X-Factor seems to be in a weird place now. I know it’s going to all work out because Peter David seems to have a great talent for weaving together stories. It helps that X-Factor is off in its own corner of the mutant universe, but ever since I started reading last year there’s just been one continuous story that has pulled in story elements from issues anywhere from 2 to 12 month ago. But right now, reading it biweekly, it’s to see where he’s going with X-Factor. It almost seems like it’s going to be a Marvel NOW title that no one knows about yet because it appears like the entire team is dismantling in ways that appear to be pretty permanent.
That said, the best thing about what Peter David is doing with these issues is that each issue is focusing on a different member of X-Factor. So we recently learned that Lorna was actually responsible for her step-father’s death, not Magneto. Rahne is getting some time with her offspring. Guido may have left the team due to the abuse he took from M. And we got an issue with Layla’s point of view.
This issue focuses on Siryn and it’s a doozy. Again, Peter David was successful in bringing in a character from a previous storyline and not only making me much more sympathetic to that character by showing her backstory, but also provides a satisfying conclusion to the story started then.
It’s hard to tell just where Peter David is going with this story arc. It definitely has the feel of an arc that will read very well when it’s collected, but the threads seem so loose right now. Even the villains we saw in the first couple issues with Guido and Rahne have disappeared for the past two issues. And an earlier plot point with a few villains in an ice fortress seems to either be forgotten (unlikely) or I’ve somehow missed how they’ve been used because of the disruptive nature of comic book releases. I like how it seems that everything is spiraling out of control, but I’m hoping Peter David starts tying it together soon.
