X-Factor
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- For other uses of this term see X Factor.
X-Factor is a Marvel comic book series, published from 1985 until 1998. X-Factor was one of many spin-off of the popular X-Men franchise. Like the X-Men, X-Factor was a team of mutant superheroes, born with various superhuman powers who used their abilities to protect a world that hates and fears them.
The first X-Factor consisted of the same members as the original X-Men. In 1991, Marvel unveiled the second X-Factor, a U.S. government-sponsored team that incorporated many secondary characters from throughout the X-Men mythos.
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The Original X-Factor (1985-1991)
Previous History and Formation of the Team
Each member of the original X-Factor debuted in X-Men #1 (1963) as the original X-Men, teenaged students of the telepathic Professor X. They included:
- Cyclops, who emitted powerful "optic blasts" from his eyes and who was the leader of both the X-Men and X-Factor
- Jean Grey, Cyclops’ long-time love who possessed telepathic and telekinetic powers.
- Iceman, who could freeze the moisture around him and cover his body in a layer of ice.
- Angel, a millionaire heir, who flew from two feathery wings extending from his back.
- Beast, who possessed talons, blue fur and ape-like strength and agility. Beast’s animalistic appearance disguised a brilliant scientific mind.
The founding of X-Factor hinged upon the reunion of the original X-Men, an event complicated by the extensive histories of the characters following the initiation of a new team of X-Men in 1975.
In the 1970s and early 1980s, Beast, Iceman and Archangel wandered through various superhero teams. By 1985, all three were members of The Defenders, whose monthly series was cancelled to free up the trio.
The returns of Cyclops and Jean Grey were more difficult. In the late 1970s, Grey had bonded with a cosmic entity called The Phoenix and the death of Jean Grey/Phoenix in the seminal Dark Phoenix Saga (1980) was one of the defining points of the X-Men's history.
Future Marvel writer Kurt Busiek suggested a solution to this problem, which became one of the most notorious examples of retconning in comic book history: Jean Grey had never actually been the Phoenix. Instead, the Phoenix entity copied Grey's identity and form, keeping her safe in a cocoon-like structure beneath the Hudson River. Busiek related the idea to Roger Stern, who related it to John Byrne. Byrne wrote and illustrated Fantastic Four #286 (1985), in which Jean was discovered and the truth revealed.
In order to reunite the rest of the original X-Men, Cyclops walked out on his new wife Madelyne Pryor, an Alaskan pilot who bore a strange resemblance to Grey, and their son Nathan. Cyclops’ out-of-character behavior and even more so the resurrection of Grey were highly controversial with fans.
X-Factor history
In a premise many fans thought rang hollow, the original X-Men disassociated with the team because Professor X had placed their old nemesis Magneto as its leader. The five set up a business called the "X-Terminators," mutant hunters for hire, headquartered in downtown New York City. But, as X-Factor, they secretly helped the mutants they captured control their powers and reintegrate into society. Through their "mutant-hunting" they recruited a group of young wards:
- Boom Boom, who created "plasma bombs"
- Rictor, who produced powerful shockwaves
- Skids, who projected a protective force field around her body
- Leech, a green-skinned young boy, who dampened the mutant powers of those around him
- Artie, a purple-skinned, mute child who could project hologram-like images of his thoughts
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X-Factor #6 (1986) introduced X-Factor's arch-nemesis Apocalypse, a 2,000-year old super-mutant who had been worshipped as a god of death in ancient Egyptian mythology. He was determined to remake the world to fit his mad Darwinist philosophy.
Bob Layton and Jackson Guice wrote and illustrated, respectively, the first few issues of X-Factor. They soon turned over creative duties to married collaborators Louise Simonson (writer) and Walt Simonson (artist). The Simonsons, in line with the darker tone of most X-Books at the time, crafted a plotline that had a significant effect on Angel.
In X-Factor #10, The Marauders, a group of savage mutant mercenaries, severely injured Angel's wings and they were later amputated. Despondent, Angel attempted to commit suicide by crashing his airliner, but Apocalypse rescued him from the wreckage and transformed him into Death, one of his slave-like "four horsemen." Death was a fearsome creature who possessed metal wings and blue skin. Angel escaped Apocalypse's control, but the physical changes to his body remained. He became known as Archangel and became a much darker character.
At the same time, Beast convinced Apocalypse's Ship, a floating fortress run by a sentient computer, to abandon its master and the fortress became as the headquarters and an important ally of X-Factor, while the "mutant-hunters-for-hire" concept was dropped.
In the 1989 crossover Inferno, Madelyne Pryor was revealed to be a clone of Jean Grey created by the nefarious mutant geneticist Mister Sinister. Demons had used Madelyne's pain at Scott's rejection of her to manipulate her into becoming the Goblyn Queen. Madelyne planned to sacrifice Nathan to open an interdimensional portal, and to hurt Cyclops and Sinister as much as possible. X-Factor teamed up with the X-Men to rescue Nathan, bridging the gap between the two teams. Madelyne suffered a mental breakdown upon discovering she was a clone, and killed herself.
During Inferno, X-Factor's teenage wards starred in the X-Terminators miniseries, and shortly after folded into the X-Men's junior team, the New Mutants.
