X-Factor #11 (1986)

X-Factor #11, By Louise and Walter Simonson

This is the last issue of X-factor to tie into the Mutant Massacre event, and the 2nd to last part of the event in all.

Remember those old-school 80's and 90's events that were still super-overblown but not insanely hard to follow and pointless? I wish Marvel would scale back on the events these days. Hopefully Secret Wars is the last one for a few years.

Marvel has a really hard time digitizing the original X-factor series (I don't know why). So the only way to get the comic is in print or via the new digital comic shop [this issue is on there]. I'm reading from the black and white X-Factor Essentials Volume 1. Some of the issues are still missing from the digital catalogue.

Cover: 

How can I not love a cover of Cyclops in mid-air spazzing out with his eye beam. Also, it's on a dock or something. The background figures just look weird here and the villain’s hair is just...bizarre.

A 4/5 for me.

Page 1: So we start off on a really cluttered title page.

I should explain that morlocks are basically underground mutants who live in the sewers. The whole purpose of this event was to have the marauders (a group of evil mutants) kill a bunch of the morlocks (Hence the "mutant massacre"). We see Iceman and Beast get ambushed from above by a group of morlocks known as the Tunnelers. Upon looking at their lineup, I can't believe there is a mutant named “Blow-Hard”. Apparently, he can suck in air and then shoot it out as a gale force wind. That's not a bad power for someone with such a cooky name. Apparently all these characters were created for this issue. They also die in this issue, bummer! Considering that, I'm not going to bother describing them all.

Page 2-3: Leech (A friendly little green morlock who has the power to negate other people's powers) stops the attacking Tunnelers in their tracks, disabling their powers. They attack X-factor thinking that they are the bad guys. Leech then runs away so that X-factor can use their own powers.

Page 4: Cyclops, Jean, and Artie walk through the same set of tunnels, still separated from the group. Since I didn't read power pack, it's nice to see that all that happened was that Iceman and Beast and the power pack saved Caliban and Leech and are carrying them back to X-factor. It also explains how Thor appeared and saved Angel from the marauders.

Page 5-6: Artie shows a psychic image (he is mute, and this is how he communicates) that angel wanted Jean to see. It communicates Warren's love for her. Obviously this makes cyclops a bit mad...plus this love triangle is dragged back out again, it's been there from the start of the X-men #1! After hearing some noises, Cyclops is able to regroup with the other team and blast the crap out of the Tunnelers.

Page 7-8: Eventually the tunnelers realize X-factor (they recognize them as the mutant freedom fighter alias, the X-terminators) is not evil. Cyclops offers to shelter the Tunnelers in their complex, but they refuse. The next page also recaps that X-factor is seen as a mutant hunting organization and that the media found out that Angel was funding X-factor.

Page 9: Some fun facts about Berzerker that should be noted here: He has electric abilities and he can also tap into radio waves [using the electromagnetic spectrum]. He is the leader of the Tunnelers. He was also chosen to be in the X-men Evolution TV show since he was a interesting “bad boy character”.

Caliban also wakes up in Beast's arms. Caliban is a white skinned mutant who has the ability to sense other nearby mutants. After X-factor contacts their complex, Berzerker realizes who they really are.

Page 10-11: Angel is lifted into an ambulance. He was badly injured by the marauders in the previous issues. Protestors are now swarming outside the X-factor building. Even though Berzerker learns that X-factor is good, he still sees them as evil mutant hunters. The tunnelers sneak out of the building, walking past the police who are trying to control the situation with the protestors.

Page 12-14: The mutants make it to the pier before they are shot at by a group of armed thugs. Berzerker runs up and shocks one guy in the face. Meanwhile, Angel is being rushed into a hospital. Jean and Scott see a news report about the Tunnelers being attacked and run into action!

Page 15: In an interlude, Apocalypse (the villain) arrives at a hospital. He recruits an injured mutant who has the ability to create explosions, teleporting him away. Abraham is recruited as the Horseman of War. (the horseman of pestilence was recruited in uncanny x-men).

Page 16-19: Jean and cyclops arrive at the pier as police start shooting at the tunnelers. Jean swoops down and deflects the bullets. Cyclops tries to calm Berzerker down, and when he refuses...Scott fires a warning shot. Scaleface [a tunneler who transforms into a dragon] tries to reason with the police, but she is shot dead. Berzerker starts going...well...berserk. He starts zapping at everything, even cyclops.

Cyclops blasts back and berzerker flies into the water. The water ends up short-circuiting his powers.

Masque [who has the ability to reshape people's faces for better or worse] is the only one who survives. He is carried back to the complex. Much to my surprise, Masque is still alive in the current comics.

Page 20: In a second interlude, a group of poor mutants are being talked to by Vanisher [as far as I know, he was a villain from X-men #2 who used teleportation to steal things, I read that issue. Not sure where else he showed up.] one of the mutants, Boom Boom [of new-mutants/x-force fame] tries to blow him up, only to fail. Vanisher wants to use these mutants to steal things, but Boom doesn’t want to be involved.

As if this wasn’t enough of a cool issue, the doctors in the hospital report that the only choice they have is to TAKE OFF ANGEL'S WINGS!!

I give this issue a really awesome 9.5 out of 10. It is almost perfect for me! I like all the tunnelers [except that stupid Blow-Hard]. The only problem is that they all DIE! (besides masque, but that's not the point.) Berzerker was a really cool character and I feel really bad that he just fell into some water and died.

A really cool issue that ends of a horrific cliffhanger, we'll see what happens next some other time in X-Factor #12.