Marvel Comics' 'X-Factor': Trailer reveals an unhappy Five, a Warwolf puppy and a mystery for readers to solve
The X-Men have officially made death nothing more than a minor inconvenience. With the Resurrection Protocols, no mutant ever need fear death quite the same way again — you die, you come back.
There are a lot of questions, though, about just how everything works, and a new X-Factor team has risen to examine death on Krakoa. Marvel has released a trailer for 'X-Factor' #1, and we break down the trailer to get a better look at what we can expect from the new series.
As revealed before, the team consists of Prodigy, Eye Boy, Prestige, Northstar, Daken, and returning X-Factor team member, Polaris, all with new costumes designed by David Baldeon. The new team was assembled for a specific reason, apparently, that we have yet to find out, according to the trailer.
Some roles on the team are obvious for their investigative abilities — Prestige is a psychic, Daken is a tracker, Prodigy's a genius and only a few things get past the many gazes of Eye Boy. What puts Polaris and Northstar on the team, however, remains to be seen, though they're both extremely capable mutants in their own right.
We also get the closest look at The Five since it was first revealed that they were able to bring mutants back — and they do not look happy. It's hard to tell what they're so mad about, but it's safe to say that the Five and X-Factor will be clashing through the series.
The Five, despite their pivotal role in Krakoa, have only been seen in passing since their debut as the ones responsible for resurrecting mutants. It's worth asking — since the Five are the only ones able to bring mutants back to life, what happens when one of them dies?
"We're gonna be exploring what the new rules are," says writer Leah Williams, "and establishing these things with X-Factor."
We also see that Rachel has kept her Warwolf puppy. Introduced in the first 'Excalibur' series and seen again in the most recent volume, the Warwolves of Earth have all been wiped out, leaving just a puppy behind, which Betsy Braddock has entrusted to Prestige's care.
One of the most notable things that the trailer reveals is that the mystery of the 'X-Factor' series is something that readers can solve before the characters themselves — if they're looking closely enough.
Writer Leah Williams and artist David Baldeon will be sprinkling in clues for readers to piece together, giving readers another reason to look through the comic as closely as possible.
"If you like mysteries, come check it out," says editor Jordan D. White. "There's gonna be some crazy mysteries, and it'll introduce you to the insane world of the X-Men."
The official synopsis for the series reads, "MUTANTS HAVE CONQUERED DEATH! By the grace of The Five, the resurrection protocols can bring back any fallen mutant. But such a huge enterprise isn’t without its problems and complications… When a mutant dies, X-Factor is there to investigate how and why to keep the rules of reincarnation. Writer Leah Williams (AMAZING MARY JANE, X–TREMISTS) and artist David Baldeón (DOMINO, WEB WARRIORS) take Northstar, Polaris, Prodigy, Eye-boy, Daken and Prestige into the world of murder and missing persons…"
'X-Factor' #1 releases on April 22 wherever comics are sold.