From the ashes of Marvel Comics' upcoming "Vendetta" crossover, a lone "X-Force" comic shall rise.

Announced this morning via USA Today, Marvel's pro-active mutant team will find itself dropping from two titles to one under the creative guidance of "X-Men Legacy" writer Si Spurrier and artist Rock-He Kim.

"This isn't a steroidal macho-fest: It's a slick, nasty, oh-so-grim beast that'll cut your throat and blow up your headquarters before you even know it's there," Spurrier said, emphasizing the modern approach he plans to take with the black-ops team. "Switch on the news and you've got unmanned drones violating international borders, governments listening in on their enemies -- their allies and their own civilians alike, -- unregistered aeronautical tech deployed in the field, defected oligarchs dying of radiation poisoning, whistleblowers vilified and so on.

"[W]e're playing with a lot of layers here. Factionalism, politics, violence, plus all the very human-level dramas that underpin any good team book."

"Vendetta," the crossover between "Cable and X-Force" and "Uncanny X-Force" set to end both series, runs through January. Spurrier and Kim's new "X-Force" title will launch in February.