PeterDavid.net

Very cool. I never expected to see Rahne do that or Guido getting a badge.

I expected to be utterly lost(as I only collect X-factor in the World of X), but it was its own contained story. Fantastic!
Well, okay, I DID get lost with Josef Huber's introduction. It was though I should know him, but I haven't seen this character before. I did get a Cable vibe(one glowie eye, telepathy and scary metal hands).

Rictor and Rahne: been waiting for them to finally hook up since the pages of New Mutants. Thank you.

Val Cooper: Always liked how you wrote her. You make her more of a person than another looming Government spook there to ruin your day.

Monet: Well, crap. I honestly didn't see that coming. Silly me.

The Cover: Love the 100% booze-free milk. The powers that be no like Jamie drinking to be on this T+ rating comic cover?

I thought Rictor was homo suprerio....I mean gay. Oh well , I guess Wolfsbane has another Mutant power we did not know about.

So, I'm guessing that you could say Messiah Complex begins here.

And I suspect Ebonstone while looking at M is looking in the wrong direction.

Chris, Rictor's never been firmly established one way or the other, just a lot of, ah, innuendo. If you will. Besides, right now he's vulnerable and hurting and looking for comfort, so his general preferences are less important than "friend willing to be close".

Fraking loved it! Except for the Endangered Species part.

You can see my full review at my blog.

PAD,
It was fantastic, I didn't put the two and two together with Monet until my significant other mentioned the vomiting due to odors. WoooooEEEEoooo
I was going to ask this on CBR but I can ask it here instead.
Are you planning on exploring the isolationist as the shadow figure from vol 1 #89 in later issues and exactly what he was up to in Genosha? I'm really intrigued by the connection to the older series, any nod to the old series is awesome to me.

So, somebody's pregnant? Who didn't see that coming? I knew one or both would, but I could still be wrong. PAD always has a way of suckering you with a twist. It appears to be Monet, cause she whoopsed, but it might be Terry... or even someone else. I'll see what happens, but I don't see a birth coming from this. At least, that's my guess. And Ric and Rahne? Well, it's kinda sweet, but will that last? How long do mutant relationships go for, really. But I'm rooting for them. And ha ha on Layla.

As far as the Isolationist goes, Jamie is so gullible and easily manipulated it's pathetic. The girls managed to make HIM feel guilty for their taking advantage of a drunk person. Terry is an alcoholic. She really should have known better to do that to a person who's judgment is impaired by booze... and I'm surprised no one called her on it.

Terry may have company as X-Factor's resident alcoholic. Jamie seems to be putting a serious amount of the good nectar down his pipe these days.

It was a pretty darn good issue.

While there was so much going on, what really caught my attention was the pregnancy subplot. Probably because you actually got a successful attempt at breeding out of a group of characters that essentially haven't reproduced in 20 years :p (All these relationships happening among the X-Men comics and no one ever seems to produce offspring. No wonder their species is dying out). It could be a bait-and-switch, but it seems to most likely be Monet. That could be interesting, considering she seems like the woman there least cut out to be a mother.

The Isolationist seems interesting enough so far. The bit with Nicole looking out the window at him had my interest piqued. Guido becoming the "sherriff" of Mutant Town was a neat twist and could lead to some conflict within the group. As for Rictor and Rahne, I can't say much except that I didn't see it coming.

Keep up the good work, Mr. David.

The Rictor/Rhane scene was very sweet, but alas it is known that somewhere in the deeps of comic book limbo, Shatterstar is crying.

I see three options on the pregnancy thing, either it's Occam's Razor(or whatever it is) and Monet's the pregnant one, you're misleading us and it's Terry, or Nicole is just messing with Layla, somehow, and no one is pregnant.

All in all great issue, I look forward to the next one from the best X-book out there.

It's Layla Miller who knows things not knowing things that makes Nicole absolutely creepy. Her being on edge puts me on edge. I love it!

