It’s Multiple Man versus the zombie of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. How can you not love comics? Where else in the world of fiction are you going to get the Highlander done with Abraham Lincoln impersonators? Or Multiple Man being this cool? The Breaking Points story may be over, but writer Peter David is still focused on character-centric issues, this time giving Jamie Madrox and his gal Layla a chance to shine – while moving his larger story forward at a snail’s pace.

X-Factor #247

Still, if you’re looking for an awesome Multiple Man hero story, there are worse places to look. It’s always fun to see my favorite superhero being this cool.

Comic rating: 4/5: Good!

This is a very fun comic that kind of spins off into a weird, yet entertaining, lunacy. It also has an unfortunate habit of trying to tie its tale of resurrected Confederate soldiers into the deaths/rebirths of superheroes, adding an unnecessary weight around its neck. We get it, superheroes tend to return from the dead a lot. Commenting on that fact does not count as a joke or even criticism, especially when X-Factor has done it twice now. Why couldn’t Confederate soldier zombies exist on their own terms? Why tie it to that annoying ‘nobody stays dead in comics’ issue? Really deflates the menace of Zombie Robert E. Lee.

But if you’re willing to look past that nit pick, this is an otherwise really fun issue. Jamie and Layla are a cool couple, with great timing between them. They have a really good chemistry, is what I’m trying to say, and it’s really on display in this issue. Likewise, Madrox in general is in fine form. He’s all superheroic and leading man, exactly how I like him. There’s also a nice bit of comedy sprinkled throughout, just like with every issue of X-Factor. It’s Multiple Man vs. Zombie Robert E. Lee, people! What more do I need to say?

Join me after the jump for more!

If you’re just joining us, Jamie Madrox and Layla Miller ran off to get married a few issues ago, a very sudden and spontaneous decision. They’ve been sleeping together for awhile now, and that’s a good enough reason to get married in this day and age! So they raced off to Las Vegas and got quickie hitched by a guy dressed as Abraham Lincoln.

Because a Klingon is asking too much

Madrox and Layla are spending their honeymoon in a very pink room, complete with heart-shaped bed, Champagne and all the usual festivities. They’re lying in bed together when they’re woken up by a knock at the door. Madrox pulls a gun out from underneath his pillow, since he knows that in one parallel dimension, he and Layla were murdered on their wedding night. But it’s just the cops. Turns out that the Lincoln who married them has been murdered, and they were some of the last two people to see him alive. The cop also discovered that they’re private investigators, so he’s wondering if they’d be willing to lend a hand or saw anything suspicious.

Lincoln was decapitated on his way to his car in the parking lot. He’s also the third Lincoln impersonator to be killed in the past two weeks. If they don’t have anything to offer or didn’t see anything, the detective wishes them a happy honeymoon. But unofficially, should they be able to provide some assistance, then whatever happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

Once the officers leave, Madrox and Layla return to bed…

There can only be one…Lincoln!

At the crime scene, Madrox and Layla chat with a woman who knew Lincoln, who is all broken up. She gives them a few clues before wandering back to the office, leaving Madrox and Layla checking out the crime scene. Madrox asks her if getting married was a mistake. Layla says “maybe”, but then tells Madrox that she’d gladly make a mistake with him than play it safe with anyone else. How romantic.

While searching the scene, they find a small patch of dead human flesh, but it’s been dead for awhile. Layla takes it back to their hotel room and using a locating spell to find the source. They joke a bit about how she needs Myrrh for the spell; the same thing the wise men used to find the baby Jesus, Layla points out, whereas Jamie says he thought they followed a star. Layla tells him not to believe everything he reads. Just a little religion humor. Layla finds the location and directs Madrox, who’s out on the Strip in a cab. Not sure they why split up like this, but it works.

Layla’s going to join him, until she trips over a chair in their hotel room. Then she gets knocked on the head when housekeeping opens the door right into her. She’s conscious long enough to promise she’ll come help him when she can…

And he might need the help, because Madrox has found the spot: the spell has led him to a Civil War Reenactment Convention. He sneaks backstage.

