COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK – “X-Force” #7 (February 1992)

'X-Force' #7 (February 1992)

This week’s “Comic Book of the Week” is “X-Force” #7, which was published by Marvel Comics in February 1992. This comic was titled “Under the Knife,” and this issue’s creative team included Rob Liefeld, plot and art; Fabian Nicieza, scripter; Steve Buccellato, colorist; Bob Harras, editor; and Tom DeFalco, editor-in-chief. Liefeld was the cover artist, and the issue sold for $1.25 at newsstands.

“X-Force” #7 was a 32-page issue that begins with Warpath and Siryn facing off against Toad, a member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, outside the X-Force headquarters in the Adirondack Mountains.

High overhead, Sauron and Shatterstar are locked in battle. Shatterstar, who can’t fly, slices Sauron with one of his swords, which causes Sauron to drop Shatterstar. Shatterstar grabs a tree limb on the way down, which slows his fall and allows him to survive the drop. Once on his feet, he takes off for a nearby ordnance depot.

Nearby, Thornn, Masque and Phantazia are trying to find a way inside a vent hatchway that leads into the X-Force’s mountain complex headquarters. They eventually get inside and find themselves in an aircraft hangar deck. Almost immediately, they begin to fan out to start planting plastique explosives rigged with timers.

A round of warning shots stops them in their tracks and the three villains find themselves face to face with Cable, Domino, Cannonball, Feral and Boom Boom. After an exchange of words, it appears that a battle between these two groups is eminent.

Outside, a battle is underway between Warpath, Siryn, Toad, the Blob and Pyro. Siryn chokes out Pyro with a sonic blast, but the Toad applies a resin from his hands to Siryn’s throat, which keeps her from using her sonic powers. In the next instant, Shatterstar shoots Toad in the back with some of that ordnance he ran off for earlier. Now that Toad’s down for the count and Blob fell into a ravine, they turn their attention to Sauron, who’s flying toward the vent hatchway.

Inside the hangar, it’s three bad guys against five good guys, so Thornn tries to even things out by switching off the lights as Masque disrupts the guidance mechanisms in Cable’s weapons. Feral and Thornn, who are sisters, begin to duke it out, while Masque takes on Cable. As Cable blasts away, Cannonball flies into Masque to expand his blast field inside her. Masque repels Cannonball by disrupting his body’s entire bio-electric field.

Cable gives the order for all the X-Force members to get outside, where they’ll be able to face their enemies in the light. Thornn and Feral continue their catfight, and Thornn gets the upper hand and chokes Feral to the point on unconsciousness. For those of you keeping count at home, it’s now three against three.

Back outside, Sauron’s flying overhead and spots the vent hatchway. He enters just about the time that Cannonball is coming out of the building. Cannonball’s not sure what to do because his blast field powers are still messed up due to his run in with Masque. As things turned out, Cannonball miscalculates and flies too close to Sauron, who skewers Cannonball with one of his talons. The last we see of Cannonball, he appears to be dead.

Boom Boom and Cable see Cannonball’s body, and Boom Boom starts to freak out. The story ends with Boom Boom screaming, “He’s not breathing! He’s not moving! Cable – God – He’s – DEAD!?”

The issue ends with a very short, three-page story called “Weapon X in X-Tenuating Circumstances.” This story begins with Weapon X in the woods outside a cabin 65 miles north of Vancouver, Canada. He’s been sent there to bust a liquor and cigarettes smuggling operation. His heightened senses tell that there are six men inside the cabin.

He rams down the door with a lowered shoulder and finds a bunch of uniformed bad guys inside. They don’t look anything like typical smugglers, but Weapon X knocks every one of them out without breaking a sweat. Suddenly and without warning, he finds himself face to face with three unsavory members of the Mutant Liberation Front – Forearm, Sumo and Wildside. The issue ends with them looming over Weapon X and with the words “To Be Continued!”

This comic (unless I’ve sold it) and others are available for purchase through Peacock’s Books on Amazon.com. If you’re interested in buying it, search for it there by title, issue number and date of publication.