Editing X-Factor (comics) (section)

==Publication history==
===Original team (1986–1991)===
''[[X-Factor (comic book)|X-Factor]]'' launched in 1986 featuring a team composed of the five original [[X-Men]] that debuted in ''X-Men'' #1 (1963):

* [[Warren Worthington III|Angel]] – A millionaire heir, capable of flight by means of two feathery wings extending from his back.
* [[Beast (Marvel Comics)|Beast]] – A brilliant scientist possessing bestial strength and agility.
* [[Cyclops (Marvel Comics)|Cyclops]] – Former X-Men team leader, with the ability to emit powerful "optic blasts" from his eyes.
* [[Jean Grey|Marvel Girl]] – The long-time love of Cyclops, possessing [[telekinetic]] abilities.
* [[Iceman (Marvel Comics)|Iceman]] – A brash jokester, gifted with [[:Category:Fictional characters with ice or cold abilities|cryokinetic]] (the ability to lower temperature around him and form ice) abilities.

In the 1970s and early 1980s, Angel, Beast, and Iceman wandered through various superhero teams. By 1985, all three were members of the [[Defenders (comics)|Defenders]]. With the monthly ''[[The Defenders (comic book)|Defenders]]'' series already due to be cancelled, Angel, Beast, and Iceman were freed up for X-Factor.<ref>{{cite journal |last=DeAngelo|first=Daniel|date=July 2013|title=The Not-Ready-For-Super-Team Players: A History of the Defenders|journal=[[Back Issue!]]|issue=65|pages=3–16 |publisher=[[TwoMorrows Publishing]]}}</ref>

A more difficult task was the return of Cyclops and Jean Grey. In 1980, Jean Grey was killed during the seminal ''[[Dark Phoenix Saga]]'', and it was considered vital that the team have a female member.<ref name="CBULR161">{{Cite web |url=http://www.cbr.com/comic-book-urban-legends-revealed-161/3/ |title=Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #161 |work=[[Comic Book Resources]] |date=June 26, 2008}}</ref> In one of the most significant cases of [[retroactive continuity]] in comic book history, Jean Grey had never actually been the Phoenix. Instead, the Phoenix entity copied Grey's identity and form, keeping her safe in a cocoon-like structure beneath [[Jamaica Bay]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.revolutionsf.com/article.php?id=3309 |title=Comics of 1986 #30 X-Factor |work=Revolution Science Fiction |date=September 12, 2006}}</ref><ref name="back29">{{cite journal|last=Harvey|first=Allan |title=Four Men and a Telekinetic Lady: The Birth of X-Factor|journal=[[Back Issue!]]|issue=29|pages=69–72 |publisher=[[TwoMorrows Publishing]]|date=August 2008|location=Raleigh, North Carolina}}</ref>

In order to join the team, Cyclops walked out on his new wife [[Madelyne Pryor]], an Alaskan pilot who bore a strange resemblance to Grey, and their infant son [[Cable (character)|Nathan]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cronin |first=Brian |date=2016-06-04 |title=Remember to Forget - That Time Cyclops Ditched His Wife and Newborn for His Ex-Girlfriend |url=https://www.cbr.com/remember-to-forget-that-time-cyclops-ditched-his-wife-and-newborn-for-his-ex-girlfriend/ |access-date=2023-04-15 |website=CBR |language=en}}</ref>

The original X-Men disassociate with the current team because Professor X had placed their old nemesis, [[Magneto (Marvel Comics)|Magneto]], as its leader. The five original members set up a business advertised as mutant-hunters for hire, headquartered in the [[TriBeCa]] neighborhood of downtown [[New York City]],<ref name="mnyc">{{Cite book | last=Sanderson | first=Peter | author-link=Peter Sanderson | title=The Marvel Comics Guide to New York City | publisher=[[Pocket Books]] | year=2007 | location=New York City | page=11 | isbn=978-1-4165-3141-8}}</ref> posing as "normal" (non-superpowered) humans to their clients. The mutants that X-Factor capture are secretly trained to control their powers and reintegrated into society. Through their "mutant hunting" they recruit a group of young wards:

