BISHOP: XSE #3 - March 1998

Final Ploy

Credits: John Ostrander (writer), Steve Epting (penciler), Andrew Pepoy & Mark Prudeaux (inks), Comicraft (letters), Brad Vancata (colors)

Summary: Bishop convinces Malcolm to disobey orders and help him stop the Rook. At Rook’s HQ, the Fanatix plan to impersonate the XSE and assassinate the anti-mutant crusader, Trask. Malcolm springs Shard, as the Fanatix bring a captive Randall to a gathering of disaffected mutants. Soon, the reunited XSE rescue Randall and chase Rook back to his headquarters. There, they discover his true identity. Rook is Jimmy Knox, the adolescent son of philanthropist Jerome Knox. Using his possession powers, which also work on LMDs, he hoped to spark a human/mutant war. Knox is arrested and Bishop is cleared.

Continuity Notes: The Rook kills Fanatix members Pulsar and Shadowbox during the story. Pulsar is killed for siding with Randall and refusing to murder him, but Shadowbox is killed for no obvious reason.

“Huh?” Moment: Bishop punches Malcolm in the face to make his escape look convincing. Later, Malcolm tells Shard to look at his chin as proof. His chin is actually covered with that metal face gear he wears, so it’s fine. His cheek, on the other hand, is swollen.

Review: First, an apology. So far, I’ve neglected to mention that every male protagonist in this series has a beautifully coiffed mullet. Overlooking a mullet reference is clearly a violation of Blogger’s Terms of Service, so I regret waiting until the final issue to use such references as “Tennessee Top Hat,” “Neck Warmer,” “Canadian Passport,” “Camaro Cut,” and “Mississippi Mudflap.” (I can’t speak for Wordpress, but I imagine they have a similar statute.) If you’ll accept my apology, we can move on.

Bishop: XSE concludes with all of the pieces put back into place, which isn’t surprising since it’s a prequel story. The finale introduces two new characters, a generic member of the Trask family and the junior Knox, that end up playing major roles in the conclusion. Actually, the unnamed Trask doesn’t even make a real appearance, but he’s mentioned on the final page to illustrate the irony of the XSE’s mission enabling him to continue preaching mutant hatred. I don’t mind the sudden reveal of evil little Jimmy Knox, since it’s obvious Ostrander was setting up Annabella Knox as a red herring in the previous issues. It is a bit of cheat that the Rook’s identity belongs to a character we’re only seeing now, but this is only a three-issue miniseries, and not a “Who Is the Hobgoblin?” prolonged mystery. Revealing that Rook’s power is possession, and that the shapeshifting only belonged to the LMDs he controlled, is rather clever. Like the previous Bishop and XSE minis, some of the dialogue is clunky and there’s of course a sense that this was a slot on the schedule waiting for a story, but overall, this is the strongest of the Bishop solo minis.

BISHOP: XSE #2 - February 1998

Rook vs. Bishop

Credits: John Ostrander (writer), Steve Epting & Nick Napalitano (pencilers), Mark Prudeaux, Robert Jones, Andrew Pepoy, & Steve Moncuse (inkers), Comicraft (letters), Brad Vancata (colors)

Summary: Posing as Bishop, Rook leads the Fanatix in a strike against the new Statue of Liberty. The real Bishop is notified of Rook’s machinations by Anthony Shaw, while the XSE targets their apparently renegade teammate. Bishop sneaks into their headquarters and convinces Shard to send him information on Annabella Knox. From Shard, Bishop learns that Knox is going to the courthouse to finalize her inheritance. Bishop’s partner Malcolm arrests Shard for insubordination, then confronts Bishop outside of the courthouse.

Continuity Notes: The original Statue of Liberty was destroyed during the Summers Rebellion, when humans and mutants united against the Sentinels. “Morlocks” is revealed as the name of a bar populated by deformed mutants in this future. According to Shard’s research, Rook’s shapechanging abilities come from organic Life Model Decoy technology from the final days of SHIELD.

Review: Remember when people actually wanted to see more of Malcolm and Randall? I think those days were over by 1998, but Ostrander is still trying to make use of Bishop’s established supporting cast. Ostrander dutifully goes through with the assignment, staying true to what we know about Bishop’s timeline, rather than going off on a tangent and just writing his own futuristic, sci-fi setting and cramming Bishop into it. The story covers some well-worn territory, but Ostrander to his credit does establish that none of Bishop’s friends believe he’s guilty, they just have an obligation to enforce the law. Malcolm doesn’t have any major internal conflicts about what’s he doing, he just doesn’t like doing it, which seems to fit the way XSE officers have been portrayed in the past. Seeing Bishop on the run also works as an inversion of his usual role. His solo stories usually involve him tracking down a fugitive he’s either going to arrest or kill, so there’s a bit of twist this time. Steve Epting drops out of the art chores halfway through the issue, leaving Nick Napalitano to finish the rest. Napalitano seems to be mimicking the worst elements of Andy Kubert’s early X-work, and I’m sure having four inkers rush to finish the pages doesn’t do him any favors, either.

BISHOP: XSE #1 - January 1998

Rook Takes Pawn

Credits: John Ostrander (writer), Steve Epting (penciler), Mark Prudeaux (inker), Comicraft (letters), Brad Vancata (colors)

Summary: The XSE confront Fantix, a mutant terrorist group that’s targeted Jerome Knox, a businessman who wishes to unite humans and mutants. After Fantix is defeated, XSE member Randall suddenly kills Knox without explanation. He’s placed in prison, but is soon broken out by Fantix’s Shadowbox and Pulsar. At Fantix’s hideout, Randall begins to regain his true personality. He encounters the leader of Fantix, a shapechanger named the Rook.

Continuity Notes: A brief scene establishes the future Hellfire Club is led by a man named Anthony Shaw. As “Annabella Knox” (which might actually be his/her true identity), Rook is auditioning to join.

Review: There was a third Bishop miniseries? And Steve Epting drew it? Huh, who knew. Ostrander’s first Bishop mini had nice art and a thin story, while the second had more ideas but wretched artwork, so it’s not as if these limited series have a great track record behind them. Bringing in Steve Epting (who the ‘90s X-office didn’t seem to know what to do with, for some reason) gives me some confidence that the quality will be improving. There is more to the plot than “Bishop chases bad guy,” so the story’s already ahead of the first miniseries. I’m not sure if we need another story set in his future, especially when the character had been left on a cliffhanger in the current continuity at this point, but Ostrander is making an admirable attempt at world-building. The relationship between humans and mutants in Bishop’s time, following their united opposition against the Sentinels, hasn’t been explored in any of the flashback stories yet, so there’s room for Ostrander to explore. I wish Marvel itself showed some interest in the comic, though. Aside from its nonexistent promotion, the first issue also suffers from some flagrant typos any proofreader should’ve caught (the opening scene’s society dinner is apparently for a “good causel.”)