Just, THANK YOU! The highlight for me is obviously Rahne/Rictor. I hope it sticks unto eternity or as close as comics come to that.

The pregancy (I'm assuming Monet what with the vomitting) is interesting. M = Mutant Madonna? Is this the birth we've been hinted about? Very cool and I hope so just now. With this book, there really isn't any downside I can see, and I'm looking forward to seeing Monet's mood swings (Ha Ha). All systems go, then. :) If it's somehow a red herring and Terry or Rahne is the expectant mommy, also all good, but Monet would definitely be entertaining in that role.

Guido's new developement is interesting, Val was great, and is that a family resemblance between Madrox and The Isolationist?

Great, great stuff. This is still my favorite book out there. Great job.

1
Thats what I was going to say. It's (seems) like M is pregnant, but we are in the middle of a BIG X-event talking about how mutants can't have babies anymore. It's amazing how X-Factor always seems to be tackling the issues of the badly concieved HOUSE of M while the other X-books mostly ignored it.

What? Mutants are supposed to be able to have kids anymore? I stopped buy books with "X" in the title 15 years ago...until Maddrox/X-Factor. So this is a surprise to me. I suppose it makes the scene with the beast at the end of the book mkae more sense. It also makes the prospect of a blessed event pretty important.

BTW, aren't we always in the middle of a BIG X-event? It used to seem that way. I buy so few Marvel books these days.

Ugh. I really need to preview my posts more carefully. Trying again:

What? Mutants aren't supposed to be able to have kids anymore? I stopped buying books with "X" in the title 15 years ago...until Maddrox/X-Factor. So this is a surprise to me. I suppose it makes the scene with the Beast at the end of the book make more sense. It also makes the prospect of a blessed event pretty important.

BTW, aren't we always in the middle of a BIG X-event? It used to seem that way. I buy so few Marvel books these days.

I think we've been in the middle of Bendis/Millar Universe (Avengers Disassembled, New Avengers, CW, HoM, Skrulls, etc.) events basically nonstop for years and years now, but the X-Books haven't really had a solid line-wide event in forever, seems like. It's due. :) (and the others need a big fat reboot followed by calm)

We're in the "Countdown" to the X-event.

Mutants can still have kids, I think, they just can't have mutant kids. Nowhere has it been said they can't have non-mutant kids.

Good beginning issue.

The Isolationist is intruced in a way we know what he is and that he plans something.
So nobody needs to read the old X-factor titles to understand this storyline.
Also i think his design looks good.

Okay since i am a bit skeptic i won't throw around pregnancy theories. Since M would be a to obvious as a target and since it was Nicole who found the test its even more possible that you play around with us here.

Judging by the name of Isolationist, i have the feeling the missing twins are part of his plan. Since it seems that everyone of X-factor goes in a different direction at the moment getting kind of "isolated" from each other.
Especialy Layla who more and more does not know stuff anymore. Which basicly means she is not so untouchable anymore (prepared for everything).

The scene with Rahne and Rictor was really nice since it was a bit of a counterweight to the scene with Madrox, M and Syrin.
It gives a bit of the question which of those two acts of "love" was closer to real love.

Guide steping into Bishops footsteps gives me the feeling that you want to remove him from the team without letting him fall into limbo.
Of course maybe it only looks like that for me.

All in all another good issue you brought here.

Hi mr David,

i didn't know where else to say this, so i'll just try here. I've just bought Hulk Visionaries Peter David vol.4 and started reading. At first i thought you were using some expirimental writing style. Then it hit me, it's not you being expirimental, it's the pages that are missing!
p. 65-96, 113-144, 193-208 are missing. Is it just my copy?

Hi mr David,

i didn't know where else to say this, so i'll just try here. I've just bought Hulk Visionaries Peter David vol.4 and started reading. At first i thought you were using some expirimental writing style. Then it hit me, it's not you being expirimental, it's the pages that are missing!
p. 65-96, 113-144, 193-208 are missing. Is it just my copy?

