Ryan Reynolds has gone on record several times about stepping back from center stage as Deadpool, believing the Merc with a Mouth is better as "a supporting character" and "great in a group." More and more, it sounds like Deadpool 4 will be more of an X-Force team-up movie than anything, a theatrical spin-off that has failed to take off for over a decade.
However, that hasn't stopped Marvel from continuing to publish books about the morally dubious team of black-ops mutants who often leave behind corpses. The only issue is that one of its newest members is Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel, an innocent teenager who's never taken a life and prefers that others don't either. Marvel Comics recently announced Fugitive X-Force, a five-issue limited series from writer Tim Seeley, which will launch in December after his previous book, Inglorious X-Force, concludes in October. Newcomer Áthila Fabbio takes over as primary artist from Michael Sta. Maria.
In Inglorious, the team's founder, the time-traveling Cable, was on a mission to save the future President of the United States, Kamala Khan, and discover the identity of her future assassin. To complete his new mission to save the timeline, Cable reformed X-Force, but the last readers saw the team of mutants, they were all flung into the future at the end of the penultimate issue of Inglorious X-Force.
Whatever happens in the last issue, it's nothing good. In Cable's absence, Tabitha Smith, aka Boom-Boom, has to step up to lead in Fugitive X-Force and find their former leader before he destroys everything they've fought to achieve, all the while evading the law and their fellow mutants.
Cable's X-Force, before he disappeared, included Boom-Boom, an original member of X-Force whose mutant power allows her to generate balls of explosive plasma. After a terrible childhood, she saw Cable as a father figure and leaped at the chance to rejoin X-Force.
Now, she is joined by a group of mutants who differ heavily from the heroes expected to appear on Deadpool 4's version of the team.
There's also Akihiro, the son of Wolverine and a former assassin, who goes by Hellverine after being possessed by a proto-Spirit of Vengeance. After years of killing and holding so much hatred toward his father, even becoming a Dark Avenger to spite him, Akihiro attempted to find some sort of redemption for himself.
The first member Cable recruited was actually Warren Washington III, who was reluctant to rejoin the strike team, especially since he had only joined under Wolverine and Cyclops and didn't trust or know Cable at all. He also wanted to leave Archangel behind and live out his life like billionaire CEO Tony Stark, but Cable knew deep down that Warren only ever felt alive when he spread his metallic wings as Archangel.
Joining the team in Fugitive X-Force, Domino's exact circumstances remain a mystery. But during the events of Inglorious X-Force, she was tasked with a secret mission from Cable as a contingency. In Fugitive, the hired gun will be searching for Cable, "But she might not like what she finds!"
Finally, Ms. Marvel, the reason why this new X-Force was formed in the first place, was approached by Cable to join the team for her own protection. Since she recently unlocked her mutant powers, her becoming president would represent a bridge between humanity and mutants, making her present and future survival paramount.
This roster is drastically different from the team rumored to be established in Deadpool 4. Alongside the Merc with a Mouth, Ryan Reynolds is reportedly hoping to include Wolverine, Cable, and Storm on the revitalized version of X-Force.
Though Storm has been a part of X-Force in the past, the choice to include her is surprising in a similar way to Ms. Marvel due to her vow not to take another human's life. She has broken this promise on occasion, but her more noble approach to crimefighting does seem at odds with the more brutal nature of the covert mutant team.
It also remains to be seen whether this would involve Halle Berry's return as Storm, newly cast Maya Boyd joining the team, or another Ororo Munroe actress entirely.
The team also notably omits Zazie Beetz's Domino, who has been absent from the franchise since her debut in Deadpool 2. Considering that the lucky mutant was a core part of X-Force and Beetz is more than willing to return in the role, it would be a shame if she were not given the chance at least one more time.
Why Would Ms. Marvel Join X-Force?
When Cable first approached Kamala Khan to join the team, she turned him down, aware of how X-Force operated, stating that it wasn't "for an aspirational type like me at all." It wasn't until he told her that she would become president that she reluctantly changed her mind, telling him, "I'll give you a brief trial period, with the right to bounce the moment things get too gritty."
In issue #2 of Inglorious X-Force, Kamala's resolve to show this group of killers that there's "a much nicer way to super hero" is tested when she protests against Akihiro skewering a man. Despite his bluster, she managed to talk Hellverine down.
Cable even commends her for it, telling the others that "Ms. Marvel took an incredible risk joining us. She refused to break her own code despite everything against her." These qualities are why mutants and humans will follow her in the future, as Cable concludes to his team, "The lesson is that President Kamala Khan is worth fighting for. She's worth dying for."
This ends up being for naught, since after the issue, the clone-obsessed fights disposable clones, the clone-obsessed Mr. Sinister, or robots. It deflates any tension within the team and Ms. Marvel's continued tolerance for them if there's no moral ambiguity in killing these enemies. Regardless, it's an excuse for why Ms. Marvel kept sticking around. The only question now is how long she'll need to be protected in Fugitive X-Force and whether X-Force will get too gritty for her.
With Ms. Marvel being severely underutilized in the MCU, is Fugitive X-Force a means to pre-establish the character as part of another mutant team to then justify her inclusion on a live-action one in the future?
Kamala Khan joining Ryan Reynolds' take on X-Force in Deadpool 4 seems unlikely, but given her mutant retcon, it would not be a complete shock for her to appear on a team like the New Mutants or even the X-Men proper in the future.
