X-Force #17
Kid Omega goes on a mission and makes a discovery that makes him rethink his life in X-Force #17, by writer Benjamin Percy, artist Joshua Cassara, colorist GURU-eFX, and letterer Joe Caramagna. Kid Omega is a great character who has been doing a lot of dying in this book, so it’s about time that he got an issue all about him.
Kid Omega reminisces on his many deaths on his way to investigate a cruise ship that sent out a distress call in Krakoan waters. He comes upon a scene of carnage before finding a single little girl before he’s snuck up on and killed. He awakens in the Hatchery in Krakoa. Phoebe Cuckoo brings him his clothes and uses her telepathy to fill in the gaps in his mind. He wants to know how he died, though, and they head to New York to find three other survivors from the cruise ship. Using his powers, he reconstructs their memories. Each one blames a member of X-Force for their death, and there’s no way that could be true… except it seems like each has had Kid Omega’s powers used on them. He and Phoebe leave the hospital and talk about his life and why he feels the way he does as she brings him to Jumbo Carnation’s shop to get a new costume. However, Carnation attacks them as elsewhere, the leader of XENO speaks to someone about them getting stronger and being ready for what comes next.
Kid Omega is an unsung member of X-Force so far in the book’s run. In just about every story, except the last one, he’s died, and it’s becoming a thing. This issue digs into that a bit, with Phoebe Cuckoo as his guide. Kid Omega has always been one of the most powerful people on the X-Men, but he’s also been the most arrogant. This arrogance has been a defense mechanism, the only place Kid Omega had that he could hide from the feeling of worthlessness that his life had given him. Percy expertly dissects the character, giving readers a glimpse into his thought processes.
The mystery of who killed the people on the cruise ship is quite intriguing, especially since it looks like Kid Omega had some kind of part in it. The issue brings up XENO, the anti-mutant organization that has been bedeviling Krakoa since the book’s beginning. They were able to assassinate Xavier by using operatives in Domino’s skin to get through Krakoan gates. They definitely have something to do with what is going on, but how did they get control of Kid Omega? Percy lays out a great little mystery with this story.
Cassara’s art is great, as usual. The book starts with a montage of Kid Omega’s death, each one a nice one-panel story that looks so good, they’ll make readers wish they saw the whole stories these deaths were from. He supplies a lot of great imagery in this issue, from the one-page spread of what’s in Kid Omega’s head to the cool costume montage at Jumbo Carnation’s shop.
X-Force #17 puts a spotlight on Kid Omega, and it’s wonderfully done. Percy digs into the character, reinforcing who he is for readers familiar with him and giving readers who aren’t what they need to know about him. He also introduces a nice little mystery into the proceedings. Cassara’s art does a great job with the visuals, as usual. X-Force continues to be one of the best of the X books.
