Iron Man: A Retrospective

I'd like to perform a little retrospective on the publishing history of Marvel Comics' Iron Man. Before I start, I'm going to invoke a spoiler warning for Avengers: Endgame.

SPOILERS!

...I'm looking back on Iron Man in part because with the death of Tony Stark in Avengers: Endgame, it seems an appropriate season for reflection. Not that his counterpart in the comics is even the least bit under the weather - comic book Tony Stark will live forever. However, let's face it... if there is just one person who is the most influential creator in terms of Iron Man's acceptance by the general public, it comes down to Robert Downey, Jr. and his performance in the last 11 years of Marvel Cinematic Universe films, not anything which Marvel Comics has published before or since he came along.

And let's take a moment to appreciate that prior to the film, Iron Man was not a huge property. I remember the days when people on the internet questioned why Marvel was still publishing Iron Man other than sheer inertia. The Iron Man series has a fairly uneven history compared to other Marvel properties. For instance, Daredevil had a similarly difficult time finding its footing (in fact, there was a point in the early 70s where Marvel considered merging Iron Man and Daredevil into one book), but after Frank Miller's first tenure on Daredevil the series found a new way to tell its stories which has kept the property more or less consistent ever since. But while fans of Iron Man have their favourite creators and runs (and definitely their favourite armours) I don't think there is one single creative team who figured out how to write an enduring take on the character; to some extent, every creator has tried to veer away from what their predecessor was doing.

I was not a huge fan of Iron Man (series or character) growing up. In fact, most of the series was unread by me until, thanks to the Iron Man movie, I became head writer/coordinator of an Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe publication called All-New Iron Manual. I am extremely proud of that book (it has art by Carlo Pagulayan & Ron Lim! and an armour diagram by Eliot R. Brown!) and I read everything up to that point in order to guide the project. Later, to coincide with Iron Man 2, I headed up Iron Manual Mark 3, a comic so nice, even Robert Downey, Jr. bought a copy!

I resigned from Marvel Comics in 2012 and since then have not really followed what's been going on with the characters (I do check in on certain creators). So, my tour of Iron Man's publication history is only going up to 2012. I've divided the history by writers and I'm going to observe how the character of Tony Stark changed over the years, how his supporting cast developed and highlight a few memorable stories.

Follow along...

Stan Lee (1963-1968) wrote Tales of Suspense #39-98 with writing assists from Larry Lieber, Robert Bernstein, Al Hartley and Roy Thomas, art by Don Heck, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and Gene Colan. So, here's where it all begins - Tony Stark is touring his defense plants in Vietnam when he walks into a booby trap set by the Viet Cong. With shrapnel in his heart, Stark and scientist Ho Yinsen build a suit of armour to keep him alive. There is a lot of important Iron Man history in these issues, naturally, but it is mostly foundational to what comes next. Stan Lee had long been giddy about pitting his comic book heroes against the 'red menace' of communism and no 1960s hero demonstrated that better than Iron Man. Iron Man battled communists in Russia, China, Vietnam and Cuba! Further, as an industrialist who was building weapons for the government, Tony Stark had a stake in the Cold War which other heroes simply didn't have (Lee also established him as the arms dealer to S.H.I.E.L.D. over in his Nick Fury stories as well as the financier of the Avengers).

It took a while for the series to build a supporting cast and it's still very small at this point; the most important were Harold 'Happy' Hogan and Virginia 'Pepper' Potts, who formed a love triangle with Tony, the sort of thing Lee enjoyed writing. However, Lee eventually decided to bring the triangle to a close by having Happy & Pepper hook up and get married. That kind of resulted in them leaving the series, unfortunately, but eventually nostalgia would cause the Tony-Pepper-Happy triangle to return. The only other notable characters were Senator Harrington Byrd (a gruff J. Jonah Jameson-type) and Jasper Sitwell, who immigrated from Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Meantime, there were plenty of notable villains created: the Crimson Dynamo, Titanium Man, the Melter, the Unicorn, Ultimo, the Black Widow, Hawkeye... the biggest of them all, however, was the Mandarin. The least-appreciated villain must be Tony's cousin Morgan Stark, a fascinating character who surprisingly few writers have taken an interest in over the decades.

A few trends began during this run: we have Tony's first health problems as his armour needs to keep him alive; Tony's 'transistor-powered armour' as the first of many charmingly bad comic book science concepts; Tony repeatedly altering and improving his armour; the first time Tony shares his armour (with Happy); and we have the author leaving in the middle of a story which his successor has to complete (in this case, the Whiplash/Maggia story).

Archie Goodwin (1968-1970) wrote Tales of Suspense #99 and Iron Man #1-28 with art by Gene Colan, Johnny Craig, George Tuska and Don Heck. This, to me, is the first great run on the series. As I was reading through the entire series, I found myself slowing down to enjoy the stories. The storyline in Iron Man #17-19 where Tony's LMD takes control of his life is an amazing read! Goodwin brought in characters like Janice Cord (Tony's new love interest) and villains the Controller, Madame Masque and Midas. In the course of these stories, Tony finally had heart surgery so that his armour no longer needed to keep him alive (however, it left him extremely weak and less-powerful afterward). And if you thought James Rhodes was the first black Iron Man... nope! It was Eddie March, whom Tony tried to make the new Iron Man in issue #21, only for Eddie to have health problems of his own. And in #22, Janice Cord died at the hands of the Titanium Man several years before the Green Goblin would kill Gwen Stacy over in Amazing Spider-Man (one wonders why Titanium Man isn't Tony's #1 enemy, considering how killing Gwen elevated the Goblin to Spider-Man's top arch-foe).

Allyn Brodsky and Gerry Conway (1970-1972) wrote Iron Man #30-44 with art by Don Heck, George Tuska and Herb Trimpe. Here we have the first low point in the series. This run of issues was so bad it nearly got the series cancelled! It includes the infamous 'Mr. Kline' story which had also been dragging Daredevil into the sewer. Kevin O'Brien was introduced as a new supporting cast member and got his own armoured identity as the Guardsman (only to be killed off in one of the fill-ins between creative runs) and Tony's new love interest was Marianne Rogers, a psychic. Yeah, a psychic... However, Brodsky did introduce the villain Spymaster, who would go on to be a major villain throughout the series (with various characters assuming the identity).

Mike Friedrich (1972-1975) wrote Iron Man #48-81 with art by George Tuska, Bill Everett, Jim Starlin, P. Craig Russell, Arvell Jones and Chic Stone. This run of issues includes a number of fill-ins. The series didn't have too many running subplots in the 70s, many issues were 'done-in-one'. Still, Friedrich brought out some memorable stories - obviously, #55 which introduced Thanos & Drax the Destroyer is a pretty significant episode in Marvel Comics history. Friedrich also introduced Firebrand and his sister Roxanne (Tony's new love interest) and brought back Happy & Pepper, complete with the love triangle despite their marriage. Friedrich also featured a number of stories where Tony had to deal with labour unrest and student demonstrations, plus Tony's company expanded significantly as for the first time we saw the company's offices in Detroit, Cincinnati, Seattle and such. Unfortunately, his promising 'war of the super-villains' storyline with the Black Lama came down an immensely goofy finish where the Lama turned out to be an alternate reality Gerald Ford.