X-MEN ‘97 - February 1998

Not a Cloud in the Sky

Credits: John Francis Moore (writer), Steve Epting (penciler), Dan Green (inker), Comicraft (letters), Brad Vancata (colors)

Summary: Joseph awakens to learn that Iceman is a teen idol, Rogue can touch Gambit, Beast has cured the Legacy Virus, and Cyclops has control of his optic blasts. When he realizes Jean Grey is missing, he convinces Rogue and Gambit to help him find her. With Cerebro, they track her to a nearby department store. They soon learn Gamesmaster kidnapped her while she was shopping; with Xavier in government custody, the X-Men’s remaining telepathic defense has been removed. Gamesmaster explains that he’s psionically granted the X-Men their greatest desires, and manipulated the population into abandoning mutant prejudice. He offers to keep the scheme alive if Joseph joins him. Joseph instead frees Jean, who battles Gamesmaster in the Astral Plane. Gamesmaster abandons the fight, leaving his motives a secret.

Continuity Notes: This story has to take place shortly after "Operation: Zero Tolerance," since the team hasn’t been splintered by their extended outer space adventure yet. Gamesmaster explains that he’s able to telepathically turn off Rogue’s powers, which is another hint her problems are psychological in nature. Why exactly Gamesmaster wants Joseph to join is left as a mystery.

Review: Gamesmaster returns, joining the ranks of Gene Nation in the “Villains Who Were Supposed to Be Huge, But Now Headline Annuals” Club. Aside from overseeing the early ‘90s Upstart massacres, I’m convinced (based on the “Child’s Play” crossover) Gamesmaster was supposed to be the original antagonist of Generation X when that series was in the planning stages. Now, he’s threatening the X-Men in an untold tale from the recent past. What the story has going for it is John Francis Moore, who was doing solid work on X-Force at the time, and has apparently given Gamesmaster more thought than his creators ever did.

It’s obvious from the opening that this is a fake-out, but I was genuinely surprised to see the mysterious utopia isn’t a dream or hallucination, but instead the actual Marvel Universe. Could an “omnipath” like Gamesmaster eliminate mutant prejudice and solve the X-Men’s problems? Would the X-Men be willing to let him do it? Those are intriguing questions, and while we all know the heroes won’t go through with it, the dilemma suits the type of story you need for a one-shot annual. I also like the fact that Moore has kept Gamesmaster inside the store, a thinly veiled Target parody, where he kidnapped Jean Grey. Seeing the X-Men fight mind-controlled department store employees could’ve been too ridiculous, but the story doesn’t dwell on it for too long, and it’s a nice break from where we usually see action scenes in these books. So, this is a step above the typical annual filler of the time; and Steve Epting provides the art, so the readers are even spared the horrible fake manga or bad Image impersonators that often marred the annuals.

TALES FROM THE AGE OF APOCALYPSE - December 1997

Sinister Bloodlines

Credits: John Francis Moore (plot), Brian K. Vaughan (script), Steve Epting & Nick Napolitano (pencilers), Al Milgrom (inker), Comicraft (letters), Kevin Tinsley (colors)

Summary: Five years ago, Apocalypse’s men shot down an alien craft over Manhattan. Today, Christopher Summers escapes from Sinister’s custody and runs into the city. Sinister sends the Prelates to find him, but intentionally excludes Cyclops and Havok. When the Prelates fail, Cyclops and Havok search for Christopher. Christopher recognizes them as his children, and tells them the story of his alien abduction and eventual return to Earth. After facing a group of scavengers, the trio takes refuge during a storm. Later, infected humans attack their shelter. They’re rescued by Sinister, who explains that he hid Christopher from Cyclops and Havok because he was infected with alien DNA. Christopher suddenly mutates into a Brood Queen, and with his remaining humanity, begs Cyclops to kill him. As they dispose of his body, Havok declares he’ll never forgive Cyclops.

Continuity Notes: In the opening sequence, set five years ago, Beast is still human and Havok and Cyclops are training to become Prelates. Emplate and “the Monets” are Prelates in the present day, although Christopher Summers apparently kills Emplate. While on the run from Sinister, Christopher is aided by the AoA version of Joe Robertson. While under the Brood’s influence, Christopher kills him. He also infects Colleen Wing, who kills Misty Knight. During Christopher’s tale of his alien abduction, we see that the Brood have overtaken the Shi’ar in this timeline.

Production Note: This is a$5.99 prestige format book with no ads.

Review: Factor X was probably the most consistent of the AoA titles, so I’m glad Marvel revived these characters instead of presenting another underwhelming prequel story about the X-Men. Factor X’s John Francis Moore and Steve Epting return, aided by Brian K. Vaughn and Nick Napolitano. I know that Vaughn was a new writer Marvel was trying out in these days, but I’ve never heard of Napolitano. I can’t really tell where his art begins and Epting’s ends, which does at least give the book a consistent look.

The story is well-structured, taking advantage of the forty-eight page format. The opening “five years ago” scene is really only there to establish the arrival of Corsair (only called Christopher Summers in the story), but Moore also uses the space to establish the cast and set up the conflicts between Cyclops and Havok. The other cast members of Factor X aren’t the focus of the story, but they are at least given enough room to make more than cameos. Introducing the AoA version of Corsair is more significant than, say, the AoA Inhumans, which makes the one-shot feel like a legitimate story that’s perhaps deserving of the format.

I like the revelation that Corsair is actually a Brood Queen (for a second, I wondered if he would turn into the AoA version of Man-Wolf), although I have my continuity quibbles about the idea. The AoA diverged twenty years ago with Xavier’s death in Israel. Corsair was abducted by the Shi’ar a few years later, and as this story shows, they’re already Brood-infected by this point. How did Xavier’s death, years before he would’ve had contact with Lilandra and the Shi’ar, lead to the Brood taking over the Shi’ar? I realize this is kind of pedantic, but it goes against the basic premise of the Age of Apocalypse. The AoA isn’t just another alternate reality; it diverged from ours at a specific point. Xavier’s death would’ve had a large chain reaction on mutants on Earth, but it wouldn’t have impacted one alien race taking over another (especially if they’re doing it years before the X-Men had any contact with them). The inconsistency doesn’t hinder my enjoyment of the book, though. Besides, I’ve already come up with my own No-Prize explanation.

