X-Factor, Vol. 1: Please Like and Share

X-Factor (2024)

by Mark Russell, Bob Quinn (artist), Jesus Aburtov (Colorist)

Collects X-Factor (2024) #1-5.

From the ashes of the Krakoan era, X-Factor stakes a claim for fame! As a new mutant arms race sweeps the globe, international governments are building their own armies of Homo superior soldiers. But only America's X-Factor has the most powerful, most patriotic, most marketable mutant heroes to stem the tide and make the world safe for democracy! Join Angel, Havok, Frenzy, Feral, Pyro and more as they go from one death-defying mission to another. But with a new mutant rebellion underway, X-Factor will be drawn into conflict with their former ally, Polaris! Meanwhile, Havok must seek out a traitor in their midst - and the team's travels take them from the Moon to the ground beneath Death Valley! Who will die? Who will fall in love? Who will be the first to sell out? Like, comment and subscribe to find out!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, X Men, Comic Book, Superheroes, Fiction

120 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 9, 2025

About the author

Mark Russell is the author of God Is Disappointed in You and Apocrypha Now. He also writes the comic book series Prez and The Flintstones for DC Comics. He lives and works in Portland, Oregon.

Reviews

[Mr. Cody · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this series, but like most Marvel comics of the past 10 years, this one fits the bill. It’s downright shallow and callous if you ask me.

The way that the writer approaches death in this book is pretty disappointing. He also tries to shoehorn in commentary of social media, but it’s so lame it barely even registers.

He also disrespects legacy characters. Since when were Havok and Angel such baffoons? They’re treated like morons right off the bat and it never eases up…

Speaking of Angel and Havok, let’s comment on the artwork. Those two are basically drawn the exact same
way, they’re basically interchangeable except for the fact that one of them has wings sticking out his back.

Lastly, too many rotating characters… When you have characters come and go so quickly it gives the impression the writer has no idea what they’re doing…

Overall, chalk up another lame-ass Marvel collection. How many issues will this guy write?

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanna give this four stars for most-improved writing (compared to Russell’s usually-ham-fisted-“commentary”), but it is still some not-as-good-as-he-thinks-it-is writing.

Still, in its favour I’ll say:

Finally a Mark Russell comic that feels like a story and not just a series of short monologues. I’m impressed!

And the story is one that feels like a cross between two of my all-time favourite comics: Warren Ellis’ Nextwave, and Zeb Wells’ Hellions.

There’s still some sharp social commentary- but instead of dead-center leaden weight, it’s interstitial - like the backgrounds in Transmetropolitan.

I just wish it didn’t feel quite so Hanna-Barberra (and maybe that’s on the artist, who’s gorgeous but a little to high-school-overacting).

[Tyler Jenkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Polaris stuff is really cool but most of these characters just kinda suck. I haven’t enjoyed anything with Havok in years, Marvel can never decide if they want him to be cool or pathetic so they just keep my man down as a pathetic idiot. Not sure when he stopped dating Goblin Queen and got with Polaris but here we are. And the humor is so over the top and in your face, it kinda wants to be the Boys really bad. The art is nice though!

[Frédéric · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like Mark Russell. It's clear that we share similar views on social and political issues. He tries to get his point across through humour, which is commendable but dangerous. You have to be subtle to avoid excessive caricature, and that's where the problem lies.
I admit that some of the lines are very funny, but that doesn't make up for the message being hammered home too crudely – and one that I agree with, but still.

Furthermore, by criticising social media or the battle for IP, Russell tends to more or less put the plot and characters in the background. The characters come and go, and we don't care. X-Factor has an impressive roll call but a high turnover, as all the D-listers will be dead or recovering by the end of the arc.
As for the plot, it's there but subdued by the comic twists and turns.

It's a shame because this self-contained ensemble could have produced something more sustained and certainly darker, but that would have been in total opposition to the path chosen by the author.

The artwork is okay—very decent on the cartoony side, just not my cup of tea.

[Rickey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was just fun. Reminded me of X-Statix which I adored.

[Jason Tanner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mark Russell wrote two of the finest comics I have ever read, in The Flintstones and Snagglepuss, as well as some other very solid work. So, if his name is attached to a project, I'm going to give it a try.

Russell is a satirist, or at least that is how I've experienced his work, and the hook of this version of X-Factor is right in his wheelhouse.

And it feels...too real...in 2025. Idiots are running everything. Cynical tech morons have infiltrated the government with shoddy, dangerous products. Military secrets are spread via careless application of unsecure technology. Business weirdos prop up influencers to sell an idea and generate clicks, exploiting those influencers to the maximum with intrusive recordings and pressure campaigns and a total lack of shame.