Bill Mantlo (1976-1978) wrote Iron Man #86-115 with art by George Tuska, Keith Pollard, Carmine Infantino, Keith Giffen and John Romita Jr. Bill Mantlo's 'run' is full of all kinds of fill-ins and it's hard to tell where his run really 'starts'. Of course, I have to mention Mantlo's fill in during Friedrich's run: in issue #78, Mantlo penned a tale where Tony witnesses the impact of his weapons in Vietnam and, struck by the horror of it, determines to get out of weapons. It was a pretty major development for a fill-in story and it began to set up Tony as someone who no longer blindly championed technology but who would wrestle with the effects of his inventions on the world around him. Mantlo tried to set up his own creation Jack of Hearts as Iron Man's protege but it didn't pan out; he also brought in Kevin O'Brien's brother Michael as a means of bringing back the Guardsman and he created the memorable villain Arsenal.

Bob Layton & David Michelinie (1978-1982) wrote Iron Man #116-157 with art by John Romita Jr., Carmine Infantino, Sal Buscema, Jerry Bingham, Alan Weiss, Joe Brozowski, Luke McDonnell and Alan Kupperberg (also inks by Bob Layton). Here we have the first tenure of Layton/Michelinie on the book and they're probably ranked #1 to the majority of Iron Man fans. In their hands, the supporting cast exploded as, for the first time, Stark's company seemed to have a life beyond Tony's office - new characters like Mrs. Arbogast, Bethany Cabe (Tony's new love interest), Vic Martinelli, Yvettte Avril, Artie Pithins... even Scott Lang (Ant-Man) would chime in from time to time. But the most important addition to the cast was James Rhodes, Tony's personal pilot. Rhodey could handle himself in a fight and after Layton & Michelinie established him as being adjacent to Tony's origin story, it pretty much guaranteed he'd be moving on to big things in the series. Michelinie & Layton brought an increased emphasis on Tony as a businessman, not only by pitting him against S.H.I.E.L.D. in an attempted hostile takeover, but by introducing the new villain Justin Hammer, a corrupt businessman who challenged Tony on a different level. Basically, any writer since Michelinie/Layton who didn't use Justin Hammer instead used a different character with the same purpose (ie, Obadiah Stane, Kearson DeWitt, Sunset Bain). Michelinie & Layton are also beloved by fans for introducing armours for special environments, such as the stealth armour. But their biggest influence on the character was felt in issue #128, the first time Tony struggled with alcoholism, a major addition to his character which gave him a new physical weakness to replace what the heart injury had once done for him.

Dennis O'Neil (1982-1986) wrote #158-208 with art by Carmine Infantino, Steve Ditko, Luke McDonnell, Mike Vosburg, Don Perlin, Rich Buckler, Sal Buscema, Herb Trimpe and Mark Bright. O'Neil's run is best known for promoting James Rhodes to the leading role (from #169-199), but is also remembered for introducing the villain Obadiah Stane and the red & silver armour (in issue #200). O'Neil wrote virtually every one of Michelinie & Layton's supporting characters out of the book and brought in the twins Clytemnestra & Morley Erwin as the new supporting cast (Morley died in #199 and the next creative team turned Clytemnestra into a villain, then killed her). Personally, the highlights of this run are issue #182 where Tony finally seeks help for his alcoholism and #192 where Tony earns back Rhodey's friendship.

Bob Layton & David Michelinie (1987-1990) returned for a second run in Iron Man #215-256 with art by Mark Bright, Bob Layton, Barry Windsor-Smith, Jackson Guice, Denys Cowan, Alan Kupperberg, Paul Smith and John Romita Jr. (also inks by Layton). In some respects, this run is a lot like the earlier Michelinie/Layton run: most of the supporting characters whom O'Neil wrote out were brought back, Tony regained his company, Rhodey stopped wearing the armour, Justin Hammer was back, new special environment armours were introduced and Tony eventually went back to the red & gold colours. However, they didn't simply rehash what they'd done before: they brought Tony through one of his most controversial arcs in what they called 'Stark Wars' but which everyone else calls 'Armor Wars' (#225-231), in which Tony obsessively hunted down both villains and heroes wearing armour, trying to prevent his designs from taking lives. They also critiqued Tony's love life as his latest girlfriend Kathy Dare shot Tony in the spine, crippling him. Although Tony regained his mobility by the end of their run it set in motion major complications for the character. Like many creative runs on Iron Man, this one had some problems going on in the background - Bob Layton was supposed to continue writing the series solo, but instead they brought in a new writer...

John Byrne (1990-1992) wrote Iron Man #258-277 with art by John Romita Jr., Paul Ryan and Mark Bright. John Byrne was in the middle of his 'corporate Namor' material in Namor the Sub-Mariner at the time so this was an interesting choice... it was also something to see John Romita, Jr. return to this series with his own art style now fully developed. Most of Byrne's run was taken up by 'Armor Wars II', which, despite the title, had nothing to do with the earlier storyline. The story concerns Kearson DeWitt going after Stark for revenge (and in a nice twist, Stark has no idea who DeWitt is or what he wants revenge for). The microchip in Tony's spine from the end of Michelinie/Layton's run turns out to contain a weapon designed by DeWitt to seize control of Tony's nervous system. By the end of the story, Tony is a nervous wreck... I mean, he's barely able to walk. Byrne also wrote a major Mandarin storyline which tied his origin into Fin Fang Foom (seriously!) and revealed his ten rings belonged to space dragons who now wanted them back... I have no idea why they left them unguarded for several hundred years, frankly.

Len Kaminski (1992-1995) wrote Iron Man #278-318 with art by Paul Ryan, Kevin Hopgood, Barry Kitson, Tom Morgan, Tom Tenney, Steve Ellis and Dave Chlystek. Kaminski came to the book in the middle of the 'Operation: Galactic Storm' crossover with the Avengers but he very quickly became a fan-favourite writer - for a long time, he was the only serious rival to Michelinie/Layton in the fan community. Much of Kaminski's run simply revisited earlier ideas like new special environment armour (eventually he introduced the modular armour which could refit for special situations), Rhodey becoming Iron Man again and the conclusion to Tony's nervous system woes. I really admire him for seemingly killing off Tony Stark, but never tricking the readers, who knew from the outset that Tony was still alive; most comic book writers would have tried to trick the audience. Anyway, Kaminski did a great job of maintaining and building on the supporting cast from the Michelinie/Layton years, reestablished Rhodey as War Machine, introduced Veronica Benning (Tony's newest love interest) and even brought Happy and Pepper back into the cast. In retrospect, this was a very stable time for the series, with no sense of the tumult which would follow.

