It’s times like these I wish I did better in literature class. Maybe then I could understand why Peter David wasted one of the last six issues of X-Factor on characters we’ve never met before and the elementary lesson of being careful what you wish for. Did I miss one of the themes or subplots of Hell on Earth War? Does this lesson have something to do with why Jamie Madrox is still stuck in demon form?

X-Factor #257

Why the heck is Madrox still a demon!? Spoilers, he’s still a demon by the end of the issue! PAD only has five issues left of the entire series and his main character is still a mindless, purposeless demon monster! Argh!

Comic Rating: 3/5 – Alright.

I can only hope that this issue is some kind of prologue to the entire End of X-Factor storyline, that maybe its themes will reverberate throughout the entire arc. Maybe it will make sense once the whole series is wrapped. Or maybe it won’t. I just don’t know. PAD has promised that each issue is going to focus on different characters to wrap up their stories. So is this Layla’s issue? Is this the wrap-up we get for Layla Miller? If it is, it’s a terrible wrap-up for her character. Seriously, I just don’t know the purpose of this issue. I’m hoping that it will all become clear in the end, otherwise this is a dud of a story that doesn’t really have anything to do with X-Factor at all.

I’m not dreading the end of the series. X-Factor has had a long, healthy run, and maybe it’s time to say goodbye. The rest of the Marvel Universe has passed it by, and I’m glad that PAD has the opportunity to wrap up the series on his terms. So I guess I was just expecting something more…meaningful? More important? More in line with saying goodbye? I kept waiting for something to happen that would change Madrox back to his normal self, but it never came. All of a sudden the issue was over and nothing had changed. I’m just at a loss as to the purpose of the issue. I really hope it becomes clear soon enough.

Also, not to be too rude, but the art is clearly in “comic soon to be cancelled” mode.

The issue opens in Marrakesh, which is apparently where Mephisto built his castle at the end of the Hell on Earth War – though Guido’s fix at the end of last issue has wiped everyone’s memories of the War. Layla’s narration explains some of the history of the city, as well as some of the dangers, and we watch some kind of motor vehicle bomb go off. A young man runs from the blast, worried that it has somehow upset the creature he’s hiding in a nearby shack. But the boy checks and finds that Demon Madrox is still where the boy left him.

A new solo series in Marvel NOW! Wave 2, perhaps?

As you may recall, Demon Madrox fled from Layla at the end of the last issue, and apparently he ended up as some boy’s pet. This issue is essentially about Layla getting him back, and it’s kind of a waste because there was no reason to have Demon Madrox run off in the first place. We join Layla in the city searching for Madrox, and she runs afoul of the boy, who is also a pickpocket. He’s stealing wallets to pay his uncle to perform some kind of unholy ritual. The boy wants to use Madrox – who he believes is a magical Djinn – in order to bring his mother back to life, and his uncle just so happens to have a history with black magic. Makes sense to me. They take Demon Madrox to an empty house and the uncle begins to cast the spell – which is when Layla shows up to interrupt.

That kid be packin’ heat, yo

The kid pulls the gun on Layla, but she is far from bothered. She tries to talk him out of it, but in doing so, she ignores the uncle, who manages to complete the spell. The problem is that Layla ‘knew’ a little about what was happening. Based on her old knowledge, she and Madrox were supposed to investigate and the uncle’s spell was supposed to fail. But now things are different from the stuff that Layla ‘knows’, and the uncle summons a portal to the underworld to resurrect his sister, the boy’s mother. Demon Madrox does as he’s told and jumps into the portal to fetch the mother.

Except she didn’t exactly go to Heaven, and the portal opens up into the Muslim version of Hell to unleash the hellbeast she has become!

Happy Mother’s Day!

Seems mommy was into some fairly evil things in life that her son didn’t know about.

The Demon Mother is all shrieks and evil stuff, and she picks up the boy and melts him down to the bone. Layla tries to save him, but it’s too late. Then the Demon Mother goes after Layla, and is even able to pass through her forcefield. This looks like the end for Layla Miller…

Except, of course, it’s not. Demon Madrox grabs on to Demon Mother and pulls her back. The two screech at each other in some demon tongue for a bit before Madrox just lays her out with one punch.

One punch!

He then drags her back into the portal and returns her to whatever hell he got her from. The portal closes and Layla warns the uncle to be careful with black magic. Then they take his robe and headdress to disguise Demon Madrox, and Layla and her demon husband flee out into the streets of Marrakesh to get away. And apparently Layla feels exactly how I do about this whole adventure.

You and me both, Layla

I just don’t get it. Sorry Peter David, you lost me. The lesson of the story is obviously to be careful what you wish for. Or maybe it’s not to mess with forces you don’t understand. But neither of those themes really apply to Layla or Demon Madrox. Or to the Hell on Earth War. It’s not like Madrox asked to be turned into a demon, it just happened. And I don’t think the themes apply to X-Factor as a whole. I guess I really do just have to wait for the rest of the issues to come out, and maybe this theme will play out further. Otherwise, this was one waste of a one-off issue. Even when Madrox and Layla had that solo adventure in Las Vegas there was the novelty of Civil War ghosts to play around with. This is just some kid getting killed by some demon. There’s nothing clever or interesting, other than the rarely used Marrakesh setting. But even then, Marrakesh looked like any other Middle Eastern city.

I’m trying not to be bitter about Demon Madrox. It’s just that my favorite comic series is ending and PAD has put my favorite character, the star of the series, in such an odd place, and for no apparent reason. And I guess I’m just worried that there isn’t a reason. Surely PAD isn’t going to end the series with Madrox stuck as a demon. That would be insane. I want X-Factor and Multiple Man to get a proper goodbye. I expected this issue to solve the Demon Madrox problem, and there were so many different moments where that could have happened. But PAD didn’t bother. And the story played out to pointlessness.

As a regular issue of X-Factor, I probably would have still been disappointed. But as one of the last issues ever, as the kick-off to the upcoming farewell, this issue was a huge disappointment. Now is the time to say goodbye to X-Factor is style, not waste everyone’s time with some kid in Marrakesh.