The action in X-Factor is knocked up a notch with this issue, which kicks off the new Breaking Points storyline. Marvel Comics is rocketing towards their new Marvel NOW! relaunch this fall, and even though X-Factor is going to be relatively untouched, writer Peter David appears to want to use this as a chance to streamline his title. I’m grateful for that. I’ve long complained about too many cast members. David has also had several long running storylines that he’s going to wrap up as well. Basically it seems like Breaking Points is going to be a big wrap up of the past year or so of stories.

X-Factor #241

So it’s a good thing that the first part of the story is an entertaining comic, with some great moments and some fun characterization. All those filler stories are in the past, now we’re back to the good stuff!

Comic rating: 4/5: Good!

I’d complained in some of the most recent reviews that PAD seemed to have lost his touch when it came to his usually clever and fun characters. I think the problem was that he really was just spinning his wheels until he could get to this storyline. I had no idea what he has planned for Marvel NOW!, but this is the story that’s going to get us there. And like I said, it’s a good read. PAD expertly juggles his extended cast, mixing both superhero fun and down-to-Earth normal interactions, which I love. When the cast shrinks in the fall, hopefully he’ll have it even easier.

The true appeal of X-Factor has always been that these characters are people first and superheroes second. Sure they’ll fight the bad guys and save the day, but they’ll also get on each others nerves, bicker, bust chops and basically act like human beings. We get a really good taste of that in this issue.

So join me after the jump for a full synopsis and more review!

We open with the three villains that Multiple Man met while he  was jumping through alternate dimensions: Dr. Dormammu, the Deathlok who used to be Captain America, and Vanora, the evil shape-shifting daughter of Wolfsbane. They’ve been living at the old abandoned movie theater where they appeared, and they’re kind of getting on each other’s last nerves.

Good villains are hard to come by

They’ve stayed there on the orders of the elder Damian Tryp, who returns to them now with the news that he has found a way to get them back to their proper dimensions. But first he wants them to cause some trouble in New York. We’ll catch up them again later.

In New York, at X-Factor HQ, Madrox is having Longshot use his powers to try and get a reading on the suicide note left behind by Far Sight, the unpowered kid from Seattle who kind of sort of thought he had super-powers. We, the reader, know that Tryp had a hand in Far Sight’s ‘suicide’, but Madrox doesn’t know that yet. Hence why he’s trying to have Longshot take a reading – but Longshot’s getting nothing. Havok stops by and he and Madrox banter a bit, the two of them still not getting along. Madrox says that investigating Far Sight’s suicide was a dead end.

Havok wonders if Longshot is suffering some kind of side effect from his recent coma, and that’s why he can’t get a reading. Longshot says it’s possible. He also says that he thinks his old master, Mojo, was the one behind it. But Havok warns Longshot not to attack Mojo too soon, they’ve had too many team members jumping dimensions lately.

Pip is a total sci-fi nerd

It’s about time somebody called Havok on his stupid costume.

Anyway, Wolfsbane is on the phone, and she tells Madrox that she’s found her son and they should all meet. If you recall, Wolfsbane, Rictor and Shatterstar left a few issues ago to search for Wolfsbane’s mystical, demon son. We haven’t heard from them since.

Meanwhile, Monet is in the kitchen eating from a tub of ice cream, because that’s what women do when they’re bummed, right? Her date with Guido went very poorly, though considering Monet’s prideful attitude, it doesn’t seem like she’d want to wallow in some ice cream. If you recall last issue, when Layla Miller saw both a good and a bad ending to the date, I guess the bad ending is the one that came true. Still, Monet wants the comfort food, and Polaris recognizes a fellow lady in need of a chat – though Polaris is also still wearing her hideous costume.

How can she even sit in a chair properly with that cape?

I’m starting to think that PAD is keeping her and Havok dressed like this for a reason. Monet gets to wear normal people clothes, but Polaris has to wear this skimpy green outfit with the weird headdress. It looks unnatural when she sits down at the kitchen table.

Monet also calls Polaris “Hydra Hair”. So it’s becoming a running gag in this issue that everybody’s coming up with clever insults/nicknames for everybody else.