TEAM X/TEAM 7 – November 1996

All Sold Out
Credits: Larry Hama (writer), Steve Epting (penciler), Klaus Janson (inker), Comicraft (lettering), Steve Buccellato & Team Bucce! (colors)

Summary: In the past, in the Sultanate of Numidia, both Team X and Team 7 are sent on separate missions to investigate the country’s escalating super-soldier program. Leni Zauber, Mystique’s latest alias, is sent as an inside operative for Team X, while Mirielle Duplessis is working undercover for Team 7. Omega Red is inside the facility, representing the Soviet government, who licensed the program to Numidia in exchange for oil concessions. Both Team X and Team 7 make it inside and face Omega Red and the Numidian soldiers. When Team 7’s government superior decides that he can’t get the information he wants from the mission, he orders Mirielle to trigger a static nuke and kill everyone inside. Mystique kills her before she can trigger the bomb, and Team 7 combine their powers to destroy the warhead. The teams are rescued by John Wraith, and soon agree to forget each other’s secrets.

Production Note: This is a forty-eight page, bookshelf format comic with no ads. The paper is the regular, non-glossy stock Marvel was using at the time. The cover price is $4.95.

Continuity Notes: Since this is an inter-company crossover, its place in continuity is dubious at best. This is the first time the “Team X” name is used, and I think it has become the official name for Wolverine’s Cold War-era black ops group. Team X consists of Logan, Creed, and North (who will become Wolverine, Sabretooth, and Maverick in the future). Team 7 features the Wildstorm characters Lynch, Cray, Dane, Cash, and Chang (I guess the other two members are their boss Craven, and his assistant Gabriel).

According to this issue, the Weapon X project already exists at this time, and Logan, Creed, and North are already undergoing experimentation. This doesn’t seem to work with the original Weapon X serial, which had Wolverine as a government agent who was abducted and experimented on by the Weapon X project. It’s possible that Wolverine left the project and was then forced back into it, I suppose.

Review: This is one of the many Marvel/Image crossovers that occurred after the “Heroes Reborn” deal was finalized. A few years earlier these crossovers would’ve been unthinkable (I think Marvel’s lawyers at one point even killed an X-Force/Youngblood cover for Wizard), so this was something of a big deal at the time. Not only did we get an actual X-Force/Youngblood crossover special (I assume this was published, although I don’t recall ever actually seeing it), but Spider-Man and Wolverine met Badrock, Gen 13, and a few other Image characters in various one-shots. I suspect the market was oversaturated with these crossovers, as I was able to purchase this one for fifty cents a few years ago. I can’t think of any independent comic book characters deemed popular enough to interact with the Marvel Universe today, outside of Red Sonja and the Transformers, who teamed up with Spider-Man and the New Avengers recently. And since Red Sonja and the Transformers began life as Marvel characters, it’s hard to compare them to new properties like Gen 13, which really was a phenomenon briefly in the ‘90s.

I know nothing about Team 7, outside of the fact that it was one of the very few military comics published in the ‘90s, and it apparently filled in the backstory for most of the Wildstorm line. By the time the series began, the market was already flooded, so it doesn’t have the novelty of being one of the original Image titles, nor was it able to break out the way Gen 13 and Witchblade did in the mid-90s (Seven members and not one Playmate in a thong? Outrageous!). I don’t know if there was a huge demand to have Wolverine’s retconned covert ops squad meet Deathblow’s retconned covert ops squad, but here we are. The story consists of a lot of action, macho dialogue, double-crosses, and obscure military jargon. It’s a Larry Hama comic. I had fun reading it, even though I occasionally had no idea what was going on. The art is capably handled by Steve Epting, who can draw military hardware as well as the more traditional superhero action. I don’t know if this fulfilled the expectations Team X fans had for an intercompany crossover, but it’s a decent action comic with nice art.

X-MEN UNLIMITED #12 – September 1996

The Once and Future Juggernaut
Credits: John Francis Moore (writer), Steve Epting & Ariel Olivetti (pencilers), Kevin Conrad & Ariel Olivetti (inkers), Marie Javins & Malibu (colors), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (lettering)

Summary: Dr. Strange senses a mystical disturbance and arrives at the X-Men’s mansion. He uses the Eye of Agamotto to witness Onslaught’s recent imprisoning of Juggernaut inside the Crimson Gem of Cyttorak. Gomurr the Ancient arrives, telling Dr. Strange that they can’t leave the Crimson Gem unguarded. He asks Strange to protect the Gem while he goes inside it to rescue Juggernaut. Inside the Gem, Juggernaut is trapped in another dimension. The demon Spite, posing as Xavier, is taunting him. Gomurr arrives and forces Spite to reveal herself. She leaves, bragging that her master will soon claim Juggernaut’s soul. Gomurr tells Juggernaut that he can show him the way out of this dimension, but he must face his past first. Juggernaut is forced to revisit his childhood with his hated stepbrother, Charles Xavier. Gomurr tells Juggernaut to let go of his anger and be free of his curse. Spite reappears, offering Juggernaut a chance to embrace his power and escape the Gem. She convinces Juggernaut that Gomurr just wants the Crimson Gem’s power for himself, and takes him to met Cyttorak, the god of destruction. Juggernaut soon learns that Spite only intended to use him as a sacrifice to Cyttorak. Cyttorak swallows Spite and prepares to consume Juggernaut. The mystical Tar appears and joins forces with Gomurr. They infuse Juggernaut with the energy that bonded Cyttorak to the Gem, which gives him the power to destroy the god. Juggernaut escapes the collapsing dimension and reemerges in the real world. To Dr. Strange’s dismay, Juggernaut declares that he’s stronger than ever.

Continuity Notes: This is the first appearance of Spite, who is D’Spayre’s sister. Gomurr claims that D’Spayre trapped her inside the dimension with the Crimson Gem of Cyttorak.

An origin for the Gem is revealed (although the continuity surrounding Cyttorak seems to be confused). Centuries ago, “a group of heretic monks” sought to harness Cyttorak’s energy. They instead unleashed his destructive energies, which destroyed parts of Asia. Gomurr and Tar used their mystical powers to contain Cyttorak within a ruby. Disagreeing on who should keep the powerful gem, they buried it in a temple hidden in a cave and sealed the entrance with a mountain of rocks. Years later, earthquakes opened the entrance to the cave, allowing Cain Marko to discover the ruby and become Juggernaut.

Review: This is labeled as part of the Onslaught crossover, although it’s actually a follow-up to one of Onslaught’s actions and not a part of the real story. I’m sure every X-title had to tie in with Onslaught in some way, and this is how the oft-forgotten Unlimited got dragged into it. I’m not sure what the point of the story is supposed to be, outside of freeing Juggernaut up so he can be used again, and incorporating some of the newer characters into the Crimson Gem’s origin (personally, I think the Beast/Dark Beast story should’ve been resolved here, instead of X-Factor, where it arbitrarily ended up). Moore only briefly teases the idea that the Juggernaut might change his ways before he goes back to behaving like a giant thug. The ending, which essentially rewards Juggernaut for his bad behavior, is at least a small twist. Juggernaut has a chance to reflect on his mistakes and learn something, but decides he wants to be strong and nasty anyway. He’s adamant about not learning anything, and escapes any real repercussions for his stubbornness. It’s mildly amusing, although Moore doesn’t play it for laughs.

