X-Force #5 - Marvel

Well . . it appears that there's 2 wars going on here now. We know about X-Forces mission to bring down the Purifiers. When they abducted Rahne, X-Force did a pretty good job of thinning their numbers as they looked for her location. Unfortunately, before they could return her, the Purifiers, besides torturing, had also brain-washed her. Wolverine and gang took her back to Warren's aerie, but they had to wash her system of the heroine that was inside her. What they didn't know was that when she finally came out of her dream . . she had been tasked with the retrieval of Warren's wings . . which she accomplishes. What nobody expected, not even Warren, is that the trauma had reverted him to Apocalypse's programming . . he was now Archangel, Apocalypse's horseman of Death! And X-Force . . is in disarray . . or worse. What we hadn't expected, and no one anticipated, is that the Purifiers themselves also have their own war brewing. They returned the Oracle, Bastion, to life with the techno-organic virus, Magus. However, they weren't anticipating that this same means of their rebirth could also be the thing that brings them down. Bastion immediately set on the task of returning all of the 'big names' back to a semblance of life . . including the good Reverend. But Risman, whom the Reverend had given the reigns of their organization upon his demise, knows that it's not really the Reverend but rather Bastion's abomination. And since Bastion now controls the Reverend . . and the Reverend controls the Purifiers . . Bastion controls the Purifiers. Risman can't abide that. With his army of angels . . he calls them his choir . . . which were born from the stolen DNA of Warren's wings . . Risman begins his task of killing his beloved Reverend and then the Oracle, Bastion, by killing the virus, Magus. I think, though, he may have bitten off more than he can chew. Sure his choir has plowed through Bastion's army like so much wheat, but . . now he faces Bastion. Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost are doing a fantastic job with this story. There are a couple of confusing moments in it, but . . I think those come from their story-writing style. They've taken a more intelligent approach in that they don't try to explain everything. There are a few things that are left to the reader to fill in the blanks. Which I prefer, because I don't feel like the story has been 'dummied-down'. You know what I mean. It sometimes forces you to go back and re-read, or look at a previous issue, to help explain things. There's nothing wrong with that, that's more like real-life. Of course I also greatly enjoy Clayton Crain's artwork. I think, though, that he may have to take a little break after this story-arc. Some of the panels are looking a little frayed around the edges, if you know what I mean. It still looks outstanding, but hey . . . the guys been working hard for the last year of so for Marvel . . I think he deserves a little break. Anyways, another outstanding issue. I'm looking forward to seeing where the team is going to go after this.