Once upon a time, there was a woman who could fly. She could fly by screaming all the time. Don’t think too hard about it. Anyway she keeps dying and X-Factor is bound to sort out why. Leah Williams, David Baldeón, Israel Silva and Joe Caramagna investigate that Siryn song in X-Factor #6.
Cori McCreery: After the very sweet and slow downtime issue last month, X-Factor has come roaring back to jump right into its second arc, and I’m really excited to talk about it. How about you, Andrea?
Andrea Ayres: I’m extremely happy to be back in the goo and boy is this stuff sticky. There’s an awful lot to discuss so let’s not mince words.
Again?!
CM: So let’s talk about the elephant in the room first, Lorna drunk dialed Alex because she got sad and lonely, and I for one think that’s incredible. Also I really hope we see his reaction in Hellions. Along with that the opening of the issue was just a really, really sweet breakfast for the group, I loved everybody.
AA: Sometimes it feels like the Boneyard is kind of like an MTV Real World house. Eight strangers picked to live in a bone… Also, as someone who had to remove the battery from their phone to avoid similar situations to the one Lorna made, I get that facial expression. Oof. So yah, it looks like Siryn is having a bit of a groundhog day with death?
CM: Yeah, the nice breakfast is interrupted by our very own speed demon taking the call that Siryn had died AGAIN. They found her at the end of the last issue, she got rezzed, and now she’s dead again. Is she trying to beat Quentin Quire’s death record? That said, the local brass ain’t none too happy to be dealing with no mutant cops, no sir. It kind of feels to me like this is very much becoming mutant police procedural, only no cops on Krakoa, so better? How did you feel about the interactions that X-Factor had with the local popo?
This is Our Jurisdiction Now
AA: Well, once again my absolute adoration for Trevor has grown. Do you know how much more entertaining CSI as a TV series would have been if instead of saying “DNA sample” they used the phrase “tiny secrets”? I know I would have watched a lot more of it and stomached the lens flares. But I digress.
Am I going to be doing a poor British accent in my head for the rest of the day now? Yes. Yes. I am.
In all seriousness though, I like that this scene sets up some of the rules around what is and isn’t allowed regarding dead mutants (like not taking samples). I think it allows people to question perhaps why that is, and what is the cost of not considering the story of mutants after they die. I feel like that’s largely what the issue is getting at. A body continues to tell a story long after its gone, whether we want it to or not.
CM: Trevor asking David to narrate to him in a spooky mortician voice was fantastic. I truly appreciate Trevor’s love of ASMR here. But really, I think X-Factor also demonstrates that there’s not really a need for traditional human CSI work, because their mutant powers are better than human tools. Speaking of tools, Theo sure is one, huh?
AA: Theo is a hard boiled detective who’s been in the water for too long and also not even a detective, just fancies himself as one. Believes he’s been passed over for too long because of reasons I’m sure he rants about over dinner. What do you think cheap American chocolate smells like? Also, what did you think about Trevor and Rachel talking about their abilities?
CM: Oh cheap American chocolate is EASY. It’s Hershey’s. You don’t get cheaper or more American than that. I loved that Trevor and Rach are thinking about how to be compatible. It’s the Mutant Technology thing that S.W.O.R.D. is playing with, and it’s incredible. Also Trev’s crappy lil bandana gives me life.
AA: Freaking love that bandana scene. Do you think they will get cool badges in addition to uniforms?
I Am A Big Gun
CM: Back on Krakoa, David takes some time to learn from Dr. Reyes. And he comes home with some souvenirs. What do you think of David’s new freetime project?
AA: Honestly, I could do with an entire miniseries on this. This is exactly what I want to see. There are so many unanswered questions and I love that David in particular is going to be the one to probe them. Cadaver farms are absolutely fascinating. Environment and geography obviously contribute to how a body decomposes but throw in the unknowns of mutant biology and you know, the influence of Krokoa. Who knows what we’ll discover! I am very excited. How did you feel about it?
CM: David’s Cadaver farm is disgusting but at the same time it’s beautiful? Like I would not not want it growing in my front yard, but it’s also Krakoan foliage is just pretty. And David makes some fantastic points. X-Factor is the team that should be trying to figure this stuff out. Their main purpose is to find proof of death, sure, but that means they’re the group closest tied to death and should be the ones to study it. Plus with Empath and Quentin Quire around the farm will fill up in no time.
AA: Okay. We gotta talk about Siryn, what is up. What is she hiding, what does she want? Any guesses? Also, can we talk about Baldeón’s work, because I think it’s truly gorgeous.
CM: I have no idea what the Morrigan’s play is here, but it’s clear that she wants SOMETHING out of her relationship with Terri. She was still the Morrigan when last we saw her prior to House of X, and it’s clear that dying hasn’t moved that curse off onto somebody else yet.
One thing that’s interesting about the connection between Terri and Lorna here, and the betrayal that Lorna felt earlier in the issue, is that the only reason Siryn became the Morrigan, was to save Lorna. She very clearly lost a part of herself to save her friend, so the way the Morrigan is playing with Lorna now is just all the more cruel. And if you want to talk about Baldeón’s art, we absolutely can because it’s beautiful, and fantastically laid out and just a wee bit gay… but I also need to SCREAM about the half page splash with Lorna’s magnetic halo just radiating out and throwing stones around her, she’s a badass and she knows it. “I am a big gun.” Indeed. My Lorna loving heart is full.
AA: It being a wee bit gay is probably why I identified with it. Okay yah, I guess that sequence was possibly my favorite of the entire run so far. One thing I really appreciate about Leah’s writing throughout X-Factor is that she doesn’t make it too inside baseball. Like if you are truly unfamiliar with these characters, you can pick up this run and still follow. There are plain language explanations of powers (like Siryn) and it’s refreshing.
CM: Yeah, I definitely think that’s a very strong point to Williams’ run on this book. She is definitely acknowledging the past, in a way that fans who have read versions of these characters that came before can identify, but also making it as new reader friendly as possible. I’ve suffered through all of Peter David’s X-Factor, you shouldn’t have to, and this book thankfully makes it so you don’t, while still picking up the pieces of what David left laying around. I can’t wait to see what Williams and Baldeón have instore for us with the Morrigan.
X-Trenuous Thoughts
- Standard disclaimer that Leah is a pal and Patreon supporter. That said it takes more than $5 to make us sell out.
- Aw good for Texas
- X-FACTOR BRAND COMPUTER!!!!!!!!
- HAAK!
- Please, someone send me Siryn’s entire look. I know it’s bad but it’s so good.
- Krakoan reads: HYPNOSIS ACTIVATED
Yes, it's Cori McCreery—strange visitor from DC fandom who came to Xavier Files with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal critics. Cori, who can leap tall buildings in a single bound, race a speeding bullet to its target, bend steel in her bare hands, and who, also works as an editor for a great Eisner winning website, Women Write About Comics, fights a never-ending battle for truth and justice.
Andrea Ayres is a freelance writer and pop culture journalist.
