X-FACTOR BY JOHN BYRNE

Image borrowed from
Marvel Comics of the 1980s

Having covered FANTASTIC FOUR #286 and the return of Jean Grey this past week, I find myself thinking, as I occasionally do, about one of the best comic book runs the world never saw: John Byrne's X-FACTOR.

As I understand it, Marvel decided that the X-Men were such a phenomenal hit that they needed a second spinoff after NEW MUTANTS, and X-FACTOR was born, conceived by editor-in-chief Jim Shooter and writer Bob Layton without consulting with the X-Men's editorial office or that title's writer, Chris Claremont. The goal was originally to reunite the four surviving members of the original X-Men -- Cyclops, Beast, Angel, and Iceman -- with Dazzler filling the role of the distaff fifth member. But John Byrne and Roger Stern -- and, more importantly, Kurt Busiek -- got wind of this plan and Busiek pitched his idea for a way to bring Jean back into the picture, which Stern and Byrne ran with in AVENGERS and FANTASTIC FOUR. Thus the stage was set for all five original X-Men to return to action in X-FACTOR.

The title stumbled along initially with some woefully regressive Silver Age-style stories by Layton and penciler Jackson Guice, until the wife-and-husband team of Louise and Walter Simonson took over and invigorated things with issues 6 (Louise as writer) and 10 (Walter as penciler).

FANTASTIC FOUR #286

"LIKE A PHOENIX!"
Writer/Penciler: You Know Who* | Guest Inker: Terry Austin
Colorist: Glynis Oliver | Letterer: John Workman
Editor: Michael Carlin | Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter
With Special Thanks to Roger Stern & Kurt Busek (sic)

* All parties involved seem to agree that a large portion of this issue was ghost-rewritten by Chris Claremont and ghost-repenciled by Jackson Guice, which led to John Byrne omitting his name from the credits.

The Plot: The Fantastic Four return to Earth and Avengers’ Mansion to find that the Avengers have recovered a peculiar energy cocoon from beneath New York’s Jamaica Bay. A quick analysis of the cocoon reveals a woman hidden inside, and Reed works overnight to eventually free her.

The girl is Jean Grey, formerly Marvel Girl of the X-Men, and after a brief skirmish she reveals that the last thing she remembers is battling Doctor Stephen Lang and his Sentinels on SHIELD’s orbital space platform. Reed, Sue, and Hercules take Jean to her parents’ house while Captain America studies old casefiles recorded by former X-Man and former Avenger, the Beast.

At the unoccupied Grey home, Jean finds a “holoempathic crystal” housing her essence, and that unlocks her memories of the X-Men’s escape from the platform and her encounter with a being called the Phoenix. Cap arrives and helps Jean and Reed piece things together: Jean was replaced by Phoenix in a simulacrum of her Earthly body, while she recovered from radiation poisoning in the hidden cocoon.

Later, back at Avengers’ Mansion, Reed prepares to place a phone call.

X-MEN: FATAL ATTRACTIONS

Hardcover, 2012. Collects 1993-94's UNCANNY X-MEN #298 - 305 & 315, UNCANNY X-MEN ANNUAL #17, X-FACTOR #87 - 92, X-MEN UNLIMITED #1 & 2, X-FORCE #25, X-MEN #25, WOLVERINE #75, and EXCALIBUR #71.

This book is probably my favorite of all the X-MEN hardcovers I own, in terms of volume of contents. The two X-MEN BY CLAREMONT & LEE books came out a bit earlier than FATAL ATTRACTIONS, and they certainly covered a wide swath of X-continuity, between UNCANNY issues, X-FACTOR issues, annuals, and the like. And of course there were prior collections of the various X-events which preceded "Fatal Attractions", but those generally only collected the pertinent crossover issues (with the exceptions of FALL OF THE MUTANTS, which contained a great deal of lead-in material and X-TINCTION AGENDA, which included the original Genosha arc to lead the book off).

But FATAL ATTRACTIONS gives us our first real glimpse of the Marvel collected editions department's diabolical plan to eventually get every issue of X-MEN and UNCANNY X-MEN, as well as ancillary X-material such as annuals and X-MEN UNLIMITED issues, out there in some way or another -- not to mention squeezing in installments of other spin-off series where pertinent.

FATAL ATTRACTIONS begins with UNCANNY #298 and 299, written by Scott Lobdell and featuring the return of Magneto's Acolytes and the machinations of the Gamesmaster and the Upstarts. We then move into a solid run of X-FACTOR #87 (the famous "team psychotherapy" issue) through 91, written by the outgoing Peter David and fill-in scripter Lobdell, which provide some tangential groundwork for the upcoming "Fatal Attractions" crossover.

