X-Force (1991)

X-Force was created by illustrator Rob Liefeld after he started penciling The New Mutants comic book in 1989 with #86. The popularity of Liefeld’s art led to him taking over the plotting duties on the book. With help from writer Fabian Nicieza, who provided the dialogue for Liefeld’s plots, Liefeld transformed the New Mutants into X-Force in New Mutants #100, the book’s final issue. Liefeld and Nicieza launched X-Force in August 1991. Rob Liefeld obtained the name for the series from an unknown artist at a convention a few months prior to its release. With the aid of a multiple-variant poly-bagged card, the book sold a record 5 million copies, and remains the second highest selling American comic book of all time, surpassed only by Jim Lee’s X-Men book that same summer with 8 million copies. The original line-up of the team included Boom Boom, CableCannonball, Domino, Feral, Shatterstar and Warpath. In later issues, X-Force’s roster would include Siryn, Rictor and Sunspot.

The main opponents of X-Force during its first year were the terrorist Mutant Liberation Front, led by Stryfe, a masked mutant with a mysterious link to Cable. Early issues also featured the wise-cracking mercenary Deadpool, the immortal Externals, and a new version of the Brotherhood of Mutants.

X-Force – Youngblood (1996)

Marvel’s Mutant Militia and Image’s Finest Superteam unite! Rocketing from the pages of  Youngblood/X-Force, Cable and company collide with Shaft and his squad! Youngblood returns to the Marvel Universe to join X-Force in a war against the returned maniac called Mojo! Can Longshot and Dazzler help turn the tide to the good guys’ side?

X-Force V5 (2020)

X-Force is the CIA of the mutant world-one half intelligence branch, one half special ops. Beast, Jean Grey and Sage on one side, Wolverine, Kid Omega and Domino on the other.

X-Force V2 (2004)

It’s X-Men: ReLoad Wave 2! Rob Liefeld and Fabian Nicieza return to the title they made famous—X-FORCE! Cable, Domino, Cannonball, Shatterstar, Warpath and all the rest return in this new series! New heroes, new villains, and big action… X-Force just the way you want it!

X-Force V3 (2008)

A new X-Force ongoing series was launched in February 2008, written by Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost and drawn by Clayton Crain.

Cyclops forms a black ops incarnation of X-Force that uses lethal force to permanently deal with threats against mutants. WarpathWolfsbaneWolverine and X-23 form the starting lineup, with AngelDomino and Elixir joining soon after. Yost had at one point stated that Deadpool would join the cast to bring more diversity to the team, but this did not happen until after his run and the launch of Uncanny X-Force. This team does battle Red Hulk and his team, consisting of DeadpoolPunisherElectra and Thundra, as they try to hunt down Domino.

X-Force V4 (2014)

Almost every sovereign state in the Marvel Universe makes use of sanctioned superhumans to protect national interests and pursue a covert agenda. The United States has the Secret Avengers. The United Kingdom has MI13. And mutantkind has X-FORCE. In this dirty, secret, no-holds-barred, deadly game of superhuman black ops, veteran X-Man Cable and his team will spy, torture, and kill to ensure that the mutant race not only has a place in the world…but also a stake in it.