Before I begin, I feel I have to owe some apologies. I apologize for this week's review coming out the way it did. My job has taken up more of my time, and my computer was being a jerk, and I was very tired, so I ended up publishing this blog entry unfinished. Hopefully, this completed version makes it up to you all. Enjoy!
Back in September 2018, I took a look back at X-Factor #1 (February 1986). I found it to be an enjoyable issue, but I did feel it had some problems, mainly with how it handled the whole Scott Summers/Madelyne Pryor/Jean Grey triangle they were clearly going for, as well as the entire concept of the X-Men posing as mutant hunters. However, I had also pointed out that felt that this era of X-Factor did have some potential. Let's take a look at X-Factor #7, and you'll see what I mean.
This cover is a Ron Frenz and Josef Rubinstein piece. It's really neat. You have Scott and Jean in their X-Factor guises whipping up a angry mob against the two obvious mutants. Then there's Angel, Iceman, and...Cyclops coming to try and save them? Yeah, there's a bit of a goof here. It looks like Scott appears twice on the cover. I didn't notice it at first. Maybe it's meant to be Beast with Jean? But that can't be, the body type is all wrong. It's the only flaw in an otherwise pretty good cover.
"Fall Out!"
Writer: Louise Jones
Penciler: Jackson Guice
Inker: Josef Rubinstein
Colorist: Petra Scotese
Letterer: Joe Rosen
Editor: Bob Harras
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter
The story begins with Jean "Marvel Girl" Grey and Warren "Angel" Worthington III a ride.
Hank "Beast" McCoy notes the irony that when they pose as mutant hunters, they're seen as heroes, but being mutants, they're seen as villains. Gee, maybe you should have used X-Factor to make mutants look good, Hank. These people are morons.
Anyway, you may be wondering why Beast is no longer blue and furry. Well, that's due to some shenanigans in X-Factor #2-3. Hank McCoy underwent a cellular reversion, causing him to regain his original human appearance (as well as gain a big flattop that would have made a certain Dick Tracy villain jealous). Anyway, our squadron of Mutant Morons-I mean, Merry Mutants, are heading back to a hangar where they overhear a news report. One of the mutants they fought, a size-changer called Tower, rants to a reporter about X-Factor possibly being in alliance with the mutants they fought. Again, this shows how stupid this idea is.
Thanks to a distraction from the Beast, the X-Men are able to get to their plane. During their leaving, Scott accidentally calls Jean "Maddie", as in his then-wife Madelyne Pryor. Thing is, Jean is not aware that Scott had married since she had supposedly "died" at the end of the Dark Phoenix Saga. The group arrive at their headquarters, where they find that pro- and anti-mutant protestors are clashing. and one Trish Tilby is on the scene, making her debut here.
I get that it was the mid-80s, but good God. Would any network really have let a reporter go out on the field looking like that back then? Well, maybe MTV... Anyway, she ends up interviewing Vera Cantor, the Beast's then-main squeeze. The members of X-Factor race into the building. We shift scenes next to a hazardous waste dumping site in New Jersey. We join two mutants named Bulk and Glow Worm. Unlike the members of X-Factor, they have more...extreme mutations.
Bulk finds a mouse he wants to keep as a pet, but Glow Worm is against it. He thinks mice are nasty critters, and they also tend to...well, die around them. A group of men spot the mutants, and figure they can avoid having to pay X-Factor to deal with them by shooting them. They force the two mutants to flee, despite Bulk being rather bulletproof. Glow Worm drives the men off by making a carburetor explode.
Fleeing to the sewers, Glow Worm laments how much he and Bulk get attacked lately, especially since X-Factor first appeared. Bulk notices that the mouse in his hands has died. Animals he found never died this quickly before. The two realize that their radioactivity is increasing. Remember, these guys were hanging out in a toxic waste dump...and the radioactivity is killing them, too.
The two lament that their deaths will be meaningless. Bulk asks why they don't just make people stop shooting at them. Glow Worm sees an X-Factor flyer and he gets an idea...
In X-Factor's headquarters, Scott tries to reach Madelyne, but fails. He realizes he can't put this off anymore. He'll have to tell Jean about his marriage...even if it means she walks out of his life. Dude, you thought she was DEAD! If she's going to be mad at him about that, that's her problem, not his! Sheesh.
