Perhaps the best thing that can be said for issue #1 is that it reads like it could just as easily be a chapter of the core X-Men series. Whereas a book like Marauders thrives on being different from Jonathan Hickman's work, X-Force is very much in that wheelhouse. It emphasizes plot over characterization and seeks to flesh out this new world as much as possible in the span of 20 pages. None of this is to say writer Benjamin Percy is attempting to be a carbon copy of Hickman. Hickman's voice is too distinctive for that to be a viable option. But Percy does manage to meld the high-concept storytelling of Hickman's books with the gravitas and gritty espionage feel of something like Uncanny X-Force.
This new X-Force team serves as an interesting mashup of familiar faces and unlikely recruits. Who would have thought characters like Jean Grey or Beast would willingly take part in a wetworks squad where lethal force is a way of life? This issue manages to build its team organically over the course of one overarching conflict. It even plays on the idea that some of these characters are out of their element. An early scene involving Beast and Wolverine aptly illustrates just how different these two hairy, feral mutants truly are. The book also takes full advantage of the fact that this is the first X-Force squad to be sanctioned by Charles Xavier himself. In the old days, Chuck would never have supported a team like this. In Dawn of X, we can't take anything for granted with this character.Visually, X-Force is easily the most significant departure from the norm. And that makes sense. The dark, gritty nature of the story is reflected in the moody and heavily textured artwork. Marvel made the right choice in pairing artist Joshua Cassara with colorist Dean White, and not just because White also colored Uncanny X-Force. The result is a book that retains just enough superhero trappings to still feel like an X-Men title while also pushing into bleaker and more espionage--flavored territory. White's colors bring out the most in Cassara's grim style. There's a touch of the surreal to the series, one that highlights the X-Men franchise's renewed emphasis on sci-fi spectacle and general weirdness.