(and yes, your X-Factor rules. I especially like the artist)

Damn, that was a good book. Like Adam up there said, its so rare for anyone to get knocked up in the X-titles. For such a common event in the real world, its odd that it rarely happens in the comics. Also, it does kinda fit into what Jamie was saying to the Beast in the Endangered Species thing.

Anyways, I'm really looking forward to how all that business is gonna work out.

I've been thinking (dangerous, I know). Most everyone has been assuming that Monet is the expectant mommy. But recall that just before she goes flying off to puke her guts up, Rayne makes the claim that she know more about sex than Monet would expect (the precice wording eludes me). I was wondering if that bit we saw between Rayne & Rictor isn't the first of those encounters that has taken place...

Absolutely brilliant - best X-book in years. Makes the scene between Beast and Jamie in Endangered Species even more amusing!

And what makes you think it was "either/or" Monet, Terry, Rahne? When was the last time Mr. David kept things real simple and straightforward?

bananarama said: "Damn, that was a good book. Like Adam up there said, its so rare for anyone to get knocked up in the X-titles. For such a common event in the real world, its odd that it rarely happens in the comics."

Well, with comic book characters, Marvel has this big thing about not making its characters seem too old. Personally, I think that ship sailed once we ended up with the third group of teenagers to supposedly be "the next generation of X-Men". By this point, the first generation of X-Men should be getting kind of up there in years.

Anyway, I think it's cool that PAD is pursuing this kind of storyline because "This issue someone's pregnant" is like the exact opposite kind of drama than "This issue someone dies". While the idea is kind of scary, it also holds a degree of promise.

David Hunt said: "I've been thinking (dangerous, I know). Most everyone has been assuming that Monet is the expectant mommy. But recall that just before she goes flying off to puke her guts up, Rayne makes the claim that she know more about sex than Monet would expect (the precice wording eludes me). I was wondering if that bit we saw between Rayne & Rictor isn't the first of those encounters that has taken place..."

It could be Rahne. It could also be Theresa. I mean, the Monet getting sick thing seemed suspect because Monet's power on some level is supposedly to be physically perfect. So, I don't think she'd get sick unless it was something major. Of course, I have a feeling that PAD might be dropping all sorts of weird hints on us over the next few issues in order to keep us guessing. This issue we have Monet feeling nauseous. Next issue it could be Theresa having a weird craving or Rahne getting weepy and emotional over nothing. Just a feeling, mind you. :p The truth will be revealed in time.

Have I been reading PAD's work for too long that my first thought upon completing the issue was not to wonder which woman is pregnant, but to assume that despite signs pointing to one or the other being pregnant, instead BOTH women Jamie slept with are pregnant?

The StarWolf said: "And what makes you think it was "either/or" Monet, Terry, Rahne? When was the last time Mr. David kept things real simple and straightforward?"

Now that would be interesting if it ended up being two or all three of them. Jamie, Rictor, Guido and Layla would have their hands full with three pregnant women around the office. One idea that struck me was that for Monet it would be somewhat apropos if it ended up being twins or triplets or something. There is a history of twins in her family and the father was a multiple man. The idea would be oddly and humorously fitting.

I've gotta say, if Jamie is going to end up being a father, he's probably going to have to pull himself together quick. No more dwelling on his indecision. No more juvenile attempts at being "gritty" and "noir" (like hitting the bar in the morning). He's going to have to grow up real quick.

I may havwe missed this since I haven't read any of the other posts, But since you are leaving FNSM-how long will you be on XFactor?

Uh god, the idea of all the women being pregnant would be so gross. I guess there aren't any condoms at all in Mutant town? I never even thought Nicole might be in on it...but it sounds plausible. Very interesting. Besides, we just found out Jamie was a father through John. Wouldn't this be a bit much?

The reason there aren't many kids born in comics is because they limit the characters so much. It would get boring real fast to read issue after issue of, "Did you remember to pack the diapers?" and "I can't find a babysitter." That's why the kids disappear into the background (this happens on soap operas too).

