I want to like Marvel's new X-Force books. I really do. I wanted to like Shatterstar, too. Unfortunately, I don't like either books all that much.
Shatterstar is one of the characters that's been in limbo for quite some time. That is limbo as in the Webster's definition of the term, not the actual dimension of X-continuity. He was a member of X-Force back in the day. He was always a decent character, in my opinion. Probably the most interesting thing about him, though, was the simple fact that he seemed to be tied into the stories of two other of my favorite X-characters - Longshot and Dazzler. Shatterstar's past has always been a bit of a mystery, but longtime X-readers will recall that there has previously been some speculation that Shatterstar may be the other-dimensional son of Longshot and Dazzler. The similarities between father and son are surely there.
This book, however, doesn't really deal with much of that at all, unfortunately. The closest thing we get is an appearance of longtime Longshot nemesis Spiral. Actually, that's the most redeeming quality that this whole issue has in it. Spiral is another character that I always thought was very cool, and yet has also been "off the map", as it were, for quite some time.
Apparently, Shatterstar has been keeping himself busy in Madripoor, fighting in some sort of gladiatorial arena and making enough money doing so to get by. He's pretty much minding his own business until a pack of red clad ninjas decides to drop in unannounced and start fighting. From there, you can pretty much fill in the next 10 pages or so with your own cheesy dialogue and fight sequences - fill in your own dialogue or read what is actually there, it doesn't make much difference.
In the end, the ninjas bestow a weapon of unspeakable power (and about the size of a butter knife) upon Shatterstar in the hopes that he will save (mankind? mutantkind? Does it matter?) against the evil that is "Skornn". Of course, Shatterstar agrees. And somehow Spiral is interested in this whole turn of events.
Mychaels art on the book is actually not too bad. Although, clearly inspired by the highly stylized Liefeld, Mychaels manages to tone down some of the art so that it looks better than the typically disproportionate figures Liefeld's used to drawing.
In the end, die-hard Liefeld fans are sure to enjoy the book. Although the art is good and the tiny bits with Spiral got my attention, the story was pretty darned boring and, in my opinion, pretty unimaginative. You're shocked, I can tell. This is just the first of a four-issue mini-series. I'm still undecided as to whether I'll pick up the remaining three. I think there are a lot of other books on the shelves I'd rather spend my dollar on.