* [[Artie Maddicks]] – A pink-skinned, mute child who could project hologram-like images of his thoughts.
* [[Tabitha Smith]] – A young woman who ran away from her abusive father, who can create handheld energy spheres that she can explode at will, which she calls "time bombs".
* [[Rusty Collins]] – A former member of the [[U.S. Navy]] whose [[pyrokinesis]] first manifested uncontrollably, severely injuring a woman.
* [[Leech (character)|Leech]] – A green-skinned young boy, who can dampen the mutant powers of those around him.
* [[Rictor]] – A Mexican teenager who can produce powerful seismic waves.
* [[Skids (character)|Skids]] – A runaway who could project a protective, frictionless force field around her body.

Eventually, the team decides that the "mutant hunter" ruse did more harm than good by inflaming hatred, and blames it on X-Factor's original business manager, [[Cameron Hodge]], who is revealed as a mutant-hating mastermind.

In ''X-Factor'' #6 (1986), [[Louise Simonson]] introduced [[Apocalypse (character)|Apocalypse]], who would appear in [[Bibliography of Apocalypse|multiple issues]] and become X-Factor's nemesis.

In ''X-Factor'' #10, the [[Marauders (comics)|Marauders]], a group of mutant mercenaries, severely injure Angel's wings, which are later amputated. Despondent, Angel attempts [[suicide]] by detonating his airliner mid-flight, but Apocalypse rescues him and transforms him into Death, one of his [[Horsemen of Apocalypse|Four Horsemen]], giving him metal wings and blue skin. Angel escaped Apocalypse's control, but these physical changes remain. He is renamed Archangel and rejoins the X-Men in issue #36. Angel's replacement on X-Factor, [[Caliban (Marvel Comics)|Caliban]], turns to Apocalypse for more power in issue #24, with Apocalypse leaving X-Factor his ship in return.

In the 1989 [[fictional crossover|crossover]] ''[[Inferno (Marvel Comics)|Inferno]]'', Madelyne Pryor is revealed to be a [[human cloning|clone]] of Jean Grey created by [[Mister Sinister]]. Manipulated by demons and tormented by Scott's rejection of her, Madelyne becomes the Goblin Queen and fights X-Factor before kills herself in a [[suicide attack]] on Jean.

In the last major storyline of the first ''X-Factor'' series, published in early 1991, Apocalypse kidnaps Nathan Summers, sensing that he would grow up to be a powerful mutant and possible threat. X-Factor rescue Nathan from Apocalypse's lunar base, but find him infected with a [[techno-organic virus]]. A clan of rebels from the future, known as the Askani, send a representative to the present time to bring Nathan 2,000 years into the future to be treated. Fully grown, he returns to the 20th century as the [[antihero]], Cable.{{Volume needed|c=y|date=March 2020}}

X-Factor, the X-Men, and several minor characters team up to fight the telepathic [[Shadow King]] in another crossover event, ''[[Muir Island Saga|The Muir Island Saga]]''. Afterward, the original members of X-Factor rejoin the X-Men and several characters from various X-Men-related series become founding members of a new X-Factor.

===Government team (1991–1998)===
X-Factor was recreated with new members, all of whom were already allies of the X-Men, and three of whom were involved in the ''Muir Island Saga''. The new X-Factor worked for [[the Pentagon]], replacing [[Freedom Force (comics)|Freedom Force]] as the government's salaried mutant team.<ref name="DAK105">{{cite news | last = O'Neill | first = Patrick Daniel | date = February 1992 | title = Peter David | work = Comics Interview| issue = 105 | pages = 19–23 | publisher = Fictioneer Books}}</ref> Their relationship with their benefactors was often strained and complicated. The new X-Factor, debuting in issue #71, included:

