X-Men '97 Revives the Hottest Comic Book Store Debate of the 1990s | Den of Geek

This article contains light spoilers for X-Men ’97 season 2 episode 2.

In most ways, X-Men ’97 captures the spirit of Marvel in the 1990s. It has all the obvious stuff—the ostentatious pouches and belts and headsocks, as well as the convoluted plot lines of the comics of the time. And it nails the feeling of Marvel‘s X-books of the era, the constant soap operatics that moved at a faster pace than they did when writer Chris Claremont established the archetypes throughout the ’70s and ’80s.

The second episode of X-Men ’97‘s second season, “A Force to Be Reckoned With,” brings in another important part of X-Men books in the ’90s by introducing X-Factor and X-Force. Both of these teams were part of Marvel’s plan to expand the line through spinoff books, adding to the mainline series X-Men and Uncanny X-Men, as well as the Wolverine solo series. Furthermore, the tension between X-Factor and X-Force shown in “A Force to Be Reckoned With” mirrors the debates happening outside of the fictional universe, as nerds in comic book shops across the country argued for and against the flashy, extreme series X-Force, or the character-driven and sitcom-funny book X-Factor.

A Force For Change

Although X-Factor mainstay Lorna Dane a.k.a. Polaris, did pop up in a handful of episodes in the original show, as did the rest of the team in a single shot, viewers of X-Men: The Animated Series know X-Force better. X-Force founder Cable showed up in several installments, and with good reason. He was one of the most popular characters of the ’90s, thanks to his gigantic gun, his Terminator 2–style cybernetic features and glowing eye, and his general bad attitude.

However, in the comics, Cable cannot be separated from either X-Force or its predecessor, the New Mutants. Introduced in the 1982 graphic novel The New Mutants by Claremont and Bob McLeod, the New Mutants were the second class of gifted youngsters who came to study at Xavier’s school. Most of their series focused on teenage adventures, as people like Cannonball or Sunspot balanced developing their powers with navigating crushes, going to parties, and more run-of-the-mill body changes.

Everything changed when Cable arrived in 1990’s New Mutants #87. Well, things had already started to change, when the popularity of up-and-coming hot artist Rob Liefeld allowed him to wrest creative control from longtime writer Louise Simonson, who left the book a few issues later. Under Liefeld’s guidance and Cable’s leadership, the New Mutants became more militaristic, a violent strike force that would attack problems before they began. In June of 1991, New Mutants was canceled and X-Force #1 hit shelves.

X-Force was a huge hit, filled with big narrative swings and over-the-top characters. Liefeld filled the ranks with characters with gigantic weaponry, illogical sartorial choices, and (it must be said) tiny little feet. He sacrificed anatomy, sound composition, and basic storytelling chops for the most extreme choices imaginable. Nothing illustrates this more than 1991’s X-Force #4, a crossover with Spider-Man that pit the team against the Juggernaut and was in landscape form, requiring the reader to hold the comic on its side, but offering widescreen action.

Even after Liefeld left the book, giving co-writer Fabian Nicieza more room to craft coherent narratives, X-Force remained incredibly silly and incredibly popular, a point not lost on those who loved its sister book, X-Factor.

X-Aminations

Like X-Force, X-Factor—or at least the version discussed here—has its roots in the ’80s. 1985’s X-Factor #1, by Bob Layton and Jackson Guice, reunited the original five X-Men: Cyclops, Beast, Angel, Iceman, and a recently-resurrected Jean Grey. After a bumpy beginning, the book found its footing when Simonson came aboard, and enjoyed a well-admired six-year run.

But in 1991, Marvel introduced an entirely new team in X-Factor #71, written by Peter David and penciled by Larry Stroman. This new X-Factor was an extension of the American government, designed to repair relations between the U.S. and its mutant population. The lineup consisted entirely of B-listers. It was led by Cyclops’ well-meaning but empty-headed little brother, Havok, who took the job to reunite with former finance Polaris, who was still regaining her sense of self after several years of possession by the evil mutant Malice. Joining them was Wolfsbane, the shy Catholic Scottish member of the New Mutants who wanted more adult experiences (in every sense of the word) with X-Factor; the arrogant speedster Quicksilver; Jamie Madrox the Multiple Man, a wisecracking scientist who could make endless duplicates of himself; and hulking bodyguard Guido Carosella, who refused to take a superhero codename until someone observed that he was the strong guy, and referred to himself as Strong Guy ever since.

That brief plot description captures the central appeal of X-Factor. The stories were character-driven and often very funny. In addition to penning some of the greatest Star Trek novels of all time, completely reinventing the Hulk, and creating Miguel O’Hara, the Spider-Man of 2099, the late, great David brought the quick-wit of sitcom level dialogue to superheroes, paring them with a novelist’s sense of interiority.

Nothing demonstrates that ability better than the legendary X-Factor #87, penciled by future Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada. The issue consists of nothing but the members having individual therapy sessions, a conceit that allows David to reveal simple character tics as deep pathologies. Wolfsbane’s crush on Havok is in fact her desire for a father figure taking on a confusing, adult form. Strong Guy never stops joking because it keeps people from making fun of his grotesque physique. Quicksilver is arrogant and irritated because he moves at superspeed, and all of existence is to him what standing in line behind a doofus at a fast food counter is to everyone else.

X-Factor‘s first several arcs paired David with penciler Larry Stroman. An expressive and expressionistic artist, Stroman also prioritized effect before sound anatomy or traditional compositions. But unlike Liefeld, Sroman has a coherent design sense that complimented David’s humanistic writing. It felt like we were reading real people who happened to live in an over-the-top world.

Mutant vs. Mutant

As a government-sponsored team, X-Factor clashed with the outlaws in X-Force time and again. But the battles on the page paled in comparison to the fights among fans.

No one could deny that X-Force gave the audiences what they wanted. Every issue promised shooting and stabbing and quipping, to say nothing of the convoluted time-travel plots or the sexy flirting between members, usually with the no-nonsense Boomer involved. The series remained a bestseller, leading to spinoffs starring Cable and Deadpool, as well as trading cards, T-shirts, and posters.

X-Factor always played a part in crossovers such as X-Cutioner’s Song, but remained a distant third in sales. Neither tenures by flashier artists such as Quesada and Jae Lee, nor additions such as gritty anti-hero Random turned things around, and within a year, X-Factor had a different creative team and another new lineup. Yet, despite that ignominious end, David returned to the characters in 2004, first with a Madrox limited series and then several new X-Factor ongoings.