Review: X-Factor #257

Written by Peter David
Art by Neil Edwards
Published by Marvel Comics

As the end of X-Factor draws near, the team are still busy dealing with the repercussions of the Hell on Earth War. Namely, their leader Jamie Madrox is still trapped in the form of a Demon!

Wrapping up a decade old series is no enviable task and this first installment of "The End of X-Factor" is bizarrely stand-alone. You'd think with so many plot threads left dangling, Peter David would have his hands full, but somehow he makes time for a completely different story that doesn't necessarily star X-Factor themselves.

While tracking down the missing demonic Madrox, his wife Layla Miller finds herself butting heads with a devastated Uncle and Nephew, desperate to resurrect their lost loved one. Coming into possession of the transformed private detective, the pair believe him to be a D'jinn capable of traversing a dimensional portal and bringing their deceased relative back to them. Unfortunately, they may not like what they find on the other side.

The story itself is nice enough, with a few cruel twists and turns to keep the reader guessing. Most notably, Layla's knowledge of the future is completely wrong in this case. Where memories would tell her that she'd find a Human Madrox and that the Uncle's magic would fail, she stumbles across the still demonic Madrox and very much working magic. Throwing this traditionally all-knowing character into the middle of a genuine mystery makes for a fun dynamic.

The Uncle and Nephew, while noble in their pursuit of bringing back a loved one, tend to veer a little too close to crazy to be 100% sympathetic. By the time their plan has come to fruition, it has failed abysmally, brought a vengeful god unto our world and cost the young Nephew his life. The death of the boy is particularly shocking, as he rushes towards what he thinks is his Mother and crumbles to dust. Rarely do you see such needless death, particularly visited upon a child. One would have thought such a fate would be better suited to a wrong-doer.

However, I still can't wrap my head around the notion that we had six entire issues of the beloved series left and this standalone story was one of them. By all means, David should address the current demonic form of Jamie Madrox, as I fully expect him back to his wise-cracking Human self by the end of the run. But the issue didn't even solve that problem, offering a random side adventure in it's stead. This is the time for prioritizing and the issue simply ignored that.

6 out of 10

Review: Green Lantern #21

Written by Robert Vendetti
Art by Billy Tan
Published by DC Comics

It's the dawn of a new era for the Green Lantern Corps as new leadership ascends through the ranks. Meanwhile, Larfleeze the Orange Lantern aims to take advantage of their distraction to plunder Oa for all it's hidden treasures!

Robert Vendetti faces no easy task. Coming hot on the heels of Geoff Johns' masterful finale mere weeks ago, the new creative team have to keep the proverbial plates spinning, whilst planting seeds for their own run. To his credit, Vendetti turns in a hell of an issue. He effortlessly follows on, without missing a beat.

In a rare breather for the series, Hal Jordan finds himself at a loose end (at least for the moment) and decides to catch up with girlfriend, Carol Ferris aka Star Sapphire. In a clever twist on their powers, Carol fears losing her love for Hal, which is becoming harder each day given his penchant for the dramatic. Should this great love fade, so too would her control over her ring. Something she's just not willing to sacrifice. It's a really clever spin on their dynamic and manages to keep them apart, despite acknowledging their feelings.

Soon called back to Oa to report to the next generation of Guardians, Hal finds them packaging their bags and making for the door. Rather than reverting to the age old status quo, these new Guardians have no intention of leading the Corps. They know being locked away for a millenia would make them terribly ineffective leaders and fearing making the same mistakes as their recently-deceased brethren, they have no desire to follow in their footsteps. In one of their final acts, they appoint Hal the new leader of the Corps, much to his surprise. Seeing this natural rebel have to fight against his own instincts and become a respectable leader is sure to be a major driving force in Vendetti's run. Not to mention, I'm pleased to see Hal partnered up with Kilowog once again. Their double act in the recently cancelled animated series was a sight to behold and I'm glad it's making the leap to the page.

There are several villains in play that threaten the Corps in this issue. The much hyped Relic appears to menace them in a flash-forward that opens the story. While the book closes with Orange Lantern Larfleeze making a play for all the treasures of Oa. I can't imagine the two threats are linked, as Larfleeze reeks of opportunism, while Relic strikes me as far more sinister. The thread that links them both is the call to arms sent out by Hal, as he dispatches hundreds of rings out into the Universe to replenish the Corps' diminished ranks. The rookies the rings bring back appear rather sheepish and nonthreatening, but to be fair, they've just been plucked from obscurity and thrust into a heated battle, so I'm impressed they haven't wet themselves yet.