X-MEN: X-CUTIONER'S SONG & X-MEN: A SKINNING OF SOULS

X-CUTIONER'S SONG: Hardcover, 2011. Collects 1992-93's UNCANNY X-MEN #294-297, X-FACTOR #84-86, X-MEN #14-16, X-FORCE #16-18 and STRYFE'S STRIKE FILE.

A SKINNING OF SOULS: Paperback, 2013. Collects 1993's X-MEN #17 - 24, X-MEN: SURVIVAL GUIDE TO THE MANSION, and material from MARVEL SWIMSUIT SPECIAL #2.

"X-Cutioner's Song", 1992's 12-part X-Men family crossover, is collected in full in a very attractive hardcover volume which opens, in a nice touch, with writer Fabian Nicieza's introduction to the original 1994 trade paperback edition. From there we get a brief recap page explaining what the X-teams have been up to in recent months, then it's on to the crossover in UNCANNY X-MEN 294, X-FACTOR 84, X-MEN 14, and X-FORCE 16. The story repeats this pattern two more times for a total of twelve chapters ending with X-FORCE 18 -- but the book isn't quite finished there. We also get a "quiet issue" epilogue from UNCANNY 297, and then the volume's collected issues come to an end with the STRYFE'S STRIKE FILE one-shot.

Bonus material consists of sixteen pages, beginning with second printing covers -- including one for STRYFE'S STRIKE FILE. A book of wall-to-wall text and pinups received a second printing. Who says the nineties weren't the merry Marvel age of mirthful excess? We next get both sides of twelve trading cards, which were originally packaged with the individual issues in polybags, reprinted at original size, followed by a MARVEL AGE cover and article about the crossover, a scan of a chapter still inside its polybag, trade paperback covers of previous collections, and recolored cover art for this volume.

The book's dustjacket and graphic design are crafted to make it a companion to the X-TINCTION AGENDA hardcover released earlier in 2011 (but in blue rather than X-TINCTION's red). The book's title is even redesigned from the original crossover logo, utilizing an old-fashioned jagged "X" in order to match the original "X-Tinction Agenda" logo instead. And while this is a nice idea, it really doesn't make much sense. These crossovers have nothing in common; no shared villain, no shared theme. Even a lot of the characters are different!

X-MEN: X-TINCTION AGENDA

Hardcover, 2011. Collects 1988's UNCANNY X-MEN #235 - 238 and 1990's UNCANNY X-MEN #270 - 272, NEW MUTANTS #95 - 97, & X-FACTOR #60 - 62.

Following from "Mutant Massacre", "Fall of the Mutants", and "Inferno", "X-Tinction Agenda" marks the fourth X-universe crossover, and has the notoriety of being the first such event of the nineties. But unlike the majority of those nineties events, this one comes from the pens of Chris Claremont and Louise Simonson -- both with one foot out the door of the X-franchise at this point, whether they realize it or not.

But before the crossover proper, the X-TINCTION AGENDA hardcover begins with UNCANNY X-MEN issues 235 - 238. Written by Claremont and illustrated by Marc Silvestri and Rick Leonardi, this storyline introduces the X-Men to the small island nation of Genosha, a technologically advanced paradise built on the backs of enslaved mutates. Claremont uses this 1988 tale as a metaphor for Apartheid, hitting on some heavy themes while never forgetting that X-MEN is, first and foremost, an action-adventure serial. It's generally regarded as one of the high points of his long run on the series, and its presence here, as a thematic companion to the main crossover, is appreciated -- though for the completionists out there, its inclusion was rendered moot in late 2014 with the publication of the X-MEN: INFERNO PROLOGUE collection.

X-MEN: INFERNO

Hardcover, 2009. Collects 1988-89's X-FACTOR #33 - 40, X-TERMINATORS #1 - 4, UNCANNY X-MEN #239 - 243, NEW MUTANTS #71 - 73, and material from X-FACTOR ANNUAL #4.

"Inferno" has the distinction of being the final X-MEN yearly event of the eighties, running throughout the mutant titles in late 1988. It was also the first Marvel event to feature its core "spine" in one family of titles while nearly every other regular monthly title in the Marvel line participated in some capacity at the fringe of the story (several annuals had, however, just spent the summer of '88 embroiled in "The Evolutionary War"). The formula proved so successful it was revisited again a year later for the AVENGERS-centric "Acts of Vengeance" storyline.

X-MEN: INFERNO returns to the layout of MUTANT MASSACRE, telling its story in the best chronological reading order rather than breaking up into per-series segments as was the case with FALL OF THE MUTANTS -- which makes sense, since X-MEN and X-FACTOR spend the bulk of the event in biweekly crossover status. The X-Men's portion of the story focuses on the corruption of Madelyne Pryor, and as such this volume opens with a recap page explaining what the X-teams were up to just before "Inferno", then continues with a handful of excerpted sub-plot pages from recent issues of X-MEN, focusing on Madelyne. These pages are rendered somewhat moot now, thanks to the publication of X-MEN: INFERNO PROLOGUE in 2014, but for those who simply want to read "Inferno" on its own, they're a nifty little lead-in.