Terry Kavanagh (1995-1996) wrote Iron Man #319-332 with writing assists from Dan Abnett and James Felder and art by Tom Morgan, Adriana Melo, Hector Oliveira, Sergio Cariello, Jim Cheung, Mark Bright, Jim Calafiore, Dave Hover, Marc Campos and Joe Bennett (basically, Kavanagh never had a regular penciler). And here's what most fans would call the worst creative run on Iron Man. Kaminski evidently fled the series rather than write this story, in which the Avengers crossover 'The Crossing' unmasks Iron Man as a murderer who had been a sleeper agent for Kang for years and begins killing off members of the Avengers (well, unpopular members, anyway). The crossover ended with Tony making a heroic sacrifice while his college-aged self from another reality became the new Iron Man. Pretty much the only people who enjoy these comics are of the 'I like it ironically' school. The entire experience left a bad taste in fan's mouths and I don't recommend they be read by anyone other than researchers.

Jim Lee, Scott Lobdell & Jeph Loeb (1996-1997) wrote Iron Man #1-12 with art by Whilce Portacio, Ryan Benjamin, Jim Lee, Terry Shoemaker and Ed Benes. The entire family of Avengers titles were brought low by 'The Crossing', causing them to dwindle in number instead of thriving, which is supposed to be the point of a good crossover, y'know? So, along came Jim Lee & Rob Liefeld, who rebooted the Avengers & Fantastic Four characters. These comics didn't do much more than provide a cushion between the despised 'Teen Tony' stories and the next revamp, basically clearing the ground for...

Kurt Busiek (1998-2000) wrote Iron Man #1-25 with writing assists from Richard Howell and Roger Stern and art by Sean Chen, Patrick Zircher, Mark Bagley and Tom Lyle. This is an interesting mix of nostalgia for the Lee & Goodwin years which, at the same time, tried to move the series forward. Tony sets up a new company as an independent contractor, which basically turns him into James Bond with power armour. Sean Chen's armour design was great, but it was disappointing to see the Happy-Pepper-Tony triangle brought back yet again. Highlights included Rumiko Fujikawa (Tony's new love interest), Tony becoming an AA sponsor to Carol Danvers and the obscure Machine Man villain Sunset Bain established as a villainous female counterpart to Stark. Lowlights included Tony discovering his armour was causing him new health problems, only for him to fix the problem within one issue; coupled with that was Tony using a telepathic weapon to erase people's memories of his secret identity, all of which seemed like a misguided effort to de-complicate Tony's problems instead of escalating them - not good drama.

Joe Quesada (2000) wrote from Iron Man #26-30 with art by Sean Chen and Alitha Martinez. Quesada basically wrote just one story (although he hung around to co-plot with Tieri as he assumed full writing duties), but it's a pretty good one: 'The Mask in the Iron Man' had Tony's armour become sentient, turn against Tony and finally sacrifice its life for him. It's something of a retelling of Archie Goodwin's LMD story and it brought back Tony's heart problems. I think it works well, as long as you ignore the follow-up story.

Frank Tieri (2000-2002) wrote Iron Man #31-49 with writing assists from Joe Quesada and art by Alitha Martinez, Paul Ryan, Keron Grant, Udon Studios and Chris Batista. So, this one is a pretty despised creative run. Initially fans were interested but around the time Tony's never-before-seen best friend Tiberius Stone had an affair with Rumiko, the knives came out. Keron Grant designed a new suit of armour whose introduction was supposed to be an exciting revelation, but which was ultimately so unpopular that over in the Avengers, creators would go out of their way to avoid depicting Tony in armour. Tieri also brought back Ho Yinsen as the leader of a floating city full of Iron Men, then revealed it (and the sentient armour) were all a plot by Ultron. Oh, and for part of the series Tony changed his name to 'Hogan Potts' and worked at an office job. Let's move on.

Mike Grell (2002-2003) wrote Iron Man #50-66 with writing assists from Robin Laws and art by Michael Ryan, Ryan Odagawa, Mike Grell, Ivan Reis and Alan Davis. This run has been pretty much forgotten by fandom, although it is here that Tony Stark finally went public as Iron Man, a development which will probably never be rolled back (thanks to the movies). The new armour designed by Michael Ryan was much liked, but almost no one remembers Grell rewrote Tony's origin, shuffling it to eastern Europe instead of Vietnam. This all happened during the Bill Jemas era at Marvel Comics where almost every comic would tell stories in six-issue arcs and super-villains, team-ups and crossovers became somewhat scarce. There's not too much that's flashy about these stories and Grell wound up leaving mid-story.

John Jackson Miller (2003-2004) wrote from Iron Man #73-85 with art by Jorge Lucas and Philip Tan. Miller seemed to be a huge fan of the series and filled his rather short run with all kinds of references from across the series, bringing back not only Michelinie/Layton cast members but also stuff which had been left dangling since the Kaminski era. Miller chose to make Tony Stark the US Secretary of Defense, making the book more overtly political than it had been in the past. It might have been an interesting change for the character but it didn't last very long. Miller only really got to tell one story with Tony as SOD, and while I think he wrote a compelling take on the Iraq War, artist Philip Tan's choice to draw the Kurdish female revolutionary Vitriol in T&A poses really worked against the tone of the story.

Warren Ellis (2005-2006) wrote Iron Man #1-6 with art by Adi Granov. This story, 'Extremis', really should have been a limited series. Incredibly, it took 18 months for all six issues to ship! By the end of it, Tony had his body rebuilt by the Extremis technology, turning him into a post-human able to link into virtually any computer. This made Tony ridiculously powerful. I fondly recall a phone conversation I had with Eliot R. Brown while making The All-New Iron Manual where I explained to him how Ellis defined the Extremis powers. Brown scoffed at Ellis' 'pseudeoscience', told me how it was all wrong, then explained how he'd achieve the same ends using ideas extrapolated from real science. I told him to go for it; I doubt my editors noticed. Anyway, Granov had been painting covers for Iron Man since the Miller run but his visuals in these stories wound up having a huge impact on the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In the comics, Ellis' Extremis would hang around for some time to come and his characters Maya Hansen & Sal Kennedy remained in the supporting cast for the next team.

Daniel and Charles Knauf (2006-2008) wrote Iron Man #7-28 with art by Patrick Zircher, Roberto de la Torre, Jackson Guice and Carlo Pagulayan. This creative run started off fairly modest, but by the end, I found I really enjoyed the Knaufs. The shadow of Marvel's 'Civil War' event hovers on their work, as it was during their run that - due to the machinations of Mark Millar - Tony Stark became director of S.H.I.E.L.D., which is kind of an amped-up version of what John Jackson Miller tried to do during his run. In the midst of that, the Knaufs had Tony deliver a mercy kill to Happy Hogan at Pepper's request, which just makes Tony and Pepper hooking up seem all the more wrong-headed. However, they delivered a fantastic Mandarin epic wherein the Mandarin tries to obtain Extremis for himself; it turned out to be the Knafus' farewell to the series.

