X-FACTOR #93-95 (1993)

Two slow issues in a row, which is not in and of itself a bad thing.

These are really two separate issues that are labeled “The Longest Day Part 1 and Part 2,” probably because Marvel received complaints about Peter David being pushed quickly off this title.  They even addressed the creative issue on the letter page.

Note that they are telling us the next extended arc will be exhausting. Guys, at this point I’m already exhausted by the X-verse. X-Factor was a shining light of self-contained, character-driven stories under Peter David. It’s not that anymore.

Despite being largely character issues with pages for each member of the team, both issues pack in a lot of little moments that attempt to tie X-Factor to the flagship Uncanny X-Men book. That seems to be the way most of the X-books are going–the July/August issues are starting to bring all the stories together and established shared continuity. Lobdell is the architect, and DeMatteis is the scriptwriter.

The art is atrocious–some of the worst work by these artists.  But that might be because Al Milgrom is the inker.

Quicksilver gets a grotesque new costume. A nice is touch is that he runs in the new costume and all the awful accessories just fall off. That’s funny.

He also gets drunk.

With Val Cooper.

Lila Cheney teleports a naked Guido on stage.

In #94, Lorna and Havok are attacked by anti-mutant humans while they are out on a date. Forge returns and works with Valerie Cooper on the team management side.

There is a cliffhanger at the end of #94, with Random having been tasked with killing Polaris.

They fight in #95. In his new role, Forge watches on the big screen.

But we will learn that Random had been hired by a government agency who subsequently fires him and then Forge lets him sign up with X-Factor.  Talk about quick forgiveness!

Then, Forge (rudely) contemplates a line-up change, and Havok tries to justify the current membership.  This is really just a way to acquaint new/casual readers with who is in X-Factor.  Then Wolfsbane gets incredibly sexed up for Havok.

“I have to have ye—the pull is too strong!”

It says that the issue is “to be continued,” but issue #96 picks up at a completely different place and doesn’t even reference Wolfsbane’s horniness.  Although, across these issues, we do see her getting increasingly feral.  Like Tigra on steroids.

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