- Complete Monster: "Otherworld" & "Final Execution" arcs: Harry Pizer, also known as "the Skinless Man", was once a barrister who used his ability to stretch and contort his body to cheat and win cases. When contracted by the Weapon Plus program to fight the Russians during the Cold War, Pizer, designated Weapon III, giddily used the opportunity to slaughter countless enemy troops, deeming it a righteous cause all the while before murdering his way into Otherworld to steal the powerful Orb. After being skinned alive due to Fantomex's interference in his plans, Pizer only got worse as he assisted in orchestrating a bloody war against all of Otherworld, and later attempted to torture Fantomex and Psylocke to death in front of each other, starting by slicing Fantomex's face off. Eventually joining Daken's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants after murdering his ex-wife and her new husband, Pizer gleefully takes part in their plans to psychologically torture the young boy Evan into becoming the next Apocalypse, even tricking the boy into thinking his father figure Fantomex is alive only to reveal Pizer murdered him. When confronted by a vengeful Evan, Pizer offers him one final chance to revive Fantomex, only to swipe the offer away, simply laughing at the boy's gullibility. Pizer stands out even among the Brotherhood due to the fact that, while all the other members have alternative motives for trying to create a new Apocalypse, Pizer just wants the boy to kill millions of people as a final spiteful move towards Fantomex.
- Funny Moments: Deadpool singing Miami Sound Machine's "Conga," while being tortured.
- Heartwarming in Hindsight: During Deadpool and Evan's talk, Deadpool comments that he'll probably never have kids hence why Evan is like a son or little brother to him. Not even a few years after this book Deadpool would learn that he actually has a daughter (Ellie Camancho). Even better, Evan helps save her when she's thrown out a window after Deadpool called him for help.
- Heartwarming Moments:
- Nightcrawler asks Deadpool why he'd go on such a dangerous mission, especially since he lost his healing factor. His answer (well, second answer) was that he didn't want to let anyone down, because the X-Force is the closest thing he's ever had to a family. Remember, this is coming from the guy who's been mistreated pretty much his entire life, and has only ever had a handful of friends.
- Deadpool's heart-to-heart with Evan, in which he reassures him that he's a great kid and isn't anything like Apocalypse.
Evan: At my lowest point you were the hero who showed up to save me.Deadpool: ...That... that's the first time anyone's ever called me that... - Moral Event Horizon: Sabretooth basically leaps across the horizon with glee. He manipulates things so that Wolverine is forced to murder his own son just for the pleasure of making Logan feel like shit.
- Nausea Fuel: Archangel falls victim to the Horseman of Famine, whose power drains all the nutrients in his bloodstream, leaving him severely malnourished. Deadpool finds his teammate and tries to nurse him back to health by providing him with the only food source available: Deadpool's own flesh, which he slices off and shoves into Archangel's mouth.
- Signature Scene:
- Fantomex shooting Kid Apocalypse, the point where it's driven home that this won't be your average X-Force book.
- Deadpool and Evan's heart-to-heart in the final issue is often brought up for being one of the most heartwarming moments in the series and a defining moment of Deadpool's characterization as a mercenary with a heart of gold.
- Squick: Blob from Earth-295 is an impossibly obese cannibal whose signature attack consists of him shoving his enemies into his rectum. His death scene is also deeply disturbing, as he gets a shark teleported into his body. When the animal begins ripping his organs to shreds, Blob can do nothing but convulse and vomit a stream of blood, before finally collapsing.
- Strangled by the Red String:
- Fantomex and Psylocke. Later turns out to be invoked. Fantomex knew Psylocke didn't really have feelings for him, but he had to make her question her devotion to Warren in order to acquire the courage needed to kill him.
- Future Wolverine and Future Psylocke are together for no apparent reason. Although they always shared a close friendship, there was never a romantic subtext between them, which is especially jarring considering how Psylocke's relationship with Warren, as well as Wolverine's love for Jean Grey and Mariko Yashida, are major elements of their respective character arcs.
- Tearjerker:
- Deadpool calling a team meeting to come clean about his misgivings over Fantomex killing Kid Apocalypse, only for an in-denial Wolverine to mock him as a greedy bloodsucking mercenary and insinuate he's weak for feeling upset and guilty over what happened.
Deadpool: Yeah. But I never killed a kid.- Later, when Wolverine and Angel are discussing letting Deadpool go from the team, this gem is revealed.
Logan: Cut him loose, Warren. Missions are delicate enough. Dirtbag Mercenary can't be trusted.Warren: He never cashed my checks, Logan. Working for me for over a year. Never cashed a one.- Many of Logan and Daken's scenes together in Final Execution, culminating in Logan being forced to kill his son, intercut with what might have been had Logan not been an absentee father to Daken.
- Unpopular Popular Character: Deadpool is popular with the fans, but tolerated at best by the rest of the team and actively despised by Wolverine. Most egregious example: when Fantomex shocks the team by killing kid!Apocalypse in cold blood, Deadpool takes the brunt of the team's wrath for openly questioning the killing. Leads to Dude, Where's My Respect?. Deadpool does garner a little more respect from his teammates after they've been through a few life and death situations, especially Wolverine and Fantomex, oddly enough.
- The Woobie: Kid Apocalypse is a clone of a megalomaniacal supervillain that has terrorized the X-Men for ages. Raised by Clan Akkaba, he is indoctrinated in his predecessor's supremacist ideologies and ends up becoming X-Force's first target, as they fear he will grow up to be as ruthless as the original Apocalypse. However, he is depicted as an innocent child who would be perfectly happy just being left alone in his room with his toys. Some scenes even prove he is capable of compassion, as he refuses to let the Final Horsemen execute the heroes and outright says he does not enjoy seeing other people being killed. Cornered by Archangel, he can do nothing but curl up, cry and beg for his life. Although Warren backs down, Fantomex ultimately kills Kid Apocalypse with a bullet to the head. His death would haunt the team for the rest of the run.
