Blog Archives
Review: X-Factor #233
Madrox the Multiple Man is alive again and all is right with the world – except for this far from spectacular issue of X-Factor. Don’t get me wrong, it was a fun read, but it did not accomplish anything particularly noteworthy or interesting. This is mostly just a solid story with a few funny gags, some nice characterization, but a pretty bland conflict. And then the teasers for the next big storyline leave me in a big pile of yawns.
X-Factor #233
Still, Multiple Man is back from the dead! I’m definitely more excited than Pip the Troll…I’ll explain in a bit.
Comic rating: 4/5: Good.
X-Factor #233 basically features a straight forward and simple tale of the good guys vs. some generic bad guys, while supporting two subplots that move along certain storylines while setting up others. From a purely storytelling standpoint, writer Peter David probably should have held off for longer before bringing Multiple Man back (blasphemy, I know!). But the primary conflict that arises in this book, the idea that Havok and Polaris took over as leaders of the team in Madrox’s absence, has not had any time to play out. The last time we saw the entire team of X-Factor in this book, they were introduced to Havok and Polaris becoming the new team leaders. This issue features one superhero adventure with Havok and Polaris as leaders. But next issue, most likely, is going to be about who gets the Matrix of Leadership, Madrox or Havok/Polaris?
Yet we haven’t gotten to know Havok and Polaris as leaders. This issue indicates that some time has passed since Madrox died, but we, as readers, have not experience this time. This conflict of leadership isn’t really the kind of conflict David wants it to be if we have no reason to support Havok and Polaris’ claims to the title.
They have no legitimate claim to leadership now that Madrox is back. But something tells me they’re not just going to step aside. I guess we’ll find out next issue. For now, let’s check out this issue after the jump!
Review: X-Factor #232
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! The end of ‘They Keep Killing Madrox’ is here and it’s left me a very happy comic book geek! I won’t spoil the surprise until I actually get to the review, but suffice to say all my fears from the past few months have been put to rest. Writer Peter David did not shoot me in the face with sadness. Instead he has brought joy and happiness back into the world!
X-Factor #232
Sing with me, fans of Multiple Man, at the glory of this issue!
Comic rating: 4/5: Good!
That is to say, it’s not a great issue. Heck, it’s probably not even a good issue. But the ending bumped it up a notch. Like last issue, with Caplok vs. Iron Man, we basically spend the entire issue hanging out with Jamie Madrox on some strange, foreign dimension. He meets a new group of strange, altered characters, with the issue based almost exclusively around those characters. Once again, Madrox is just along for the ride in his own starring story. That sucks! David is writing such a great Madrox, but he doesn’t have anything for the character to do. We also don’t get anymore answers to…anything really. No better idea what Madrox is dealing with, nor any hints about the ‘truth’ of his powers.
Still, good enough read, with a fantastic ending! I’m one happy comic book fan. Spoilers and synopsis after the jump!
Sad Multiple Man News
Marvel.com is featuring a sneak peek at their X-Franchise comics coming out in March. As some of you know, I’m closely following the events in X-Factor as they involve the death of my favorite character, Multiple Man. It’s my theory, and my hope, that Multiple Man will come out unscathed and still be in the book. But the March solicitations offer only bad news.
No sign of Multiple Man whatsoever!
You can all go to Hell!
The solicitation for the issue goes as follows:
X-FACTOR #233
WRITER: Peter David
ARTIST: Leonard Kirk
Cover By David Yardin
• Havok And Polaris Take The Reins Of X-Factor Investigations!
• Featuring The Return Of X-Factor Foe The Isolationist
Nothing about that sounds good to me at all. This is sad, sad news. Multiple Man is worth a dozen Havoks and Polarises!
But perhaps when the world of comics closes one door, it opens another. March is also the month that the Mimic, another favorite character of mine, will be appearing in X-Men: Legacy. That in no way makes up for the loss of Multiple Man, but I guess at this point I have to take what I can get.
Henchman-4-Hire 