Ultimately, this is a solid foundation upon which Vendetti can build. He's essentially promising that Johns' legacy remains intact, with wonderful additions like Larfleeze still out there, just waiting to be used. On the flip side, he's using these comfortable surroundings to introduce his own new characters into the fold. The Green Lantern series has been left in such a healthy, successful state, that a writer would have to actively sabotage one's self to muck it all up and Vendetti is no fool. While it will always be sad to see a changing of the guard, we appear to be in able hands for the months to come.

8 out of 10

Review: Doctor Who - Prisoners of Time #5

Written by Scott & David Tipton
Art by Philip Bond
Published by IDW

Landing on an alien planet to recharge the Tardis, the Fifth Doctor and his companions find themselves caught in the middle of a thousand year old war between the Rutan Host and the Sontaran Empire!

What better time to review an issue of Doctor Who than after the Eleventh Doctor, Matt Smith, announces his departure from the long-running serial! The structure of this mini-series has always been somewhat puzzling, having eleven Doctors and yet needing twelve issues. The final issue had been theorised to simply be a multiple Doctor story with all his many incarnations teaming up to defeat the as-yet-unknown villain. Nevertheless, come December, could we be treated with an appearance of the newly minted Twelfth?

But that's ages away and we're not even halfway through the Doctors yet, so let's focus on Peter Davison's installment of this yearlong epic. I'm not terribly familiar with the original series Doctors, so you'll have to forgive me for any glaring misconceptions. However, I know Davison's Fifth Doctor was the closest in spirit to his modern day counterparts, bringing a youthful vigor to adventures, rather than the craggy old man that'd come before. Instead of scalding companions, he'd run and bound and play cricket. A little outdated maybe, but an incarnation I can certainly relate to.

Caught up in the alien war, the Doctor and his companions find themselves in both enemy camps at various points of the issue. Firstly, the Rutan Host, who can only be described as floating jellyfish. Lastly, the potato-headed Sontarans. While the Rutan most definitely hold a grudge against the Doctor for his foiling of a previous scheme of theirs, the Sontarans can surprisingly see the funny side and despite having butted heads with the Timelord before, at the very least respect him as a warrior.

Asked to look over their battle plans, the Doctor quickly surmises that the Sontarans are caught in a no-win situation. Their only choice is to charge the enemy in a frontal assault and die trying i.e. a suicide mission. Ever the diplomat, the Doctor tries to broker peace between the bitter enemies and even offers to evacuate one of the armies in his Tardis. Unfortunately, their true natures win out and they can't resist the allure of a warrior's death, running toward their own demise.

The plot itself hinged entirely upon the old 'Frog and Scorpion crossing a river' metaphor, which even featured as narrative over the resulting battle. I've heard this story so many times over the years, it's almost as if every good (and bad) science fiction series has to make that point at some time or another. Heavy-handed doesn't even begin to describe it. Having seen the Sontarans in action in the television series over the past few years, I'm honestly not surprised to see them charge into danger without a care for their own well being. Even so, it's hard not to view their behaviour as idiotic. How their war lasted a thousand years with strategy like this, we'll never know.

Meanwhile, the overarching threat of the series continues to lurk in the background, periodically popping up to abduct the Doctor's companions for his nefarious scheme. Whoever this is, they're clearly a disgruntled Time Agent ala Jack Harkness. Hell, I wouldn't even be surprised if this IS Jack Harkness. Albeit, his grumpy old man equivalent. The thing I don't understand about the villain's scheme is that shouldn't removing such important pieces of the Doctor's life have had catastrophic effects on the timeline by now? Are we to assume that five Doctors' lives have proceeded exactly as before, only their companions mysteriously disappear each time? That's a hole so big, you could fly the Tardis through it.

6 out of 10

Review: X-Factor #256

Writer: Peter David
Artist: Leonard Kirk
Publisher: Marvel Comics

After capturing all the remaining Lords of Hell, Mephisto has declared himself the winner of the Hell on Earth War. But victory may be premature, as Rahne's son Tier seeks to embrace his destiny and end the threat once and for all!

The "Hell on Earth War" has been brewing for a long time in the mind of writer Peter David. So on one hand, it must be freeing to have this story finally told. However, on the other hand, it's largely read as incoherent demonic gibberish. I'm the biggest X-Factor fan possible, so it genuinely pains me to say I haven't much enjoyed David's masterwork. Even with all the foreshadowing, I've felt the team wildly out of place dealing with the mystical side of the Marvel Universe. I much prefer the series when it focuses upon it's characters with personal stories in a noir detective agency setting. As a regular super-team battling the hounds of Hell itself, the premise loses a lot of it's luster. Here's hoping the final six issues bring the series back around to where it all began.

