As always, this post contains spoilers, and page numbers go by the digital edition.

X-FACTOR vol 5 #2
“We Could Be Heroes”
Writer: Mark Russell
Artist: Bob Quinn
Colour artist: Jesus Aburtov
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Editor: Darren Shan

X-FACTOR:

Havok is apparently either living with Polaris or at least staying the night with her, despite her firm disapproval of his involvement in X-Factor. He defends the operation to her, despite his doubts, and explains that the team aren’t going on any missions until they figure out how last issue’s debut got so many characters killed. In fact, later in the issue, he seems to be arguing for this investigation to take place, which implies that he’s lying to Polaris about it being in train already. Even so, he understandably objects to her clumsily pushing him into an intervention by the Mutant Underground.

General Mills plays to Havok’s insecurities by telling him that he was put in charge of the team because he was a proper hero that they would look up to.

Pyro is appointed as Havok’s second in command. Havok objects to this, citing Pyro’s history in the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants – though Pyro was pretty clearly rehabilitated as a Marauder during the Krakoan era. He maybe has a better point in terms of whether Pyro has ever shown any leadership skills. And in fairness, if Havok sees X-Factor’s function as being to improve mutant PR, he might well question what a well-known ex-terrorist is doing on the team from that point of view. For his part, Pyro seems happy to swan around Factor House and enjoy the free drinks.

Cecilia Reyes says that she signed up to be a medic, and apparently regards this as just a job.

Frenzy regards the whole situation as “screwy” but is willing to shrug her shoulders and go along with it. I think the line about her having bred dogs in the past is new information, but there’s not that much in her back story established before she became a villain, other than a single childhood flashback in X-Men Legacy #268, so sure, why not.

Xyber, sole survivor of the original team, clearly thinks he’s screwed and that he’ll go the same way as the rest of his squad in the not too distant future. He looks depressed.

Granny Smite explains that her mutant power is immortality. Her power doesn’t stop her ageing – apparently she keeps trying new methods of suicide in the hopes of finding one that’ll work. She seems to have signed on with X-Factor in the hopes of getting herself killed. While she freaks out the team by attempting to drown herself without explaining what she’s doing, she seems cheerful enough.

The key thing here seems to be  that Havok seems to be the only member of X-Factor who actually believes in the group’s official purpose (or at least is trying to convince himself that he does). Pyro, Frenzy and Cecilia are only here because they need a job, Xyber has lost confidence in the project, and Granny Smite is hoping to die.

SUPPORTING CAST:

Polaris remains hugely disapproving of Havok’s involvement in X-Factor, partly out of concern for his safety, but partly because she dislikes the whole idea of a mutant team working for humans. She reiterates that she regards Polaris as her only name, but grudgingly calls Havok “Alex” (though in her narration, she calls him “Havok”). She doesn’t seem surprised by the presence of gunmen at the Mutant Underground meeting, but she does defend Havok from them. Still, she chooses to remain with the Underground, and seems generally oblivious to some fairly obvious red flags about the group – including them threatening to shoot her and physically restraining her.

Rodger Broderick cheerfully agrees that the team’s safety is not his first priority, but insists that it’s “a respectable second”. In the logic of the story, Havok might read that as disarmingly blunt rather than completely ludicrous – they are a military team expected to go on dangerous missions, after all. And when the Mutant Underground realise that Havok is wearing a wire, Broderick seems genuinely concerned – though he might just be worried that X-Factor can’t keep chewing through characters.

General Mills believes that last issue’s mission was a disaster because X-Term knew that X-Factor were coming, and she suspects the Mutant Underground. There’s no evidence for either of things in the story, but it’s possible she genuinely believes it.

Angel remains hospitalised.

VILLAINS (?):

The Mutant Underground are supposedly a grass roots mutant group which Polaris has got involved with. Bruin, the only one who gets a name, is a new character. He gives us a fairly standard back story about being treated as a freak because of his visible mutation, and makes a reasonable argument (which Russell clearly agrees with) that it’s a mistake for Havok to sign up for X-Factor. Bruin seems genuinely surprised by the allegation that the Mutant Underground are spying on X-Factor. More worryingly, he also argues, albeit in reasonably polite terms, that mutants need to live their lives on the premise that humans are irredeemably awful.

Even more troubling: the moment Alex starts objecting, two gunmen come into the room. Once they spot his hidden camera, they threaten to kill both him and Lorna (something that Lorna does resist, but doesn’t appear to cause her any wider doubts about the group). Bruin tries to talk them down, but he’s clearly not in charge. Several more gunmen show up as the scene continues, and there seem to be at least eight of them in total. Nobody explains, or gets a chance to ask, what they were doing at this supposed informal chat in the first place.

There are definite signs of the Underground being a cult. The group’s founder Jovius is said to have died (presumably after Krakoa) and there’s a statute of him in the meeting room. Several members wear T-shirts with his face on – Lorna doesn’t have one at the meeting, but she has one at the start of the issue, and she was also wearing it in the second red carpet scene last issue. Jovius is a new character; the significance of the name isn’t clear yet, but it was a nickname of the Roman Emperor Diocletian, referring to the god Jove (i.e., Jupiter).

OTHER SPECIFICS:

Page 7: “We’re elevating you to team leader!” Havok was already announced as the new team leader at the end of the previous issue, so this is an odd line. (General Mills seems to think it’s a new anouncement as well, on page 9.)

Page 14: “Does this place look suspiciously like the Hotel California?” Alex is thinking of the cover art to the  Eagles album Hotel California, which is actually a photo of the Beverly Hills Hotel on Sunset Boulevard.

Page 23: “The Beastie Boys song?” I have no idea what Russell’s referencing here. The only song called “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” that I’m aware of was by Iron Maiden.