The Juggernaut can be a hard character to pull off, especially as a story’s protagonist, as his main motivation is that he irrationally hates his stepbrother. Moore does manage to make Juggernaut engaging enough to follow throughout the story, although it feels like it goes on for a little too long. Epting’s art is solid as usual, and he draws a convincingly powerful Juggernaut. Olivetti’s rougher style doesn’t blend well with Epting’s, but most of his pages appear as fantasy sequences, which works out pretty well. Incorporating Gomurr and Tar into the Gem’s origin feels surprisingly organic, even though they were very new characters at this point. I think it works because there aren’t many mystical characters in the X-Men’s corner of the Marvel Universe, so it doesn’t feel like a totally arbitrary connection (unlike, say, connecting Dark Beast to the Morlocks or Sugar Man to Genosha). The remaining ten pages of the issue consist of filler like a crossword puzzle, brief “interview” segments with various characters, quotes from previous issues, a “match the mutant” puzzle, and an extended letters column. In fairness to Marvel, the price has been dropped a dollar to make up for the downgraded paper quality, but it’s still obvious that this book serves no real purpose.

X-MEN UNLIMITED #11 – June 1996

Adrift
Credits: Scott Lobdell (plot), Terry Kavanah (script), Steve Epting & Mike Miller (pencilers), Sellers/Milgrom/Koblish/Candelario (inkers), Matt Webb & Malibu (colors), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (lettering)

Summary: Rogue’s landlord reluctantly reports her as a suspicious mutant to Humanity’s Last Stand. A week later, a group of men in armored suits attack her home and try to abduct her. Bastion arrives and knocks her unconscious. Rogue awakens inside Humanity’s Last Stand’s headquarters, where Bastion is detailing his plan to destroy the building and frame her for the deaths of the HLS members. One of the guards objects and is killed by Bastion. Another guard watches the murder through a videoscreen and refuses to stand by. The guard is secretly Joseph, who infiltrated the group weeks ago in the hopes that he could find information on the X-Men. Joseph uses his magnetic powers to rescue Rogue, who is initially suspicious that this is one of Magneto’s schemes. After they fight off the armored guards, Rogue begins to trust Joseph. When the mysterious Trask confronts the duo in an armed helicopter, Rogue convinces Joseph not to use the chopper’s missiles against Trask. Joseph instead slams the missiles together to cover their escape. Rogue returns to her rented home to retrieve her car. Her landlord apologizes to Rogue and says goodbye with her son. Rogue leaves the city with Joseph as her passenger.

Continuity Notes: Humanity’s Last Stand first appeared in Uncanny X-Men ’95. This is the first time Bastion has been connected to the group. They no longer have Nimrod robots, but men in armored suits named “Maulers” instead. The shadowy Trask without a first name from Uncanny X-Men ’95 shows up again. Why exactly his face and full name are still being concealed is beyond me.

I Love the ‘90s: In response to a reader’s query, the editor says that Marvel is working on developing a website.

We Get Letters: This is the issue where the editors request that the fans refer to the imposter Beast as “McCoy” instead of “Dark Beast” or “Evil Beast”. They’ve even taken the liberty of correcting all of the letters that didn’t list the villain under the name they retroactively decided he should have.

Review: I guess this is the second issue in a row that actually ties into the ongoing storylines, so maybe someone at Marvel realized how aimless this series was becoming. I distinctly remember dropping this title after reading one too many inventory stories in a row, so I think the new focus couldn’t have lasted for long. This issue is mostly forgettable, but some of the Rogue/Joseph interaction isn’t bad, and the landlord’s reluctance to report Rogue is actually handled well. Bringing back Rogue and teaming her up with Joseph did feel somewhat important at the time, since she had been out of the books for almost a year and Joseph’s thread had been largely ignored for a few months (the fact that Joseph was still supposed to be Magneto at this point didn’t hurt, either). Pairing them up is supposed to evoke memories of their time together in the Savage Land during the Claremont/Lee run, a story arc that was also the inspiration behind marrying the characters in the Age of Apocalypse. It’s odd that the two issues of the characters traveling the Savage Land, which only had a very brief hint of a possible attraction between the pair, would’ve had such an influence years later, but apparently someone in the X-office really liked that story.

I don’t necessarily mind the coincidence that has Rogue and Joseph meeting one another inside the HSL headquarters, but the idea that Joseph was successfully working undercover is a bit of a stretch. Wouldn’t these people have the technology to detect mutants? At the very least, Bastion does, since he easily identified Phoenix and Gambit as mutants in his first appearance. Ignoring that plot hole, the pairing between Joseph and Rogue doesn’t exactly work here. There’s a nice scene where Joseph chastises Rogue for enjoying the fight with HSL too much, saying that he’s only fighting out of necessity, but just a few pages later Rogue is the one convincing Joseph not to kill Trask. If he was as much of a pacifist as the previous few pages portrayed him as, he wouldn’t have needed Rogue’s coaching. You can see that the Joseph concept has some potential, especially in the scene that has him asking Rogue why she hates Magneto so much, but most of the dialogue is pretty flat and fails to make Joseph that interesting (and the less said about Rogue’s accent, the better). The art is a mixed bag, as Epting delivers his normal dependable work, but the middle section is interrupted by Miller’s cartoonier style. It’s not as bad as most of the faux-manga stuff going around during this time, but it doesn’t mesh with Epting’s work at all and gives the impression that the entire issue was a rush job.

X-FACTOR #121 – April 1996

The True Path

Credits: Howard Mackie (writer), Steve Epting (penciler), Al Milgrom (inker), Glynis Oliver (colorist), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (lettering)

Summary

Forge relives the death of his squad in Vietnam through a magical "dream time", with the members of X-Factor taking the place of the soldiers. Naze tells Forge that he has to embrace his heritage and return home in order to build strength. A vision of Roma tells Forge that she'll distract Adversary while he prepares. Meanwhile, Val Cooper protests Sabretooth's inclusion into the team to a shadowy government figure. He shows off Sabretooth's new restraining collar and tells her that he will join X-Factor next week, after he completes a small mission for him. In the Rocky Mountains, Naze gives Forge a replica of his power-nullifier gun and the knife Storm once used against him (after being tricked by Adversary). Naze and Forge summon magic forces, and Forge soon reclaims his role as shaman. Adversary enters with Roma's unconscious body. Forge slashes him with the knife, which now has mystic properties. Adversary revives Polaris, Wild Child, and Mystique and taunts him into performing the spirit spell again. Forge mystically revives his teammates and then uses the nullifier gun to attack Adversary. Adversary disappears, which confirms Forge's belief in magic and technology.

