What is Marvel’s X-Force? Members and origins explained

Since the release of Deadpool 2, Marvel fans have been hoping for a spin-off featuring the best mutant team in the Marvel Comics — move aside X-Men, we are talking about X-Force. The X-Force made their live-action debut in Deadpool 2, created by Deadpool as he needed to form a team to rescue Russell AKA Firefist (Julian Dennison) but they did not last very long, with a majority of the team dying almost immediately.

An X-Force spinoff movie was in the works, but ever since Disney bought 20th Century Fox, plans for the film have been up in the air. If we do see the team return in Deadpool 3, the team would most likely have a different lineup than the lineup included in Deadpool 2, one that could match the lineup in the comic books. But what does the X-Force look like in the comic books, and how were they formed?

What are the origins of Marvel’s X-Force?

The X-Force are a team created by Fabian Nicieza and Rob Liefeld, first appearing in New Mutants #100 in 1991. The team usually did not have one consistent lineup of members, changing their roster over the years. However, one thing usually stayed consistent over time: that their leader was Cable AKA Nathan Summers, the time-traveling mutant. The team would usually band together as an outside force, apart from the X-Men, as their work was usually required more of a hands-on outlaw approach.

Over the years the team has consisted of many members such as Beast, Bedlam, Boom-Boom, Black Tom Cassidy, Caliban, Cannonball, Colossus, Deadpool, Doctor Nemesis, Domino, E.V.A., Fantomex, Feral, Forge, ForgetMeNot, Hepzibah, Hope Summers, Kid Omega, Marrow, Moonstar, Omega Red, Pete Wisdom, Psylocke, Rictor, Sage, Shatterstar, Siryn, Sunspot, Tommy the Morlock, Warpath, Wolfsbane, Wolverine, and X-23. Out of these members, those who appeared in Deadpool 2 are Bedlam, Cable, Colossus, Deadpool, Domino, and Shatterstar. 

There is undoubtedly room for an MCU version of the X-Force roster to grow, especially as some of these characters did not have live-action versions. There is also no word as to whether Colossus, Cable, or Domino will be returning in Deadpool 3 but those three combined with Deadpool and Wolverine would make an interesting X-Force lineup. After all, we have had a number of X-Men films, it would be nice to change not only the mutant team being followed and their lineup, but their motivations as well.

While mutants will be making their way to the MCU via Deadpool 3, we do not have word on any official X-Force or X-Men-related standalone MCU movies and we probably will not get any confirmation until at least after the release of Deadpool 3. The third installment of the Deadpool franchise is set to release on Sept. 6, 2024.