Now this is the kind of character-based drama I love to see in my comics, especially X-Factor! Peter David finally gives us some real tension between series star Jamie Madrox and his beleaguered usurper Alex Summers, otherwise known as Multiple Man and Havok. I’ve been waiting for this tension to hit for several issues now, and it feels good to finally have something meaty to sink our teeth into at X-Factor Investigations. That coupled with a new and possible entertaining case leads to a damn good issue of X-Factor.

X-Factor #235

This is exactly the kind of comic I want X-Factor to be – minus the blue-skinned, big gun-wielding space maniac.

Comic rating: 4/5: Good!

For the first time in a long while, X-Factor is finally dealing with something on their level again. No interdimensional journeys, no time-traveling duplicates and no evil Reed Richardses. Yes, I realize the Isolationist and his hot demon girlfriend are behind it all, but they thankfully don’t appear in this issue. I also realize that this is an entirely biased sentiment, that I shouldn’t judge a comic book based on what I want it to be, as opposed to what it actually is. And I’m not. The ‘good’ rating isn’t based on my being pleased with the plot. It’s based on the quality of the comic. Trust me.

We have here some Grade A character-based drama, some great scenes with the team, and a fairly unique and compelling mystery to solve. Not to mention the promise of uncovering a mystery that has been around in the X-franchise for decades: just who or what are Shatterstar and Longshot?

And solving those kinds of mysteries involving B and C-list comic book characters is exactly what X-Factor is for!

I’ve said it before in these reviews, and I’ll say it again: X-Factor is at its absolute best when writer Peter David focuses on the characters first and the zany plots second. When his characters act like human beings, when they hang out together and banter like real friends and family, the issues soar. When he comes up with some insane, wildly overblown story involving time-travel or what have you, the series slows to a month-by-month crawl. Let other superhero comics tackle those kinds of stories. X-Factor has always been about these characters being people first and superheroes second. Keep that as the focus.

Because honestly, when was the last time X-Factor Investigations actually had a nice, simple case to solve? One that wasn’t tied to some mad super-villain or plot? They are supposed to be a detective agency, right?

We open in Seattle and immediately meet the X-Ceptionals, a group of young men who are playing at being superheroes.

Rejects from the ‘Mystery Men’

They don’t have powers, though they claim to be mutants with recessive x-genes. They’re basically like characters out of Kick-Ass: guys without powers who want to be superheroes, so they make costumes and ‘patrol’ the city. The X-Ceptionals are probably more closely related to real-life superhero Phoenix Jones. The fact that both Jones and the X-Ceptionals operate in Seattle can’t be a coincidence.

You may recall last issue, when superheroes Shutterbug and The Insignia were brutally murdered? They were members of the X-Ceptionals. How this ties into the red demon lady, I don’t know yet. But that doesn’t matter. Until she actively gets involved, I’m just going to pretend this is a normal, street-level type of story involving some suspicious murders. And who better to solve those murders than X-Factor? And how better to solve those murders than by going undercover as the two newest members of the X-Ceptionals: Multitask and Star Face!

Maybe some more pouches

Now that’s funny right there.

For those who don’t know, shoulder pads were a popular accessory for superheroes in the 90s. Back then, superheroes were all about style over substance. Publishers thought the readers wanted big guns, bad attitudes and lots of violence. This time also gave rise to lots of weird style choices. All new heroes not only had big guns, but they also had lots of pouches and belts on their costumes, as well as shoulder pads, random straps where they didn’t need straps, jackets and lots and lots of muscles. The 90s, to the world of comic books, are like the 80s to the rest of the world. Maybe they were cool once upon a time, but wow, what were we thinking back then?

Shatterstar was one such product of the 90s. That guy, and a lot of his friends, were all about the shoulder pads, pouches, ponytail and other weird style choices that would look ridiculous in this day and age.

We all dressed weird back then

Anyway, enough history lesson. What are Multiple Man and Shatterstar doing in Seattle? Well X-Factor has been hired by the mother of the slain superhero Shutterbug to find out why her son was killed. The police were always rolling their eyes at the guys playing superhero, so she doesn’t trust them and doesn’t believe they could solve this case. She wants justice! Though why she had to travel all the way to New York City to meet with X-Factor to get that justice, I don’t know. Just roll with it.

The woman meets with Havok, the de facto leader of X-Factor. She was able to secure her son’s video camera, which captured some of his murder. Havok, being a goody-two-shoes, suggests that she turn that camera over to the police and let them do their jobs. But Madrox steps in and takes the camera, promising that this is definitely a superhero matter, and that X-Factor will take the case. Shatterstar comforts the woman, telling her that her son was a warrior, and he shall be treated as one.

Havok rushes after Madrox, upset that Madrox stepped in like that and took over. Then we get that drama I was talking about.

