Review: Uncanny X-Force Volume 2 - Torn and Frayed

When Psylocke is spirited away to rescue Fantomex from Weapon XIII, she is forced to deal with her conflicting feelings towards Fantomex and his clones. Then, X-Force must overcome the darker reflections of themselves in the form of Revenants. With Storm, Psylocke, and Puck out of action, it may be up to Bishop to stop the Revenant Queen before she can reach her endgame.

Uncanny X-Force Volume 2: Torn and Frayed collects Uncanny X-Force #7-12, written by Sam Humphries and illustrated by Adrian Alphona, Dalibor Talajic, and Ramon Perez.

The Psylocke-centric issues that begin this collection are admittedly the most thrilling and engaging. She confronts her past and present as she is taken to Madripoor in order to square things with Fantomex, Cluster, and Weapon XIII. In a series of flashbacks, we see a glimpse of her life when she was entangled in a complicated relationship with Fantomex and Cluster in Paris, dividing her time up equally between pulling off heists and rolling around the sheets with her lover(s). Then, the present day action brings her into conflict with her ex-lover(s) as she must either spare Fantomex’s life or kill him. This arc provides a complex character portrait of everyone’s favourite purple-haired psychic ninja, revealing her to be sexually fluid and unable to give up the thrill that comes from larceny. While the Fantomex clones fail to be more than plot devices, I can at least applaud Humphries for using them in a way that expands Psylocke’s personality and explores her desires more fully. It’s a quaint and nicely contained arc that is somewhat diminished by lackluster art (and colour - seriously why is Psylocke's hair lavender?!) and the fact that it’s a diversion from the main thrust of this series.

The latter three issues of Torn and Frayed return to the narrative of Bishop and the Revenant Queen. Bishop is separated from his allies in a battle against their enemies, leaving Storm, Psylocke, and Puck vulnerable to the emergence of their Revenants. The trio is thus confronted with their deepest desires and worst failures. While I appreciate many of the elements to this storyline, particularly the reveal of who the Revenant Queen is, I’m disappointed by the disjointed way in which it is told and that it’s left as a cliffhanger when collected in trade form. I also find the exploration of the characters’ insecurities to be trite and expected. We’ve already seen these characters acknowledge and rail against their inner demons in other storylines, so it seems a bit clichéd to do so yet again here. It seems to me that it would have been more time effective to actually resolve the Revenant Queen arc and then perhaps move the Fantomex clone arc after it.

It’s clear by Torn and Frayed and its preceding volume that Humphries’ strength is in his depiction of Psylocke. She’s been the most consistently well-written and interesting character in his tenure on Uncanny X-Force, especially during the opening issues here. The rest of this collection could use a little more bite and originality, but it is entertaining anyway. Still, I’d recommend reading Torn and Frayed for the sake of completionism or if you’re a big fan of Psylocke or Bishop. Otherwise, this trade falls on the more disposable end of the X-universe.

RATING: C+