And yeah, Jamie has to grow up fast. Slow down on the bottle. It's sad to think he might get trapped into something because of one mistake. When I thought about it I realized if this were the other X-Titles, the Isolationist would be Jamie's older self come to 'steer him in the right direction'. Thank heavens PAD is beyond that kind of retread crap.

Haven't been following X-Factor, but I am halfway through your FF novel which came out this week. Very exciting stuff so far.

Bobby

PAD,

Ok. Keep in mind you did ask what I thought! (There was no "everyone except Iowa Jim.")

First off, it was well written as always. After all the comments about Monet not being grossed out by the exploding insides going everywhere last time, her getting sick this time is an interesting contrast.

I read almost all of the old X-Factor (and definitely all your issues), but if this Isolationist guy is from pas X-Factor issues (like another post suggests), then I am lost. I just don't remember things like I used to.

Now to my main comment: I found the Rahne and Rictor hook-up a little disappointing. Rahne has always been a character with a strong Presbyterian background. She seems to still hold to some of those teachings. So to offer "comfort sex" seemed very out of character. This tension was made even more acute when you could see the cross necklace hanging from her nude body.

I am not trying to debate the pros and cons of sex outside of marriage or the undeniable fact that it is common and even happens with outspoken Christians. I do think it is not the wisest thing to do, and the issues Madrox is facing only scratch the surface of why I believe that to be true(including, possibly, an uwanted pregnancy). I am just looking for a little more consistency in Rahne's character as pertains to her religious views.

A few issues ago when Jamie found a duplicate who was a reverend, you handled things very well. I would like to see the same happen with Rahne. I would like to see that side of her fleshed out more. Has she really left her warped version of fundamentalism? What does she really believe? How does it impact her life?

Maybe this will happen in the next few issues. I have been too impatient before. You often are good at picking up story threads you teased in earlier issues. We will see.

One more side comment: Frankly, I don't see how a true Christian believer could be integrated into the Marvel universe, so I am not asking for you to do so. The two systems (or "mythologies") are mutually exclusive. If the God of the Bible and the story it sets forth is true, then the other "gods" like Thor, etc, would not exist (to give but one example). DC somewhat has tried to portray God and heaven, but Marvel generally has ignored that side of things (you don't find God as an active agent like you do in the DC universe with Spectre, etc.). And that is fine -- unlike some other mythologies, Christianity makes no coherent sense in a universe like Marvel. (Yes, I know, it doesn't make sense to some of you in this one either! :-0 )

So I am not looking for Rahne to pefectly match "my version" of Christianity. But I am looking for a little more consistency and/or development of her character.

Bottom line, I didn't like the issue as much as others, but I am not going anywhere. I am just telling you what I thought.

Iowa Jim

PAD,

Ok. Keep in mind you did ask what I thought! (There was no "everyone except Iowa Jim.")

First off, it was well written as always. After all the comments about Monet not being grossed out by the exploding insides going everywhere last time, her getting sick this time is an interesting contrast.

I read almost all of the old X-Factor (and definitely all your issues), but if this Isolationist guy is from pas X-Factor issues (like another post suggests), then I am lost. I just don't remember things like I used to.

Now to my main comment: I found the Rahne and Rictor hook-up a little disappointing. Rahne has always been a character with a strong Presbyterian background. She seems to still hold to some of those teachings. So to offer "comfort sex" seemed very out of character. This tension was made even more acute when you could see the cross necklace hanging from her nude body.

I am not trying to debate the pros and cons of sex outside of marriage or the undeniable fact that it is common and even happens with outspoken Christians. I do think it is not the wisest thing to do, and the issues Madrox is facing only scratch the surface of why I believe that to be true(including, possibly, an uwanted pregnancy). I am just looking for a little more consistency in Rahne's character as pertains to her religious views.

