Cloak and Dagger #10 (1990)

Nothing about this issue makes sense.  As you can tell from the cover, this is the first appearance of X-Force.  In a Cloak and Dagger book.

And their existence is explained as the government no longer trusting Mystique’s mutant-comprised “Freedom Force” because of their behavior during Acts of Vengeance, so the government formed a SECOND group of mutants who are each named after a member of the X-Men—who themselves are complete outlaws and fugitives. Fool me once, fool me twice.

By the end of the issue, these new “heroes” have been revealed as villains (surprise!) and they’re either dead or off the X-Force team–and won’t be seen again.

Slapping “mutant” on the title masthead and creating an “X” team both seem like transparent (and ineffective) ways to attempt to sustain a series marked by low readership and even lower quality.

I grade this as an F.  A cover that promises a new team, but instead gives us a lifeless copy in a one-time appearance.

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