Continuity Notes

Shard wasn't revived with the rest of X-Factor, because she's a hologram of course. However, the last did say in a narrative caption that she was real in every way that counts, and that she even had a soul.

Forge's cybernetic hand and leg are back, after being destroyed by the Adversary in the last issue, without explanation.

Production Note

And here's another nineteen-page comic. The missing three pages are made up with an atrocious pinup by Jeff Matsuda and a two-page letter column. Was almost every X-book running into deadline problems, or was something else going on? Was this happening on any other Marvel titles at the time, or just the X-books?

Creative Differences

There are quite a few re-lettered word balloons and captions throughout the issue, but it's hard to tell why. The shadowy government agent's explanation of how Sabretooth's restraining collar works has been entirely re-lettered.

Review

The first time I ever bought a comic but put off reading it for days was during this Adversary storyline. I knew that I was buying most of the X-books out of completism at this time, but there had never been a title that I honestly felt no desire to read until I got around to it days later. I guess this isn't egregiously terrible, in the sense that it doesn't have too many major plot holes or flagrant mischaracterizations, but the entire storyline was so exceedingly dull I could barely justify the energy required to even read it. The story's just bland and predictable, without any lasting consequences for any of the characters or anything interesting happening along the way. Forge just picks the most obvious resolution to his conflict (Apparently, technology and magic go together like peanut butter and chocolate. It took Forge three issues to think of this?), and the Adversary disappears. And by "disappears", I don't mean he evaporates, melts, or vanishes in a flash of light. He just disappears between panels on the final page. In one panel he's bragging that he can't be beaten, and in the next Forge is meditating as X-Factor wakes up. A lame, dull ending to a lame, dull storyline. The idea that Forge's nullifier gun, which goes back to his first appearance, could just defeat the Adversary in two panels is especially cheap. The last issue showed that all of the other weapons he created were futile against him, so why is this one special? It didn't occur to Forge to rebuild his device that takes away superpowers? The only redeeming feature of this sleepy issue is Epting's art, which features very nice page layouts and strong renditions of the entire cast. The Matsuda pinup makes me afraid that his run has come to an end, though.

X-FACTOR #119 – February 1996

The Best Offense

Credits: Howard Mackie (writer), Steve Epting (penciler), Al Milgrom (inker), Glynis Oliver (colors), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (lettering)

Summary

Shard’s hologram appears in front of Wild Child again, daring him to go out and have fun. Meanwhile, Forge and the rest of X-Factor are building devices to ward off the Adversary. Roma warns Forge that his technology isn’t enough. Wild Child and Shard ride past them on his motorcycle. When Polaris tries to talk them into staying, Wild Child tells her that putting X-Factor ahead of their relationship is probably why Havok left. Elsewhere, Val Cooper is monitoring Sabretooth’s recovery. He breaks out of his stasis tank and attacks her, but is stopped by the guards. Wild Child and Shard party at a nearby club. When Shard’s body beings to blink on and off, they’re targeted by two members of the Friends of Humanity. Shard proves she can take care of herself by blasting them with her plasma powers. Later, Wild Child tries to kiss her but she disappears again. He returns home and apologizes to Polaris, who tells him that she’s moving on with her life without Havok.

Continuity Notes

According to this issue, Shard is a totally solid hologram who can turn intangible when she wants. However, because Forge isn’t through fixing her holomatrix programming, she can’t remain solid indefinitely.

I Love the ‘90s

Wild Child has a copy of Silverchair’s “Frogstomp” CD.

Creative Differences

An added word balloon emphasizes that the tazers used on Sabretooth weren’t set to kill. A few pages later, an added balloon explains that Shard’s plasma blasts didn’t kill the FoH members.

“Huh?” Moments

I’m sure the idea of three-dimensional holograms has shown up in other places, but there’s no explanation for how Shard could be solid here. She’s also able to shoot “plasma blasts”, which isn’t something I could see a hologram doing.

Miscellaneous Note

According to the Statement of Ownership, average sales for the year were 213,745 copies with the most recent issue selling 204,600.

Review

For whatever reason, Mackie essentially abandons the Adversary storyline with this issue and decides to focus on Wild Child and Shard instead. This is, thankfully, better than the past few issues. Mackie’s dialogue isn’t as awkward and stiff here, and Epting’s art is pretty remarkable for most of the issue. Shard does have a fairly annoying “spunky” personality, but the story moves at a steady pace and doesn’t give her too much focus at one time, so she doesn’t seem to be as irritating as I remembered. Mackie does have one good idea, which is that Shard grew up in a mutant subculture, so Wild Child’s physical appearance actually fits into her standard of beauty. Wild Child still doesn’t have much of a personality, but he’s slightly more sympathetic here. The idea that he’s falling in love with a hologram is absurd, but it almost works in this issue. The rest of the story is dedicated to more ominous (and dull) scenes about Adversary, and a subplot about Val Cooper preparing for Sabretooth’s arrival. The story doesn’t outright say that he’s joining the team, but you’d have to be pretty dense not to pick up on it (and I think Marvel was already running house ads listing him as a part of the new team). The Sabretooth scene is mainly there to establish that he didn’t die at the end of his one-shot special, and it almost seems as if it’s there to kill a few pages. However, like a lot of things in this issue, Epting’s bold artwork makes the scene stand out. I seem to recall hating this issue, but looking back, it is at least tolerable.

X-FACTOR #117 – December 1995

Adversaries…Old and New

Credits: Howard Mackie (writer), Steve Epting & Stefano Raffaele (pencilers), Al Milgrom (inker), Glynis Oliver & Malibu Hues (colors), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (lettering)

Summary

Haven screams out in agony as her unborn child demands to be released. Roma appears in front of her, telling her that it’s too late and that the Adversary will be reborn. Meanwhile, X-Factor is being attacked by a Sentinel. Unbeknownst to the team, Forge and Val Cooper borrowed the Sentinel from the government to use as a training exercise. The Sentinel swats Wild Child through a window into X-Factor’s headquarters, which leads Havok to overreact and destroy it. Wild Child wakes up inside Forge’s lab and briefly meets Shard. When Wild Child later asks Forge about her, he’s surprised to learn that her hologram program spontaneously appeared. Havok is given a letter that is supposedly from Scarlet. He follows the letter’s instructions and drives to a nearby coal processing plant. He’s confronted there by Random. Meanwhile, Naze comes across Roma while driving out of the desert. They leave to find Forge, hoping that he can’t deny Naze face-to-face.

