In a Nutshell
X-Factor fights to keep Strong Guy out of the governments hands.
Writer: Howard Mackie
Penciler: Jeff Matsuda
Inker: Art Thibert
Letterer: Richard Starkings & Comicraft
Colorist: Kevin Somers
Editor: Kelly Corvese
Editor-in-Chief: Bob Harras
Plot
Writer: Howard Mackie
Penciler: Jeff Matsuda
Inker: Art Thibert
Letterer: Richard Starkings & Comicraft
Colorist: Kevin Somers
Editor: Kelly Corvese
Editor-in-Chief: Bob Harras
Plot
Back at home with his family, Trevor Chase is angry Mystique can't stay with him longer, blaming X-Factor for keeping her away from him while starting up an X-Factor-themed video game. Meanwhile, Val Cooper alerts Forge that Strong Guy is being moved, and she suspects Jamie Madrox is going to try and free him from government custody, endangering his heart. Sure enough, Madrox takes out the agents transporting Strong Guy, prompting General Bowser to send in more operatives. They arrive at the same time as X-Factor. Strong Guy smashes the ground, triggering a shockwave, but his heart gives out again. As the troops prepare to fire, Polaris freezes their guns, then slows the flow of blood to their brains, knocking them out. X-Factor brings Strong Guy to Falls Edge, where Forge fits him with a makeshift pacemaker, telling him he's made arrangements with a surgeon for a more permanent solution using a device Forge has crafted. later, Mystique visits Trevor, who is a angry his game didn't go as planned.
Firsts and Other Notables
Firsts and Other Notables
This marks Strong Guy's final appearance in this volume of the series; he next appears in a solo oneshot, and then an issue of X-Men Unlimited, and that's it for Strong Guy apparance in the 20th century (being this close to the Year 2000 makes everything more dramatic). Forge fits him with a temporary (and not terribly portable) pacemaker, but creates a smaller device to manage his energy input's impact on his heart that a surgeon will implant (offscreen), which effectively ends the "Strong Guy's powers hurt his heart" subplot.
Madrox' time in this century is similarly limited, though he does make a couple more appearances in this book before it ends.
Wild Child briefly experiences unexplained pain at one point in the issue, framed in a way that suggests this is meant to be a new ongoing mystery. Where this is going — if anywhere — I don't recall.
A Work in Progress
Sabretooth references the fact that he and Polaris had previously been on a team together, when she was possessed by Malice and one of the Marauders.
There's a brief cutaway to Operation: Zero Tolerance effectively deciding to stay out of the fight over Strong Guy; not sure who the shadowy guy with the omega symbol on his back is meant to be; a Prime Sentinel, maybe?
The Grim 'n' Gritty 90s
Trevor's room is filled with 90s pop culture touchstones, from his Chicago Bulls jacket to the Mission: Impossible poster on the wall (perhaps a bit of cross-promotion as well...), to Trevor's N64 and controller.
The Reference Section
Strong Guy is transported by the government in a Super Mario-themed pizza delivery van.
Young Love
Forge & Mystique share a brief moment that calls back to their brief romance from earlier in the decade.
The introduction of X-Factor in this issue is another full page team shot that looks designed for the original art to go into Matsuda's portfolio and sell for a ton on the aftermarket.
Matsuda provides a self-portrait panel in the letter column.
It's in the Mail
Speaking of which, the letter column in this issue is three pages.
Austin's Analysis
The cover to X-Factor #135 suggests a much more Guido-centric issue of the series then what we get. Certainly, Strong Guy is here, and plays a role in the plot, though it largely serves to just take him back off the board. Beyond that, this is largely more of the same. The Trevor Chase subplot simmers along (it's implied he's somehow controlling events to draw X-Factor into conflict with the government in his video game, in order to get them killed so Mystique can hang out with him more — ignoring the fact that Mystique is with X-Factor on the mission, which is his whole problem in the first place). Jeff Matsuda continues to do his visually exhausting, thousand lines, misshapen proportions thing. Vague mysteries, half-formed characters (Trevor is still more mystery/narrative device than character), distinctive but chaotic art: this is, in many ways, the Platonic ideal of a Howard Mackie/Jeff Matsuda X-Factor issue. It's just not very ideal in any other way.
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Austin's Analysis
The cover to X-Factor #135 suggests a much more Guido-centric issue of the series then what we get. Certainly, Strong Guy is here, and plays a role in the plot, though it largely serves to just take him back off the board. Beyond that, this is largely more of the same. The Trevor Chase subplot simmers along (it's implied he's somehow controlling events to draw X-Factor into conflict with the government in his video game, in order to get them killed so Mystique can hang out with him more — ignoring the fact that Mystique is with X-Factor on the mission, which is his whole problem in the first place). Jeff Matsuda continues to do his visually exhausting, thousand lines, misshapen proportions thing. Vague mysteries, half-formed characters (Trevor is still more mystery/narrative device than character), distinctive but chaotic art: this is, in many ways, the Platonic ideal of a Howard Mackie/Jeff Matsuda X-Factor issue. It's just not very ideal in any other way.
Like what you read? Then support us on Patreon & gain access to exclusive reviews of X-Men: The Animated Series and more!
Honestly, they could have just kept Strong Guy in a coma if nobody was going to use him all that much. But I guess they needed an extra one-shot during whatever month it came out.
ReplyDeleteThis stuff makes X-man look good by comparison.
ReplyDeleteI’m not sure if this was an in-joke on Mackie’s part or actually unintentional, but Guido says that the contraption Forge whipped up for him “looks like something Iron Man would wear” and Forge says, in the first panel you shared, that it’s just a pacemaker; of course, Iron Man’s original armor was built around the chest plate he rigged to keep his heart beating, albeit by using transistors to hold shrapnel at bay.