X-Factor vol. 9: Invisible Woman Has Vanished

I’ve talked before about how I feel that writer Peter David’s “X-Factor” is the one “X-Men” book that I’d recommend to people who aren’t necessarily fans of “Marvel’s Merry Mutants.”  However, with the last two volumes, and now this one, the bloom is off the rose.  Not that they’ve become bad, just that they’re now merely “good” rather than “great.”

I did like most of the time travel storyline from volumes 7 & 8, as it kicked off with an issue that featured one of the most casually horrific scenes I’ve ever seen in mainstream comics — the “death” of Madrox and Siryn’s kid.  That was then followed up with the return of the much-missed Layla Miller to drag Madrox into the future to save the past from being destroyed.  There were a lot of good moments that showcased David’s skills and wit as a writer (Shatterstar’s addition to the cast and the resumption of his romance with Rictor is just one example), but it ended with him hammering things back into the status quo for the series’ soft relaunch and giving us a dramatic reveal about Layla’s powers… that seemed utterly needless and made her less interesting as a character.

This all leads us to “Invisible Woman Has Vanished” which sees X-Factor getting back to its detective roots by relocating to New York and serving as professional gumshoes to the Marvel Universe.  David wastes no time giving them their first case as Franklin and Valeria Richards show up to ask them to find their mom.  Madrox and co. are skeptical at first, but the Marvel U’s two smartest kids know how to present their case and soon enough, the team is on their way to the Baxter Building where they’re matching wits with Reed Richards and matching brawn with the Thing.

On one hand, it’s hard to get involved with this story since you know that it won’t have any real repercussions on the Fantastic Four.  In fact, once the big twist of this story (and to David’s credit it is pretty interesting) is revealed this story seems like it would’ve been better told in the pages of the FF’s own comic where it could’ve been pursued to its fullest extent.  That’s not a good start for “X-Factor’s” new direction and I hope that future storylines which involve guest stars will be more of the “can’t be done in their main book” variety.

Still, the heart of the book is in its cast and seeing how this oddball group of mutants continue to work and (barely) function as a team.  Even if they don’t have the sense of duty or drive to do the right thing that their fellow superteams have, it’s still a lot of fun to watch them hang around and get on each other’s nerves.  From Strong Guy asking Shatterstar if he likes gladiator movies, to Monet, Lonshot and Dawrin’s encounter in a morgue and the team’s trip to Latveria, I’d enjoy a story that just followed these characters as they went out to lunch.  My only complaint is that Madrox gets the short end of the stick here.  I don’t know if he’s in such a morose mood because of the events of the last two volumes, but his scenes don’t have the same energy they normally do.  I also missed seeing his dupes in action — it’s always fun seeing what aspect of his personality they’ve decided to represent in the flesh.

So my hopes for the next volume include a story that deals with the cast directly, or one whose guest stars bring something more interesting to the table.  I may not get that with the tie-in issues that are being collected in the “X-Men:  Second Coming — Revelations” hardcover, but I’ll let you know.  That’s because even if I can’t really recommend this to non-X-fans, there’s still enough here to keep me entertained.