X-Factor Vol. 2: Life and Death Matters

By Peter David, Dennis Calero, Roy Allen Martinez

Collects X-Factor 7-12

The LowDown: Madrox is forced to make a decision on X-factor's role in the Civil War and X-factor comes head to head with Singularity Investigations.

Review: The first year of Peter David's run on X-factor comes to a close.

This volume is decidedly different in tone than the first volume. While the first volume had a very neo-noirish feel, tone, and look, was more street level, and character enhancing, most of this volume is spent forwarding the major plotlines of the book: Investigations on the Decimation, and arch-rivals Tryp, Tryp, and Tryp from Singularity Investigations.

Don't get me wrong there are some character moments, Siryn's comes face to face with the death of her father and decides to deal with it in a way that is obviously a parody on how comic books deaths don't mean anything and at the same time, says a lot about the character's dysfunctions. Peter David is pushing Siryn to the brink, and it's not a good thing for Siryn to be a recovering alcoholic during this period in her life. It shows strength that she doesn't succumb by drinking but it also shows weakness in how she does end up coping with her father's death and her recent assault.

Also Peter David forces Madrox into finally fulfilling responsibilities as leader of X-factor and making tough choices. The plot about investigating M-Day/Decimation really leads to the awesome moment of Madrox taking the reigns of leadership, confronting the X-men, and then making a decision on the Registration Act. Madrox's issues relate very well to the issues of a twenty something male and female, trying to make life decisions, dealing with relationship issues and consequences of drunken behavior. It also doesn't provide any easy answers for any of these issues. Ultimately, that's why Madrox is such a compelling character, it's because he's an unlikely hero, he's a torn hero, and overall he's human, and like most humans he doesn't know how to deal with his life and makes mistakes along the way.

The plot really comes to the forefront in the last three issues of this volume, as all the build-up to a confrontation with Singularity Investigations reaches a boiling point. There's lots of twists and turns here, with SI using one of X-factor's own members as a spy, the consequences of victimization, lots of mysteries are revealed, and while conclusive in terms of this arc, it's all built on a large grand scale story that will pan out over the next few years. And really all of it builds out of House of M as well. Peter David really messes with the X-men ethos, playing with both the fears of mutants and humans, often turning the fears of mutant concentration camps onto the humans. Also David going beyond the traditional, homo-sapien and homo-superior introducing new species into the fold. It's all rather plot driven, but it's also really fun because it builds out of the original ideas and themes and twists them around a bit to make them seem fresh again.

Conclusion: While a little slower and a little weaker in terms of character's pushing the action, it's got a chock full of plot, the plot moves forward, there are still SOME quiet moments, and it's still a ton of fun.