispatching EVA to rescue him. The team interrogates Ryan who, at first, won’t reveal anything but his hatred for mutants. When Psylocke displays her psychic blade, Ryan relents, fearing interference with his mind…

…and tells them that the baddies they want are a splinter group of the Purifiers, led by one Jonathan Standish. He believes that the devil has come to take people’s souls before they can go to heaven and it’s not just the mutants responsible but all super people. And he is planning to give the world their sign, using the captive hero….

The X-Force assault a Purifier base in Fort Carroll, Baltimore, killing everyone and learning from a punk that the hero is being held by a splinter group….

On a live transmission, Jonathan Standish announces how super-people have brought on the end of the world, exhorting all his listeners to kill themselves to save their souls, and executing the captive hero with a bullet to the head….


Characters:

Deadpool
Psylocke
Wolverine
Plus: Archangel (Warren Worthington III), Fantomex, Purifiers, X-Force (Xforce).

> Fear Itself: Uncanny X-Force comic book info and issue index


 

Review / Commentaries


Fear Itself: Uncanny X-Force #1 Review by (December 4, 2024)

Review: I was unfamiliar with this title but quickly discovered it featured a heroic team whose job was to kill the bad guys. This struck me as a questionable definition of “hero,” especially coming from a Marvel title not in their MAX imprint. So imagine my joy to see the heroes debating that same matter in issue #2, Psylocke having trouble telling the heroes from the villains, linked with the poignant moment in #3 when the woman in the crowd can’t see it either. The rest of the “good guys” shrug off her concern so it seems that murderous “heroes” are okay as long as they acknowledge it, no matter how briefly.

So, the story in hand. Decent writing as the heroes have a villain to stop and go about it in a desperate way. Wolverine, the loner who is inexplicably a member of every team, does his thing, joined by Deadpool, with his distractingly stupid sense of humor. The airbrushed art is initially startling but gives a dark sheen to the dark story. So, okay addition to the FEAR ITSELF event.

Comments: Story takes place between FEAR ITSELF #2 and 3; also set between UNCANNY X-FORCE #4 and 5. The Purifiers are the followers of William Stryker, introduced in MARVEL GRAPHIC NOVEL #5, “God Loves, Man Kills.” Simone Bianchi contributed to the cover inking. Jared K. Fletcher is credited with the lettering design.




Elektra


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Main/1st Story Full Credits

Simone Bianchi
Simone Bianchi
Simone Peruzzi
Simone Bianchi (Cover Penciler)
Simone Bianchi (Cover Inker)
Simone Peruzzi (Cover Colorist)
Additional Credits
Letterer: Joe Sabino.



Thor

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