End of X-Factor featured Reviews 

“X-Factor” #257-262

By | August 19th, 2019
Posted in Reviews | % Comments

I was hoping to end my binge read of “X-Factor” with a bang. After 150 issues by a controversial and legendary creator, you’d think the series would have a lot to say. But this is comics, and some things never end. So let’s talk about the last six issues of the series, and also look ahead to the present to see if promises were fulfilled. You’ll quickly learn that I didn’t care for most of these endings, but even with all their flaws, ‘The End of X-Factor’ gave me a lot to think about. And I don’t mind reading comics that drive me crazy, as long as they aren’t boring. And one thing these issues manage to be, is interesting. Thanks for reading along true believers.


“X-Factor” #257-262, ‘The End of X-Factor’
Written by Peter David
Illustrated by Carmen Carnero, and Neil D. Edwards
Inked by Matt Milla
Lettered by Cory Petit

It’s widely claimed but dubiously true that comics don’t get long runs like they used to. We of course remember the long runs, and forget say, the ten issues of “Marvel Premiere” that featured the earliest appearances of Iron Fist. It’s easy to understand the desire for long runs though. Instead of rushing through years of plot in just a few issues, you get a real ending and, if you’re the final issues of “X-Factor,” an epilogue.

Broadly, ‘The End of X-Factor’ is a strong conclusion for the series. Every character gets one issue for something like closure, and the final final issue especially feels pretty damn satisfying. But a turn towards violent realism feels a bit uncomfortable, especially looking back from 2019.

In “X-Factor” #257, we follow a boy named Aziz who wants to use magic to revive his dead mother. The story is as harrowing as it is gruesome, and Aziz is unable to utilize the demonized Jamie Madrox, resulting in his death. And dude, we just watched Strong Guy kill a kid at the end of the last arc, we’re gonna kill another one? And for what? The story has some really emotional beats for Layla, who wants to turn her husband back to something vaguely human, but all the Morocco stuff is pretty uncomfortable.

X-Factor 258 shooting

Then issue #258 is all about Rahne. It’s nice that she gets something like closure, but man is it far from being a happy ending. We open with a mass shooting at a church and again I ask: why? The story implies that this mass shooting is motivated by revenge, but it is ultimately empty, and again gruesome. The Reverend Maddox loses his Deacon and then he’s like, “Hey Rahne, wanna replace him?” And buddy, I hate to point it out, but your whole congregation was just gunned down in a mass shooting. I don’t know what demographics look like in rural Vermont, but I think half the town just got blown away. I like John’s friendship with Rahne, but this was an awfully random and upsetting note to end their story on.

Issue #259 on the other hand, is a great time. It’s about Rictor and Shatterstar. It wasn’t exactly the red hot romance their story builds up to, but it is a fun Mojoverse adventure. It also resolves a long running continuity question: Longshot and Shatterstar are, due to time travel shenanigans, each others father. It’s true! Longshot was originally cloned from Shatterstar in the past, and later he and Dazzler are Shatterstar’s parents. It’s basically the most “X-Men” thing ever to “X-Men” and I am here for it. I wish their final story more focused on their relationship, but I think the two of them would be down for a very silly adventure.

The most disconnected issue in the bunch in #260. It’s mostly about Polaris throwing a tantrum in a bar, and tormenting a bunch of innocent bystanders. Quicksilver shows up, and saves her from the justice system by recruiting her to Serval Industries. Polaris was a late addition to this series, and the issue is everything I can’t stand about her- lazy writing about her mental health, that’s actually cover for her just kind of being an asshole. And while Quicksilver was an occasional presence in the series, it was almost always as an antagonist, and not even close to the most interesting one. It also hurts this issue that it’s setup for “All-New X-Factor,” a weird and mostly forgotten follow up that Peter David wrote for #20 issues, before it got canceled. He blamed the cancellation on too many fans waiting for the trade to come out, and looked pretty foolish. The truth is, the series was just not very good, so this issue feels a lot like work.

Continued below

Things are also mixed in #261, which follows Darwin and Monet. Of all the cast, M is the one left in the most interesting place. She was traumatized by the mental games she had to play with Pip, killed in the ‘Hell On Earth War’ and brought back by Guido, with whom she did not end things on good terms. But we’re stuck with Darwin’s perspective, and for someone who just spend 50+ issues erroneously trying to kill a kid, he’s sure got no problems with himself. The two of them bump uglies; Monet because she hates himself and Darwin because she’s Monet. It feels pretty disrespectful to M as a character, and the narrative continues to follow Darwin’s much less interesting experience.

X-Factor 262 praying

Finally though, issue #262 ends on a strong note. Layla has taken Jamie back to his family farm, but the local constabulary is taking issue with her presence there. She’s got demon!Jamie chained up in the basement, and is starting to lose hope. On top of all of that, she’s pregnant. When she tells Jamie he… well the art implies that he’s praying for salvation. But it’s something even cooler… he’s praying to Theresa, who become a goddess a few arcs ago. She answers, and restores him to his original body. She asks Mr. and Mrs. Madrox if they intend to return to X-Factor, and they decide to settle down and raise their kid. And good for them! I know I’ve questioned their relationship a lot, but Layla at least has been enjoying the quiet life on the farm with her family ever since this issue! (Jamie has been tortured, infected with an alien virus, and murdered).

It’s probably clear I like the idea of the ending a lot better than the execution. Of the whole cast, it’s Jamie, Layla, Theresa, Rictor, and Shatterstar who get something like a happy ending. Guido is left in a really interesting place, but it’s hard to square away his, you know, infanticide. Rahne is treated with compassion, but it feels like too little, too late. It doesn’t feel like David gives a shit about Monet. I don’t really care about Darwin. Or Polaris. Or Quicksilver. And that’s the whole team.

X-Factor 262 what next

So… does “X-Factor” withstand the test of time? As with a lot of things, it’s definitely a mixed bag, but I am so happy I revisited it. The mission statement of this book was always that there are no bad characters in comics, and I am confident that readers who are new to Wolfsbane or Multiple Man or Siryn will leave this series wanting more. It’s also a fascinating look at a really transformative era for Marvel in general. The series goes from the beginning of the “Event Era” (in 2006 starting with ‘Civil War’ and ‘House of M’) going all the way up to the “Reboot Era” (in 2013 with the All-New All-Different relaunch). We saw art styles evolve, storytelling sensibilities shift, and the movies start to take hold on the story in the comics.

Really though, this whole thing was Peter David’s show. My own perspective on David has changed a lot over the years, but it’s fair to say that he remains a tremendous influence on creators today. His perspective, his politics, his biases, they all drove the series, but that would be true of any creator in any series. I think it’s less interesting to treat his vices and virtues as a complicated moral conundrum and far more interesting to look at how his voice shaped the story he wanted to tell. I think there was a lot more good than bad. And I hope if you’ve been following along with me, you feel the same.


//TAGS | 2019 Summer Comics Binge

Jaina Hill

Jaina is from New York. She currently lives in Ohio. Ask her, and she'll swear she's one of those people who loves both Star Wars and Star Trek equally. Say hi to her on twitter @Rambling_Moose!

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