Comic Review: X-Factor #2 (2020)

X-Factor #2 (2020)
Marvel Comics
W: Leah Williams
A: David Baldeon
Released: Aug 26, 2020

X-Factor #2 picks up right where the last issue ended. After determining the death of Aurora was a murder and getting her pushed up in the resurrection queue, the team, who set up shop in the Boneyard, receives a package containing remains of a dead mutant. After a quick search by Prodigy, the team discovers the package came from the Mojo-Verse.

Apparently someone set up a Krakoan Gate in the Mojo-Verse and the team decides to follow up on the lead. Once there, they discover that the reality of Mojo-Verse has shifted to more of our social media where the top feeds are influencers and having a mutant on your feed helps with your rankings. To remain in the Mojo-Verse, the team has to be approved by the public; only Daken doesn’t get approved, because he is too lewd. After a quick discussion with Mojo, the team discovers a group wanting to kill mutants to help their approval rating.

Using social media as the basis of the story was an interesting commentary on society; streaming, likes, and influencers are part of normal life for many and some people will go to any length to get that thumbs up. Seeing it interpreted through comics made me step back and looks at my social media usage.

As far as the characters, I felt like Williams did well in working with this unique team. My only gripe was the characterization of Daken; he was written as sex obsessed brute rather than a cunning killer, like when he was introduced years ago.

The art was pretty good. Many of the characters were drawn more cartoonish than a lot of books on the market, and it fit with the storytelling, especially in the Mojo-Verse. Again, Daken was off; he’s drawn as very top heavy and bigger than he’s traditionally been drawn.

2 issues in, X-Factor shaping up to be one of the better Dawn of X books. The book has a purpose for the mutants, which some of the other books have been lacking. PAD’s X-Factor Investigations run is the bar for an X-Factor team, but this is a close second.

Rating: 4.25/5.00