{"id":6349,"date":"2021-02-04T21:48:42","date_gmt":"2021-02-04T21:48:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/?p=6349"},"modified":"2021-02-04T21:48:42","modified_gmt":"2021-02-04T21:48:42","slug":"x-factor-7-annotations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/?p=6349","title":{"rendered":"X-Factor #7 annotations"},"content":{"rendered":"

As always, this post contains spoilers, and page numbers go by the digital edition.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>X-FACTOR vol 4 #7
\n“Suite No. 7: Scientia Vincere Tenebras”
\nby Leah Williams, David Baldeon & Israel Silva<\/strong><\/p>\n

COVER \/ PAGE 1:<\/strong> A rampaging Polaris with Eye-Boy in the background. It doesn’t have that much to do with the story.<\/p>\n

PAGES 2-3.<\/strong>\u00a0Speed visits Prodigy.<\/em><\/p>\n

This continues the subplot of exactly how Prodigy died and how he came to be resurrected. While it’s been suggested that Sofia might have engineered her own death so that she could be resurrected with her powers restored, this issue suggests that Prodigy genuinely believes that he died in circumstances he doesn’t remember, and was legitimately resurrected.<\/p>\n

Prodigy claims that he died “during the same O.N.E. attack on Xavier’s Institute that wiped out a bunch of other kids”. In the previous issue, he was vaguer in talking to Sofia – he told her simply that he had “died around the same time as Loa and Rahne”. Taken together, this account is decidedly confused. Rahne died in Uncanny X-Men\u00a0<\/em>vol 5 #16; Loa was reported dead in\u00a0Uncanny X-Men<\/em> vol 5 #11 (both part of the Rosenberg run). There was no O.N.E. attack on the Institute at around that period. The Institute had been destroyed by the Horsemen of Salvation in\u00a0Uncanny X-Men<\/em> vol 5 #3. A group of O.N.E. Sentinels commandeered by the Reavers\u00a0did<\/em> attack the Institute in\u00a0Astonishing X-Men<\/em> vol 4 #16-17, but it didn’t seem to kill any of the kids.<\/p>\n

Of course, this isn’t necessarily a continuity error – Prodigy’s knowledge of this period seems deliberately hazy, perhaps because he’s chosen not to ask too many questions about something he assumes would be painful.<\/p>\n

Judging from their clothes and the seat, the photo that Speed produces seems to have been taken during the nightclub flashback in\u00a0Lords of Empyre: Emperor Hulkling<\/em> #1. Although if so, it’s odd that Speed doesn’t recall it more clearly, because that scene ended with the Skrulls showing up to claim Hulkling as their new emperor, and a big fight. Maybe it’s just meant to be another night in the same club. Speed does seem to suggest that there’s something odd about this photo, since it was the only thing posted on the anonymous account in question.<\/p>\n

Note that Daken and Aurora can be seen in the background of the final panel in this scene.<\/p>\n

PAGE 4.<\/strong> Data page (ish). A note from Elixir of the Five, telling Prodigy that he was resurrected without a body because he was just on the list produced by Wolverine and Cyclops. This is… a little worrying. The distinct possibility exists that Prodigy has been resurrected without actually having died first.<\/p>\n

PAGES 5-9.<\/strong>\u00a0Daken and Aurora.<\/em><\/p>\n

Continuing from their appearance in the last panel of the previous scene. Much of this scene seems intended to make clear that Daken can’t simply manipulate the vulnerable Aurora’s emotions with his pheromone powers in the way that Aurora (and the readers) might otherwise fear. They’re being played down here, but there’s nothing particularly new in what Daken is saying. We’ve seen before that his pheromone manipulation isn’t especially effective against people who know to look out for it; as he says, he can simply heighten or suppress emotional states that already exist. (Of course, sometimes Daken uses that power in combination with generally charming people in more conventional ways.)<\/p>\n

I’m not quite sure I see why Daken’s heightened perception, however limited in scope, is meant to be “wretched”.<\/p>\n

“Why do you dress like a Sunday school teacher every day?”<\/strong> Back in\u00a0Alpha Flight<\/em>, Aurora’s style of dress was explicitly linked to her multiple personalities; Jeanne-Marie was fairly conservative.<\/p>\n