* [[Valerie Cooper]] – A U.S. government agent with history as both ally and adversary of the X-Men who becomes X-Factor's government liaison, carrying over from her duties as liaison to a prior government-sponsored team of mutants, [[Freedom Force (comics)|Freedom Force]].
* [[Havok (character)|Havok]] – A former X-Man and brother of Cyclops who metabolizes cosmic rays to generate powerful, but hard to control, plasma waves. Havok serves as X-Factor's leader.
* [[Jamie Madrox|Multiple Man]] – He can create duplicates of himself on physical impact. He was previously offered X-Men membership, but he declined, opting instead to work at the [[Muir Island]] research center.
* [[Polaris (Marvel Comics)|Polaris]] – Havok's long-time lover, and also a former X-Man who can control magnetism. Later revealed to be Magneto's daughter.
* [[Quicksilver (Marvel Comics)|Quicksilver]] – A long-running [[Avengers (comics)|Avengers]] character, and a former foe of the X-Men, who possesses super speed and a difficult temperament. 
* [[Strong Guy]] – A wise-cracking character who can re-channel [[kinetic energy]] aimed at him, transforming it into muscular mass and power. [[Lila Cheney]]'s former bodyguard.
* [[Wolfsbane (character)|Wolfsbane]] – A [[Scotland|Scottish]] former New Mutant who can transform into a [[wolf]] or a [[werewolf]]-like creature. Some artificial manipulation of her feelings causes her to love Havok, bringing her much conflict and frustration because she knows he loves Polaris.

[[Forge (character)|Forge]], a former government weapons contractor whose mutant power is an instinctive ability to invent advanced technology, was later added to the group; first replacing Cooper as their liaison after she had been compromised by one of Magneto's [[Acolytes (comics)|Acolytes]], and later as an active member. Cooper later becomes an active member as well, her marksmanship and athletic skills compensating for her lack of superhuman powers.

In a 1995 story, Multiple Man apparently dies of the [[Legacy Virus]], a deadly illness that attacks mutant genes, which is later revealed to have only killed one of his duplicates. Strong Guy is put into suspended animation after suffering a heart attack caused by the stress his extra mass put on his body. Wolfsbane, cured of her artificial love for Alex, transfers to the European mutant team [[Excalibur (comics)|Excalibur]]. Havok leaves to infiltrate a mutant terrorist ring.

A new X-Factor line-up was introduced, consisting of Forge as the team's new leader, Polaris, Cooper, and several new recruits:

* [[Mystique (character)|Mystique]] – A [[shapeshifting]] mutant criminal and master of espionage. Mystique is forced to join X-Factor following her capture by federal agents.
* [[Sabretooth (character)|Sabretooth]] – A homicidal mutant criminal who possesses claws, heightened senses, and a [[healing factor]]. Like Mystique, Sabretooth is a captive member that Forge uses special technology to control.
* [[Shard (comics)|Shard]] – A [[holography|holographic]] computer program with the personality of the X-Man [[Bishop (Marvel Comics)|Bishop]]'s deceased sister of the same name. Bishop is a time-traveler from a distant future, where he and Shard are members of [[Xavier's Security Enforcers]]. The holographic Shard was brought to the 20th century with Bishop.
* [[Wild Child (character)|Wild Child]] – A former member of [[Alpha Flight]] who possesses heightened senses, fangs, and claws.

The team later had a secession from government sponsorship. Multiple Man and Strong Guy appear again at the same time. Despite Forge managing to fix Strong Guy's problems, he does not rejoin the team. The popularity of ''X-Factor'' continued to dwindle and Mystique and Sabretooth, two popular X-Men villains, failed to draw in more readers. Wild Child mutates out of control, Mystique hunts down Sabretooth (who had kidnapped young Tyler Trevor Chase), and Forge breaks ties with X-Factor.

After various stories focusing on individual characters, a new team was gathered consisting of Havok, Multiple Man, Polaris, Shard, and other members of the X.S.E.: Fixx, and [[Greystone (comics)|Greystone]], that are brought to the 20th century. However, this version of the team disbands in the same issue in which they debut. In that issue, #149 (1998), Greystone builds a [[Time travel|time machine]] meant to take him and his compatriots back to the future. However, the device explodes, killing Greystone and Havok. Afterward, X-Factor disbands.

The time machine's explosion transports Havok to a [[Parallel universe (fiction)|parallel world]], populated by twisted versions of Marvel characters. He explores this strange world in the series ''[[Mutant X (comics)|Mutant X]]''.

