Talk about a full 180! I hated last issue for it’s weak character work and utterly generic plot. But Peter David completely turns things around with a fun, character-rich comic that has X-Factor facing off in true superhero fashion against an army of demons. I can’t remember the last time this team was so on the ball. Multiple Man, especially, steps up in a big way.

X-Factor #249

And you know that any issue where my favorite superhero kicks ass is going to be a good issue.

Comic rating: 4/5: Good!

I’m still not entirely thrilled with the prospect of this Hell on Earth War, but I’m serious when I say that Peter David really brings out his A-game with the character work in this issue. And he does so in the middle of an epic battle, which isn’t usually the case for X-Factor. Usually, Peter David writes some crummy action issues and then some stellar talking issues. X-Factor #249 is a combination of the two, with a dash of epic mixed in for good measure. So maybe I’m going to start getting my hopes up for the Hell on Earth War.

This issue serves as a prologue to the whole event, and in that case, it sort of fails. Because we learn absolutely nothing new about the War or what it’s going to entail. Demons, I guess? Hell? Hellfire? More demons? I dunno. That’s one failing of this issue, that the villains are absolutely nobodies. Vera returns, and I guess something can be said about the fact that she’s the sister of a demon we met in the past, but that older demon wasn’t much of a character either. And beyond ‘Vera’, none of the bad guys in this issue get names or motivations. They’re just randomly evil demons.

And X-Factor kick their asses!

Join me after the jump for a full synopsis and more review.

We open with Madrox and Layla’s arrival at the Botanical Gardens, which have erupted into a literal volcano in the middle of New York City. It’s a small volcano for now, but still. They’re attacked by one of the evil goons who just happens to be hanging around, and Madrox duplicates in order to dodge the guy’s sword and take him down. Madrox decides to keep the sword and asks Layla about the volcano, which she thought wasn’t going to happen for another six months.

Meanwhile, the rest of the team are at the base of the volcano, confronted by the demon Vera and her army of evil bastards.

A nice picture for Dec. 21, 2012

The members of X-Factor take to the air to get up and over the bad guys, with Pip carrying Rictor and Shattestar, since they can’t fly. Of course, this is exactly when Monet forces Pip out of her body, putting her back in control. This begs the question of why the hell Peter David even bothered with this story point, but it’s over now. Seriously, he only spent one issue with Pip in Monet’s body. Why even do it? Did he start with Pip getting dramatically shot and then from there figured out how Pip could survive? Either way, Monet is royally pissed off at having her body and mind violated, as well as how all her friends laughed at it. She immediately tosses Rictor away, then tells Shatterstar that she didn’t kill Rictor because Shatterstar was the only one who didn’t laugh at her misfortune.

Polaris uses her powers to grab Rictor out of the air. She and Longshot are floating on a piece of metal building, and Monet comes flying straight at them! She’s pissed that the others would laugh at her, since all of them should remember how she spent years imprisoned in the body of Penance back in her Generation X days. Monet’s brother, the evil Emplate, transformed her body into a mute, diamond-hard creature called Penance, and it has forever darkened Monet’s soul. I can honestly say that I completely forgot about Penance, which makes the fact that she was a prisoner of Pip even worse. But then I never read Generation X. Polaris uses her powers to keep Monet at bay, then slaps her so that she’ll focus on the problem at hand.

I will always highlight team-on-team brutality

Elsewhere, Madrox and Layla are still making their way through the gardens, fighting off various bad guys along the way. Layla’s force field protects them from the attacks, and Madrox gets an idea.

Back at the volcano, Shatterstar is slicing and dicing his way through the armies of demons and bad guys. He’s attacked by Vera, who reveals herself to be a giant, evil shape-shifting demon, who wraps Shatterstar up in one of her tentacles. She also berates him for killing her sister all those issues ago in Kansas. Several of Vera’s followers grow wings and attack the rest of X-Factor, but Polaris uses Longshot’s knives to slice and dice them as well. The action is pretty solid in this issue, even if it’s against nameless, faceless, evil demons. X-Factor are killing demons left and right, but they still have to worry about the ever-growing volcano.

If only it were that easy

Vera is not the least bit worried that X-Factor are winning. She tells them that she has the whole Gardens filled with her followers, and there is no way that X-Factor can defeat them all. In fact, she sees several more gathering in the trees, ready to come and back her up. Vera is ready to unleash her army of demons.

But wait…those aren’t her demons…

It’s the 1st Multiple Man Infantry!

Oh Hells Yeah! There’s nothing I like more than Multiple Man kicking ass!

The Madroxes try to explain that if X-Factor can kill all of the demons, it should stop this invasion cold. He also mentions that he and Layla got married. However, the rest of the team is still floating up high in the sky and barely heard him. Which is when Pip teleports up to them to explain what Madrox said, about how he got hitched and now they need to stop all these demons. Everyone is glad that Pip is OK, except for Monet. She’s ready to kill the little bastard. But Polaris stops her and points out that there are a few bad guys who are more deserving of Monet’s aggression.

And so X-Factor goes to war!

For Frodo!

The next few pages are spent cutting a swath through the armies of demons, with nearly every member of X-Factor delivering the hurt. Vera still has hold on Shatterstar, but she is defeated when Rictor uses his vibration powers on her, turning her organic body into jelly. And once all of the demons are defeated, the volcano starts to go into overload. Everybody gathers under Layla’s force field – and Polaris wishes them a “mazel tov” on their wedding.

X-Factor survives the exploding volcanic, but Madrox notices five or six figures erupting out of the volcano. He can’t see them clearly through all the carnage, but someone definitely seems to have escaped Hell. That surely can’t be good. When the dust has settled, Madrox worries that this was only just the beginning.

In other words, he’s got a bad feeling about this

Awesome issue. Like I said earlier, X-Factor never handles action very well. And never with this much character and depth. We have that awesome Multiple Man moment, which is expounded upon by the team being happy for his marriage to Layla. We also have the complex emotions running through Monet’s head at the moment, Polaris getting a lot of characterization as she deals with the angry Monet, and a lot of fun moments for Rictor and Shatterstar. Rather than the characters disappearing into the action and letting it dominate the issue, they instead rise above and remain the focus, even as the world is melting into lava around them. And it makes for a very enjoyable read.

The art is also a step up from last issue. Leonard Kirk is back, and he does a great job with both the action and the character work. There were a few awkward poses or panels, perhaps, but for the most part, it’s a good looking book. The arrival of the Madroxes is an especially fun page.

If I had one complaint, it’s that the villains were more than a little bland and confusing. I take it that all of the people were actually demons, otherwise X-Factor murdered a lot of people. But if they were demons, they were definitely boring demons. Wings, sharp teeth, various weapons, they might as well have been mannequins they had such little character. Only Vera got a name, and even then she was just some generically evil being. And none of them had any sort of motivation to speak of. Was this all just revenge for X-Factor killing Vera’s sister back in Kansas? Is that why “X-Factor will fall”? That part was poorly explained, and a detriment to the villainy. But nobody buys X-Factor for the villains.

Let’s hope the Hell on Earth War keeps up the quality of this issue.