Category Archives: Multiple Man
Review: X-Factor #255
Penultimate chapters usually rock, and X-Factor #255 is no exception. The balance of power has tipped in the Hell on Earth War, and only the raggedy band of mutant heroes we know and love has any chance of saving the world. Writer Peter David does a great job of setting up the final challenge and positioning X-Factor as the last hope for the fate of the planet – minus one of their own! That’s right! A member of X-Factor dies in this issue, and it’s quite sad.
X-Factor #255
The Hell on Earth War has been generally good all along. It’s dragged a little, maybe, and not all of the characters have had meaningful moments, and Madrox has been almost completely absent, but I’ve enjoyed it and I’m ready for the grand finale!
Comic Rating: 4/5: Good!
Hell on Earth War has been generally entertaining. No part has really blown me away, or connected emotionally, but I’ve enjoyed it better than some of PAD’s other big X-Factor stories. Like I mentioned, most of the characters have just been along for the ride, with all of the emotional weight going to Tier, a character who we don’t really know. And my favorite character, Multiple Man, was quickly saddled with that odd demon transformation, taking him out of the fun. But those are just personal gripes. The rest of the story has been good.
The scope and scale of the Hell on Earth War has been very intense, some of the biggest X-Factor has ever seen, and PAD has kept the pacing sharp. The story hasn’t dragged too much, with something interesting happening in every issue. This issue is no exception. Tier gets a proud moment, there’s an epic fight between Strong Guy and Monet, and Mephisto successfully sets himself up for next issue’s boss fight.
Can X-Factor save the day? Or will their cancellation come early? Join me after the jump to find out!
X-Factor Cancelled; Life As We Know It Is Over!
Why!? Oh why!? One of my favorite comic book series for the past nearly 10 years is coming to an end! Marvel Comics and writer Peter David announced the official cancellation of X-Factor today at the C2E2 comic book convention in Chicago!
I know the feel, bro
The final issue will be X-Factor #262 in September, so just in time for my birthday. Curse you, cruel hand of fate!
We’ve known for a long time now that the next story arc is going to be called ‘The End of X-Factor’, but I thought that was just a clever name for some kind of shake up, or something along those lines. I didn’t think it needed to be taken literally. I’m also holding out hope that X-Factor will merely be relaunched with a new #1 issue as part of Marvel NOW! Wave 2. But based on that interview I linked from Newsarama, this cancellation sounds pretty final.
Peter David had this to say:
“It was basically decided that the ‘Hell on Earth War’ was as major a storyline as we were going to do,” David said. “I’d been building toward it for so long that it simply seemed a logical culmination to the entire series. So we decided to wrap it up. It’s been going for 10 years, after all.”
For those who don’t know, X-Factor is a spin-off of the X-Men series of comics. But instead of starring more popular characters like Wolverine or Storm or Cyclops, X-Factor took some of the lesser known characters and gave them their own series, characters like Wolfsbane, Rictor, Shatterstar, Siryn and, my all-time favorite comic book character, Multiple Man! This was Multiple Man’s series. He was the star! For years, I had to satisfy myself with Multiple Man showing up in small cameos or guest appearances. But then in 2004, Peter David came along and wrote a brilliant mini-series about him called MadroX, and it was amazing! That mini-series was so successful that Marvel decided to give PAD a whole series about Multiple Man and his friends!
Some friendlier than others
So seriously, for the past nearly 10 years, I have been able to enjoy a great, well-written comic book series starring my all-time favorite character. I should and do consider myself very lucky for that.
But apparently the time has come for an ending.
PAD said the final story will be a bunch of short stories starring each of the characters, giving them proper send-offs, I guess. One issue will be about Polaris interacting with Quicksilver.
Because why not
And another issue will focus on the mysterious connection between Longshot and Shatterstar.
Because also why not
No word on how Multiple Man will be left after the series. PAD has always been hinting at having some kind of secret behind Multiple Man’s powers. Will he finally reveal that secret? Or will he just give Multiple Man a happy ending? I’m hoping for the latter.
In the interview, PAD also hints that he has a top secret Marvel project coming up. So I suppose there’s still a sliver of hope that this is all just a feint, and he will reveal a new version of X-Factor to come along, but we’ll just have to wait and see.
As it stands, all I can really do is thank writer Peter David and Marvel for giving this comic book geek an amazing 10 years. What more can a guy ask for? X-Factor has been brilliant from beginning to no doubt what will be a fantastic ending! So three cheers everybody!
Hip, Hip, Hooray!
Hip, Hip, Hooray!