A few issues ago when Jamie found a duplicate who was a reverend, you handled things very well. I would like to see the same happen with Rahne. I would like to see that side of her fleshed out more. Has she really left her warped version of fundamentalism? What does she really believe? How does it impact her life?

Maybe this will happen in the next few issues. I have been too impatient before. You often are good at picking up story threads you teased in earlier issues. We will see.

One more side comment: Frankly, I don't see how a true Christian believer could be integrated into the Marvel universe, so I am not asking for you to do so. The two systems (or "mythologies") are mutually exclusive. If the God of the Bible and the story it sets forth is true, then the other "gods" like Thor, etc, would not exist (to give but one example). DC somewhat has tried to portray God and heaven, but Marvel generally has ignored that side of things (you don't find God as an active agent like you do in the DC universe with Spectre, etc.). And that is fine -- unlike some other mythologies, Christianity makes no coherent sense in a universe like Marvel. (Yes, I know, it doesn't make sense to some of you in this one either! :-0 )

So I am not looking for Rahne to pefectly match "my version" of Christianity. But I am looking for a little more consistency and/or development of her character.

Bottom line, I didn't like the issue as much as others, but I am not going anywhere. I am just telling you what I thought.

Iowa Jim

Sorry for the double post. Not sure what happened. Feel free to delete the duplicate.

Iowa Jim

Maybe Rahne is a Skrull... (-;

I think you guys misinterpreted te issue.

It's MADROX that's pregnant. ;) All those dupes, one finally came out wrong.

I have to admit I wait for the Premiere HCs, so I probably won't read this for a while, but have just very much enjoyed 'The many lives of Madrox'...
That said the cross-over is calling me, though Endanged species is bound to be reprinted in a HC with Messiah Complex some day, isn't it...?

Parts one and two of Peter's interview by Paul Cornell are available to download now with the final part going out on Monday and a 'feature length' compilation to follow...

a nice set-up issue, and i appreciate your talent for balancing individual stories in a team book

the art was a step up for me too - pablo raimondi is my second favourite after ryan sook's dark and cinematic stuff from the earlier issues

also, i was wondering about the speech bubble on the cover - was that your (or pablo's) decision, or was it from up high as someone thought the meaning was ambiguous? it's just interesting to hear about the process behind all of this

anyway, here's hoping the upcoming mega-cross-over doesn't drag any of the charcters too far away from you...

Besides, the end of mutations means the end of not only mutants, but of humans as well. And, quite possibly much of the life on Earth. After all, without change/adaptations [ie mutations] to changing environments, species eventually die out. The argument can be made that, with our brains, we can change our environment to suit us. But that can only be carried so far and then ...

Ok so as to everyone saying oh no Madrox and one of the girls may have a kid oh no, so what! It will not cause so much of a negative dent as stated and in fact would probably be a nice addition. Ok now to my reasons why it wouldn't be such a big deal.... MADROX IS MULTIPLE MAN!!! Ok so now that we got that out of the way I hope someone realizes that means the babysitter would be Madrox. Anyway I just thought I'd ask Mr. David why his artists are drawing Rahne to look so... I have no polite way to call her ugly so frankly why? Is this the way you see her because in the Madrox series she is a stunning young woman and she has consistently been the opposite in the pages of X-Factor. Just thought I'd get that off my chest. Oh and I really don't think Rahne having sex is that much of a leap from her character, after all some of that religious stuff just leads to pent up sexual frustration.

Some things I have to wonder: In the "overhearing" sequence where the Isolationist has to self-medicate to get away from the voices (nice parallel with Madrox's drinking away the pain--and is he going to come to grips with his alcoholism anytime soon?), are all the word balloons taken from PAD-written books? I recognize four quotes--unless, of course, they're just minutiae drawn from the ether and it's just coincidence that a few of them echo other things written in the course of a twenty-two-year writing career ...

