The Final Descent Of Weapon X-Force In Weapon X #27
by Josh Davison
[*Mild Spoilers Ahead!]
Weapon X aims to get out of Hell, and Sabretooth is dedicated to saving his son and killing William Stryker. They confront Stryker but realize they can’t beat him without stopping Mentallo from fueling him with sacrifices on Earth. All but Sabretooth leave to stop him, and Victor continues his confrontation with Stryker. It doesn’t go the way he expects though, as Mentallo is able to pacify Weapon X with newfound demonic empowerment.
If it sounds like Weapon X #27 is a weird mess of a comic with ill-defined stakes, that’s because it is. I didn’t even mention the strange encounter with Satan early on that implies that they will be trapped in Hell despite the fact escaping seems to be as easy as just waking up.
The most grounded and discernable stake in the comic is the mission to save Graydon Creed. That aspect of the book is pretty easy to follow, even if I’m not entirely sure how it’s accomplished.
William Stryker is so far removed from the compelling and unnerving rogue that was in God Loves, Man Kills by this point that it’s barely worth mentioning him.
The finale of the book involves a “return to form” for Sabretooth that is so convoluted that it would frustrate me further to explain how it’s done.
All of this is intermingled with mediocre one-liners and a devil-may-care attitude to the dialogue that undermines what little tension there is.
Luca Pizzari with Alberto Alburquerque, Roberto di Salvo, and Ibraim Roberson split the artwork in this issue, and I can’t say that anyone of them disappoints. I can’t say that the art ever reaches the visual drama that a story like this wants, even if the tone is absolutely all over the place regardless. Frank D’Armata’s color work is decent, but it doesn’t quite scream Hell, damnation, and punishment either.
Weapon X #27 concludes the book and ties a nice bow on dramatically shifting quality that has plagued it since the beginning. The story of this issue is pretty weak, the Graydon Creed plot thread is the only one of interest in the issue, and the tone is a hot mess. I can’t recommend this one at all and suggest giving it a pass.
Weapon X #27 comes to us from writers Greg Pak and Fred van Lente, artists Luca Pizarri with Alberto Alburquerque, Roberto di Salvo, and Ibraim Roberson, color artist Frank D’Armata, letterer VC’s Chris Eliopoulos, and cover artist Rahzzah.