In the last major storyline of the first X-Factor, published in early 1991 and illustrated by Whilce Portacio, Apocalypse kidnapped Nathan Summers, sensing that he would grow up to be a powerful mutant and possible threat. X-Factor rescued Nathan from Apocalypse's lunar base, but found him infected with a "techno-organic" virus that could not be treated in the present time. A clan of rebels from the future, known as the Askani, sent a representative to the present time to bring Nathan 2,000 years into the future to be treated. Fully grown, he would return to the 20th Century as the anti-hero Cable.
Shortly after this, X-Factor, X-Men and several minor characters teamed-up to fight the telepathic Shadow King in the Muir Island Saga. Afterwards, the members of X-Factor rejoined the X-Men, and several of the minor characters became founding members of the all-new X-Factor.
Although, it always existed within the larger X-Men saga somewhat awkwardly, the era of the original X-Factor has had lasting effects on the mythos, introducing Apocalypse, the Archangel version of Angel, and explaining connection between Cyclops, Jean Grey, Sinister, Pryor, Apocalypse and Cable. All of these storylines would, in some way, continue in future X-Men series.
The second X-Factor (1991-1998)
Rather than end a successful series, Marvel hired writer Peter David and illustrator Larry Strohman to recreate X-Factor with new members, all of who were already allies of the X-Men. The new X-Factor worked for the Pentagon, making them the only salaried X-Team, although their relationship with their benefactors was often strained and complicated. The new X-Factor, debuting in issue #71 (1991), included:
- Havok, a former X-Man and brother of Cyclops who could generate powerful "plasma blasts." Havok served as X-Factor's leader.
- Polaris, Havok's longtime lover and also a former X-Man who could control magnetism.
- Wolfsbane, a Scottish former New Mutant who could transform into a wolf-like creature.
- Multiple Man, who could create duplicates of himself.
- Strong Guy, a wise-cracking character who could rechannel physical energy aimed at him, transforming it into physical girth.
- Quicksilver, a long-running Avengers character, who possessed super speed and a difficult temperament.
The team also had a close relationship with a characters that had already been featured in the X-Men mythos as a government bureaucrat dealing with mutants:
- Dr. Valerie Cooper, a non-mutant who held the office of Special Chair of Mutant Affairs and acted as a liaison between X-Factor and the government's Commission on Superhuman Activities
Although X-Factor was not as flashy or wildly popular as other X-Books, David was applauded for his use of humor and cultural references and his ability to flesh out characters that had previously been only been background characters.
David left in 1993. The series continued under writer J.M. DeMatteis and artist Jan Duursema, but struggled to distinguish itself among the glut of X-books, while
- Forge, a government-employed weapons contractor and former X-Men member whose mutant powers were his brilliant engineering skills
was added to the group.
By 1995, Multiple Man apparently died of the Legacy Virus, a deadly illness that attacked mutant genes (it was later revealed only one of his duplicates died), Strong Guy left after suffering a heart attack, Wolfsbane transferred to the European mutant team Excalibur and Havok left to infiltrate a mutant terrorist ring.
Writer John Francis Moore and illustrator Jeff Matsuda introduced a new X-Factor, consisting of Forge, who was the team's new leader, Polaris, and several new recruits:
- Wild Child, who possessed heightened senses, fangs and claws.
- Shard, a holographic computer program that took on the personality of the X-Man Bishop's deceased sister of the same name. Bishop was a time-traveler from a distant future, where he and Shard were members the X-Men descendents the XSE. The holographic Shard was brought to the 20th Century with Bishop.
- Mystique, a shapeshifting mutant criminal and master of espionage. Mystique was forced to join X-Factor following her capture by federal agents.
- Sabretooth, a homicidal mutant criminal who possessed talons, heightened senses and the ability to heal rapidly. Like Mystique, Sabretooth was a captive member that Forge used special technology to control.
Afterwards, writer Howard Mackie, injected more political and espionage undertones into the series, a trend that accumulated into the team's secession from government sponsorship. But the popularity of X-Factor continued to dwindle and Sabretooth and Mystique, two popular X-Man villains, failed to draw in more readers.
In 1997, Marvel attempted yet another revival. They launched a new team consisting of Havok, Polaris, Multiple Man, Shard and several other members of the X.S.E., brought to the 20th Century. But this version of the team failed to catch on and X-Factor was cancelled with issue #149 (1998). In that issue, one former X.S.E member built a time machine meant to take him and his compatriots back to the future. However, the device exploded, killing Greystone and apparently Havok. Afterwards, X-Factor disbanded.
In actuality, though, the time machine transported Havok to a parallel world, populated by twisted versions of Marvel characters. He explored this strange world in the series Mutant X, which lasted from 1998 until 2001. Although Marvel planned to revive X-Factor after Mutant X ended, this claim was never actualized.
X-Factor miniseries (2001)
A four-issue X-Factor limited series was launched in 2001. This series focused on the government's new Mutant Civil Rights Task Force, humans who investigated anti-mutant hate crimes and inadvertently discovered an anti-mutant conspiracy within their own ranks. This series focused heavily on the "mutants as a metaphor for minorities" aspects of the X-Men concept.