X-Men Re-read: X-Force v2: Old Ghosts

The Great X-Men Re-read

X-Force v2: Old Ghosts

Collects: X-Force #7-11
Writer(s): Craig Kyle, Christopher Yost
Penciller(s): Mike Choi

The aftermath of the first X-Force mission and that pesky Legacy Virus rears it's ugly head once more.

Quick Synopsis
Core Cast: Archangel, Elixir, Warpath, Wolfsbane, Wolverine, X-23, Vanisher

Old Ghosts (X-Force #7-10)
After the events of Angels and Demons, Archangel and Wolfsbane can't stand to be in the same room as each other. Wolfsbane still going for Angel's wings and Angel turning into Archangel when he sees her.

Cyclops sends the team to find the Vanisher who has found the Legacy Virus in one of Mister Sinister's old lairs. They find Vanisher and hook up with Domino and it turns out that Vanisher has lost it when attacked by a number of Marauder clones which awoke after Sinister's death back in Messiah CompleX. Vanisher is coerced into joining up via an inoperable tumor implanted by Elixir.

X-Force go back to the lab and kill the Marauder clones, clash with the resurrected Cameron Hodge over the virus. X-23 is injected with the virus during the battle, but is healed by Elixir. Seriously, where was he when you needed him during the original Legacy Virus story-line that ran from roughly the end of X-Cutioner's Song to Dreams' End.

It ends with the revelation that while X-Force prevented one vial of the Legacy virus getting into the hands of Bastion, Sinister had multiple labs and the virus is still in the wrong hands.

While all this is going down, Warpath goes to see his brothers grave to make peace with the blood on his hands, only to confront the Demon Bear, with Ghost Rider's help and find that Eli Bard has dug them all up.

Who the Hell is Eli Bard? (X-Force #11)
This is basically Warpath telling the rest of X-Force what he'd found out and an info dump of Eli Bard's origin (had a love affair with Selene, accidentally betrayed her and was cursed by her) and serves as a prologue to the forthcoming Necrosha story line. As he presents the reanimated Technarch Zombie Apaches and Caliban to Selene as a gift to win her back.

Best Bit
Elixir giving Vanisher an inoperable brain tumor to get him to co-operate is pretty hardcore.

Final Words
More from the grim and gritty world of X-Force, aided by sublime art by Mike Choi.

Great
9 / 10