Matt Fraction (2008-2012) wrote Invincible Iron Man #1-33 & 500-527 with art by Salvador Larroca. This series launched while the Knaufs' book was still coming out so Marvel could see if the Iron Man movie would increase people's interest in Iron Man comics. As it turns out, nope, but the Fraction/Larroca series wound up becoming the principal ongoing title and they remained together for many years, easily the most consistent creative team in the series' history. There are ups and downs in this run, but I think most fans are down with the 'World's Most Wanted' storyarc (#8-19), where Tony loses control of S.H.I.E.L.D. to Norman Osborn and is hunted around the globe by Osborn's resources while his mind slowly unravels. It included Pepper donning her own armour as Rescue and made Tony & Pepper a couple (plus Tony & Maria Hill, for both of the people who wanted that). Fraction/Larroca introduced a number of new threats for Tony based on relatives of long-dead adversaries, like Obadiah Stane's son Ezekiel and Justin Hammer's daughter Sasha. The crossover 'Fear Itself' (which was written by Fraction) threw the book off its game, but Fraction & Larroca did a fine job overall.

And that's it; since 2012, the writers have been: Kieron Gillen (2013-2014), who, bafflingly, decided to retcon Tony's parentage, making him the son of some S.H.I.E.L.D. agent instead of Howard & Maria Stark, a situation I'm sure someone will fix eventually; Tom Taylor (2014-2015) who wrote the 'Superior' Iron Man; Brian Michael Bendis (2015-2018), who eventually killed off Tony and replaced him with two Iron Men - Riri Williams and Doctor Doom - then brought Tony back before jumping ship from Marvel Comics; and Dan Slott (2018-), the current writer.

As I said before, I didn't care too much for Iron Man initially. Thanks to going through the series, however, I came to really appreciate the character. I enjoy him the most when he's heroic, but flawed; savvy in technology, blind to his shortcomings; pitted against villains who challenge him physically and mentally; and supported by a cast of well-developed characters.

All covers taken from The Grand Comics Database.

The Troubles of X-Factor Part 5: X-Factor and the Trouble With Character Derailment

(I apologize for running late on this, the final installment)

Appropriately, I'm ending my look at Bob Layton's X-Factor by discussing the very concept of the series - the controversial "mutants hunting mutants" set-up, introduced at a time when Chris Claremont's Uncanny X-Men cast included a young woman who was traumatized at having been forced to hunt her own kind. The idea that the original five X-Men would help mutants by developing an agency to hunt mutants down seems ridiculous. But before I condemn it, let's hear the original idea, as presented to the team by their public relations advisor Cameron Hodge in X-Factor #1:

"Our organization will capitalize on human beings' distrust of mutants by posing as a mutant deterrent agency. People that suspect a mutant menace will call our toll-free number to report an incident! We will then, in the guise of a team of psychologists and scientists, investigate the subject! In reality, our true goal is to isolate and protect the people who possess the X-Factor mutation in their genetic make-up. Appropriately, the name our organization will be known by is -- X-Factor."

And what sort of people contacted X-Factor to enlist their help during the Bob Layton days?

• - In X-Factor #1, a naval officer asked X-Factor to capture Rusty Collins, a young sailor who accidentally injured a woman with his powers; Rusty subsequently broke out of captivity when the officer tried to murder him, which is why the officer wanted someone outside the conventional authorities involved.
• - In X-Factor #2, Carl Maddicks worried that his hired thug Tower might turn on him so he told X-Factor where to apprehend him.
• - In X-Factor #4, Angel's former headmaster asked him to investigate student Martin Davis, who claimed to be a mutant telepath; Martin was actually a clever inventor and eavesdropper.
• - In X-Factor #5, Susan Nowlan hired X-Factor to find her drug addict husband Michael, whose mutant gifts were being exploited by the Alliance of Evil.

From four cases, the team was sent to assist in two cases which genuinely needed their assistance. In the second case, they were patsies to a villain. In the third, they frightened a lonely boy. Great work, everybody! There are many things worth questioning about X-Factor's set-up, such as how they were able to seemingly incarcerate people they "captured." I mean, Rusty Collins broke out of prison and it was public knowledge that since issue #1 he'd been in X-Factor's custody (Frenzy came looking for him in #4 assuming she'd have to break him out of the building). How were the legal authorities satisfied with X-Factor holding their own detention facility with no access to counsel?

Of course, the bigger problem is the very idea of creating a group to hunt mutants in order to help them. Hodge presented this idea as being a clever way to defuse "the problem of mutant hysteria by turning it upon itself!" And yet, the very concept of X-Factor - as presented to the public - is one which assumes the very worst of people. Recall that at this time in Marvel's X-Men titles, mutants were facing discrimination but there were no vast experimental labs, concentration camps or even public lynchings (the latter, not since Iceman's origin, IIRC). Xavier's school - and Emma Frost's sinister Massachusetts Academy - were both below the radar, not publicly known to register mutant students.

And into this comes X-Factor, an agency marketed towards people who are already afraid of mutants and, by its very existence, assures them they should be afraid! What sort of clients did the team expect they would be led to? Their manifesto - "people that suspect a mutant menace" - should, in a best-case scenario, lead to actual mutant menaces, not people in need of help. Which is fine, I guess, if battling evil mutants is the most important thing mutants can do for one another. But what about the new, young mutants who were in need of a positive voice, someone to reassure them? What about normal humans who care deeply for a mutant friend or family member who's in trouble?

X-Factor needed to establish itself as marking different territory than the X-Men, so the idea of Angel bankrolling a corporation to improve the lot of mutants in the public was a very savvy (and 80s) idea. The idea as presented, however, was obviously doomed to failure and could have only fanned the flames of intolerance against mutants. At best, X-Factor offered mutants sanctuary in a secret hideout - but the X-Men were already doing that much! What mutants really needed at the time was a voice, rather than assuming "keep your head down" is the way things should be. Being that Warren Worthington III was publicly known to be a mutant, any journalist worth their salt could have found the link between he and X-Factor within a week if they cared to. So why bother keeping secrets from the public which would inevitably be found out?

As one of the wealthiest and best-known mutants in the USA, Angel should have made X-Factor a transparent company. A corporation out to assist mutants who needed it, running 1-800 hotlines for young mutants just like those phone services which exist for addicts or teen pregnancies. This version of X-Factor would have been provocative in a way the X-Men weren't, engaging in a direct discourse with how the public views mutants, trying to affect public perception by placing mutants before the cameras and letting them speak their piece.