In addition to the fine writing, there were some excellent visual tics (beats, whatever) from the artist in this one: The peek-around-the-corner reaction shot, with Siryn's head hanging sideways; Guido's forelock flaring in anger then wilting, deflated; and just about ALL of the many double-shot facial reactions throughout the issue.

But, um ... what was with the Isolationist (hmm ... superstrong, telepathic, one glowing eye--now where have we seen THAT before?) shrinking/humanifying after taking the hit from the semi?

Oh--and could you have the anti-mutant Prussian Blue analogues' father meet up with the Hate-Monger before they're all drowned in a vat of a lye/napalm mixture?

(Actually, you NEED to have the "[se]X-Women" team-up of Monet and Terry meet up with them outside Skokie, for the resonance with the ANP march in the Seventies and so that one of them can say, "Illinois Nazis. I HATE Illinois Nazis." It's a moral imperative.)

There's no reason, of course, that M and Teresa couldn't both be expecting blessed events courtesy of Madrox...

(And, while I'm in the gutter, why do they really call him 'the Multiple Man' anyway? Could Mr Fantastic finally have a rival in the 'most open to innuendo alias' stakes at last?)

Cheers.

Steve said: "Ok so as to everyone saying oh no Madrox and one of the girls may have a kid oh no, so what! It will not cause so much of a negative dent as stated and in fact would probably be a nice addition. Ok now to my reasons why it wouldn't be such a big deal.... MADROX IS MULTIPLE MAN!!! Ok so now that we got that out of the way I hope someone realizes that means the babysitter would be Madrox."

Yeah, but his dupes are all unreliable and borderline nuts lately.

Peter J Poole said: "There's no reason, of course, that M and Teresa couldn't both be expecting blessed events courtesy of Madrox..."

True, but it would just be highly unlikely considering how rarely pregnancy is introduced into comics in the first place.

Elf said:
Have I been reading PAD's work for too long that my first thought upon completing the issue was not to wonder which woman is pregnant, but to assume that despite signs pointing to one or the other being pregnant, instead BOTH women Jamie slept with are pregnant?

I've heard that women who room together long enough have their cycles sync up. That is a distinct possibility.

Then we get into the whole mess of which do you build your life on-- great sex or long term emotional compatibility. After all-- I think Terry is maybe only the fourth woman Jamie ever met-- and the first that wasn't his mother or a surrogate mother. Unless he really does have a crush on Sue Richards... and really who could blame him.

Then Iowa Jim said: I am just looking for a little more consistency in Rahne's character as pertains to her religious views.

I think she's becoming more wolf, or thinks she is or wants to be since Pietro did the Terrigen attack on her. I could be wrong.

Then he said
One more side comment: Frankly, I don't see how a true Christian believer could be integrated into the Marvel universe, so I am not asking for you to do so. The two systems (or "mythologies") are mutually exclusive. If the God of the Bible and the story it sets forth is true, then the other "gods" like Thor, etc, would not exist (to give but one example). DC somewhat has tried to portray God and heaven, but Marvel generally has ignored that side of things (you don't find God as an active agent like you do in the DC universe with Spectre, etc.). And that is fine -- unlike some other mythologies, Christianity makes no coherent sense in a universe like Marvel. (Yes, I know, it doesn't make sense to some of you in this one either! :-0 )

You're mistaken there. The existence of other Gods (assuming one believes there is a first one to begin with) is not a contradiction. The first commandment only says: 'I am a jealous God. Thou shalt hold no god higher than me'. The guy who I've assumed since childhood (if I thought he existed) would look like the statue in front of Big Boy's simply means 'These other gods are out there but if you follow them you can forget about my help. I may even hurt you for it because I am the biggest, baddest dude out there.'

The'I am the only God there is' came much much later. Twain covers that part in 'Letters from the Earth' with a lot more sense and a lot less tact than I ever could.

Iowa Jim - it's not clear how far Rahne went with Rictor. We know she got topless and jumped on him, but that doesn't mean they had sex.