PAGE 10.<\/strong> Recap and credits. The title, “Scientia Vincere Tenebras”, is the motto of the Free University of Brussels (or rather, both of them – it split into French and Dutch language versions in 1970). It means “Conquering darkness by science.”<\/p>\n

PAGES 11-12.<\/strong>\u00a0Polaris interferes with the investigation.<\/em><\/p>\n

Polaris was hypnotised by Siryn\/Morrigan at the end of the previous issue, to make her sabotage any further X-Factor investigations into Siryn. Eye-Boy immediately realises that Polaris is lying but keeps his counsel for now.<\/p>\n

The Krakoan title at the top of the screens just reads X-FACTOR ASSIGNMENTS.<\/p>\n

PAGES 13-14.<\/strong>\u00a0Speed and Northstar trade notes.<\/em><\/p>\n

Northstar’s claim that he can go\u00a0faster<\/em> than the speed of light – even in theory – is new. But the basic point has been made before: in theory Northstar’s powers would allow him to get close to the speed of light, but he’d tear himself apart in doing so and do enormous damage to the environment, so it’s not a particularly attractive thing for him to try.<\/p>\n

PAGE 15.<\/strong>\u00a0X-Factor ask around about Siryn.<\/em><\/p>\n

Fairly self-explanatory. Polaris is ignoring Daken’s calls because of the hypnotism. He’s followed Siryn to Anaconda, Montana, which is a real place – it’s got a population of 10,000 or so. Lucille Ball lived there briefly as a child.<\/p>\n

That’s Feral from the original line-up of X-Force in the background at the Lagoon.<\/p>\n

PAGE 16.<\/strong>\u00a0Another data page (ish) about the Morrigan, though taking the form of a manuscript. I’m not sure it makes sense to use the “BCE” date notation if you’re going for a historical-document vibe – surely it wasn’t in common usage until relatively recently?<\/p>\n

The idea of Morrigan passing from host to host comes from Peter David’s\u00a0X-Factor<\/em>, though the specific flashback in\u00a0X-Factor\u00a0<\/em>#244 was set in 150 BCE, not 250 BCE as it says here.<\/p>\n

The key point here is probably that the Morrigan can “only pass into a new host upon death of the former host.” Is Morrigan trying to get out of Siryn for some reason, and being stymied by the repeated resurrections?<\/p>\n

PAGES 17-19.<\/strong>\u00a0X-Factor finally rescue Daken.<\/em><\/p>\n

Self explanatory.<\/p>\n

PAGES 20-22.<\/strong>\u00a0Aurora and Daken in the hot tub.<\/em><\/p>\n

Daken seems decidedly unthrilled by his performance of late, and clearly registers that he’s lost a lot of his hard edges in this incarnation.<\/p>\n

“When you get a chance, ask him about his experiences in Nate Grey’s false utopia.”<\/strong>\u00a0Referring to Leah Williams’ own\u00a0Age of X-Man: The X-Tremists<\/em>, where Northstar was among the characters policing Nate’s bizarre, love-free utopia. Northstar’s memories of his husband eventually resurfaced in the course of that series, and he wasn’t best pleased about the whole thing. Daken’s “younger sisters”, who were also in Age of X-Man, are X-23\/Wolverine and Scout – also the genetic children of Wolverine \/ Logan.<\/p>\n

PAGE 23.<\/strong> Essentially an unexplained flash forward – presumably more of the Morrigan’s influence.<\/p>\n

PAGE 24.<\/strong> Trailers. The Krakoan reads NEXT: NO-ONE IS SAFE.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As always, this post contains spoilers, and page numbers go by the digital edition. X-FACTOR vol 4 #7 “Suite No. 7: Scientia Vincere Tenebras” by Leah Williams, David Baldeon & Israel Silva COVER \/ PAGE 1: A rampaging Polaris with Eye-Boy in the background. It doesn’t have that much to do with the story. PAGES […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-annotations","category-x-axis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6349","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6349"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6349\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6351,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6349\/revisions\/6351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}