Before Layton's five issues were up the cracks had begun to form; one Senator Thompson confronted Hodge in issue #3, wondering "Do any of you realize that X-Factor may be doing more harm than good?" But although Thompson returned in the annual, the subplot did not. However, Jean took a moment to reflect upon the Martin Davis incident (from the list above) during issue #5 and wondered then what effect X-Factor was having on the public. When Layton left, his successor Louise Simonson took out the butcher's knives the concept, confirming that, indeed, X-Factor was making things worse for mutants and that had been Hodge's goal all along as he secretly resented the adulation Angel had received for being a mutant. Eventually, X-Factor would come clean about who and what they were and, by the end of Fall of the Mutants, would win a major public relations victory for mutants by saving Manhattan from Apocalypse.

But the damage was done, and in retrospect, the heroes looked rather dense for ever believing in Hodge's idea. When the "mutant hunters" angle dropped off, the series no longer ran with a particular mission statement, it simply became an X-Men comic book with a different cast than Claremont's. Later on, Peter David's X-Factor would fashion a new team and mission statement for the team's name, but that's another matter.

The power of nostalgia had been invoked to draw the original five X-Men back together again. With the X-Men franchise running at a high which ultimately lasted for another decade without any massive misfires, X-Factor just needed to be both diferent from the X-Men and decent. But it never managed both at once.

The Troubles of X-Factor Part 4: Cyclops and the Trouble With Character Assassination

As with Jean Grey, the troubles with Cyclops' character - especially as recounted in X-Factor #1 - have been hashed out again and again by comic book fandom. However, I want to do my best to place what happened to Cyclops and his relationship with Madelyne Pryor in proper context.

It's interesting that fandom doesn't hold any single creator to account for what happened to Cyclops - not Chris Claremont, the man who created Madelyne; not Bob Layton, the one who broke them up; not Louise Simonson, who assisted Claremont in delving into Madelyne's true origins. It's most interesting that the one who shoulders the blame in the eyes of fandom is Cyclops himself, as though a fictional character had true control over his character development! It really speaks to how much fans have invested in the X-Men's members, but it's certainly worked against Cyclops for the last 30 years as he's never fully crawled out from under the cloud of X-Factor #1.

Let's begin with the first perpetrator: Chris Claremont. Having killed Jean Grey in 1980, Claremont embarked on an unusual subplot for Cyclops in 1983 as the still-grieving hero met Madelyne Pryor, a woman with a remarkable resemblance to Jean Grey (or so every character claimed - Paul Smith's Madelyne looked nothing like Dave Cockrum or John Byrne's Jean; I don't believe the two ever did look alike until Marc Silvestri took over). This being comic books, naturally readers were led on to assume that Madelyne was somehow Jean Grey brought back to life, or at least someone with a connection to Jean. However, in a subversive climax, the subplot ended with all the seeming connections revealed as remarkable coincidences; Cyclops and Madelyne were wed.

Comic book readers and writers hate coincidences.

Recall that earlier in the X-Men mythos, Lorna Dane had been suggested as Magneto's daughter simply because the two had the same powers; that plot ended with the familial connection revealed as bogus, yet 30 years later Lorna would be (off-panel) made Magneto's daughter officially. When characters have similar surnames, powers or (seriously) hairstyles, regardless of what the initial creators intended, someone will assert "there are no coincidences!" and cement the connection in print.

Thus, regardless of what point Claremont intended to make with the initial Madelyne story, comicdom's disbelief in coincidence - coupled with Jean's resurrection - worked against that tale. Also working against Claremont (and more to the point, Cyclops) is comicdom's inability to allow characters to reach endings, no matter how well the ending is performed. Cyclops seemed to be set for a life of marital bliss with Madelyne, but editorial demands to have him participate in the Secret Wars crossover caused him to be spirited away during his own honeymoon. This frightened Madelyne, but she did her best to be understanding.

A year and half later, Cyclops returned to the X-Men (with a pregnant Madelyne in tow) to be present for Xavier, who appeared to be on his deathbed. This led Cyclops to be called away on two back-to-back missions, first to save the New Mutants from Asgard, then to be present at Magneto's appearance before the International Court in Europe. Thus, Cyclops was struck by three significant moments of upheaval: dealing with Xavier's departure (as he left the galaxy with the Starjammers), Magneto's ascension to head of Xavier's school and missing the birth of his son, Nathan.

In the aftermath of the birth, Madelyne noted nearly all of the X-Men who went to Asgard had called her to let her know they were in Europe - but not her own husband. She told Storm: "I understand Scott's not being here... but he should have at least let me know he cared." Although at this time the X-Men had been led by Nightcrawler (in Storm's absence since she lost her powers), Cyclops now intended to resume leadership of the X-Men, a role he hadn't officially held since Jean's death 6 years earlier. Cyclops rationalized this to Madelyne as needing to keep an eye on Magneto, although internally he felt Xavier was his true father and he should be the one to carry on said father's work. However, Storm had now returned to the team and she disputed Cyclops' bid. Despite her power loss, Storm faced Cyclops in combat and defeated him, proving true friends will kick your butt for you when you need it. Storm resumed leadership and Cyclops could then remain safely retired. Another happy ending!

One month later... X-Factor #1. Up until this point, Madelyne has remained sympathetic, never nagging or behaving shrewishly to Scott. Even as Cyclops engaged in combat with Storm, she knew that no matter how the fight ended her husband would wind up being hurt - either by losing leadership or by losing her because she intended to return to Alaska regardless. All of that, however, came from her creator, Claremont. To Bob Layton, Madelyne Pryor was an obstacle to getting the original nostalgic five X-Men back together and he worked quickly to turn readers against Madelyne, no doubt hoping they would be less troubled by Cyclops' actions, since for Scott to join X-Factor he would have to essentially abandon his wife and son - hardly a heroic decision. The first blow against Madelyne fell while the couple were at home in Alaska and Scott was distracted by a television news report about the Mutant Registration Act. Furious, Madelyne cattily yelled: "Haven't you done enough for them already? Isn't it about time they did something for themselves?" Given that she married a mutant and might have (later confirmed positively) given birth to a mutant, one would think Madelyne might share her husband's interest in mutant affairs. Heck, if she had steered him into being a political activist maybe he wouldn't have become a globe-trotting adventurer again.

Still, Madelyne dug deeper.

"You have a responsibility to your family now! I can't be the only one working on this marriage! We're supposed to be in this together, aren't we? Don't you think I know the only reason you came back to us at all is that you bombed out in your bid to lead the X-Men? Don't you think it hurts knowing that? Just like it hurts knowing why you married me in the first place! Because I reminded you of your old flame -- the late, but not forgotten Jean Grey!"

And:

"I love you, Scott, and the X-Men don't need you! Jean is dead! I'm the one that needs you!"

