Just so you know, the cover image you see above has no actual bearing on the events of Cable and X-Force #5. It ain’t nearly as dramatic as all that.
This is actually the story of what happens when a small group of wanted mutants, who have been branded as terrorists thanks to completely botching their first mission as it was given by an old cybernetic future bastard who insists on being cryptic about his crazy disaster visions, do when they’ve got a bit of downtime between secret and highly dubious paramilitary operations. It turns out that Cable goes and tries to get his daughter to stop following them around, Dr. Nemesis and Forge have science fights between a giant robot gorilla and a giant scorpion, and Colossus and Domino get drunk and have sex.
As much as I’ve checked out of Avengers Arena due to my disdain for the entire concept, I do like Dennis Hopeless as a writer (also check out his Dark Horse book The Answer!), and it seems he’s starting to find his way with this book. I was very wary, as a longtime Colossus fan, as to how he was going to function post-Avengers vs. X-Men, but so far, I’m okay with how he’s being handled. His powers are screwy enough to require a knob on his vest to dial his metal skin up and down, he’s insistent on taking responsibility for the mess they made, but he’s also grown-ass man enough to let Domino get her kicks with him without making a big emotional deal about it like he once might have. While I’m not sure how I feel about writers in general using Domino as their go-to gal for cheap and easy sex, she’s got a hardass swagger about her that makes it seem okay – and it might not be as cheap and easy as it seems, despite her line of work. Plus, it seems like Hopeless is getting a bead on proper Dr. Nemesis dialogue, too, which is the key to making this book as entertaining as it might possibly be.
Salvador Larroca’s art and Frank D’Armata’s colors create an interesting look that seems to wind up as sort of hit-and-miss. There’s no credited inker, which leads one to surmise all of the coloring her was done computer-style, and it’s got a weirdly bright and a-little-too-glossy look to the finished work that would speak to that. The lighting tends to look a bit weird, too. It’s solid work – it can seem a bit stiff. However, the crazy dream sequence Avenger-spaceship battle and Robo Monkey vs. Mega Scorpion is pretty well rendered.
Overall, this is a decently entertaining book that seems to be approaching a stride. I’m looking forward to the next insane adventure, and to the fate of Piotr Nikolievitch Rasputin, considering the drastic step he takes at the end of Cable and X-Force #5.