Continuity Notes

Naze is Forge’s mentor, who was killed off back in the ‘80s not long after his first appearance (He was secretly killed and replaced by a Dire Wraith, which was revealed in the “Fall of the Mutants” storyline). His role in virtually all of his appearances is to warn Forge about the Adversary. How he survived isn’t explained.

The implication that Adversary has always been Haven’s baby is a retcon that first appears here. Roma tells Haven “you have brought this upon yourself” by trying to bring about the catastrophes of the Mahapralaya (a reference to this issue). The implication is that Adversary had been lying to her about the Mahapralaya for all of this time. Later, Naze asks Roma about Haven, implying some past connection between the trio.

“Huh?” Moment

A misplaced word balloon has Mystique referring to Shard as “cute”, when it’s supposed to be Wild Child’s line (everyone knows Mystique only has eyes for octogenarians).

Review

And now, X-Factor’s lame sequel to “Fall of the Mutants” begins. I can see why Mackie wants to bring Haven into this, since she was presented as a major villain in the title for a while and it creates the impression that all of this stuff was planned out in advance. Of course, knowing that this title has gone through three writers since Haven was introduced kills that illusion, and retconning the Adversary into DeMatteis’ original Haven story undermines what he was trying to accomplish with the storyline. The rest of the issue is dedicated to a pointless fight scene with a Sentinel, and even more scenes of Random stalking Havok. Random was first sent after Havok in issue #115, and only now do they meet face to face (and the actual fight scene is left for the next issue). All of it’s just exceedingly dull, as the plot continues to move incrementally towards some big battle that only receives a tiny amount of foreshadowing in each issue. If the characters had more personality, I wouldn’t mind the aimless plotting so much, but Mackie isn’t able to make any of the characters even slightly interesting.

X-FACTOR #116 – November 1995

Homecomings

Credits: Howard Mackie (writer), Steve Epting (penciler), Al Milgrom (inker), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (lettering), Glynis Oliver & Malibu Hues (colors)

Summary

Inside Alpha Flight’s headquarters, Northstar and Puck discover that Aurora is missing. Outside of X-Factor’s new Fall’s Edge headquarters, Wild Child is motorbiking when he’s suddenly attacked by Aurora. Nearby, Forge has recreated Shard while experimenting with Bishop’s holographic matrix projector. He receives word that Wild Child is under attack and leaves with the team. Elsewhere, the Dark Beast monitors Random as he heads towards X-Factor’s headquarters. Furious that he left her, Aurora continues to assault Wild Child. X-Factor arrives, shortly after Northstar and Puck appear. Aurora calms down enough to listen to Wild Child, who explains why he left. They began their relationship during a period when he had a normal appearance, but after his mutation shifted him back to his animal-like form, he began to retreat from others. Eager to get away from his past, he abruptly left when Val Cooper asked him to help X-Factor. Aurora explodes in anger, claiming that leaving without saying goodbye shows how little he cared about her. Mystique morphs into Wild Child’s previous appearance and tricks Aurora into calming down. When Wild Child exposes her, Aurora explodes again, overextending her powers and then passing out. Northstar and Puck take her home, as X-Factor leaves Wild Child alone with his thoughts.

Continuity Notes

Random has a long inner monologue that raises more questions about his past. He questions how much he wants what the Dark Beast is offering him, and claims that this isn’t what he really looks like. The idea that the Dark Beast is the one behind Random is of course a retcon.

I Love the ‘90s

Wild Child is wearing a “No Fear” t-shirt.

Review

This seems to be an entire issue dedicated to resolving some continuity errors that cropped up when Wild Child abruptly joined the team. I’ve only read the first few issues of Alpha Flight, but judging by this story and some comments in the letters page, Wild Child had actually evolved into a handsome man and renamed himself “Wildheart” at the end of that series. A few years after Alpha Flight was cancelled, he popped up in this series with his old name and old look. I guess enough months passed after he joined the team for fans to write in and complain and for Marvel to publish a story addressing the error. Can you imagine Marvel doing something like that now? Not that anything in this issue is particularly good, mind you, since it mainly consists of characters acting either crazy or stupid until the story gets to page twenty-one and the crazy girl just passes out. There always have been fans of Northstar and Aurora (both mis-colored with bleach blonde hair in this issue) who wanted to see them incorporated into the X-books, but I’ve never understood the desire to have every mutant out there brought into the titles. I guess using them in a story with Wild Child is a nice nod to the few dozen people who were reading Alpha Flight at the end of its run, though. Mackie seems to be using the continuity patch mainly as a way to stall the ongoing storylines for another month, so it’s the third issue in a row where hardly anything happens. If Wild Child and Aurora were written as believable, sympathetic characters, I wouldn’t mind an entire issue justifying their breakup, but writing natural, compelling dialogue just isn’t one of Mackie’s strengths. Epting turns in his usual dependable artwork, but it’s not enough to cover the tedious story.

X-FACTOR #115 – October 1995

Reaching Out to Yesterday

Credits: Howard Mackie (writer), Steve Epting (penciler), Al Milgrom (inker), Glynis Oliver (colorist), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (lettering)

Summary

Havok travels to Alaska to sort through his emotions and is greeted there by his brother, Cyclops. Havok wants to be alone and leaves on his motorcycle, but Cyclops follows. They eventually meet in a bar, where Havok discusses his insecurities about his powers and his inability to live up to Cyclops’ example. After getting into a bar fight with a few rednecks, Cyclops reminds Havok that whatever happens, they’ll face the future together. Meanwhile, inside X-Factor’s new headquarters in Virginia, Mystique tries to access Forge’s files but can’t break his password. Wild Child watches the incident and threatens to tell Forge. Inside a holographic simulation, Forge is meditating when he sees an image of Naze, who tells him that he must answer his call. Mystique interrupts, which leads Forge to generate a hologram of Destiny. He’s still trying to deduce her prophesy that he and Mystique are destined to be together. Mystique asks Forge to consider that Destiny might’ve simply meant that they’re fated to be a romantic couple, but Forge refuses to accept that. Elsewhere, the Dark Beast recreates Random out of goo and orders him to bring back Havok.

Continuity Notes

According to this issue, Havok built a cabin the Alaskan wilderness that overlooks the field where he landed with Cyclops after their parents’ plane crashed when they were children. There’s also a hint that Mystique knows a dark secret about Wild Child.

