X-Factor #206

X-Factor bands together for a final stand against Trask, his SWAT-team style flunkies and their outlandish tanks.
 

The Good

David gives all of these characters distinct voices and I was always entertained to see how they were bantering with eachother. I especially liked Multiple Man's role as an unsure, possibly ill-suited hero and M's cold, rational acceptance of an alliance with Mordo, even though the man just drained her like a vampire (as she says.) I also have to say that the part where Trask seizes the fleeting moments he has outside of psychic dominance to end his life was chillingly effective. And that black humor gag where Mordo brusquely leaves his followers to be pulverized by the air strike was morbidly funny.

The Bad

I really wasn't feeling the art here. It looks really dull and stiff, with the inks and colors filling in a lot of detail that should've been rendered in the line work. I was lot of more mindful of the texture patterns that were inserted digitally and a lot of the poses in the spread where X-Factor finally gets together at the end really weren't popping off the page. Also, I don't know, the tone of the issue itself wasn't especially exciting - - it seemed like a pretty by-the-numbers fight between these mutants and these indistinct black ops and their big tank.

The Verdict - 3/5

I didn't really enjoy this as much as the last issue, nor as much as other tie-ins to Second Coming.  The cover promises a scene that's a lot wilder than what you get in the book. The book itself isn't bad - - there are definitely some great moments - - but it's honestly kind of drab. The teaser for the next issue, promising an encounter with Hela, looks quite interesting, though.