Brian

Just a little response to Adam... yes his dupes are currently unreliable but its a long way till a baby would be present and we haven't seen his dupes unreliable in a little bit now. Plus I think we can all agree that A. A dupe babysitter would be funny and B. That if the dupe babysitter was the X-Factor of Jamie or even just another dupe it would still make for a pretty good story. NO, well maybe its just me but I think it would.

I agree that it would be funny- seeing five dupes try to change a diaper would be a riot. But how do we know it wasn't the 'bad' dupe that got the girl/s that night? Maybe he's due for a pop-in! (but sheesh, if he'd throw Ric off a building, what would he do to a screaming baby? As a mother myself, I shudder)

Steve said: "Just a little response to Adam... yes his dupes are currently unreliable but its a long way till a baby would be present and we haven't seen his dupes unreliable in a little bit now. Plus I think we can all agree that A. A dupe babysitter would be funny and B. That if the dupe babysitter was the X-Factor of Jamie or even just another dupe it would still make for a pretty good story. NO, well maybe its just me but I think it would."

True. It would be funny. However, I'd just worry for the child's safety. Then again, what's a story without risks? And what's a noir-influenced story without some potentially bad decisions?

Whoa nelly. Haven't read the issue yet so this totally spoiled it for me but that's cool.

My money's on Rahne being preggers. Literally - I will take bets on this if it is legal and ethical... :)

But, um ... what was with the Isolationist (hmm ... superstrong, telepathic, one glowing eye--now where have we seen THAT before?) shrinking/humanifying after taking the hit from the semi?

Looked to me like one of the people inside him got knocked out of him by the collision. After the other person fell to the ground, presumably killed by taking the impact, the Isolationist shrank. (Which causes one to wonder - are those actual other people, and if so, how and when does he absorb them?)

You know, one of the main problems I have when changing my son's diaper is that he kicks. A lot. Right in the ol' breadbasket. If Jamie does indeed assign a dupe to sitter duty, I wonder how many babysitters the hypothetical baby might wind up with, after a vigorous diaper change? :)

1 Rahne and Rictor??? I thought Rictor was gay... didn't you state this just a few issues back when he was talking to Jamie??? I am gay myself and was really excited to see a character in one of my favorite comics come out... but now he is hooking up with Rahne... what is up with that... Rictor is he gay or not??? Don't toy with us homo's David its not very nice...

1 Rahne and Rictor??? I thought Rictor was gay... didn't you state this just a few issues back when he was talking to Jamie??? I am gay myself and was really excited to see a character in one of my favorite comics come out... but now he is hooking up with Rahne... what is up with that... Rictor is he gay or not??? Don't toy with us homo's David its not very nice...

I was under the impression that the mysterious figure changes after he's hit by the semi because he takes on the appearance of the truck driver, who was thrown through the windshield of the truck when it stopped rather abruptly. It's only after this that you see his face out of shadow. Not having read X-Factor prior to this series and the Madrox miniseries, I don't know who this villain is supposed to be or what his powers are precisely, but I think the voices he hears are the result of an uncontrolled, overpowered form of telepathy, not the result of absorbed people trapped in his body or something like someone suggested above.

Oh, and like its predecessors, I really enjoyed the issue, though having so many open mysteries to wait to get more clues about is a killer for someone as impatient as me. And PAD says he doesn't believe in torture....

Good issue.

Rahne gets to do the wild thing. Showing those animal urges are really starting to overtake her.

Lucky Rictor doesn't die from Quicksilver's touch, but can only see the glass half empty because he doesn't have his powers.

Guido gets to join another team. "Agent Strong Guy" it is.

Somebody's pregnant eh? The candidates will deny all allegations of course.

Jamie is about to go through another major change in his life. Wow, can't catch a break can he?

Thanks for another good read PAD!

> So to offer "comfort sex" seemed very out of character.