X-MEN: FALL OF THE MUTANTS

Hardcover, 2011. Collects 1988's X-FACTOR #18 - 26, UNCANNY X-MEN #220 - 227, NEW MUTANTS #55 - 61, INCREDIBLE HULK #336, 337 & 340, POWER PACK #35, DAREDEVIL #252, CAPTAIN AMERICA #339, and FANTASTIC FOUR #312.

"Fall of the Mutants" was less a "crossover" and more an "event featuring disparate storylines sharing a similar theme/banner title" -- meaning that the three core X-series, UNCANNY X-MEN, NEW MUTANTS, and X-FACTOR, did not interact at all during the events of "Fall", instead each participating in the event in their own way.

As a result, this hardcover has an unusual layout by X-event standards -- it's presented in three sections, each devoted to one series and each beginning with its own recap page to get readers up to speed on prior goings-on in those series. We kick off with the X-FACTOR segment, easily the biggest chunk of material in the book, filling 393 out of 824 pages. Following from the recap, we get X-FACTOR issues 18 - 20, HULK 336 - 337, X-FACTOR 21 - 25, POWER PACK 35, DAREDEVIL 252, CAPTAIN AMERICA 339, X-FACTOR 26, and finally FANTASTIC FOUR 312.

All of this covers the lead-up to Apocalypse's assault on Manhattan and Angel's transformation into the Horseman of Death, as well as the reactions from characters like the Power Pack kids, Daredevil, and Captain America. Unlike "Mutant Massacre", where I felt some of the crossover material was inappropriate or weakened the main story, here it mostly all fits with the possible exception of CAP, which rides the story's coattails with a tangentially related installment shoehored into the action.

X-MEN: MUTANT MASSACRE

Hardcover, 2009. Collects 1986's UNCANNY X-MEN #210 - 214, X-FACTOR #9 - 11, NEW MUTANTS #46, THOR #373 - 374, POWER PACK #27, and DAREDEVIL #238.

Published in 2009, X-MEN: MUTANT MASSACRE was, to my knowledge, Marvel's first attempt to collect the complete "Mutant Massacre" event in on volume, including not only the pertinent issues of the mutant titles, X-MEN, NEW MUTANTS, and X-FACTOR, but also the various tangential crossover material from DAREDEVIL, THOR, and POWER PACK.

The book opens with UNCANNY X-MEN #210, X-FACTOR #9, UNCANNY #211, and X-FACTOR #10. From there, we move into the majority of the one- and two-off chapters -- NEW MUTANTS #46, THOR #373, POWER PACK #27, and THOR #374. Then it's back to the "core" material in UNCANNY #212 and X-FACTOR #11, followed by DAREDEVIL's contribution in issue 238, and then the saga is capped off by UNCANNY 213 and 214, which was not originally identified as an official piece of the crossover, but which provides a nice coda to the whole thing.

The reproduction of most of these issues is very nice, with the criminal exception of Alan Davis's X-MEN 213 (below), which looks absolutely horrid and represents an unforgivable crime against one of Marvel's best artists of all time. That issue is, for me, easily the highlight of "Mutant Massacre" in terms of both story and art, and I can't believe it came out looking so awful in this book.

X-FACTOR ANNUAL #3

"UNNATURAL SELECTION"
Writer: Louise Simonson | Penciler: Terry Shoemaker | Inker: Al Milgrom
Letterer: Joe Rosen | Colorist: Petra Scotese | Editor: Bob Harras
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The Plot: Far beneath New York, a group of Subterraneans are assaulted by Stack and Purge and their men, the Gatherers and the Purifiers. A telepathic cry from one Subterranean alerts various psychics on the surface and X-Factor goes underground to investigate. They eventually catch up with the Gatherers and Purifiers and a fight breaks out.

Meanwhile, the villainous Apocalypse deduces that the High Evolutionary is behind the attacks and goes to visit him in his space station. They battle in space while arguing philosophy, then Apocalypse teleports both of them beneath the Earth's surface to observe the fight.

While X-Factor battles the Purifiers and Gatherers, the Psychic Subterranean is nearly killed. But the Beast rescues him, prompting him to release a psychic blast which defeats Purge. Apocalypse taunts the High Evolutionary for proving Apocalypse's philosophy of survival of the fittest, then departs. The Evolutionary decides the Subterraneans are worthy to survive his culling for the time being, and teleports away with his men.

Beast invites Val-or, the psychic Subterranean, to come with X-Factor for training in the use of his mutant powers, but he elects instead to remain with his people and use the ability for their benefit.