{| class="wikitable"   
|- 
!Issues !! Characters
|-   
|#1–9
|Angel, Artie Maddicks, Beast, Cyclops, Iceman, Marvel Girl, Rusty Collins
|-
|#10–16
|Angel, Artie Maddicks, Beast, Boom-Boom, Cyclops, Iceman, Marvel Girl, Rusty Collins, Skids
|-
|#17–24
|Artie Maddicks, Beast, Boom-Boom, Caliban, Cyclops, Iceman, Leech, Marvel Girl, Rictor, Rusty Collins, Skids
|-
|#25–33
|Artie Maddicks, Beast, Boom-Boom, Cyclops, Iceman, Leech, Marvel Girl, Rictor, Rusty Collins, Skids
|-
|#34–70
|Archangel, Beast, Cyclops, Iceman, Marvel Girl
|-
|#71–93
|Havok, Multiple Man, Polaris, Quicksilver, Strong Guy, Valerie Cooper, Wolfsbane
|-
|#94–102
|Forge, Havok, Multiple Man, Polaris, Quicksilver, Strong Guy, Wolfsbane
|-
|#103–111
|Forge, Havok, Polaris, Strong Guy, Valerie Cooper, Wolfsbane
|-
|#112–118
|Forge, Havok, Mystique, Polaris, Valerie Cooper, Wild Child
|-
|#119–122
|Forge, Mystique, Polaris, Sabretooth, Shard, Valerie Cooper, Wild Child
|-
|#123–128
|Forge, Polaris, Sabretooth, Shard, Valerie Cooper, Wild Child
|-
|#129–142
|Forge, Mystique, Polaris, Sabretooth, Shard, Valerie Cooper, Wild Child
|-
|#143–149
|Archer, Fixx, Greystone, Havok, Polaris, Shard
|}

===Volume 2 (2002 miniseries)===
A four-issue ''[[X-Factor (comic book)|X-Factor]]'' limited series was launched in 2002. This series focused on the government's new Mutant Civil Rights Task Force, which consisted of humans who investigated anti-mutant [[hate crime]]s and inadvertently discovered an anti-mutant [[conspiracy (political)|conspiracy]] within their own ranks.

===Volume 3 (2005–2013)===
[[File:X-FactorVol3-224.1cover.jpg|thumb|X-Factor Investigations, from ''X-Factor'' (vol 3) #224.1. Art by [[David Yardin]].]]
{{Main|X-Factor Investigations}}
X-Factor Investigations is a detective agency run by [[Jamie Madrox]], also known as Multiple Man. The name is taken from the government-sponsored group the three founders previously served on. The initial staff consists of Madrox's best friend and special enforcer, Guido Carosella (Strong Guy), and former teammate Rahne Sinclair (Wolfsbane). Following the events of the "[[House of M]]" storyline, Madrox's new-found wealth from winning a ''[[Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?]]''-style [[game show]] allows him to recruit several of his former colleagues from the [[Paris]] branch of the now defunct [[X-Corporation]]. New members include:

* [[M (Marvel Comics)|M]] (Monet St. Croix) – A wealthy ambassador's daughter with an array of superhuman powers.
* [[Rictor]] (Julio Richter) – A Mexican mutant who can produce powerful seismic waves.
* [[Siryn]] (Theresa Cassidy) – Banshee's daughter with similar sonic-based powers.
* [[Layla Miller]] – A young mutant who inserts herself into the group to keep them from discovering the truth behind the "[[Decimation (comics)|Decimation]]" storyline.

The new series opens with a suicide attempt by Rictor, who has lost his powers. The series deals with the group's attempt to unravel the truth behind the "Decimation" and its aftermath, fighting with Singularity Investigations, and dealing with Madrox's powers and their consequences.