And in the book too.

If anything, the military-industrial complex of X-Factor is less openly hateful of the oppressed minority it is currently exploiting for profit and political gains than in the real world. Mutants are back to being hated and feared, but the government isn't abducting them off the street and dumping them in foreign concentration camps. Yet. It's only been
a few months real time since Krakoa ended, so I'm sure the X books will go back to that well at some point.

That being said, while entertaining and clever, this isn't, to me at least, Russell's best work. At least not yet. It feels a bit...tame for 2025. To really nail the tone, I'm going to need to see more malignant hostility on the part of the humans in charge. I'm guessing we'll get there by the third TPB volume.

But I digress. Pretty good book. Needs some tweaking to really hit home, but has potential to do so in short order. I'll follow this book for a bit longer, at least.

3.5 stars, rounded up

[Nick Pratt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mark Russell is one of my favorite writers working today, but most of his superhero content seems to feel a little restrained to me in opposition to how some of his original works shine. I’ll check out the next one. 3.5/5

[Luca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did like this first volume. I wasn’t unsure after reading the reviews, however it was a pleasant surprise.

[Alex Sarll]

A marketing-led mutant team, assembled by rich and powerful humans who don't have their best interests at heart – this is the post-Krakoa line's version of X-Statix, right down to (spoiler?) what happens in the first issue. And that was already a pretty dark, satirical series, but because everything has got so much worse in the years since, this is more so, all cheerfully terrifying AI, backfiring identity politics and asinine fad diets ("Mind if I powerdog?"). Hell, even the team's "soldier-tainment" missions are no longer filmed for reality TV but for 'ClikClok'. Mark Russell says in his afterword that "I'm not trying to be a downer, it just sort of comes naturally to me", and he's not wrong, but his claim that this is the funniest book he's ever written is on shakier ground. Still, bleak as it is, at least in being made for the moment it's in, it hits more often than the last attempt at doing a new X-Statix, direct but unsteady sequel X-Cellent. It's already been cancelled, of course.

[Liz (Quirky Cat) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars rounded up

Summary:

The era of Krakoa is over, and mutants all over the world are scrambling to find (or re-find) their place in the larger world. Some are returning to their roots, while others are still trying to make a stand in their own way.

Enter the X-Factor! A new mutant organization led by a media-savvy CEO. It’s just as bad as it sounds, with the team being run by humans and forced to post constant updates on social media. What a nightmare.

Review:

The fall of Krakoa shook everyone, readers and characters alike. At least, that’s how it felt to this reader. So, naturally, I tried to make a point of checking out all the new From the Ashes series, including X-Factor.

X-Factor is arguably the most satirical comic series of the set, full of commentary about corporations, loyalty, social media, etc. Basically, if you can think of it, there’s probably at least one barb tucked into these pages.

The primary team (remember, X-Men team, so there will be fluctuation) consists of Angel, Havok, Frenzy, Feral, and Pyro, but a couple of new additions. Honestly, I’m tempted to rate this series a five simply for bringing Granny Smyte into my life. I love that woman, and I hope that we’ll see her in other series in the future. (I mean, she can’t die, so she’s gotta be hanging out somewhere, right?).

Overall, X-Factor Vol. 1 is over the top and fun. It isn’t really going for subtlety, and that’s okay. It feels a little disjointed when compared to the other five series, but I honestly don’t think it’s trying to match them in theme or tone. It’s worth checking out if you have the time.

Highlights:
Superhero Adventures
X-Men Conflicts
Granny Smyte

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[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 2 out of 5]

So Mark Russell and/or Tom Brevoort came up with a super innovative idea: a mercenary team of X-Men who are totally media obssessed and worried about dying on every mission. Oh wait, that's not innovative at all. It's the premise of X-Statix, which was really, really good. The new Mark Russell X-Factor obviously suffers in comparison when it plagiarizes the same premise, but the more of it I read, the more I'm convinced that it's kind of bad besides that all.

Its worst sin is that we get characterization, often character assassination, that's totally manipulating the characters in service to the plot. yes, Havoc is often kind of stupid and naive and Polaris is often kind of unhinged, but seeing them so at odds for such little reason makes about as much sense as Phoenix suddenly running off to have cosmic adventures while mutantkind is having its last stand on Earth. (Oh yeah, that's part of From the Ashes too; I guess it's not big on making sense.) And Frenzy as a corporate shill? That's pretty hard to believe too. Dark Star meanwhile seems to have been totally dragged through the mud for no apparent reason.

