Apocalypse works to cure Xavier
Originally Published January 1993
We begin -- unsurprisingly enough -- with some confusion. Wolverine has radioed back to the mansion to let them know that he's pretty dern sure that Scott, Jean and Stryfe are all on the moon. Everyone with some sense is like "WTF? How did you come to that conclusion?" but Wolverine believes in his Schick Intuition.
Since Wolverine, Cable and Bishop are in the neighborhood, they figure they'll just pop on by, but Storm doesn't like the idea and asks them to at least come home so they can strategize properly. Cable, the lifelong military man, is not one for strategy or planning -- he wants Stryfe and he wants him now.
Storm reluctantly agrees, and Cable sets about recalibrating his bodyslide to properly execute travel to the moon, will will take a little bit of time
Meanwhile, of course Scott and Jean are on the moon, as depicted in a gorgeous wordless sequence by Jae Lee.
As they cling to the faint possibility of survival, Stryfe arrives and bequeaths them an air bubble so that they can at least live long enough for him to deliver them one last glowering and cantankerous jeremiad about his neglected childhood.
Back at the mansion, Archangel warns Apocalypse not to try any funny business while saving Xavier's life.
And Peter David attempts to remind readers that X-Factor has its own plots, usually.
Apocalypse says little about his actions and how they are meant to save Xavier. It actually looks pretty bad, painful, and not up to AMA standards.
As Warren stands by impassively preventing any of his teammates from intervening on their mentor's behalf, it raises questions about whether not only has Apocalypse betrayed the group, but is Archangel has joined with him and fallen back under his control. Warren, for his part, implores everyone to trust the process.
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| Looks good to me! |
On the moon, Stryfe commands Cyclops and Jean to beg for their lives. They refuse, preferring to die. This is probably the response Stryfe wanted, as it affords him yet another opportunity to throw an epic tantrum.
Back at the mansion, the process is complete and seemingly a success: Apocalypse has expelled the virus from Xavier's body, such that it takes the form of a tiny little robot bug.
What had happened was, Apocalypse supercharged the virus so that it needed to find a new meal. He offered himself up, but because of reasons he was too tough for it and the virus went away. And somehow all this happened without killing Xavier. Makes sense? No? Too bad, that's what we're going with.
And because he's a giver, Apocalypse even offers to let the X-Men use his transport to the moon.
Finally, after waiting the requisite twenty minutes, Cable, Wolverine and Bishop are ready to zap over to the moon and kick some Stryfe ass. Naturally, they expect the usual smooth sailing.
Further Thoughts:
Man, I feel so bad for whoever's writing an X-Factor recap blog right about now... they're barely in this thing!
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| Wait, who is Wolverine playing cards with? The ship I guess? |
Somewhat pathetically, when the goodguy team is putting together their big strike force, X-Force and X-Factor are only given token representation. In fact, most of X-Force is still locked up in a terrarium in the Danger Room.
The members of X-Factor may have little to do in the story at this point, but at least the creators behind X-Factor -- Peter David and Jae Lee -- are here. Jae is a super talent whose stylish renderings and emphasis on airy, open pacing is a standout at Marvel in this time, one of the few artists working in any major way for the company whose work does not follow the footprints of Jim Lee and Todd MacFarlane... so of course, he's being replaced in the next issue by (checks notes) Joe Quesada. Hm... I mean, he's okay I guess, but I can't really see the future creator of Ash having much of an impact at Marvel. Oh, and I heard the next issue is about psychoanalysis. That oughta be exciting.
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| Ha ha ha |
Peter David, meanwhile, wears the reluctance of his participation in the inaugural post-Claremont Massive X-Over seemingly with pride, as he saddles his installment with goofy pop cultural names that lack the solemnity or seriousness of Lobdell's or Nicieza's titles, then imbues it with mannerist quirks like repeatedly checking in on Woverine, Bishop and Cable as they quietly busy themselves in preparation for their upcoming bodyslide. David doesn't take the assignment seriously, but that doesn't mean he can't fulfill it -- he's as dedicated to creating good, enjoyable comics as any of his contemporaries, perhaps moreso, and is stubbornly committed to the idea of producing quality product. He and Lee do, in fact, manage to convey the solemnity of a millenniae-old genocidal maniac over-cranking a future disease to death while his cruel joke of a former experiment watches on, and an evil sadboi from the future weeping because he's not able to torture the heroes quite enough to sublimate his deep-seated issues.
The assignment with this comic is to carry the ball of X-Cutioner's Song ever so slightly further down the line toward the end zone, and it does that -- with Xavier finally being rid of the techno-organic virus -- and much more so as to pour a little gravy on the meal. All X-Factor can do is be the most funny and interesting little slice of this massive crossover it can be while it is ongoing. There are lots of little moments of humor and style throughout thanks to the work of the people behind it -- it's the least rote or by-numbers X-title going right now. It is -- if you'll pardon the pun considering Scott and Jean's predicament -- a breath of fresh air.
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