It's strange that the character assassination of Cyclops would begin by bringing down his wife, but there it is. In one month, Madelyne went from a troubled but loyal partner to an ultimatum-delivering shrew. To put it in terms of tropes you would find on TV police dramas, she went from being the police captain's wife to the duty-driven detective's ex-wife. Although Layton couldn't have known it, he was grooming readers to eventually accept Madelyne's transformation into a demonic super-villainess. Later that evening, Madelyne found Scott brooding on their balcony. She began to apologize, not wanting to "lose what we have." Scott retorted, "I'm... just not exactly sure what we do have anymore." When she pressed him, he admitted he'd been thinking about Jean Grey.

The very next day, Scott received a call from the Angel, informing him that Jean was back from the dead and in New York. It should be noted that the Angel was an inactive X-Man and that Madelyne didn't know Jean was alive (and wouldn't learn this for years' worth of stories). Regardless, this was how the conversation which ended their marriage played out (presented in its entirety):

"Darling? What is it? What did Warren want?"

"He... er... needs me to meet him in New York -- today!"

"Well -- tell him you can't make it!"

"I - I can't do that, Maddy!"

"Scott Summers! If you walk out that door -- don't bother coming back!"

"I'm -- sorry, Maddy! I have to go!"

Cyclops was reunited with Jean, but simply seeing her alive drove him to the brink of mental collapse, unable to reconcile his never-forgotten love for her with his devotion to Madelyne and his son. In fact, he wound up wandering around the pier where the Phoenix first appeared and when Beast and Iceman found him, he poured out his heart about Jean and Madelyne. Proving themselves inferior friends to Storm, the duo encouraged him: "We have a second chance -- all of us -- to do something beneficial! Like it was in the old days -- the five of us -- together!" He still wasn't completely convinced, but carried on for Jean's sake. "Look -- if not for anything else, do it because I want you to be with me, okay?" Jean asked. "That's the only reason I'm still here, Jean!" Scott answered.

And sure enough, with the blessings of nostalgia the X-Factor team came together and by going on their first adventure (saving Rusty Collins) Cyclops found his footing in adventure. This would remain a touchstone for some time, as Cyclops would range from non-verbal to shell-shocked while out of costume but confident and capable while in combat. Layton pushed that in the audience's faces as best as he could in the first issue with Cyclops saving the entire team at one point and thinking: "Jean -- all of my friends -- would be dead by now if I hadn't come with them! If I wasn't here... I would have lost her again! And the boy, Rusty, would have died without a chance for a decent life! Of the group, only I have the power to save us now! Finally, I realize what I need to do and -- we will be free!!" For a man who at the time must have still been under thirty years old, under Layton's pen Cyclops certainly read like a man suffering his mid-life crisis.

Despite his breakthrough in the climax of X-Factor #1, Cyclops remained a wet blanket through Layton's work. In the second issue, Angel took Cyclops to task for not contacting Madelyne or telling Jean about his wife. Scott finally dug up the courage to call Madelyne, only to find she had disconnected the phone, evidently literally meaning it when she told him "don't bother coming back." Madelyne & Nathan couuld have been part of X-Factor's ongoing supporting cast, but it would have pushed back against the nostalgic get-the-band-back-together voice of the series. And so Cyclops would angst for the rest of Layton's run, until succeeding author Louise Simonson finally pushed things forward by having Jean learn of Madelyne, sent Cyclops back to Alaska and finally had Cyclops suffer the mental collapse which Layton seemed to have foreshadowed (and seriously, X-Factor #18, where Cyclops went crazy? hands-down my favourite issue of the series).

At the same time, Claremont adopted Madelyne back into the pages of Uncanny X-Men, with Cyclops' abandonment of her proving a good justification to turn the X-Men team against X-Factor (especially Scott's brother, Havok) and all of that came to a boil in 1989's Inferno crossover. Of course, it was during Inferno that Madelyne became a true, full-on villain and was forever redefined as Jean Grey's clone (in retrospect, Cyclops should have looked up her friends from high school before marrying her). Madelyne died in Inferno, leaving Scott & Jean to care for baby Nathan (until editorial demanded he be written out of Scott's life for the second time).

Cyclops has been made to do plenty of disagreeable things outside of his marriage to Madelyne: he built a mutant isolationist empire, threatened to assassinate politicians, created a personal hit squad, murdered his father figure and tolerated Emma Frost's fake British accent. Yet for many fans, his original sin was leaving his wife and child to return to Jean Grey - never mind that he and Jean weren't a couple (not until Fall of the Mutants, two years into X-Factor's run), never mind that Madelyne had behaved like an ogre with her ultimatums and cutting off access. Heroes overcome obstacles. Heroes find solutions. Heroes do the right thing. If Cyclops couldn't stand up for his family, how could anyone expect him to stand up for a world of strangers?

Tomorrow: X-Factor.

(An aside: re-reading Uncanny X-Men #201 for this post, I was really struck by the scene where Rachel Summers first met baby Nathan and vowed to protect him. Reflecting on all that Rachel & Nathan have been through over the years, it is heartwarming to see their siblings-by-another-mother relationship, from Rachel racing into the events of Inferno to try and save him to the fully-grown Cable journeying to the end of time to rescue her! Perhaps I'm projecting my own relationship with my older sister upon them, but I really like Rachel & Nathan.)

The Troubles of X-Factor Part 3: Jean Grey and the Trouble With Character Resurrection

If you've been around comic book internet sites as long as I have, you probably aren't very interested in yet another discussion of the resurrection of Jean Grey. I can hear that sigh rising up in your throat. Yet another complaint about how Jean's resurrection diminished the Dark Phoenix Saga and overall cheapened the concept of death in comic books. You've probably already written my essay in your head, so what's left for me to do?

The means by which Jean returned to the dead have become particularly notorious over the years for being "too complicated." I'm not sure they are, not compared to some of the ridiculous ways characters have been resurrected. Heck, in 1970 X-Men fans accepted the explanation of how Professor X came back from the dead and it was nuts. Following Jean, Iron Fist went through an extremely complex resurrection but no one gives grief to Iron Fist over it. No, comic book fandom holds the resurrection of Jean Grey with a little contempt and that's really what they mean when they call her return "too complicated." Xavier & Iron Fist's deaths simply weren't considered great stories - unlike the Dark Phoenix Saga. Sure, comic book characters died and came back from time to time - but never before had it happened to a story which was so greatly admired.

Still, the demands of nostalgia brought Jean back - back to a world which had changed in her absence. Although Bob Layton's X-Factor was hep to get the original five X-Men back together and ignore Uncanny X-Men & New Mutants for as long as humanly possible, and although Beast quickly returned to his 60s personality, while Angel found himself attracted to Jean again (a dropped bit from the 60s), time had moved on. Cyclops was cut off from Jean (for reasons I'll dig into tomorrow). Jean heard from Reed Richards that in her absence, the X-Men had begun working with her old enemy Magneto (Reed evidently never thought to mention he'd also worked with Magneto during Secret Wars, where the X-Men/Magneto alliance originated; nor did Jean think to ask Storm as a friend to explain the alliance to her - or even tell Storm she'd returned!) and anti-mutant hysteria seemed much stronger than before. Jean's determination to make the world a better place for mutants is what ignited the concept of X-Factor.

