X-Force #12
X-Force #12 marks the first on-panel appearance of Crule, the ferocious External dispatched by Gideon to hunt down Cannonball and kill Cable, making it the entry point for one of the more distinctive immortal-mutant antagonists of early 1990s Marvel storytelling. The issue simultaneously advances the Domino/Copycat deception that had been building since the series' launch — with Cable orchestrating a double-bluff against Tolliver (Tyler Dayspring) by having the imposter Domino feed false intelligence over a video link — and assembles the full Weapon P.R.I.M.E. strike force, setting up the kinetic confrontation that would follow in the next arc. Crucially, it is Rob Liefeld's final turn as plotter on the series he co-created, closing the door on the book's founding creative voice and handing narrative control entirely to Fabian Nicieza, whose more character-driven approach would reshape X-Force significantly in the issues ahead.
ComicBooks.com Value
Show all 7 grades ▾
This exact issue on ebay
CGC 9.8 ▾ $65–$155 2 listings
Raw — MINT ▾ $1.99–$2.99 2 listings
Raw — VF/NM ▾ $1.99–$12.99 7 listings
Raw / ungraded ▾ $1–$12 33 listings
Sell my copy
Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.
We Buy Collections ▸History
The issue carried a cover date of July 1992 and was released on May 26, 1992, plotted by Rob Liefeld with script by Fabian Nicieza — the last time Liefeld held a plotting credit on the title before departing Marvel later that year to co-found Image Comics. Interior pencils were provided by Mark Pacella with inks by Dan Panosian, the cover also credited to Pacella and Panosian; Bob Harras edited under editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco. The character Crule had been foreshadowed in prior issues only as 'Krule' in mentions and offscreen references, and the spelling was quietly corrected to 'Crule' for his actual debut here — a small but telling example of the fluid, sometimes inconsistent character development that characterized early X-Force production.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Title: 'Traitors to the Cause' — released May 26, 1992, cover-dated July 1992, published by Marvel Comics.
- First on-panel appearance of Crule, an immortal External created by Rob Liefeld, Fabian Nicieza, Mark Pacella, and Dan Panosian; his name had been spelled 'Krule' in earlier issues before being corrected here.
- Grizzly (Theodore Winchester) formally joins Weapon P.R.I.M.E. in this issue, recruited by G.W. Bridge aboard a S.H.I.E.L.D. carrier.
- The Domino-impersonator subplot reaches a key pivot: Cable discovers that Vanessa Carlysle (Copycat) has been feeding intelligence to Tolliver, and turns the situation around by having her make a false report over a video link to deceive Tolliver — Tolliver (Tyler Dayspring) appears only on-screen in this issue.
- Rictor reveals to Garrison Kane (Weapon X) that he witnessed Cable kill his father years earlier, deepening his personal motivation for joining Weapon P.R.I.M.E.'s mission against Cable.
- Rob Liefeld's final plotting credit on X-Force Vol. 1 — Fabian Nicieza took sole creative control from issue #13 onward.
- Interior art by Mark Pacella (pencils) and Dan Panosian (inks); edited by Bob Harras; lettered by Chris Eliopoulos; colored by John Cebollero.
- The issue has been reprinted in: X-Force (Semic S.A., 1992 series) #7 (1993); X-Force: Under the Gun (Marvel, 2011); X-Force Omnibus Vol. 1 (Marvel, 2013); and X-Force Epic Collection Vol. 1 — Under the Gun (Marvel, 2017).
Cast · 21 characters
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in X-Force #7 (1993), X-Force: Under the Gun #[nn] (2011), X-Force Omnibus #1 (2013), X-Force Epic Collection #1 (2017), Marvel Legacy : Deadpool #2 (2018)
Key issues in X-Force
Variants (2)
Reviews
Reader reviews
No reader reviews yet.