CABLE’S FIRST X-FORCE
X-Force began as an evolution of the New Mutants, a group of teenage mutants who studied under Professor X and the X-Men. As the X-Men put their attention elsewhere, Cable, a time-traveling soldier from an apocalyptic future, began mentoring the New Mutants. To stop his dark world from becoming reality, Cable transformed the young heroes into a militaristic team, X-Force, in NEW MUTANTS (1983) #100 by Rob Liefeld and Fabian Nicieza.
Cable’s first X-Force team mixed younger mutants like Cannonball, Boom-Boom, Feral, and Warpath with experienced fighters like Domino and Shatterstar. This group primarily fought Cable’s evil clone, Stryfe, and his followers, the Mutant Liberation Front, starting in X-FORCE (1991) #1 by Liefeld and Nicieza. Over their next few adventures, Sunspot, a former New Mutant, and other young mutants like Siryn and Rictor also joined this incarnation of the team.
Guided by Cable’s aggressive battle tactics and grizzled worldview, X-Force became an outlaw group that clashed with the X-Men on occasion, particularly when Stryfe framed Cable for shooting Professor X in X-CUTIONER’S SONG. In addition to Stryfe, this X-Force fought a new incarnation of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, as well as Gideon, an immortal mutant with a special interest in Sunspot.
