Appearing in "To the Pain"
Featured Characters:
- X-Force
Boom-Boom 
- Cable
- Cannonball
- Feral
- Rictor
- Shatterstar
- Siryn
- Sunspot (Joins Team)
- Warpath
Supporting Characters:
- Vanessa Carlysle (disguised as Domino)
- Domino
- Professor (Ship)
Adversaries:
- Crule
- Tolliver (Apparent Death)
- Deadpool
- Gideon (On a TV or computer screen)
- Segismund Joshua
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
- S.H.I.E.L.D. IPAC unit
- Tolliver's helicopter (Destroyed in this issue)
Synopsis for "To the Pain"
Crule attacks X-Force aboard their stolen SHIELD carrier, having come to kill Cannonball before he can threaten the Externals and their plans. When Crule reveals that Sunspot is in danger as well, Cannonball has Rictor blast him out of the aircraft and sets a course for Gideon’s home in Colorado. At Tolliver’s villa, Deadpool gloats to Cable that Vanessa has been impersonating Domino for months while Tolliver held the real one captive. Enraged, Cable beats up Deadpool and frees Domino, but Deadpool recovers and subdues Cable. Before Deadpool can kill Cable, Domino shoots him in the back. She and Cable then chase a fleeing Tolliver. As X-Force flies over Colorado, Gideon calls and offers them Sunspot’s location in exchange for Cannonball’s promise to never interfere with the Externals' affairs. Cannonball agrees, and Gideon directs them to his research facility in New Mexico. Upon arriving, X-Force storms the building and finds Sunspot supercharged with solar energy. Protected by his blast shield, Cannonball flies Sunspot into the sky to release the excess energy in a massive explosion. Afterward, the team ponders its next move. In Sicily, Tolliver flees in a helicopter, but Cable and Domino jump onto its struts as it takes off. Cable convinces Domino to jump off over the sea and asks her to find X-Force. Then, he fires into the helicopter cabin, jumps out as it explodes, and teleports away. Domino swims ashore while, in the villa, Deadpool wakes up to find Vanessa has escaped despite her wounds. Cable materializes aboard Graymalkin and, frustrated that his plans have been derailed, decides to go on the offensive. In Arizona, Sunspot joins X-Force as they adopt the ruins of Warpath’s reservation as their new home.
Notes
- This issue is reprinted in:
- X-Force: Under the Gun hardcover (2011);
- X-Force Omnibus hardcover (2013);
- Deadpool: Beginnings Omnibus hardcover (2017);
- X-Force Epic Collection vol. 1: Under the Gun trade paperback (2017);
- Deadpool Epic Collection vol. 1: The Circle Chase trade paperback (2022).
Trivia
- Cable's story continues in the Cable: Blood & Metal mini-series.
- Despite his apparent death in this story, Tolliver survives, and his true identity is revealed in Cable #6.
See Also
Recommended Reading
Links and References
- X-Force at Wikipedia
- X-Force at Marvel Subscriptions
- X-Force series index at Comicbookdb.com
- X-Force series index at Uncanny X-Men.net
- X-Force series index at the Grand Comics Database Project
- The Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators - accessed on 06/03/2010