During the "[[Messiah Complex (comics)|Messiah Complex]]" storyline, Jamie and Layla travel to a dystopian future in which mutants are persecuted and imprisoned. Jamie escapes and returns to the early 21st century, but Layla is still trapped. Rahne fears (because of a glimpse she has had of the future) that she, while in her wolf shape, will murder Jamie and Layla. To prevent this, she quits the team and joins [[X-Force]]. Rictor also quits. Jamie travels to the future with the help of an aged Layla Miller and helps a rebellion led by a cyborg Scott Summers and his daughter [[Ruby Summers|Ruby]], while the rest of the team is in the present. After battling Arcade, who captured Rictor (who then rejoins), the team meets one of Jamie's duplicates, who calls himself Cortex and is joined by new members:

* [[Longshot (Marvel Comics)|Longshot]] – A genetically created humanoid from Mojoverse with favorable probability outcomes.
* [[Darwin (character)|Darwin]] (Armando Muñoz) – One of Moira's early recruit with reactive evolution powers.
* [[Shatterstar]] (Gaveedra Seven) – founding X-Force member with that can open dimensional portals and channel vibratory shockwave through his swords.

===''All-New X-Factor'' (2014–2015)===
{{Main|All-New X-Factor}}
The next incarnation of the series was ''All-New X-Factor'', and depicts the corporation "Serval Industries" forming a new corporate-sponsored version of the team, which includes Polaris, Quicksilver, [[Gambit (Marvel Comics)|Gambit]],<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=48406|title= NYCC Exclusive: David Resurrects the Team in ''All-New X-Factor''|first= Steve|last= Sunu|date= October 11, 2013|website= Comic Book Resources|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131015104825/http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=48406|archive-date= October 15, 2013|url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=48909|title= ''All-New X-Factor'' Images Reveal New Team Member|first= Steve|last= Sunu|date= November 4, 2013|website= Comic Book Resources|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131107041348/http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=48909|archive-date= November 7, 2013|url-status= live}} Archive requires scrolldown</ref> [[Danger Room|Danger]], [[Cypher (Marvel Comics)|Cypher]], and [[Warlock (New Mutants)|Warlock]].<ref>{{cite comic|title=All-New X-Factor |story=|issue=4–6|writer=[[David, Peter]]|artist=[[Di Giandomenico, Carmine]]|publisher=Marvel Comics|date=May – June 2014}}</ref>

===Volume 4 (2020&ndash;2021)===
{{Main|X-Factor (2020 comic book)}}
''X-Factor'' was relaunched and the new team investigates cases of missing mutants and presumed deaths for Krakoa, confirming if they can be resurrected:

* [[Northstar (character)|Northstar]] (Jean-Paul Beaubier) – Team leader and former Alpha Flight member with superhuman speed.
* [[Polaris (Marvel Comics)|Polaris]] (Lorna Dane) – An X-Factor alumna who can control metal.
* [[Rachel Summers|Prestige]] (Rachel Summers) – A telekinetic and telepathic mutant from a dystopian future.
* [[Daken]] (Akihiro) – Wolverine's son with similar powers to his father.
* [[Eye-Boy]] (Trevor Hawkins) – A young mutant with multiple eyes all over his body.
* [[Prodigy (David Alleyne)|Prodigy]] (David Alleyne) – A former [[Young Avengers]] and Xavier Institute student that can mimic other skills and knowledge.
* [[Aurora (comics)|Aurora]] (Jeanne-Marie Beaubier) – The twin sister of Northstar with the same power.

The team works closely with '''The Five''', a circuit of mutants introduced in ''[[House of X and Powers of X|House of X/Powers of X]]'' working in conjunction to resurrect fallen mutants:

* [[Fabio Medina|Egg]] (Fabio Medina) – Produces a limitless amount of unviable biological eggs.
* [[Proteus (Marvel Comics)|Proteus]] (Kevin MacTaggert) – Transforms the unviable egg into a viable one.
* [[Elixir (character)|Elixir]] (Joshua Foley) – Biologically kickstarts the process of life, initializing cell replication and husk growth.
* [[Tempus (comics)|Tempus]] (Eva Bell) – Matures the husk to a desired age.
* [[Hope Summers (character)|Hope Summers]] – Enhances and synthesizes the other resurrection mutants' powers to ensure the success of each resurrection.