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Description
A little bit of comics history.

Back in the 80's, the series X-Factor was launched. The big selling feature of this book was that it featured the reunion of the original lineup of the X-Men. Many of whom had been on other teams (The Champions for Iceman and Angel, Avengers for Beast, and the New Defenders for all three) or had been dead for several years (Jean Grey). The title was a modest hit, managing to last several years. But come 1991, it seems it was decided that the lineup was to make their migration back to the "main" X-Men titles, leaving X-Factor without a roster. However, the title seemed to still be selling well, so it seems Marvel made the decision to recast the series with several leftover characters from other titles. While there were some familiar faces in the team- Havok and Polaris from the X-Men titles, Wolfsbane from the New Mutants, and Quicksilver from the Avengers- none of them were "marquee" stars. And the rest- Multiple Man and Guido (Who had yet to adopt the "Strong Guy" moniker)- were obscure at best. The series seemed to be in a lot of trouble, if it were not for one thing.

Peter David.

David tackled the series with his usual style. Under his watch, these second tier characters were given depth and dimension far greater than they ever had before or could ever imagine. These characters didn't just seem like they were well fleshed out and dynamic characters, they seemed like people you'd want to hang out with. They had flaws and foibles, but they were also very likeable and engaging.

One of the most memorable issues- and one of my favorite comics ever- was X-Factor #87 . There were no fights, no supervillains, no comic book heroics whatsoever. Instead, the team was psycho-analyzed by Doc Samson, from Peter David's other book, the Incredible Hulk. And reader's got a deeper peak into the heads and motivations of each of the team like we've never seen before. Wolfsbane dealt with her feelings of worthlessness and her animal instinct. Multiple Man revealed his fear of being alone. Polaris expressed her poor body image and lack of self worth, with Samson stating that he found it interesting that a woman with the power of magnetism could have trouble feeling attractive and tended to repel people. Havok, in an interesting bit of meta-commentary as being most well known for being Cyclop's brother, felt lacking and that he was constantly being compared to his brother. Quicksilver finally was given justification for his apprehensive and obnoxious attitude, living as a person with the power of super speed who has to deal with an entire world that is, to his perspective, far too "slow." And, most memorable for me, was Guido, the Strong Guy. The series key source of comic relief, Guido came off as silly, easy going and good natured. But Guido was hiding a dark secret- that, due to the nature of his powers developing, he was in constant pain. Day in, day out. But Guido didn't want to let anyone in on that secret, to keep their spirits up. And, at the end of the issue, we get a peak into the team's government liason Valerie Cooper's assessment of the team, and getting each and every one of the hilariously wrong.

Peter David didn't stay long during this incarnation, at least compared to his other runs on other titles, but his impact was still pretty evident. His influence is likely the main reason why the characters from this team are more associated with the name "X-Factor" than the team that served before them.

Description
A little bit of comics history.

Back in the 80's, the series X-Factor was launched. The big selling feature of this book was that it featured the reunion of the original lineup of the X-Men. Many of whom had been on other teams (The Champions for Iceman and Angel, Avengers for Beast, and the New Defenders for all three) or had been dead for several years (Jean Grey). The title was a modest hit, managing to last several years. But come 1991, it seems it was decided that the lineup was to make their migration back to the "main" X-Men titles, leaving X-Factor without a roster. However, the title seemed to still be selling well, so it seems Marvel made the decision to recast the series with several leftover characters from other titles. While there were some familiar faces in the team- Havok and Polaris from the X-Men titles, Wolfsbane from the New Mutants, and Quicksilver from the Avengers- none of them were "marquee" stars. And the rest- Multiple Man and Guido (Who had yet to adopt the "Strong Guy" moniker)- were obscure at best. The series seemed to be in a lot of trouble, if it were not for one thing.

Peter David.

David tackled the series with his usual style. Under his watch, these second tier characters were given depth and dimension far greater than they ever had before or could ever imagine. These characters didn't just seem like they were well fleshed out and dynamic characters, they seemed like people you'd want to hang out with. They had flaws and foibles, but they were also very likeable and engaging.

One of the most memorable issues- and one of my favorite comics ever- was X-Factor #87 . There were no fights, no supervillains, no comic book heroics whatsoever. Instead, the team was psycho-analyzed by Doc Samson, from Peter David's other book, the Incredible Hulk. And reader's got a deeper peak into the heads and motivations of each of the team like we've never seen before. Wolfsbane dealt with her feelings of worthlessness and her animal instinct. Multiple Man revealed his fear of being alone. Polaris expressed her poor body image and lack of self worth, with Samson stating that he found it interesting that a woman with the power of magnetism could have trouble feeling attractive and tended to repel people. Havok, in an interesting bit of meta-commentary as being most well known for being Cyclop's brother, felt lacking and that he was constantly being compared to his brother. Quicksilver finally was given justification for his apprehensive and obnoxious attitude, living as a person with the power of super speed who has to deal with an entire world that is, to his perspective, far too "slow." And, most memorable for me, was Guido, the Strong Guy. The series key source of comic relief, Guido came off as silly, easy going and good natured. But Guido was hiding a dark secret- that, due to the nature of his powers developing, he was in constant pain. Day in, day out. But Guido didn't want to let anyone in on that secret, to keep their spirits up. And, at the end of the issue, we get a peak into the team's government liason Valerie Cooper's assessment of the team, and getting each and every one of the hilariously wrong.

Peter David didn't stay long during this incarnation, at least compared to his other runs on other titles, but his impact was still pretty evident. His influence is likely the main reason why the characters from this team are more associated with the name "X-Factor" than the team that served before them.