FACTOR X ISSUE 1
Written by John Francis Moore.
Art by Steve Epting.
Inks Al Milgrom.
Colors by Glynis Oliver.
During the Age of Apocalypse alternate timeline the X-factor title became the Factor-X. In the Original Timeline X-factor was a Government sanctioned Mutant team that helped police Mutants deemed as Terrorists. Now that the world has been turned upside down with Apocalypse ruling the world this team of Mutants are policing Mutants and humans alike for the despot leader Apocalypse. The team answers to Mr. Sinister one of Apocalypse’s right hand men, and Sinister has his own agenda in this world so the intrigue builds with each issue.
This issue opens with a little background of what happen to New York City, which has become a fortress stronghold for Apocalypse. We are then launched into a chase scene where some people are running for their lives on the streets of a war torn New York City.
The people are what we new to be Morlocks but are now mutants on the run from the “pens”, which we will learn more about later in the issue. Then these same Mutants run into the group this title is about… FACTOR X . Team roster includes Cyclops, Havok, Northstar and his twin sister Aurora.
The team runs down the escapees with extreme force as each character is introduced within the action of fighting/taking down the escapees. With well crafted dialogue within an action sequence we learn that this world's Beast has been following in Sinister's footsteps and using mutants to conduct his own experiments, hence the “pens” of Mutants. The last of the runaways is dispatched by Havok in an attempt to save Cyclops which gives us a taste of the brothers relationship. Definitely not a Wally and Beaver relationship.
We then cut too Sinister at the base of operations for Factor-X. We are introduced to Sinister as he reflects over the team of mutants that he has brought together. The kicker is that his base of operations is the former statue of liberty now a statue of the overload Apocalypse.
Sinister contemplates his next steps for his personal designs in the this world that he must now act as other plans are moving forward.
Following Sinisters musings we are then introduced to more team members. Two of which are the Guthries, Cannonball and his older sister, who I don’t recall from the original timeline, but she can change her size and mass. Next we are introduced to the Dark Beast; a darker version of Hank McCoy. Just as intelligent but more twisted than we can imagine. Known to vivisect living humans, genetically modified mutants to make Hybrids for Apocalypse’s police force. He makes Mangler look like a nice old country doctor.
This issue is loaded with more world building and character building. We see that the heroes of our world are just more twisted with Apocalypse’s reign. As backgrounds are revealed true intentions are established and a plot is slowly revealed.
The art style is a great work, The dystopian background leaps out at you the character designs look great. Well defined linework on the characters. Whether they are in the foreground or in the background you can tell who is who. The linework follows with the story well as in the nightclub everything is clean lines and bright colors, while the opening fight sequence in the gritty part of town things look looser and draker.
I would say this issue as a whole falls in at 8 out of 10.
Lot’s of backstory to establish our characters and the world plus some great action scenes to keep the eye moving from page to page without it feeling like an info dump. With each page it makes one want to see what classic character has had a total redesign and character change. For example with the few panels we see Dark Beast the art and the story gives you a feeling that this isn’t a Doctor you want to see. Without giving away the end, an event happens that makes you want to know what is coming next for our “Heroes” and what repercussion they will face.
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