Review: X-Factor #261

X-factor #261

Another interesting installment of ‘The End of X-factor’. Following the fallout of the last hellraising arc, this issue finds Monet and Darwin finding each other in Vegas. Not much happens, but enough to tickle my curiosity and leave me wondering, ‘is this really the end ?’ ‘What’s going to become of these characters that this title has really drawn me into over the years?’ .

RECAP

Darwin goes gunning for Hela in Las Vegas at a place he thinks he “senses” her there or something. Turns out he ventured into the wrong neighborhood and ended up in the middle of a stolen car ring with all guns pointed at him. Needless to say he survives the fiasco and runs into Monet of all persons.

Having seen her die previously he assumes this Monet is not who she appears to be and during their brawl she explains to him that she is Monet, resurrected by Guido the new Hell Lord. They go for a drink where Monet explains why she came looking for her teammates in Vegas (The team has ended up in Vegas on several occasions). Darwin explains to her that his wanting to kill Rahne’s son was misled by a vision and possessed. He also tells her about his love for her (something he’s been keeping inside for a long time) and she ends up sleeping with him just to see if she’d feel anything (was she resurrected soulless?). It is Hela who finds Darwin in the end and he sends her away saying he’s fine with who he is.

WHAT I LIKED?

There isn't much to speak about. It was just an ok story. It raised questions of whether or not Monet was resurrected with a soul (I’m still not sure though the comic seems to point to the fact that she wasn’t) and what Darwin is going to do with his God like powers in the long run. It’s one thing to be effectively immortal, it’s another to acquire Godlike powers that you kind of don't want and pissing off Gods in the the process. Certainly both characters will have demons to wrestle with, and that’s one of the things I’ve always liked about this title and it’s characters. Its has always featured stories with the characters battling as much on the inside along with on the outside while remaining nicely removed from the mainstream and the stories always play out in a grappling way whether over a few issues or the span of the series.

As for Darwin deciding to keep his new powers in the end… maybe he sees it as a way he might restore Monet in the future.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE?

hmmm…  I dont know

I give it a 7.5