There's something about super hero resurrections which inevitably invites comparison to Christianity. As in the death of Jesus, when a popular hero is dead characters enter into that twilight of the soul and angst, "With Captain America/Iron Man/Reed Richards/Gilgamesh dead, how can we carry on in their absence?" Then a year later Captain America/Iron Man/Reed Richards/Gilgamesh's second coming arrives with the promise that the super heroes' world is going to get better. Even though - let's face it - that's really up to the whims of the writers and editors. If the only hero left on Marvel's Earth were Captain Ultra I'm sure everything would still work out.

But Jean - for all the work done to get her back into circulation - had returned to a Marvel Universe which didn't need her. Madelyne Pryor was Cyclops' new love interest and Cyke seemed much the better for it; Rachel Summers was in the midst of an ongoing plot which seemed to point towards an idea beyond the limits of the Dark Phoenix Saga, rather than retreading old ground; and Jean Grey herself, although ostensibly still going by the codename "Marvel Girl," seemed to have aged well beyond the years of "girlhood" ("Marvel Girl" would appear infrequently during the total run of X-Factor; when Jean then rejoined the X-Men it became clear there that she had no codename and, except for attempts to turn her into Phoenix, she hasn't had one since).

Jean's return excused bringing the original five X-Men back together, but Jean had little else to offer, especially in the Layton issues where she was strangely unconcerned about any of her old friends and family beyond the old team. She did bring a lot of friction between her and her old friends, but that potential would need Louise Simonson & Chris Claremont to explore it further. "People thought I was dead; now I'm back" isn't a hook which draws readers in - we're not likely to have been in that situation ourselves (barring any unfortunate clerical errors). At best, Jean's issue is "why did things change while I was gone?" Which, is decent enough baggage for a person to carry - enough to make me empathize, but not sympathize.

(I am now going to compliment Wonder Man; ready your fainting couch)

An advantage which Wonder Man's resurrection in 1976 holds over Jean's is that while both characters carried around trauma from their time spent in un-life and developed friction with people who had moved on during their absences, Wonder Man was for several years afraid of dying because of his experiences and that fear of death is something which is actually rather rational amidst the sort of life and death struggles super heroes are placed in. I sympathized with Wonder Man's baggage.

Jean Grey's resurrection and its "complications" predicted what would soon become a complaint directed at the entire X-Men franchise: "it's too complicated." By the end of the decade, Madelyne Pryor's true origin and Mr. Sinister would rewrite the book on exposition. The subsequent decade would see competing time travel stories with Cable, Bishop and the Askani; the Onslaught crossover would sour the very idea of super hero crossovers for years to come; Magneto would be replaced by Joseph; Colossus would turn evil, Marrow would turn good, Gambit would turn useless and somewhere in there is a garbled story about Sunspot being Reignfire.* The X-Men comic books may not have been any more complicated than any other super hero "family" of titles, pound for pound. However, the believed importance of Jean Grey's death and fandom's complicated reaction to her complicated return would give them a reputation - one which persists to this day.

Tomorrow: Cyclops.

*= also: Externals, Silver Fox, bone claws, Crimson Dawn, Tolliver, Apocalypse, Stryfe, Domino, Copycat, Maverick, Thieves Guild, Douglock, Phalanx, Upstarts, Blaquesmith, Age of Apocalypse, Monet St. Croix, Shatterstar...

The Troubles of X-Factor Part 2: The Beast and the Trouble With Character Regression

By 1972 the X-Men had more-or-less dropped out of comic books, but the newfound interest in horror/super hero hybrid tales led to a solo series featuring the Beast which began in Amazing Adventures #11. Although he had lasted the sixties with his large hands + large feet "apelike" appearance, the newly-reimagined Beast now sported a permanent coat of fur (initially gray but quickly changed to blue). The Beast's solo adventures didn't last very long, but his new appearance caught on as he soon joined the Avengers and his newfound high-spirited attitude and sharp quips made him one of the most beloved members of the team's 70s incarnation; from there, he skipped and bounced into the "New" Defenders and then into the pages of Bob Layton's X-Factor.

By the third issue of X-Factor, the Beast had been changed out of his fur coat and back to his "apelike" appearance, with his spiked hair being the sole memento of the previous 14 years worth of stories. Changing the Beast into a more human visual held certain value to the series as X-Factor were meant to be disguised as humans hunting mutants, a role which the Beast couldn't play so long as his fur marked him publicly as a mutant.

Bringing the Beast out of his fur was no mean feat; Layton didst implore the Gods of Continuity and yea, he didst offer to invoke the plot of Amazing Adventures #11 by bringing back unto the sacred pages one Carl Maddicks, the very scientist responsible for the Beast's transformation. The Gods of Continuity didst thunder in their rage, noting that Maddicks had perished in that same issue, but behold, Layton didst kill Maddicks again by the end of X-Factor #3 and his blood offering didst atone for all continuity shenanigans.

But beyond the series' need for a quasi-human Beast, why did this change come about? In one word: nostalgia. X-Factor was, after all, a series designed to bring the original five X-Men back together. Jean Grey's resurrection was one part of the formula; presumably the cancellation of New Defenders (to free up Angel, Beast & Iceman) was another; undoubtedly Claremont wrote Cyclops out of Uncanny X-Men to likewise oblige them. But not only did Layton bring the "classic" five together again, artist Jackson Guice redesigned them into visuals which intentionally evoked the designs of the Neal Adams era. Setting Beast back into his "classic" appearance fit right in with the series' intent.

Strangely, however, the Beast's regression actually began prior to his transformation! In X-Factor #2, there's a scene where the Beast and Iceman went to visit Beast's old flame Vera Cantor (his frequent girlfriend of the 1960s). Much to Beast's surprise, the previously-conservative Vera now sported a "with-it" hairdo with a partially shaved head and enjoyed listening to Elvis Costello. However, the intended humour of the scene was drawn from Beast's discomfort at her interests. Layton wrote him there as being very "square." His Beast had the same loquaciousness and large vocabulary which Stan Lee had originated, yet somehow Beast's fun-loving, wild-living ladies' man persona from the Avengers had mysteriously vanished. Before the Beast's physical appearance had changed one iota, Layton was already turning back the clock on the Beast's personality.