Hip, Hip, Hooray!
*sniff*
Review: X-Factor #254
More X-Factor, more Hell on Earth War goodness! The battle for the fate of the Earth marches on into Part Five, and it looks like Peter David is finally moving his various pieces into place for the big finale. Specifically, he has Mephisto start making the sort of power plays that put him dead center as the story’s true villain, while X-Factor deals with some more internal problems. I rather like that. I’m not so much a fan of big, chaotic fights between superheroes and faceless demon spawn, but I love it when superheroes bicker and talk with one another. That’s just something weird about me, I guess.
X-Factor #254
We get plenty of both action and talking in this issue, which is another solid installment of the Hell on Earth War.
Comic Rating: 4/5: Good.
One thing that’s interesting to note is that the recap page mentions a meeting between Peter David and his editors at Marvel HQ. As we all know, the recap pages always contain some fun, behind-the-scenes tidbit, usually about PAD’s life and family. This time we learn that PAD has a lot of big, big plans for X-Factor in the coming months, which I’m taking to mean that the upcoming ‘End of X-Factory’ storyline is just going to be a chance for him to relaunch the series with a new focus. Marvel has been talking about Marvel NOW! Wave 2 being on the horizon, and I think X-Factor is going to get a little shake up. I’m excited for this…in theory. If we find out that PAD is ditching all of his characters and going in a completely new direction, then I will be less happy. I’m hoping, instead, that he just plans to streamline the current team and figure out a new direction to take all of them.
As long as PAD is still writing a Multiple Man comic book, I will be one happy camper.
But that also gives extra emphasis to the Hell on Earth War, which might turn out to be the big, penultimate story of this volume of X-Factor. PAD has been writing this ongoing tale for years now, and this looks to be his big blowout adventure. I can definitely get behind that. The story is fast-paced with usually strong character work. The stakes are higher than they’ve ever been for X-Factor, and mostly we get to see everybody working together (or knocking heads) as they try to be superheroes and save the world. You couldn’t really ask for more.
Review: X-Factor #253
The Hell on Earth War continues in this issue of X-Factor and it’s still pretty good. Not great. Not bad. It’s just kind of entertaining and enjoyable to read. And I think that’s good enough. I would like to see something really dramatic or amazing happen, but I’m not expecting it. The best issues of X-Factor are usually the quiet, introspective issues. Hell on Earth War is definitely not that. It’s big. This is probably the biggest storyline X-Factor has ever done, at least in terms of in-comic scale. Hell has come to Earth, and both the Avengers and Fantastic Four make cameo appearances.
X-Factor #253
In terms of scope, this storyline is huge. And it feels like it within the story. That’s a good thing. But something like the Hell on Earth War serves to remind us how little an impact X-Factor has on the rest of the Marvel Universe. And that’s a shame.
Comic Rating: 4/5: Good.
My opinion has wavered up and down a bit on this storyline so far. It has its faults. Few of the characters feel particularly engaged in the actual storyline. Everyone just kind of feels like they’re being dragged along with no real emotional depth. The story revolves around Tier, who we barely know or have any connection to at all. And the story makes it perfectly clear that Tier is the only character who can actually stop the various Hell Lords, so what is there for X-Factor to do?
But beyond those faults, it’s still an entertaining story. The characters are written well, the villains are strong and Tier isn’t so bad. Writer Peter David is keeping a fairly rapid pace, and the stakes are definitely high. It also feels like there might be a twist or two coming up somewhere along the line. I guess we’ll wait and see. I am enjoying the story, and I remain cautiously optimistic that it’s going to be pretty awesome in the end. Though I am slightly annoyed that my favorite character, Multiple Man, has been sidelined for who knows how long.
Join me after the jump for a full synopsis and more review!
Disconcerting News For X-Factor
Solicitation previews for June have hit the Internet, and it looks like the next big X-Factor story arc after the Hell on Earth War is going to be called The End of X-Factor! Not only that, but Madrox still looks like he’s possessed by a demon!
Still rockin’ the duster, though
Both of those things are sad to hear!
Granted, it could just be a title. Word has it that Peter David is recovering well and still writing, and there’s been no suggestion that The End of X-Factor is anything more than just a title. I don’t think the book is getting cancelled. Still, it’s a sad title. As is the fact that Madrox is still a demon by then? Is he going to spend the entire Hell on Earth War as the demon slave of Mephisto? That sucks. I read X-Factor mostly for the awesome Madrox action!
I’ll let you guys and gals know if I learn more.
Henchman-4-Hire 