Okay, I have to be upfront with everyone first. I only bought this book because it had Thor on the cover! The cover looked as though Thor was going to kick X-Factor's ass, and I didn't want to miss that! Turns out Thor was helping X-Factor...but it was a decent read none-the-less.
In the past, I have not been enamoured with X-Factor. I didn't like them when they originated in the 80's and I don't like them now. Too much talk, not enough action in my book. I suppose I have never really liked the people on the team either.
This issue portrayed the team in the pathetic nature I remembered in the past. The big difference this time around is that the storyline was entertaining. The team decides to attack Hela; Asgardian Goddess of Hel, to try and free one of her captives, Pip the Troll. The irony of this task is not lost on writer Peter David, the readers or Thor who agrees to join their quest.
David does a fantastic job of dropping pop culture references throughout the script (i.e. Layla says, "Have fun storming the castle!" a la Billy Crystal from the Princess Bride.) He seems to bring a contemporary "realness" to the book.
Much to the satisfaction of many closet Darwin fans, the often misunderstood, adapting mutant saves the day by attacking Hela head on. The results are very strange indeed, and the future for Darwin might just be looking up; or down as it were....
I was pleasantly surprised by this issue, and may even continue picking it up. The only problem is that every time I do this, the book seems to suck. We'll see, maybe 8'th time is a charm....