As I meditated upon the Beast's regression to his 60s identity, I became startled to think of how unusual this was in 1986. Nowadays characters frequently go back to wearing old costumes, dredging up long-abandoned personalities, reactivate long-lost powers and so forth. And yet, in that "quantify and qualify" period of the 80s which I mentioned in part 1, there was a feeling that Marvel's characters were progressing into something else. Yet after the Beast's character regression I began to realize many other characters followed him:

• Hank Pym retired from being a super hero in 1983; resumed being Giant-Man in 1993 and over the next decade revisited his three other identities.
• The Wasp became the Avengers' leader in 1982; by the mid-1990s she had shed her leadership qualities and become a secondary, more submissive character - as well as getting back together with Pym.
• Hawkeye got married in 1983 and became a stalwart Avengers leader in 1984; lost all of that by 1989.
• Morbius cured of being a living vampire in 1981; back at it in 1990.
• Vision & the Scarlet Witch happily married in 1975 after a long courtship and a lengthy origin for the Vision; by 1989 the marriage, origin and their children were excised.
• Thor grew a beard, lost his father and saw Asgard cut off from Earth during Walter Simonson's famous run; all of this was done away with by the very next writer.
• Spider-Man adopted a new black costume with much fanfare in 1984; put it away (after a period of switching between it and his original duds) in 1988 in favour of his "classic" appearance.

...And so forth. It seems as though no character can achieve escape velocity from their own past, not when nostalgia is concerned (or the need to make a buck from a character; no corporation can afford to leave a potentially profitable property on hiatus indefinitely). Beast's own teammate Angel would be resdesigned by Walter Simonson in later X-Factor issues to be a Horseman of Apocalypse, granting him blue skin and metal wings. By 1994 he was back in his Neal Adams costume; by 1996 his feathered wings were back; in 2002 his blue skin went away; then in 2008 he went through his Horseman of Apocalypse story and appearance all over again! Comic book characters seem cursed to constantly revisit their pasts - which is why you should never allow yourself to get too bent out of shape about their present-day condition. Everything new will be made old - that is the promise of nostalgia and that's what Beast's transformation portended.

Tomorrow: Jean Grey.

The Troubles of X-Factor Part 1: Introduction

At the time Marvel Comics launched their X-Men spin-off series X-Factor in early 1986, it was only the third true X-Men ongoing series, joining the X-Men themselves and the New Mutants (Classic X-Men, Dazzler and Alpha Flight were spin-offs, but almost completely divorced from the present-day tales of the X-Men). However, what truly set X-Factor apart at its inception was the lack of writer Chris Claremont. Indeed, the series was initially edited by a different department at Marvel, making its home first with Mike Carlin, then switching to Bob Harras with its second issue, while Claremont's Uncanny X-Men and New Mutants were edited by Ann Nocenti.

At the time Claremont's 15+ year run on the X-Men began in 1975 he was writing various horror, kung fu and other super hero tales at Marvel. As the X-Men quickly gathered steam, their stories were increasingly all that he wrote. The phenomenal success of the X-Men in the 1980s naturally resulted in various attempts by Marvel to milk his formula for other titles. Dazzler debuted in the X-Men to increase interest in her own title; Alpha Flight's guest appearances in X-Men led to actual demand for a series of their own. Even the "New Defenders" team comprised of inactive X-Men Angel, Beast & Iceman could be seen as an attempt to capture some of Claremont's reflected glory.

When the New Mutants spin-off came about in 1983, it was under Claremont's pen (and the same editorial office as Uncanny X-Men: Louise Simonson & Ann Nocenti). As this book was cast with characters who shared the same home as the X-Men and would frequently appear in the background of each other's stories, it was only natural for Claremont to seek fidelity between the two books (they also shared plots occasionally - it was, after all, Claremont). However, Claremont somehow lost control of his story in 1986 when X-Factor encroached on his territory, via writer Bob Layton.

I don't know what went on behind-the-scenes of X-Factor, but one supposes there must be tales of anger, heartbreak and vendettas. After all, Carlin left after issue #1; Layton himself left after issue #5 (and the first annual); Claremont's former editor Louise Simonson then stepped in and wrote X-Factor 'til Claremont himself likewise left the X-Men in 1991. At the time of its launch, X-Factor promised to bring back the original five X-Men: Cyclops, Angel, Beast, Iceman & Marvel Girl - this despite the fact that Jean Grey had died in the climax of Claremont's "Dark Phoenix Saga" storyline, widely-considered the zenith of his X-Men stories.

Claremont's "All-New, All-Different" X-Men had proved there was life yet in the X-Men concept, which had previously been a mostly-unremarkable Marvel property, one which went into hibernation through most of the early 1970s. The new cast of characters Claremont wrote caught on with readers in a way the original five simply had not. Of course, Claremont had retained their mentor Professor X, and Cyclops was an important part of the team. Jean Grey too, of course, played a major role in his series. Beast & Angel would also occasionally drop into Claremont's stories. Strangely, only Iceman seemed to receive the (ahem) cold shoulder from Claremont, playing his only major role in Claremont's X-Men for a single issue (Uncanny X-Men #146) and otherwise only appearing in stories where cast reunions (and later, crossovers) demanded his presence. Even when Claremont returned to the X-Men franchise in the 21st century, he showed little interest in Iceman.

But at the time, it seemed natural for the original X-Men to gradually fade away. In the two months prior to X-Factor's launch, Claremont even wrote Xavier and Cyclops out of the series (though I wonder if Cyclops' removal was dictated by the needs of X-Factor). The X-Men had proved that although their cast had remained virtually intact for all of the 1960s, they didn't have to be perpetually defined by the same faces like the Fantastic Four were - they could develop a rotating cast of characters such as that of the Avengers. They were still heroes to a world which hated and feared them; they still lived in secret at Xavier's Westchester County manor; this was even a time when the X-Men would often do normal things around normal people such as playing arcade games and watching movies - just as the original five X-Men had gone to beatnik cafes and dance clubs.

Layton's X-Factor ended before it could truly explore its ideas and Louise Simonson worked swiftly to bring the series closer to Claremont's vision. And yet, some of the problems which arose from those mere five issues have plagued the X-Men ever since. In those days, creators didn't simply ignore a deeply damaging series and move on (for instance, Ian Edginton turned X-Force into terrorist bombers, but since no one has referenced that story since publication, none of the characters were ruined by it). In the 1980s there were a lot of efforts by fans-turned-pros to quantify and qualify Marvel's fictional reality (the most notable being the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe). Tying up lingering details of another writer's book was virtually a holy cause; if any series concluded with a single plot left unresolved, you could almost bet it would find closure somewhere (often in a book where Mark Gruenwald's name appeared). Especially in a series as young as X-Factor, there was no way to brush off the damage which had been done, only to pay the book's ideas at the bare minimum the lip service of homage before writing the most troubling problems out.

Over the next four days I'd like to ponder what I view as the four greatest problems about Bob Layton's X-Factor. I possess no inside information as to what went on behind-the-scenes, I'm simply interested in examining the impact decisions made there have had on the last 30 years of X-Men comic books. The four I wish to speak about are:

• Wednesday The Beast and the trouble with character regression
• Thursday Jean Grey and the trouble with character resurrection
• Friday Cyclops and the trouble with character assassination
• Saturday X-Factor and the trouble with character derailment

Enjoy, won't you?