Nobody respects a good clipboard nowadays

After knocking out the guard, Madrox takes his walkie talkie and gets a message to check one of the dressing rooms. He heads down, but finds everybody dead…with the zombie of Confederate General Robert E. Lee standing over them!

What else was he supposed to do as a zombie?

The dead general is annoyed at how the modern day has turned the Civil War into a pageant. Madrox raises his gun and creates a dupe, angering Lee. The general has apparently heard about mutants, and blames them for his return from the dead. The Madroxes open fire, but bullets do not affect the dead. So Madrox flees, with Lee hot on his heels.

This is where the story goes a little off the rails. Robert E. Lee coming back from the dead as a zombie is a fine story. Makes perfect sense in the world of comics. But then Lee starts talking about how mutants are always coming back from the dead, and how it’s unnatural. He even vaguely references Necrosha, a story about zombie mutants from a few years ago. Nobody remembers Necrosha. It did not need to be mentioned here.  It just pulls me out of the story. And it’s not just mutants who ‘come back from the dead’, a lot of superheroes and super-villains do it. And often times, they don’t actually ‘come back from the dead’, per se. There’s always a story behind it.

Captain America didn’t come back from the dead. He never died. His consciousness was simply sent back in time.

But I’m splitting hairs. Suffice to say, trying to use superhero resurrections in order to lay down some justification as to why Lee is back just stalls the narrative. Who cares why he came back from the dead? He just did! Happens all the time in this kind of fiction!

Anyway, so Lee chases Madrox on stage at the convention, where a guy in a Lincoln costume is the emcee, talking to a room full of reenactors. General Lee gets mad once again and attacks the Lincoln.

A true Civil War reenactment

But Madrox saves the guy by catching Lee’s sword between his hands, all badass like. Madrox grabs the sword and creates a group of duplicates to surround Lee. Peter David throws in another quick line about how Madrox is able to duplicate objects as well as himself, and then Madrox cuts off Lee’s head with an 80s-style one-liner.

Worthy of Arnold and Stallone

But the battle continues, because the zombie’s body can move independently from the head. The crowd finally starts to flee as Madrox shoots out the lights and rigging above the stage. They come crashing down and incinerate Lee’s head, which issues Madrox a stern warning about Hell going to war on Earth, which is an upcoming storyline in X-Factor. The head also mentions that Madrox will fall, just like that woman told Pip in the last issue. So ominous things ahead for X-Factor.

The issue ends with some kinky sexual experimentation.

Because superhero costumes are kinky

Though why is that one Madrox fully clothed?

This is a delightfully fun issue, bogged down with a ltitle too much attempted reasoning behind Robert E. Lee’s return from the grave. Who cares how he was brought back? Everybody knows that you don’t reveal too much about the mysterious, mythical and scary happenings. If we all knew how the zombie apocalypse started on The Walking Dead it would make things worse. It’s the same here. And trying to tie it into Necrosha is just silly. Nobody remembers that pathetic attempt to steal thunder from DC’s Blackest Night story.  Best to just leave it buried.

But beyond that nit pick, it’s a great Multiple Man adventure. He and Layla track a killer, then he gets to do a little detective work before fighting off a zombie. Fun use of his powers too. Nothing too wild, but at least he uses them. And while part of me can admit this is a little cartoony, it still definitely works.

The art is a little disappointing. I think Leonard Kirk has been doing a fine job on X-Factor. But sometimes his work can seem a little rushed. I know I’ve seen him do some amazing comic book work. And he’s definitely brought his A-game to more than a few issues of X-Factor. But parts of this issue just look a little sloppy and undetailed. Not that it ruins the comic. But I know he can do better.

Though considering this was just a fun Multiple Man superhero adventure, and that such a thing exists in the world, I’ve got little to complain about.