X-Factor #21-25

X-Factor #21-25

Originally released in 1987

Written by Louise Simonson

Art by Walt Simonson

This set of issues fully introduces Angel in his Archangel/Horseman of Death persona, though first, there's the matter of Cameron Hodge to be dealt with.  X-Factor has had enough of his bigotry-stirring actions and fires him on the spot, so he takes this as his cue to stop being particularly subtle.

At the reading of Angel's will, he's declared to be the CEO of X-Factor effective immediately, and has his minions attack the will reading while claiming to be mutants.  Given that the minions are all wearing robot suits and fighting exclusively with guns rather than any sort of superpower, this claim is flimsy at best, and yet people believe it. (it has the added bonus of interrupting Cyclops before he tells the world the truth about X-Factor)

As X-Factor fends off Hodge's forces, another squad targets the X-Factor headquarters and kidnaps the younger members.  Caliban, whose main power is mutant detection, is heavily tranquilized and left for dead.  He's been having confidence issues, as his power is useless once the action starts and the martial arts that X-Factor has been training him in do nothing against armoured suits.

The kids are taken to the Right's secret base beneath a museum - in a way, it's fitting, given their obsession with focusing on the past and trying to prevent any attempts at moving forward, but it's also ironic given that they're as far removed from educated values as possible.  Rictor, in particular, does not take this well.

Boom-Boom spots the other kids being taken and follows behind, managing to save them all as X-Factor and Caliban track the Right down.  At this point, the mask is off for Cameron Hodge completely, as he's gone full-blown racist supervillain.

As he dons protective armour made from ruby quartz (making him immune to Cyclops's blasts), he rants and raves about how he always hated Angel and thought that he should have been considered superior instead because he's from a better family.  This turns out to be a robot double used to buy him time to escape, but the words are undoubtedly Hodge's own.

Throughout the assault, it becomes clear that Beast's intellect is diminishing as a result of Pestilence's attack on him in an earlier issue.  His strength is increasing, but it comes at the cost of his mind, making his Beast codename less ironic and more accurate as he lashes out like an animal.

Even after they foil the plans of the Right, they don't get a moment to rest, as Apocalypse teleports X-Factor (and Caliban, who happened to be in the same area) to his floating fortress to do battle with his Four Horsemen.  It's here that Apocalypse introduces him to his fourth and strongest Horseman, Death.

The X-Men quickly realize that it's Angel under the mask, and throughout the fight with the Horsemen, Apocalypse makes offers to X-Factor to join him, promising to cure Beast's condition, among other claims.  He points out that the US government is planning a Mutant Registration Act that is very similar to the Superhuman Registration Act from Civil War.

Ronald Reagan appears to be the one signing it, making it canon in the Marvel universe that Reagan is bigoted against mutants.  The battle spills out into New York City, where Apocalypse's ship has its cloaking deactivated before it crashes through several buildings, including the Empire State Building.

The other three Horsemen are defeated, with Famine dying, but while cracks are showing in Apocalypse's brainwashing, Archangel is still on the side of the psychotic social Darwinist.  It takes the apparent death of Iceman to serve as a shock to Warren's senses and snap him out of it.

One mutant was swayed by Apocalypse's promises - Caliban, who swears himself to Apocalypse if Apocalypse can make him powerful like Archangel.  Considering this a win (sure, he's lost at least two of his Horsemen, but Caliban's mutant tracking abilities will undoubtedly be useful for him), he retreats with Caliban in tow, leaving his ship to X-Factor if they can handle it.

Issue 25 was extra long at forty pages, and it marks the end of an era for the team.  While they prevent the ship from crashing into the city, it manages to smash X-Factor's headquarters on the way down.  Couple that with Cyclops blowing the team's cover wide open on national television and there's going to be a new status quo moving forward.

This run continues to hold up really well, tackling some deep subjects without feeling preachy. I remained invested in the stories of both the older and younger teams, though the older ones definitely got more focus this time around. I'm hoping that Beast's brain drain is resolved sooner rather than later, and I'm curious to see how Angel adjusts to the team given everything that happened and everything that he missed.