Sweet, sweet drama

Good stuff, right? Though that does beg the question of why is Havok sticking around? It would have made some sense had Peter David let Madrox stay dead for awhile, and had us readers get to know Havok and Polaris as leaders of the team. I may be incredibly grateful that Madrox wasn’t dead for long, and came back almost immediately. But storywise, he shot himself in the foot. Technically, some vague amount of time passed where Havok and Polaris were team leaders, and they became part of X-Factor to the characters. But we the reader never saw that time, we were only told about it. Now that Madrox is back, there is absolutely no reason for Havok and Polaris to stay, let alone stay in any kind of leadership position.

X-Factor isn’t a government agency anymore. It’s a privately owned business. The members of X-Factor allowed Havok and Polaris to come in and be their new leaders because Wolverine suggested it. They didn’t have to let Havok and Polaris take over. Neither Wolverine or Val Cooper has any say in the goings on at X-Factor Investigations.

So really, there is no reason for Havok and Polaris to stay. Polaris especially hasn’t had anything to do or add to the comic. Other than sexy green hair. I wish Peter David would slow down and take a little time to better establish these two and their position on the team. And get them new costumes, dammit! Havok and Polaris look as silly as Multitask and Star Face!

At any rate, the members of X-Factor sit down to watch the video.

Everybody’s a critic

Poor soulless Strong Guy.

He has a point though, and they can’t really see what happened. So they give the video to Longshot, who has the ability to read psychic traces off inanimate objects. Havok steps in again, trying to convince Madrox that this is a non-mutant police matter. Madrox gets in Havok’s face and says that he’s trying to play things cool, for old time’s sake, but there is going to be a problem if Havok starts channeling his brother Cyclops.

The drama is interrupted by Longshot suddenly freaking out and getting a strange message!

He could always become Pirate Longshot!

Longshot passes out and Madrox puts him in bed, blaming himself for this trouble. Monet is brought in to read his mind, but Longshot’s conscious is buried far too deep for her to pull him out. Madrox isn’t going to just sit around and wait, he’s going to get to work. He storms out and grabs his coat, planning to go to Seattle and pose as a hero to be bait. Havok follows him and insists that he’s going along too, but Madrox turns him down. Rather than argue, Polaris convinces Havok to let Madrox go and take care of this. Though he won’t be going alone. Shatterstar insists on going along.

Which brings us back to the beginning.

Madrox and the leader of the Seattle superheroes, Lord Defender, are walking the streets and talking about why Defender got into this: he wants to make this world a better place. They pass Alfonse, a drug-dealer who Lord Defender says he helped go straight.

There are fewer high fives in rooftop patrols

Defender says he’s proud of the work he’s doing, though the murders are causing them to lose members. But he’s not going to run, because if you run from evil, it’s just going to follow you.

Elsewhere, Shatterstar and Buzzkill are also patrolling the sidewalks, making small talk about some of the other X-Ceptionals. Shatterstar gets a sense that they’re being followed, but Buzzkill saw something a panel or two earlier and wandered off.

Buzzkill saw Alfonse and drags him into an alley, pulling out a baggie of drugs. Buzzkill is pissed that Alfonse is back dealing, but the dialogue between the two seems to indicate that Alfonse probably never did go straight, and Buzzkill just wants to boost Lord Defender’s confidence.

Don’t let the mohawk fool you, Buzzkill is just a big softy

It’s a sweet sentiment, and no doubt might have led to something nice if Buzzkill wasn’t immediately murdered soon after. His body is a bloody mess (though Alfonse was left alive) when Shatterstar reaches the scene. The killer is still there, and he looks suspiciously similar to 90s-era Shatterstar!

Complete with shoulder pad!

The two thrown down in a quick scene that ends with Shatterstar on the ground, the mysterious killer’s gun to his head.

So if you’re a fan of Shatterstar or Longshot, I bet the next issue is going to be right up your alley. Peter David has been promising some secrets revealed about the two of them, and this new killer might be the key. If you don’t know, both Shatterstar and Longshot have origins in the Mojoverse, but their similarities have never before been addressed – until now! Shatterstar has been growing on me over the course of X-Factor, though Longshot is still mostly a nobody, as far as I’m concerned. Yet considering my favorite character, Madrox, can be considered just as obscure as the two of them, no doubt they also have fans. So learning some of the mysteries of their origins might be fun.

Otherwise, good issue! The drama between Havok and Madrox is great, and I hope it continues. Like I said, Peter David needs to do a lot more with Havok, and definitely Polaris. I’d love for them to becoming fully fleshed out characters. The other scenes with the team are good, especially that one watching the murder video.

the X-Ceptionals are a little weird. They’re clearly modeled after Phoenix Jones, or Kick-Ass…and yet they live in a world of real superheroes. There really are guys out there who don’t have any super-powers, yet they still put on a costume and are legitimate crimefighters. So this subset of pathetic normal people playing superhero just doesn’t fit as cleanly into the Marvel Universe as it might in the real world or the world of Kick-Ass. Still, I suppose they make at least semi-interesting murder victims.

That’s got to count for something, right?