Review

After producing one decent issue after starting the new direction, John Francis Moore is already gone and replaced by Howard Mackie. Mackie had been doing work around the X-office for almost two years at this point, but this was his first monthly X-title. To say that his run on this book isn’t held in high regard by fandom would be an understatement. There’s nothing particularly terrible in this issue, even though it’s another talky issue that doesn’t really advance any of the storylines. A lot of the dialogue is fairly cliché and predictable, especially Cyclops’ pep talk to Havok, but there are only a few spots where it’s too clunky or awkward. Mackie seems to have gone out of his way to avoid showing any action in this issue, even setting up a bar fight scene and then skipping past the actual fight. I have no idea why he bothered to do this, especially since a few of the conversation scenes and double page spreads could’ve easily been cut to make room for a little action. Overall, there’s hardly anything going on here, but it’s inoffensive enough, and the art by Epting is nicely done.

X-FACTOR #114 – September 1995

That Certain Mystique

Credits: John Francis Moore (writer), Steve Epting (penciler), Al Milgrom (inker), Glynis Oliver & Digital Chameleon (colors), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (lettering)

Summary

Forge tests the inhibitor chip in Mystique’s brain to make sure she can’t impersonate any members of the various X-teams for more than thirty seconds. She tries to antagonize the team, but Val Cooper is adamant that they’re the only thing keeping her out of jail. Havok yells at Forge for adding Mystique to the team while he was incapacitated. As Havok gets angrier, his powers begin to flare up. Polaris calms him down by manipulating the iron in his brain. Upset that he might be a danger to his friends, Havok walks away. Mystique watches the incident through X-Factor’s security cameras. When Val Cooper chastises her, Mystique gets angry and grabs her. Wild Child responds by slamming her into a wall. Mystique is actually pleased, because she’s learned that Wild Child has a weakness for a “pretty face”. Havok visits Guido in the hospital, while Wild Child informs Val that he won’t be going back to Canada. After watching Forge run a holographic film of his Vietnam experience, Mystique begins to suspect that something’s wrong with him. After he dismisses her, she’s even more determined to learn his secret. Meanwhile, Fatale’s mysterious employer plans to send another agent to capture Havok.

Continuity Notes

Fatale’s employer (later revealed as the Dark Beast), lists her as one of the “soldiers of the new world” he’s created. She refers to the Sugar Man as her “old friend in Genosha”, which is the second reference to Fatale having some history in Genosha.

Review

After such a chaotic start, Moore shifts in the opposite direction with an issue dedicated almost entirely to character interaction. It works for the most part, making this the strongest of the post-AoA issues so far (not that it really had any competition, though). I was afraid that Havok was already being set up to “go bad”, but Moore thankfully writes a more sympathetic version of the character as the story progresses. Adding Mystique to the team still feels like an arbitrary editorial mandate, but Moore spends a lot of time in this issue trying to justify the decision and show the reactions of her teammates. Mystique’s characterization had been all over the place by this point, so Moore really could’ve gone anywhere with her. He seems to have settled on playing her as a nasty manipulator, ignoring the crazed psycho-killer interpretation that showed up in Lobdell’s stories. Adding her to the team does create some drama in a series that had grown stale in the previous year, so I can’t say that her presence is actually harming the title at the moment (assuming that you buy the fact that the government wouldn’t have just thrown her in jail, of course). I like the final scene between Forge and Mystique, as she observes that something’s wrong with him by examining “nuances, mannerisms, the inflections…the subtleties that define character”. It makes sense that she would have to do those things in order to create convincing impersonations of people, so that’s a nice insight into her character that Moore (I believe) was the first to make.

Not all of this works, though. While Moore makes an admirable effort trying to rationalize Mystique’s inclusion, Wild Child still stands out as a pointless addition to the team. Moore tries to set up the idea that he’s latching on to X-Factor (and possibly Val Cooper), but it feels forced. Having him suddenly yell, “You think I’m a coward, don’t you? You think I’m running away from my problems? You’re wrong!” in the middle of a conversion for no reason emphasizes how awkward the dialogue gets in a few places. The concept of this incarnation of X-Factor is also started to get muddled. The government-sponsored X-Factor created in the Peter David run was supposed to be the happy, courteous face of mutants that reassured the human mainstream. Apparently this idea is still around, since Forge tells Havok that he can’t “represent the team to the public” in his current state. Havok can’t, but Mystique can? Unless she’s supposed to be some sort of a secret member, there’s no way a group concerned about its image would allow (or, more accurately, force) her to join the team. I can’t complain about the art, though, since Steve Epting does his usual quality work. It feels like the title has more stability with his return, even if this is technically his first issue of the series, since his previous work was on Factor X.

FACTOR X #4 – June 1995

Reckonings

Credits: John Francis Moore (writer), Steve Epting & Terry Dodson (pencilers), Al Milgrom (inker), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (lettering), Glynis Oliver (colorist)

Summary

Havok orders the Prelates to follow orders and kill all of the prisoners in the Pens. The Bedlam Brothers refuse to kill the weak and wounded, which leads to a fight with the Guthrie siblings. When Havok receives word that Cyclops has escaped with Jean Grey, he orders the Prelates to find them. The Bedlam Brothers soon locate the pair, but disobey orders and allow them to escape. The Guthrie siblings witness their treason and attack, but are soon defeated. Meanwhile, Apocalypse’s Infinite soldiers arrive to shut down Angel’s nightclub, Heaven. Angel responds by setting the building on fire and escaping. Inside Apocalypse’s Black Tower, Cyclops and Jean find the Brain Trust, six telepathic brains used to anesthetize the prisoners in the Pens. Jean tries to psionically shut them down, but ends up accidentally killing them when they fight back. As Havok learns from Scarlett that she’s pregnant, Jesse Bedlam shuts off the main generators and kills the power. While the prisoners escape, Havok and Cyclops fight. Cyclops has a chance to finish Havok, but refuses to kill his brother. After Cyclops leads the prisoners to freedom, Havok wakes up and vows vengeance.

Review

With the series drawing to an end, Moore makes an effort to conclude the various arcs, although a few things just end up as setups for X-Men Omega. A big Havok/Cyclops fight is the main event the series has been building towards, but it only ends up as a two-page brawl. A lot of things feel rushed in this issue, such as Scarlett’s revelation to Havok that she’s pregnant (why exactly this thread was even introduced is lost on me, unless it’s paid off in Omega and I just forgot about it), and the Bedlam Brothers turning against Havok. Moore has tried to portray the brothers as average guys just doing a job, but that’s hard to rationalize with all of the evil things Apocalypse would've require from them as guards in a concentration camp. They seem to switch sides just for kicks, which is probably a better way to handle it than suddenly giving them a true change of heart, but it still feels forced. The story itself is capably done, it just feels like it’s going through the motions and checking off the things it needs to do in time for X-Men Omega. There’s not a lot of focus on characterization, and the action scenes aren’t very exciting. I have a feeling that Marvel tried to sell Omega too hard by pushing off so many resolutions into it, when series like Factor X would’ve greatly benefited from bigger finales.

