X-Factor #246 - Spoilers and Review. Ish.

[Bookem Danno]

I kinda hope it is Beast's Vera. I'm going to pretend it is either way.

I was so hopin' that with every turned page - that is until she pulled the piece. Now I hope Vera becomes a teacher at Jean Grey School.

[Rotm]

While it was somewhat humorous despite being corny I didn't care for the ninja scene. Having Pip just save that random chick in any alley for real would have been a better way to build his character up than throwing in some unbelieveable schlock on the side. It was actually more interesting before it went typical scumbag Pip, and would have been a better way to get across that X-Factor was having an effect on him.

I dunno I guess it felt like a mid issue back track to me to remind us hes supposed to be a good guy, but in secret for whatever reason. So it reads more favorably to him when he dies.

[coconutphone]

Really fantastic issue. Gasp-inducing final page. Great stuff all around.

[Siryn]

Eh, didn't care for this. I've got nothing against Pip, but this was just boring. The last page was a little better, mostly because I was glad Pip got killed off.

Oh, and Polaris' new costume looks ridiculous.

[Metal Sphere]

This was a good issue, and it turned a character that was a seemingly pointless addition to the team into a charismatic one. PAD's work here just proves that there's no such thing as bad characters, just bad writers. Well done.

Oh, and Polaris' new costume looks ridiculous.

Agreed.

[Pixie_Solanas]

Eh, didn't care for this. I've got nothing against Pip, but this was just boring. The last page was a little better, mostly because I was glad Pip got killed off.

Oh, and Polaris' new costume looks ridiculous.

Did they roast his misogynistically dated carcass over a rebirth bonfire?

Dumpy, thy name is Polaris.

[Siryn]

Did they roast his misogynistically dated carcass over a rebirth bonfire?

Dumpy, thy name is Polaris.

No, but the woman who was the subject of his romantic advances shot him, then left him bleeding in the street.

[The Lucky One]

Was that Beast's Vera or another Vera?

Mimic's Vera, you mean. She knew enough to trade up.

-D

[Faded]

This was a good issue, and it turned a character that was a seemingly pointless addition to the team into a charismatic one. PAD's work here just proves that there's no such thing as bad characters, just bad writers. Well done.

LOL I really can't see how Pip became charismatic in this issue. He's a hairy ass and not in a hot bear sort of way.

[xhx23x]

LOL I really can't see how Pip became charismatic in this issue. He's a hairy ass and not in a hot bear sort of way.

is canon that he looks like Peter Dinklage now. That ups his charisma by 90 points.

[Bernoulli]

X-FACTOR #250
Peter David (W) • Leonard Kirk (A)
Cover by DAVID YARDIN
VARIANT COVER BY CLAY MANN
• A year of X-FACTOR stories culminates here in the first part of “HELL ON EARTH WAR”!
• The various Hell lords battle for domination in a war that was triggered by the seven billionth soul born on Earth, and only X-Factor can avoid the entire world going up in flames!
• This is the beginning of the end for X-Factor as you know it...
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$2.99

Maybe after this it gets rebranded as NOW!

[Bookem Danno]

Oh, and Polaris' new costume looks ridiculous.

Ridonkulous, even.

online photo sharing

[1derer]

I love that PAD subverted reader expectations of his storytelling formula in this issue. After an entire arc dedicated to eliminating cast members from the book, there's no way I thought he would kill someone off this issue, especially given the humor of the solicit and the semi-humor of the story.

The "semi-humour" is the other thing I liked about the issue. It was obvious from right after the initial "Pip-noire" introduction that this story was going to be slightly less lighthearted than it seemed like it would be. The "unappreciated person is actually vital to the team" is a story that's been told many times before, and it's usually dedicated to being A) funny and B) showing the person in a positive light. Here PAD repeatedly reneged on the idea of Pip showing himself in a positive manner. Where Doop was a selfless behind the scenes worker, Pip narrated with an inferiority complex and yearned for recognition of his importance. Where Doop's womanizing was portrayed as ridiculous, Pip's was shown to be creepy and manipulative. That's not to say Pip wasn't treated sympathetically... He was, through his desire to do good by X-Factor, but he was also described as incredibly flawed.
It was a great subversion of this sort of story, and gelled perfectly with the ending of the issue.

[redjb]

X-FACTOR #250
Peter David (W) • Leonard Kirk (A)
Cover by DAVID YARDIN
VARIANT COVER BY CLAY MANN
• A year of X-FACTOR stories culminates here in the first part of “HELL ON EARTH WAR”!
• The various Hell lords battle for domination in a war that was triggered by the seven billionth soul born on Earth, and only X-Factor can avoid the entire world going up in flames!
• This is the beginning of the end for X-Factor as you know it...
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$2.99

Maybe after this it gets rebranded as NOW!

It was said back when Marvel Now! was first announced that X-Factor was going to be one of the few books unaffected or uninvolved in the relaunches. They also said that only one Now! book would have the same writer as before, and that is obviously Dan Slott on Spider-Man. Let's hope there is no Now! relaunch for this book, as it the only ongoing I still follow monthly. Turns out Marvel Now! is also a great jumping off point.

[Celestin]

A good issue, even if I quickly figured out that Pip will die before its end. It was such a classic setup - making us appreciate a background character only to kill him a moment later. Still, at least in my case it worked and it was a little sad to me to see Pip gone.