In the training area, the other members of X-Factor are doing some training. They need a bit of polish, as they haven't worked together regularly in a while, and Jean's lost her telepathic abilities. It's during the session that Jean asks about Maddie. Warren, Hank, and Bobby all deny that Scott is seeing another woman, but Jean is able to get the truth out of them about Scott having married. She runs out of the room in tears.
The scene then goes next to the sewers underneath Manhattan. Bulk and Glow Worm note how they even found themselves rejected by the Morlocks, until they encounter one of them.
Meet Sally Blevins, aka Skids. She has the power to create a slippery forcefield around herself. She'll be a bigger part of X-Factor's adventures, but that's a story for another day. Glow Worm notes that she's too "pretty" to be a Morlock, as they tend to be rather...inhuman in appearance. That's because her powers prevent the bodyshaping mutant Masque from altering her looks...which drives him nuts. Glow Worm asks Skids to relay a message to the Morlocks: "We're cutting through the Alley to a rendezvous with destiny--and we're taking X-Factor with us!"
At the X-Factor HQ, Rusty Collins (remember him from X-Factor #1?) cleans up the leftover ice Bobby Drake made with his pyrokinetic powers. He had been staying with the group since the government is still wanting to question him about his accidentally burning a prostitute in the first issue. The mutants are alerted to Bulk and Glow Worm attacking the building.
This has the group in a pickle. As mutant hunters, they can't use their powers to fight the two radioactive mutants. But if they jump in as X-Men, people will get suspicious of their mutant hunter disguise. Yeah, this turned out to be a very bad idea, huh? They try to contact Jean, but she makes clear her thoughts on the matter by smashing her communicator. Scott, Hank, and Bobby use the sewers to make their entrance, while Warren tries to convince Jean to help them out.
Meanwhile, the three X-men engage Bulk and Glow Worm. During the fight, Bulk and Glow Worm tell the X-Men they're radioactive. They have to be taken away from people! Iceman uses the water in the sewers to accommodate that.
Warren and Jean emerge in their mutant hunter guises, aided by Cameron Hodge, Rusty Collins, and Vera Cantor. The group use a ruse of X-Factor driving the mutants off to get the Toxic Twins to safety. They explain to the X-Men that they attacked X-Factor because they figured "Hey, we're dying, maybe we can make our deaths matter by kicking X-Factor's heads in." The X-Men consider taking them in, but they have no way with dealing with their radioactivity. You know, guys...maybe you could contact Tony Stark or Reed Richards? Heck, Beast may be able to whip up something!
The Toxic Twins are like "thanks for nothing", and go off to presumably die. The story ends with X-Factor celebrating, but Jean telling Scott that they have some serious talking to do.
This comic was alright, but it does have its problems. The big one I've had is basically the drama with Jean Grey and Scott Summers. I feel it could have been done a lot better. It comes off as really jerky to me that they kept his marriage from her a secret. It wasn't like he was cheating on her, he thought Jean was dead when he married Madelyne. He moved on. It happens. I get that Jean is dealing with a lot, but she should have been told about that sooner.
I like Bulk and Glow Worm. They kind of remind me of George and Lennie from Of Mice and Men. I do like the tragedy of these two mutants being dangerous to be around through no fault of their own. These two are why I think this era of X-Factor had great potential. Back when the original X-Men were teeangers, things seemed simple. There were good mutants, and evil mutants. It appeared to be perfectly black and white. But now, things are a little grayer. Bulk and Glow Worm are not inherently evil, but their radioactivity makes them literally death to anyone who hangs around them too long. They can cause great harm, through no fault of their own.
This is what the original X-Factor should have been, the original team, now adults, realizing the mutant issue is quite complex, and dealing with navigating the adult world. I still think this whole Jean/Scott/Maddie silliness could have been handled a lot better. Jean is going through a lot, but I felt it was pretty scummy that the others were hiding the fact that Scott had gotten married from her. I mean, they were together when Jean supposedly "died", but Scott had moved on. At least, he should have. And if you read my my review of X-Factor #1, you'd know exactly what I thought of the X-Factor's "Mutant hunters" idea. It did not change with this issue.
I don't have much to say about Butch Guice's art, I'm afraid. I have no real issues with it.
If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2017 trade paperback X-Factor Epic Collection Vol. 1: Genesis and Apocalypse. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves, and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, and wear a mask! Join me next time, when we join the Black Panther as he takes a trip to New York City...
No comments:
Post a Comment