Meanwhile that plot is so color by the numbers. Dark Star's "X-Term" (stupid name) and X-Factor fight. Again. And Again. Rogue mutants and corporate mutants fight is pretty much the X-Books at their lowest, which Krakoa had turned around beefore Brevoort decided to crap all over it.

And then there's the "shock" deaths in various issues which are clearly only there to sell comics.

Finally, we get the humor, which is more stupid then laughable. Or maybe it is laughable.

All I know is that I liked this less the more of it I read mainly because I felt insulted as a reader.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 3 out of 5]

For my next "From the Ashes" X-Book relaunch title, I went with X-Factor. This title overall has been somewhat hit or miss throughout the years, and while this isn't a bad read, it probably is my least fav of the titles so far.
Highlights:
- The basic premise of this title is that X-Factor is a government hired team of mutants who do human's dirty work, all with the premise of unity with mutants. A "mutants should do as the humans do to live in a human world". I can't wait for this to backfire in a crazy way. Especially when they have to post on social media and have to very sillily ask people to like and subscribe, which is very meta and funny.
- Primarily, we see the opposing sides of this conflict through the eyes of Havok and Polaris. He is lead of X-Factor, and she supports the mutant underground movement. It definitely causes tension in their relationship, and I'm not sure it will survive. (Personally, I hope it does, as them together has always felt right to me, though I am sure it is because that's the way it was when I started reading comics, and they've been kept apart way too long.)
- Team: Havok, Frenzy, Feral, Pyro, and Cecilia Reyes; but also including various members who only stick around a bit like Angel, Cameo, Firefist, Xyber, etc
- Near the end, we also get the US passing the Mutant Surveilance Act, which I hope will come up again and not just fall by the wayside.

Overall, I'll stick with this title because it only has 2 Volumes, and I really like Havok, though he has never seen the importance and power levels he had in the 90s (at least not to my memory).
Check this one out if it seems like something you'd like.

[TR Naus · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you want to see a writer perfectly capture the absurdity of today’s "attention economy," this is the book. Mark Russell’s dialogue is on-point. I found it cynical, fast-paced, and genuinely funny. He treats the X-Men mythos as a mirror for corporate exploitation, and for the most part, it works brilliantly. It’s rare to find a comic that balances political biting-power with such readable, snappy banter.

Bob Quinn provides the most consistent art of the relaunch so far. His line work is "clean" in the best possible way, with enough weight to handle high-octane action. Unlike other titles in this era that have struggled with artistic drifting, X-Factor is a visual home run from start to finish.

While the tone is high-quality, the narrative engineering has some cracks. Killing off nearly the entire initial cast in the first issue felt like a cheap shock value trope. While it serves the satire of the "disposable influencer," using established characters as a meat grinder felt more mean-spirited than clever.

The portrayal of Darkstar was particularly jarring. Turning a traditionally stoic, principled hero into a money-hungry villain felt out of character and purely for the convenience of the script.

The Mutant Underground had an interesting premise, but it felt underdeveloped. Given Lorna’s history and power, her faction should have felt like a significant ideological threat, but instead, they felt like a secondary plot point that never quite got the "screen time" to feel real.

Despite those hiccups, I found X-Factor is easily one of the most entertaining books of the relaunch.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Likely the most "it's fine" From the Ashes X-book I've read thus far, but all things considered, it could have been much worse. Mark Russell tones down his usual Mr. Obvious satire, instead going for a more reasonable level of humor and absurdity. This X-Factor team, instead of investigating mutant mysteries, is working for the US government as like, the face of post-Krakoa mutant superheroics.

It's a silly premise, but if you give in to it, the book plays out pretty smoothly. There's a big initial battle, the heroes suffer losses, meaning a backup batch of X-folks need to be brought in to fill out the roster. Basically, everyone here is D-list and lower, with the exception of Havoc, who is, predictably, going through some things with Polaris. (Angel features prominently on the cover, but uhhh don't get your hopes up.)

Ultimately, Please Like and Share boils down to the US mutant superteam fighting against the Russian mutant superteam, and they're all working without the necessary information. There's some pleasant character work for these forgettable X-heroes, which I appreciated, even as their various battles are predictable. Good enough work to keep me around for the next volume!

[Joey Nardinelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Should arguably be a 3.5.