We get a brief scene of Banshee in her room contemplating a drink, even though she’s a recovering alcoholic. She’s about to take a sip when there’s a sudden surprise visitor behind her, someone who has an Irish accent, and someone who we don’t get to see yet. My guess is Black Tom, an old X-Men villain who raised Terry when she was a little girl. Terry is the daughter of the original Banshee, the X-Man Sean Cassidy. But Black Tom, her uncle, raised her when everybody thought Sean was dead. Black Tom did a good job of it too, which is a pretty decent thing for a super-villain.

I don’t think Black Tom and Terry have interacted in a comic book in more than 10 years, possibly longer. So it should be a neat reunion.

In the other room, Guido is lounging on a couch when Madrox and Havok ask him if he wants to come along to see Rahne.

Strong Guy’s got some readin’ to do

Havok fills in Madrox about the big date, but Havok assumes that Guido shouldn’t be taking it so hard, since he doesn’t have a soul anymore. Madrox waxes philosophic that maybe Guido isn’t taking it hard at all, but the very fact that he isn’t is what’s got him in a sour mood. Then he makes another Tron joke at Havok’s expense.

So Madrox and Havok go to find Rahne in Central Park, and continue bantering until they spot her – but we see that this is a trap, with Deathlok lying in wait.

Back at HQ, we see that maybe Guido does care about something. Layla shows up and asks where Jamie went, with Guido filling her in about the meeting with Rahne in Central Park. But Layla, who knows the future, knows that Rahne isn’t supposed to come back yet…Madrox and Havok are walking into a trap! Guido gets righteously concerned!

Strong Guy to the rescue!

But Monet is rather standoffish still,  and chooses to argue with Guido instead of hearing him out, which just pisses Guido off some more. Fortunately, Polaris reads between the lines that Guido is trying to tell them that Madrox and Havok might be in trouble…

Sure enough, both Madrox and Havok start to get a sneaking suspicion that this isn’t Rahne, and they refuse to walk up to her. Madrox is even able to piece together that she might be Vanora in disguise. Deathlok launches an attack from hiding, and Havok steps up to face off against him, the two trading energy blasts in the park. Madrox pops out a bunch of duplicates to face Vanora, then Dr. Dormammu appears and begins conjuring a spell. He had already set up the park as a mystical ambush, and now he’s ready to cast his spell. He’s going to use Madrox and Havok as interdimensional gateways to get them all back home…

Or maybe not…

Lousy blorks…

Woot! Superheroic save!

Guido kicks some Dormammu butt, while Polaris turns Deathlok’s own hand cannon back on him, blowing off his head. It’s OK, Deathlok is a zombie anyway, so it’s not like she killed him for reals. Vanora scampers off and gets away, while Guido chases down Dormammu, who is reduced to grabbing an innocent bystander to use as a hostage. He expects the heroic Guido to surrender, but instead soulless Guido doesn’t care what Dormammu does to the poor woman. He’s pretty ice cold about it too.

Then Monet swoops in and grabs the woman, while Dormammu dies in a big, red explosion. No one knows what happened, but Monet is too damn mad at Guido to care.

That’s cold, lady

So Guido storms off in anger, out into the wooded area of Central Park. By the time the rest of X-Factor catch up and go looking for him, Guido is gone. Because the guy with the red energy, who destroyed Dormammu, shows up and offers Guido an opportunity to use his talents away from X-Factor. Guido quickly takes the mystery magician up on his offer and the two disappear!

Like I said, this was a fun book. The characters act and interact like real people, there are real emotions on the line and we get some honest, heartfelt happenings. The Monet/Guido stuff is heartbreaking. You really feel for the poor lug, but then Monet isn’t totally out of place either. And along with heartbreak there is a lot of humor, with all the funny put downs and fun banter between the more cheerful members of the cast. PAD still writes a great Madrox.

The villains aren’t particularly meaningful, but then they weren’t when they first appeared either. Vanora maybe has potential, which is probably why she survived, but there’s no harm in killing off Caplok or Dr. Dormammu. They served whatever purpose they were meant to serve.

In the end, this was kind of a light, breezy issue. The fight was very low stakes, and the only real interaction of any emotional depth is the Monet/Guido stuff. Everything else is nice and simple. That may not make for compelling reading, but it definitely makes for entertaining reading. At least if you like the characters, which I definitely do!