That's not to say it's been a complete loss. There have been a few noteworthy beats strewn throughout this muddled arc. Most notably the transformation of series lead Jamie Madrox into a mute horned demon. While it's sad to lose the central character for so long a time, there is a palpable sense of fear as to his eventual fate. His demonic dupes play a huge role in the eventual defeat of the villain, but upon vanquishing, our hero is swept away with all other magical beings to god knows where. I very much look forward to the team attempting to reclaim their lost leader and the end of his role as detective as the series wraps up.

Another big payoff contained within the issue comes in the form of Guido's ascension (or fall) to become the King of Hell. He's traditionally been a great source of humour amongst the many misfits of X-Factor, however in recent months, it's come to light that a brush with death left him a soulless husk of the man he once was. As a result, he's become a huge wildcard in the team's ongoing work, never quite knowing whether logic or reason will win out over simple opportunism. This issue serving as the perfect example, as Guido abruptly kills the supposed saviour Tier and takes the power of Hell for himself. David had spent so long building Tier up as the begrudging hero, I don't think anyone was expecting his life to come to such an unfulfilled end. Similarly, Guido was off to the side dealing with Monet for so long a time, it simply didn't occur to me he'd have a major role in the conclusion. It was not a selfish act however, as Guido took the power simply to resurrect the fallen Monet. Just how soulless the big lug is, remains to be seen.

I'd be remiss without mentioning the cold dismissal of X-Factor mainstays, Rictor and Shatterstar. They both perish in similar fashion, with Mephisto vaporising the pair in a blaze of glory. For David to get within sight of the proverbial finish-line of the series, yet still be able to casually murder two long term characters in a matter of panels, is damned impressive. Their sudden deaths at the hands of a mystical being leave the door open to a quick and painless reversal in future issues, however, I can't help but feel as though leaving these cruel acts in place may be the preferred option. How often are we, as readers, disappointed to find a character's death reversed within a ridiculously short amount of time. It's far ballsier to admit beloved superheroes could perish at the drop of a hat in the most unspectacular way possible.

This particular arc may've not been to my personal taste, but the writer Peter David has earned such good will over the course of these 100+ issues, I'm happy to give him a free pass on this occasion. The character beats of the story are as poignant as ever, I simply believe the team were out of their element on this case.

7 out of 10

Review: The Superior Spider-Man #9

Writer: Dan Slott
Artist: Ryan Stegman
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Having quietly guided the Superior Spider-Man's actions for the past eight issues, Peter Parker's number is up all over again, as Doc Ock has become aware of our Spectacular narrator and intends to wipe him out once and for all!

In what can only be described as an encore to Amazing Spider-Man #700, writer Dan Slott is once again in the Peter Parker extermination business. Having physically killed our hero mere issues ago, now comes the psychological death. The ghost we've seen haunting Otto's exploits is explained away as the sum of Peter's memories having taken on a life of their own. These memories have held the former super-villain back at key junctures, but this issue marks his official coming out, well and truly off the leash of morals.

Rather than the simple medical procedure hinted at in the real world, the issue takes on a far more meta-physical bent, taking place almost entirely in the crumbling memories of Parker as they're wiped away by the controlling Octavius. This allows for one final battle between the pair, providing valuable insight into the minds of Spider-Man, old and new.

At first, this plays out as one would expect any other mindscape story to, with the memories of Peter's friends coming to his aid, almost wrestling control of the body back to it's wise-cracking original owner. However, that soon changes, as Octavius unleashes a legion of Spider-Man's deepest nightmares on the unsuspecting young man. Confronted by his most renowned villains, his own personal failures and the stark realisation that Ock may infact be a better hero than him, Peter's resolve crumbles. Particularly, at the notion he would've let an innocent child die in an effort to save himself last issue. Peter Parker died as he lived, laying a colossal guilt-trip on himself.

The Superior Spider-Man began with the promise of Otto Octavius assuming the mantle, but the gesture has often felt half-hearted, as the presence of Peter Parker continued to loom over the book. Nine issues late, the series will finally get to live up to it's premise, devoid of any semblance of it's former star. Going forward, the actions of this Superior Spider-Man will be his and his alone.

Given the radical nature of this paradigm shift, Dan Slott has spent the past few months easing us into the new status quo. Now that all the purists' complaints have been voiced and even the most hardened fanboy is done crying, Peter's role is fulfilled and we're ready for the band-aid to be ripped away entirely.

9 out of 10