I’ve read X-Factor off and on since the late 20aughts and I always found the series to be…a bit tonally off? Like most of the characters never fully clicked for me, and this version feels similar but slightly better? It does have some genuinely funny moments but it also has so many parallels to Gunn’s The Suicide Squad that it feels a bit derivative. I think the two things I found the strangest were some of the subtle character shifts — Dr Reyes and Polaris just seemed VERY different on Krakoa (much more self-possessed) and here they feel so defined by their hetero relationships. The other thing was the blasé approach to death — playing that for laughs would typically work, but I struggle with that when all these characters have recently been living where they were otherwise seemingly immortal and now have to deal with actually being mortal again. There should be SOMETHING there, but it really doesn’t feel like it weighs heavily enough within the story. Granny Smite is fun though, even if she feels like a riff on Gunn’s Polkadot Man.

Oh, and I think I’m still frosty…slightly closer to tepid, after reading this?

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Government sponsored X-Men team whose sole purpose is to look good for the cameras and sell merch? Welcome back, X-Statix!

Oh, wait, wrong book. Same thing though.

If anyone's going to write a meta book about the nature of being an X-Man, then Mark Russell's your guy. Some of his metaphors are a little heavy handed, but nothing about this book is designed to be subtle so it works pretty well. The bait and switch in the first issue is clever, and there are some neat twists across the other four issues as well that keep things interesting. Even the out-of-costume drama stuff with Havok and Polaris works really well in context.

I don't have much to say on the art - Bob Quinn's style's clean and clear, but it doesn't really reinvent the wheel. Not that every artist has to. Nothing wrong with being solid and reliable.

X-Statix lives on, just in a different format. Works for me!

[Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

X-Factor is consistently the butt of mutant jokes.

It's always the sellout team.
It's always either sponsored by the government or backed by corporations.
----
This version isn't any different. Warren Worthington III (sans Archangel...again) is leading a misfit group of mutants. OG X-Factor member, Rusty now goes by Firefist. Feral is around. It's all well and good until they get blown up....and bring in another group of mutants.

Round 2? Havok is hired (no longer a zombie?)
...yadda yadda yadda

[Dean · Rating 2 out of 5]

Each issue has one small touching moment which I appreciate, but that is overshadowed by the othe twenty pages which are ridiculous. It's trying hard to be funny but it's not.
I appreciate the plutocratic, oligarchical and political commentary but Mark Russell is much funnier than this.
The art and colours are fine. I do like Land's covers.

I wish it were more about the Polaris/Havok relationship and dynamic.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overly goofy attempt at satire (in the same vein as X-Statix) as a corporate team of mutants (featuring Angel, no wait...Havok, Pyro, Frenzy, etc.) sets about doing a number of televised "missions" for likes and social media fame. The story has its moments, but too much of this is over-the-top, largely unsubtle commentary about our tech- and AI-muddled world. The art is decent. Not sure if I'll seek out the next volume in this series.

[Scarred Wizard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is good, man! Pretty good plot & story line. The missions are fun. Decent action & fight too. I laughed my fvcking ass off at the Mariah Carey joke (i rarely laugh when i read comics). The artwork is good. What else could you ask for? I don't understand the low ratings. You guys just hate fun, don't you?

So disappointed this is just a mini series of 10 issues. Will be reading the next volume. Can't wait!

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is basically the same idea as the 3rd volume of X-Factor by Peter David. X-Factor goes corporate, working for fake TicTok. So we have some techbro stuff and all the general lying you'd expect from entitled billionaires. It's fine but I honestly expected a little more out of Mark Russell. I do like Bob Quinn's artwork.

[Daniel Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmm. I disliked most of this, but enjoyed some of the more humorous elements. I liked the suicide-squad-esque death of character, but everything to do with social media and stuff was just cringe.

The art is somewhat cartoonish but looks great due to the immaculate smooth colour transitions and shading.

Poor - 4/10

[Posotron · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really do not recommend this series. All of the characters were severely lacking in personality. The plot wasn’t interesting. In general, this was poorly executed. I don’t like the way social media was incorporated into the story. It feels very young justice season 2 and 3.

[B · Rating 3 out of 5]

X-Statix by Mark Russell! Sign me up, right?

It feels a little watered down, like he was told to explain the premise for a long time. I'm hoping this gets enough runway because I'm sure it will click in and take off.

[Fiona · Rating 3 out of 5]

can't deny grouping a bunch of c-listers and having them undertake life-threatening missions for content is a fun concept but also yeah if you kill off most of a team i don't really care :(

also omg the paperclip AI smart fridge thing is hilarious

[Andres Pasten · Rating 3 out of 5]

Algo irregular, pero Russell al fin y al cabo, la dosis antisistema necesaria

[Mike Murphy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

[Adam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gave this series a fighting chance.
But I just new it wasn't going to be for me.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty fun and very funny with great art and colors

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Desperate mutants trying to get humans to like them. A dangerous job with a high casualty rate. Cloud is a neat power.