Since joining X-Factor, Daken has been an outsider. Leah Williams, David Baldeón, Israel Silva, and Joe Caramagna dive into his psyche in X-Factor #7.
Cori McCreery: Well here we are again and mysteries seem to just be compounding for our dear investigators.
Andrea Ayres: Wheeze. I’ve been emotionally thrashed. What are we supposed to do with this Cori? I guess the only thing to do is dive right in.
@#$% Speedsters
AA: Tommy and Prodigy *clasps hands*. I quite enjoyed the rendering of Tommy’s double take and his, erm… enthusiasm?
CM: The gag of the repeated missed calls was just fantastic. I really appreciate the love and concern that Tommy showed here after finding out that David had been resurrected. And of course that is yet another mystery for our team to resolve, as we have the wonderful letter from Elixir explaining why they didn’t need proof for David.
AA: This issue is a Turducken of unsolved mysteries. One other moment of note regarding the double-take because it’s worth pointing out, Baldeón’s rendering of Tommy’s reaction to Jean-Paul was a great moment of comedy. It may have been one easy to gloss over but its slight variation from what you might conventionally think of as a ‘classic’ double take because of Tommy’s speed was just done really well.
CM: Basically, everything with Tommy in this issue was so cute that I wanted to die. But especially his fanboying out over Northstar. I just want to tuck him into my pocket and protect him forever. And also Jean-Paul should definitely mentor the kid.
Why Are You Dressed Like A Frat Boy Today?
AA: My heart. A smooch on the forehead?! So sweet. Sometimes comics with ensemble casts forget about how diverse the emotions of group dynamics are. Where Williams excels is in the way she creates emotional complexity. It reminds me of the way my favorite ensemble TV shows work, like Star Trek: The Next Generation. No one is one emotion all the time and the emotional tones don’t swing wildly, there are smaller movements between feelings. That’s why moments between Aurora and Akihiro work at a deeper level.
CM: And see the thing that gets me the most about this is the way it pays off things that have been brewing since issue one. This series has had other team members treating Akihiro so poorly, with slut shaming and just being generally negative about him and his powers, even clearly misunderstanding his powers as Northstar did in issue two and Aurora did here. But like you said this issue and the scenes between Jeanne-Marie and Akihiro really did a good job of fleshing out the things he’s been struggling with and his own emotions.
AA: I also like how Jeanne-Marie adds context for the limitations on Akihrio’s powers. Sure he can sense what others may be feeling but he has no understanding for what is driving their emotions. And yeah, that absolutely seems like a bit of a hell. I remember growing up thinking that if I could just read people I would be so happy, that it would solve everything, but perhaps not!
CM: Especially if those emotions are unpleasant ones! Like imagine knowing that someone is irritated at you despite them putting on a pleasant face?! The sheer torture that that would be! Or imagine having a friend who has an unrequited crush on you, and you KNOW that they do. Anyway, poor Akihiro. But at least he got some tender moments in the hot tub, right?
AA: He really did, even if the happiness was short-lived…
Sabotage At Every Turn
CM: Man Lorna really did some double duty in making sure everything went Siryn’s way this issue huh? Like I know that was the point of the hypnosis, but whoo. Between ditching Rachel when they were supposed to be conducting interviews, and setting up Akihiro in a big way, she did everything the Morrigan wanted, huh?
AA: MY HEART AGAIN. I just, it’s that moment in the movie where you are trying to will the plot to change course. As you said, Lorna couldn’t have done the Morrigan’s bidding any better. The set-up was rugged because you knew it was coming and still, it hurt. I mean, the physicality was one component, but repeating his fears back to him? The emotional abuse was difficult. The themes of abuse came quite a bit in this issue, I’m curious to know your thoughts?
CM: The themes of abuse have been consistently strong throughout most of this series. Like you’d think this is the funny off-the-wall book, because both creators are so good at that. There are few artists out there that can match Baldeón’s comedic timing, and Williams has a wit that knows very few bounds. But really it’s up there with Hellions as one of the darker books of the line. We still haven’t even come back to that data page from forever ago that was the encrypted account of abuse. Just a lot of things to really get at you in between all the good humor.
AA: Yep. I think that’s what I appreciate about it so much is that, you know surviving abuse is one component of someone’s life. It isn’t their entire life all the time. One of the things that Williams does here is talk about what forms abuse takes while showing it. So the character’s are giving an explanation for what abuse might look like as they see it happen, and I tend to think that’s a pretty useful teachable moment. Oh my gosh now that you’ve brought up that data page… any thoughts?
CM: I don’t think we’ve even touched on that data page yet. It’s just yet another one of the mysteries that has been seeded to be dug up soon. Speaking of digging up soon… Looks like Prodigy’s gonna fill his body farm right quick, huh? What’d you think of this cliffhanger?
AA: I will repeat what I said in our Slack: “I’m upset.” How are we supposed to wait? I have so many questions. Like just question upon question upon question. Trevor at the end with the line about turning off the TV? It was a great build-up of tension and horror. I of course thought that the big moment was with Akihiro, and then there was the kiss and I was like “Okay, it’s fine. My crew is going to be good.” Silly Andrea. Now we have to deal with this?! It was a haunting cliffhanger. What did you think?
CM: Haunting is sure an appropriate word for it. The last couple pages are a full on shift into found footage paranormal horror, and I also can’t wait to see how this resolves itself in a month.
X-Trenuous Thoughts
- Standard disclaimer that Leah, Cori, and Zack have a running game where they try and find the worst pictures on the internet and she supports the CXF Patreon. We’re still as honest and objective as we can be, because frankly, after some of those pictures, she deserves to be yelled at.
- Please, I’d like Aurora’s closet.
- You get hers and I’ll take Lorna’s.
- Rachel’s snort after Lorna called her out for being a flirt was amazing.
- Zack is currently winning the cursed pictures game thanks to some lewds of The Grinch.
- I can not stress enough how bad those pictures of the Grinch were.
- Krakoan Reads: No One Is Safe
Andrea Ayres is a freelance writer and pop culture journalist.
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.
