“Two Seconds Later”
Creative Staff:
Story: Geoffrey Thorne
Art: Marcus To
Colors: Erick Arciniega
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
What They Say:
MAN-THING STRIKES AS THE NEXUS OF ALL REALITIES IS AT STAKE! The Nexus of All Realities is in danger – meaning if X-FORCE can’t seal this Fracture Node, they’ve got more to worry about than just one ol’ Earth! What extradimensional forces stand ready to take down FORGE’s team? And the Nexus’ guardian, the MAN-THING – is he friend or foe? The all-new X-FORCE series continues to turn up the heat…and wait’ll you see what we’re cooking!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
A new X-Force launch drew me in to check out the start of the series and this book looks to be doing something familiar as we’ve seen over the years with a select group trying to solve all the big critical issues of the world within a single issue or so. This run comes from writer Geoffrey Thorne and they manage fairly well here while not going into the weeds or even the edge of the forest to explain any recent events for new readers. Marcus To tackles the art side with Eric Arciniega on the color design and it’s a pretty straightforward book that’s not overly detailed. It lays out the scenes well, flows well, and the designs are generally pretty good without being too stylized. It’s more a journeyman approach than the last time I read an X-Force book which was all style over substance, so I can appreciate it.
The confusion of the previous issue continues through to this one as events pile up that make no sense to Forge and his Analog device. While their time in Cambodia had them dealing with Nuklon, the pushback was hard enough that they were all knocked out and nearly dead for a moment as well. It helped that Tank could take the fight to Nuklon but even Nuklon didn’t stick around and faded out. The weird part, as Forget goes on, is that the fracture is still incomplete and nothing makes sense. Especially the temple that appeared in the middle of all of this that had been lost for decades. It’s just weirdness on top of weirdness which is why the Analog device reveals that the continuing event is not taking place in Florida next. While that would take hours and hours to get to, having Betsy here to tap into her Captain Britan person is a plus since she can take them through Otherworld.
The Otherworld element doesn’t get too much attention and it’s not something I’m too familiar with but there’s some good tension and humor used while trying to get through it and not draw someone else’s attention. But the arrival in Florida isn’t much better as it’s just chaos with dozens and dozens of rifts forming, all manner of creatures and giant insects coming through, and a moment where Nuklon basically doubles in size to become even more of a threat. And all of Nuklon’s negative energy has drawn out Man-Thing as well so the whole thing just keeps exploding. And that’s before several Avengers show up at the end. There are some decent moments along the way, notably Betsy again telling Forge to lower his psi-barrier, but it’s mostly just one thing after another that’s going to make sense in the big picture but is just a cacophony of noise that the team is racing through while trying to find a solution to this catastrophe.
In Summary:
I liked the first three issues of the series more than this one though those had help in that they were kind of standalone pieces for the most part while building the larger storyline. This one carries over fully from the last and goes into the next and it’s just a lot going on and not much clarity. You can basically feel just as confused as the team here and it wouldn’t be a surprise. Again, there are fun moments to be had and I’m enjoying the relationship elements we get with Betsy and Rachel, and the artwork does a great job of capturing some neat stuff, but it’s just constantly moving with no answers or ideas to hold onto at the moment.
Grade: B-
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Marvel Comics
Release Date: October 9th, 2024
MSRP: $3.99
