X-FACTOR #73

Crowd Control

Credits:
Peter David (Script), Larry Stroman (Pencils), Allen Milgrom (Inks), Glynis Oliver (Colors), Michael Heisler (Letters).

Summary

Madrox and the man claiming to be the real Madrox fight, each one creating twenty duplicates and causing chaos around the city. X-Factor knock out all of the duplicates, hoping that the duplicates will disappear if the original Madrox is unconscious. In the end, the doubles disappear, except for the two Madroxs that started the fight.

I Love the ‘90s
Weird Al parodies TMBG's "Particle Man" as "Multiple Man".

Flavor Flav has a cameo, along with Kid and Play apparently. There are also quite a few Malcom X baseball hats.

A spectator filming Madrox’s fight comments that the tape’s going straight to Bob Saget.

Jaime Madrox is mistaken by a bystander as The Rocketeer. Did Stroman base his version of Madrox on the actor in the movie?

“Pewee Herman” and “Marvel Stock” are the top two items in the Bullpen Bulletins “Cool-O-Meter”.

Continuity Notes

Guido coins the term “Genetically Challenged” or “GeeCees” to replace the word “mutant” in this issue. This becomes a running joke throughout David’s run.

Havok doesn’t have any problem using his powers non-lethally, which previously had not been the case.

Commercial Break

American Comics & Entertainment lists a “Marvel Investor Kit” in its ad. It includes “a grading guide, a price guide, a storage box, plastic bags, 5 valuable Marvel comics & more!” The list price is $20, and their sale price is $14.95. Was this an officially licensed Marvel product?

Review

It’s the third issue of the relaunched X-Factor and it’s the first fight scene. Compare this to X-Force, which had a fight scene by the second page of the first issue. As a kid, I wasn’t bothered by the lack of action in X-Factor. I liked the characters and it seemed like the story was headed in an interesting direction. Maybe I also tolerated the lack of combat in X-Factor because I knew that X-Force was going to offer plenty of punches, laser blasts, and explosions. I wonder if Marvel made a conscious effort to produce at least one X-book that was more highbrow than the violence-driven books of the time. Reading X-Force and X-Factor simultaneously, it’s odd to know that the books were being released at the same time and overseen by the same editor.

Most of this issue is a fight scene involving dozens of Madrox dupes, but it never feels dull or too long. The idea that the Madrox who joined the team might be a duplicate is handled well. He’s such a minor character at this point that any revelation about him could be plausible, so David is able to create some genuine tension. Stroman does a good job with the fight scene, combining his stylization with solid drawing. The image of Madrox in the final panel of page eight is just as dynamic and exciting as anything else going on in the X-books at this time.