• Written by: Mark Russell
• Art by: Bob Quinn
• Colors by: Jesus Aburtov
• Letters by: VC’s Joe Caramagna
• Cover art by: Greg Land, Jay Leisten, Frank D’Armata
• Cover price: $3.99
• Release date: October 23, 2024

X-Factor #3, by Marvel Comics on 10/23/24, sends the team to the moon to defend a tech billionaire’s space installation from attack by mercenaries, but it’s not what you think.

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Is X-Factor #3 Good?

X-Factor #3 is just annoying enough to get you to dislike it but not so annoying as to be completely insufferable. That pretty much describes every Mark Russel story ever, so at the very least, Russell is consistent.

When last we left Havok in X-Factor #2, his handlers at X-Factor H.Q. informed the mutant that his girlfriend, Polaris, may be responsible for the leak that cost most of the first team their lives during a raid on an X-Term base. When Havok agrees to attend a mutant support group meeting at Polaris’s urging, he is shocked to find the meeting was a staged intervention designed to get Havok to leave X-Factor. The rest of the meeting didn’t go well.

In X-Factor #3, X-Factor attends a fan expo to sign autographs and pose for photo ops. Rodger, the team’s manager, pulls Havok aside for a pep talk since Havok uncomfortably mopes over losing Polaris. Rodger uses the backstage conversation to get Havok briefed for his next mission.

Mark Russell paints Havok as a lovesick puppy (he cries during a fan photo), which is not at all in line with Havok’s personality. The fan expo setup makes little sense as the proper place for a mission briefing, and the little satirical jabs at everything from fan conventions to merch land like a lead balloon.

Backstage, Havok is introduced to Ethan Farthing, an Elon Musk stand-in who owns a popular social media company and leads space exploration projects. During the briefing, Farthing explains his moon base research station, run by his custom A.I., is under threat from an anonymous enemy who means to destroy it. X-Factor must go to the moon and stop the attackers.

If the setup wasn’t silly enough, Mark Russell’s heavy-handed dig at Elon Musk is eye-rolling to the nth degree. Once again, Russell gets X-Factor into wacky situations by accepting missions without credible information or details. In short, this story only works if everyone on the team, including Havok, is an idiot, which means Russell’s brand of “humor” only works if you present the characters out of character.

After a brief flashback demonstrating how Granny Smite learned she was immortal, the team launches into space, headed for the moon. When the base comes into view, the A.I. defenses attack X-Factor(???). Farthing beams a message to the team admitting he lied about the mission. The A.I. has gone haywire, killing the scientists inside and attacking anyone who approaches because the code mistakenly perceives any attempt to shut it down as a threat. X-Factor’s true mission is to destroy the base, codenamed Paperclip.

Yep, you read that right. X-Factor takes on a mission with vague intel, they find out the mission parameters are all a lie, and Mark Russell thinks it’s cute/clever to name his Elon Musk avatar’s moon project after the U.S. Government’s secret project to enlist Nazi scientists after WWII, loosely making a dig by associating Elon Musk with Nazis for profit. It’s all so tiresome.

Paperclip’s A.I. counteracts the defenses of every mutant’s powers once they put boots on the ground. However, the A.I. doesn’t know what to do with a mutant who wants to die, Granny Smite. Granny shrugs off every kill shot, enters the base, and forces the base systems to self-destruct, completing the team’s mission against all odds.

The issue ends with Havok debriefing Rodger and Farthing about the near-catastrophe to Earth and Farthing reminding Havok he’s under an NDA not to discuss anything that happened.

What’s great about X-Factor #3?

There are two high points of this issue. First, Bob Quinn’s art is clean, immaculate, and expressive. Quinn manages to capture the over-the-top satire of the characters as they worm their way through the absurd situations, so it’s a safe bet Quinn’s art is the only thing keeping this comic from crossing the line between annoying and insufferable.

Second, Granny Smite is a ridiculous character, but her reckless attempts to experience death at every turn have some comedic potential.

What’s not great about X-Factor #3?

Russell’s brand of satirical humor, which pokes fun at real-life people and situations, is not very funny and verges on insulting or mean-spirited. Again, Russell’s humor only works if everyone in the plot is either stupid or surrounded by stupid people. Tonally, X-Factor doesn’t align with any other book in the From The Ashes era, and it’s an eye-rolling chore to get through.

About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

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Final Thoughts

X-Factor #3 is another painfully unfunny issue in a painfully unfunny series. Mark Russell’s clumsy dig, equating Elon Musk with destructive tech bros and Nazis, is as subtle as a brick to the face, and the plot only works if everyone in the script, including X-Factor, are idiots. The saving grace of this issue is Bob Quinn’s immaculate art.

4.5/10

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