X-Factor #3 is published by Marvel Comics, written by Leah Williams, with art by David Baldeón, colors by Israel Silva, letters by VC’s Joe Caramagna, and design by Tom Muller. The X-Factor team catches a case, but where it takes them will only lead to trouble. Previously, the X-Factor team received a mysterious package containing the bloody ballet shoes of an unknown dancer. The shoes were marked with sponsors from what turned out to be companies from an alternate dimension familiar to long-time X-Men fans known as the Mojoverse. Now the team finds themselves competing in Mojo’s twisted reality where social media and streaming are on steroids.
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Now in issue #3, the team must climb the social ladder in order to find the clues of the missing mutant but, along the way, they’ll discover that Mutants are all the rage in Mojoverse for multiple reasons. Meanwhile, Daken returns to the boneyard and attempts to use his charm on Aurora now that they’re all alone.
Williams’ story absolutely steals the entire issue with her narrative of Mojoverse reflecting a nightmare scenario of social media, trending topics, and streaming celebrities gone mad. The terrifying part is that it doesn’t seem that far off from our own reality. For fans of 80’s sci-fi films, this issue, and the previous, gave me serious Running Man feels (it was an ok film, but I love cheesy 80’s sci-fi).
Williams’ dialogue in the latter stages of the issue captures the hollow buzz words we’re so accustomed to seeing across various online platforms. Without getting into too much detail, the ending is incredibly heartbreaking as the stations’ top performer has become a shell of their former selves.
Baldeón’s art continues at a consistently fantastic level. Their attention to detail as it relates to the perception of depth is astounding. Baldeón’s creation of Spiral’s Staircase, and the battle arena, sprints to life from the panels. Paired with the energetic coloring style from Silva, the illustrations certainly pop.
The suit designs continue to be visually brilliant to consume as Silva has created a particularly vibrant style for the members of the X-Factor team. The design of the suits, matched with the coloring, creates a really unique tone for this series.
Caramagna is another constant for the series and delivers some well-balanced placement of the dialogue. The onomatopoeia in place when Prodigy discovers the identity of the missing mutant was fantastically designed. It really delivers a big punch to the narrative.
Muller’s designs of data pages, that have become so synonymous with X-Men issues, links all of the issues back to the original House of X / Powers of X TPB. Adding these designs throughout all the ongoing series adds a level of connectivity that reminds the reader Krakoa has provided yet again.
In the end, the entire creative team has taken this property and really hooked their claws into the shape of it. X-Factor has been crafted into something more modern, reflecting social narratives that are easily recognizable, and a team that matches the times. X-Factor is a worthy inclusion that only deepens the excellent X-Men and Krakoan lore!
X-Factor #3 is available in stores now.
