Comic Books

X-Men Monday #262 – Mark Russell Talks ‘X-Factor’

Plus, eXclusive Bob Quinn ‘X-Factor’ art!

August 12, 2024

Welcome, X-Fans, to another uncanny edition of X-Men Monday at AIPT!

X-Factor. It’s a team that’s had some wildly different iterations. There was the team that launched the brand, featuring the original X-Men pretending to be mutant hunters. There was the government-sanctioned team, featuring Havok, Polaris, and Strong Guy. Multiple Man gave us X-Factor Investigations and, most recently, Northstar led his own team of X-Factor investigators on Krakoa.

But the “From the Ashes” era’s X-Factor team? Well, they’re government employees who also happen to be mutant celebrities. Wait… what?!? You’ll get to experience it all for yourself when X-Factor #1, written by Mark Russell and illustrated by Bob Quinn, goes on sale this week (August 14, 2024).

More immediately, Mark’s making his X-Men Monday debut to talk a bit more about the series and its cast. Let’s see what he has to say.

Courtesy of Marvel Comics

AIPT: Welcome to X-Men Monday, Mark! Let’s kick things off with a question from X-Fan Ethan, who was curious to learn what attracted you to writing an all-new X-Factor series for Marvel?

Mark Russell: Well, aside from the fact that it’s a freaking X-MEN SERIES, I really liked the fact that it’s post-Krakoa and it’s about people trying to find their way together in a world that doesn’t really want them. I feel like this is what so many people are feeling right now, so it felt like a really relevant angle for a comic series.

AIPT: X-Fan Görkem said we’ve seen the concept of “mutant celebrities” tackled before in Peter Milligan and Michael Allred’s X-Force/X-Statix/The X-Cellent series. Görkem was wondering how your take on mutant fame in X-Factor will differ from those runs.

Mark: I think what’s different about this one is that it’s about how there’s a difference between celebrity and acceptance. You might be famous. You might even be loved, but if a police officer doesn’t recognize you when they pull you over, your life is still in danger. So while it’s nice to be famous, to have the trappings of celebrity, it doesn’t really convince people to see you, and people like you, as human beings. In fact, it kind of encourages them not to. That, and there’s a commentary on social media. How people have to be willing to destroy their lives to attain even a fleeting moment of fame.

Courtesy of Marvel Comics

AIPT: Let’s talk a bit about your eclectic cast, starting with the team’s co-leaders. X-Fan Harry G asked what will Angel and Havok’s dynamic be as X-Factor’s co-leaders?

Mark: To put it plainly, they do not get along. Angel sees himself as the natural leader of X-Factor and doesn’t even want Havok on the team. And Havok, for his part, isn’t sure that he should be on the team, either, but feels like he’s the only thing separating the other people on the team from being killed for the benefit of social media likes.

AIPT: Not sure if anybody’s told you this yet, Mark, but X-Fans tend to have opinions about who’s dating who in the X-Universe. X-Fan Christian Smith, for instance, said Havok and Polaris haven’t been a couple for a VERY long time, and putting them together again could be seen as a retrograde step. Is there anything you could share about Alex and Lorna in X-Factor that would make readers like Christian care about them again as a couple?

Mark: I understand the concern, but I think readers should understand that when a new writer jumps on a series, it’s often because they want to do something different with it. To change the dynamic of the characters in a way that makes sense to them. In essence, to tell a new story using the old ingredients. And that’s what I hope to do with Havok and Polaris. That, and Havok has also been dead in the interim and death has a way of changing a person.

Courtesy of Marvel Comics and CBR

AIPT: X-Fan echo was curious to see Frenzy in the X-Factor mix as she’s a character who, for a while, was very radical regarding her ideologies until she turned heroic, joined the X-Men, and is now part of a government team. Will Frenzy’s journey and reasoning for being on the team be explored in the series?

Mark: Definitely. Admittedly, Frenzy is a rebel and not someone you’d expect to sign on to a government assault squad. But everyone comes to this team with their own motives and beliefs and that’s part of what I wanted this story to be about. A sort of Dirty Dozen story about rebels and outcasts who all have different ideas of what it means to be a mutant after the fall of Krakoa.

AIPT: X-Fan Noelle wanted to thank you so much for bringing back her favorite crazy cat: Feral! Noelle pointed out Feral doesn’t always get along with her crew. Could you tease if she’ll be butting heads with anybody in the series? (And if so, who?)

Mark: I think the people she butts heads with the most are their fans on social media. She does not take criticism well, to put it mildly.

Courtesy of Marvel Comics

AIPT: X-Fan Cecefan247 wanted to know what you can tell us about Cecilia Reyes’ initial reasons for being on this team. And Cecefan247 and X-Fan David Sousa also wanted to know what made you want to write such a complex character who’s been in comic book limbo.

Mark: Well, first and foremost, it seems like a bad idea to have an elite assault squad with no doctor on board. So I wanted to have a character like Cecilia who sees her true calling as something that has little to do with her mutant powers. The fact that these characters are people beyond their power sets is a big theme of the series.

AIPT: Here’s one related to social media. As Pyro is a known romance novelist in the Marvel Universe, X-Fan Tori was wondering if, in your opinion, Pyro’s books are TikTok-worthy. Tori wants to know if you think he has a fanbase for his books that’s as unhinged as ‘RomanceTok?’

Mark: I hadn’t planned to go there in the series, but this actually sounds like a brilliant character arc. I could see “Pyromantic” being its own series, actually.

Courtesy of Marvel Comics

AIPT: I think we just found the X-line’s next solo series. As we wrap up, we know from covers, preview pages, and other interviews that there are even more members of this cast beyond those we’ve discussed so far. What can you tease about Xyber and some of the other brand-new cast members we’ll meet in X-Factor #1?

Mark: Yes! One of the great joys of writing an X-series is being able to create your own mutants. And one of my favorites is an 87-year-old woman called “Granny Smite,” who just recently discovered that she is an immortal mutant, which is something of a problem for an 87-year-old. So she has joined the team in the hopes of finding what can actually kill her.

AIPT: Finally, someone X-Fans are familiar with is series artist Bob Quinn. What can X-Factor readers look forward to on the art front?

Mark: I think Bob is the PERFECT artist for this series. He can do goofy well. He can do heartbreaking well. His action sequences are amazing. This is lucky for me because this is a series that plays all those notes and Bob truly gets to show off his full range and it’s a privilege to see.

AIPT: Can’t wait to see it all this week in X-Factor #1! But on that note, Mark, thanks for stopping by X-Men Monday!

X-Fans, in case you missed it, AIPT had the eXclusive preview for X-Factor #1, which you can read here.

And for this week’s X-Men Monday eXclusives, a glimpse of future Bob Quinn X-Factor art, courtesy of our friends at Marvel.