Quicksilver thinks he can do anything, including play piano.
I love that he’s so awful people are literally screaming.
A mutant named Rhapsody is accused of a crime, in a bigoted anti-mutant town, and the team try to help her.
Her powers are triggered when she plays music. The ending is kind of tragic…
An unusually unhappy ending. But don’t feel bad for Rhapsody. She’s a murderer. Again: Very unusual. The team protects someone–a mutant–who ends up being guilty after all, despite the bigotry of her accusers.
And speaking of protecting a mutant….
This story is interwoven with other team members being ordered to protect a mutant named Shrew who is a Federal witness against a gang called Hell’s Belles. A member of that gang is Cyber, who is a Wolverine villain.
And if that wasn’t enough, this story is the debut of Prodigal, who will bring a Genosha-flavored storyline starting with next issue. He’s a refugee.
Lots goes on in Peter David’s X-Factor–it’s a book brimming with character work and lots of subplots. And he writes multiple characters very well. He’s like Chris Claremont in that respect–only he’s funnier and writes with a less wordy, more modern spin.
Also in these issues….
Strong Man goes on a date with Sean Young, who famously tried out for the part of Catwoman in the Batman movie.
Sadly, this is Larry Stroman’s last issue. His highly stylized art can be kind of distracting, but he helped define the book. His influence was very important in breaking from the earlier iterations of this team. I liked it for a bit, but I’m ready for a change.