Ah, but ... was it? Or, more to the point, was she offering it to Rictor, or for the BOTH of them? She's clearly been pretty unhappy/unsettled of late. Might she not be seeing a kindred soul in Rictor and impulsively decided to do some life-affirming thing with him? I could see that. After all, even with the variable time flow in comics, she's no longer the naive, shy teeny bopper she was when she first joined the New Mutants.

> it would just be highly unlikely considering how rarely pregnancy is introduced into comics in the first place.

True. But then PAD is a pretty rare entity himself - at least in terms of being a quality writer/storyteller with surprises up his sleeve. Wherefor expecting something oddball such as that shouldn't be that much of a stretch.

One thing, though, we've seen him send out dupes for extended periods of time on jobs, or to learn trades. Should he turn out to be a father, and the mother sues for child support, would that apply to any dupes he created after the fact as well?

I'm new to the Marvel world, and figured I'd "jump on" thanks to the Endangered Species storyline kind of starting new chapters in all the X books... as always I enjoyed your writing and am looking forward to continuing.

PAD

The scene with the Isolationist and the truck. Looks like a page taken from What Savage Beast.

Is everyone but me convinced that Rayne & Rictor's encounter is just some sort of emotional "quickie?" "R&R" if you'll pardon the pun? I've been away from the X-books a long time but my impressions of Rayne's views about God and sex haven't really changed since she showed up in X-Factor. I don't think she was being impulsive. I don't think that she was planning on creating the mental pretext that this never happenned. I think that she made a very deliberate choice about Rictor and she plans to stand by it. That's always been my impression of who she is. Time will tell whether I right about this.

I agree with you David. I have seen the way Rahne and Rictor act with each other... I think it has been clear that PAD has been setting us up for something like Rahne and Rictor but the real question is will this "hook up" mean something more to come, with Rahne possibly deny what happened, or maybe will Rictor be the one to back away from it. Any of the situations could make for an interesting story and I think thats the beauty of PAD's writing, constant twists and turns and many ways in which the story can progress.

I really enjoyed it. The potential pregnancy storyline with Monet (and Layla's reaction to it) is verrrry interesting. I wonder if the earlier hints about Madrox not being a mutant mean that his genetics and Monet's would cancel each other out to conceive a baseline human baby (the way Pietro's and Crystal's supposedly did for Luna back when she was first born) and get around the forced infertility issue. If Monet is pregnant, it makes for some great story fodder—all the trauma she's gone through with her siblings has got to color her attitude toward child rearing.

I did have to raise a dubious eyebrow about Rhane and Rictor and wonder why it stopped being more entertaining and more thought-provoking if his sexuality were kept ambiguous. But they do have a history of friendship that could make for some drama here (to say nothing of Rhane's Good Church Girl Gone Wild issues), and at least the discussion Jamie's dupe was having with him kept the issue from being entirely whitewashed with straightness.

Kudos to Pablo Raimondi for some great artwork on this issue. That big panel of Layla looking out the window past reflections of the city lights may be the single most beautiful image I've ever seen in a comic book.

Hi David! I'm Spanish and I want to thank you what you're doing with X-Factor. Here in Spain we have just 9 numbers but I have to say that all of them are brilliant!
I think, actually is the best mutant comic!

Very cool issue. So much so that I am featuring it in my comic column tomorrow (Monday, August 6). My review can be seen at philly.com, in the Philadelphia Daily News' YO! section.

Hi, this isn X-Factor related (although I enjoy your run very much), but I didn't know how else I could reach you in a public manner.

In any case, this is about that old Hulk versus Juggernaut issue during Heroes Reborn. I seem to remember you saying in some forum (but can't find the post) that Hulk was only empowered by the HR energies, and not enhancements from Apocalypse, when he stopped the Juggernaut in his tracks. We were also strictly shown that he was outfitted with a sword and a helmet shielding him from his father's very distracting spirit. He also only tore off his helmet at the end to get rid of the implants, so it doesn't make sense that it was a wholesale genetic modification.

So could you please verify whether or not he was empowered by Apocalypse? Thank you very much for the help.