FACTOR X #3 – May 1995

Open Wounds

Credits: John Francis Moore (writer), Steve Epting w/Terry Dodson (pencilers), Al Milgrom (inker), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (lettering), Glynis Oliver (colorist)

Summary

Jean Grey sneaks into the Pens in New York, hoping to evacuate the prisoners before the Council’s nuclear strike. She’s soon captured by Havok. Meanwhile, inside Angel’s nightclub, Scarlet is arrested by the Bedlam Brothers for secretly working as a spy for the Human High Council. They warn Angel that his claims of neutrality are suspect now that both Karma and Scarlet have been arrested. In the Pens, Havok reveals to Cyclops that he’s captured Jean Grey. He tells Cyclops that he knows that he’s responsible for the recent series of breakouts, and wants him to kill Jean in order to prove his loyalty. When Cyclops refuses, he’s attacked from behind by the Guthrie siblings. McCoy takes his unconscious body away for genetic experimentation. Jean manages to remove her power inhibitor and free Cyclops. They escape from McCoy and leave to liberate the Pens. Elsewhere, Rex informs Apocalypse that Havok has replaced Cyclops as commander of the Pens. Apocalypse tells him to inform Havok that the Pens only existed to placate Sinister. He’s shutting them down and culling all of the prisoners.

Continuity Notes

Three years ago, Jean Grey was kidnapped by Apocalypse’s forces. She was well treated as an “Alpha Elite” due to Sinister’s interest in her DNA, yet she still resisted. Jean’s resistance inspired Cyclops to question Apocalypse’s rule for the first time. He was prepared to help her escape, when Weapon X returned to free her. Through some confusion, a fight ensued with cost Cyclops his eye and Weapon X his hand.

Jean is attacked in the Pens by a wolf that appears to have a buried human consciousness. This is presumably the AoA version of Wolfsbane.

Weapon X is referred to as “Wolverine” in Jean’s flashback, which of course isn’t his name in this reality. It’s surprising that none of the other writers made that mistake sooner, actually.

Review

Some of the subplots begin to be pay off with this issue, as Havok finally moves against Cyclops and Scarlet is exposed. Jean Grey is introduced to the story in a slightly contrived manner, but her presence does at least advance the ongoing plotline with Cyclops and Havok. I like the idea that Jean is Cyclops’ inspiration to turn against Apocalypse in this world, but the way Cyclops suddenly falls in love with her feels forced. This is the most action-heavy issue of the series so far, and while Epting does a capable job on the fight scenes, you do get the feeling that this is a much lighter read than the previous issues. It doesn’t feel like the story’s stalling, but it seems like it’s more predictable than the previous chapters. The fight scenes aren’t bad, but I miss the scheming and maneuvering of the earlier issues.

FACTOR X #2 – April 1995

Abandoned Children

Credits: John Francis Moore (writer), Steve Epting (penciler), Al Milgrom (inker), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (lettering), Glynis Oliver (colorist)

Summary

Polaris has a vision of Magneto helping her fellow prisoners in the Pens escape to freedom. Cyclops and Havok meet with Apocalypse, who thinks that Cyclops could potentially replace Sinister as a Horseman. Angered, Havok later tells his human lover Scarlett that Apocalypse will reward him when he sees his “strength and cunning”. Meanwhile, Angel warns Cyclops and the Bedlam Brothers about the rumors of a war with Europe. On Havok’s orders, McCoy experiments on Polaris, hoping to learn what she knows about the recent escapes. Cyclops orders him to stop, telling McCoy that he’s violating the Kelly Pact. That night, a cloaked man helps Polaris escape. They’re confronted by Northstar and Aurora, who were reassigned by Havok at the last minute. They manage to defeat the twins and escape before Havok arrives. Later, the mystery man drops Polaris off with a member of “The Underground”, Val Cooper. The mystery man removes his cloak to reveal that he’s Cyclops.

Continuity Notes

The AoA version of Polaris is given an origin. Her powers emerged after her parents were killed in the first Midwest cullings. Traumatized, she convinced herself that she was actually Magneto’s daughter. This (somehow) led to her pairing with another mutant, and losing half of her powers to Rogue. If Rogue is supposed to be the mutant she paired with, this issue isn’t clear on that. X-Men Chronicles #1 claimed that Rogue permanently absorbed a portion of Polaris’ powers during “a previous abduction attempt”. I can’t tell if Rogue was attempting to abduct Polaris, or if she was actually her aforementioned partner. It’s worth noting that more than one character says that DNA tests prove Polaris is not Magneto’s daughter, which contradicts future stories by Chuck Austen.

According to a mystery person Scarlet is talking to on the phone, she’s secretly working for the Human High Council. She thinks that things are too “hot” in Heaven, especially after Karma’s abduction (in Amazing X-Men #2), and she wants out.

Review

Instead of telling one large story like most of the AoA titles, Factor X focuses on a series of subplots at this point. It makes for a much denser comic, which almost feels like some of Claremont’s X-work in the ‘80s. There’s a sense that there’s a lot going on, with various characters scheming against one another and following their own agendas. It helps the series to survive on more than just the novelty of seeing established characters in twisted roles. Moore tries to do something with the political maneuverings established early on in the AoA event, but the Kelly Pact has to be the most moronic aspect of the entire storyline. Apparently, experimenting on Polaris violates the Kelly Pact, which would anger the humans. As opposed to…keeping humans in slave pens and conducting mass exterminations in large American cities? To be fair, most of the characters in the story refer to the Kelly Pact as a farce, but the idea that any human governments are negotiating with Apocalypse and creating treaties with him is beyond absurd. I get that the creators are trying to insert some realistic politics into the new world, but the reality they’ve established is already so far over the top it’s impossible to believe that any humans would be dumb enough to create treaties with Apocalypse. Maybe it’s revealed later that the human governments are stringing Apocalypse along, just as he’s doing to them (I don’t remember how this thread plays out), but it still seems too ridiculous to me.

After dropping a few hints in the first issue, this issue confirms that Cyclops isn’t a true villain after all. The twist at the end is handled well enough, although it opens up a “nature vs. nurture” question that doesn’t reflect too well on many of the other X-characters. If Cyclops is inherently good and able to fight against his upbringing, what does it say about Havok and Beast that they cannot? What’s strange is that Marvel did seem to use this storyline to justify relaunching Havok as a villain in the mainstream reality, yet Beast was able to stay a pure hero. If this storyline somehow reveals the true dark natures of the characters, why wouldn’t Beast turn out to be just as evil as Havok? Even though I liked this series in the context of the AoA, it did lead to the “Is Havok truly a villain?” nonsense that dominated the later issues of X-Factor (I think the final resolution turned out to be “Nah, he was just faking”, which couldn’t be reconciled with any of the previous stories).