‘X-Men ‘97’ Proves X-Factor Aren't Just The Government's Mutant Cops
X-Men '97 (2024) features plenty of mutant heroes and factions, including X-Factor. The government-sponsored team, founded by Val Cooper, serves as the formal American counterpoint to the X-Men. While X-Force and the X-Men operate largely outside of the law, X-Factor gets to have formal government authority—and has to follow through on the government's intentions.
X-Factor is set to feature heavily in Season 2, poised to become a real problem for the heroes as they try to contend with Apocalypse. They could even play a more important role in future seasons of the show, set up as a dedicated contrast to the main squad. Here is every member of X-Factor, where you’ve seen them before, and the kind of role they could play in the show’s future.
Who Is On X-Factor (And Where Have We Seen Them Before?)
After briefly appearing in X-Men: The Animated Series (1992), X-Factor’s return in X-Men ‘97 sets them up as a complicated antagonist for the heroes to battle with. The second episode of Season 2, "A Force to Be Reckoned With,” sees the government-sponsored squad come to blows with the more militaristic X-Force. Commanded by Val Cooper and led in the field by Cyclops’ younger brother Alex aka Havok, X-Factor is insultingly referred to as “C-listers” by Jubilee. She’s not wrong, given the lack of a spotlight that the team members have gotten over the years in outside media. A version of Havok was a supporting character in X-Men Evolution (2000) and one of the minor members of the X-Men in the prequels, debuting in X-Men: First Class (2011) before being killed off in X-Men: Apocalypse (2016).
Polaris had the most prominent role among the roster in the episode, having been one of the main characters in The Gifted (2017), while Multiple Man appeared as a minor villain in X-Men: The Last Stand (2006). Wolfsbane was barely featured in the episode, although she was one of the more central characters in The New Mutants (2020). The last member of the team, Strong Guy, has never really played a role in any outside media. The team is positioned to be a real thorn in the sides of the heroes, even as Polaris is clearly having second thoughts about the team and their stated objective to “protect mutants” by detaining them.
X-Factor Is One of Marvel’s Weirdest Mutant Teams
X-Factor has one of the more bizarre histories in Marvel Comics for a spin-off of the X-Men. The team debuted in 1986, reuniting the original five X-Men for the first time in years. While that version isn’t really present in X-Men ‘97, there are some subtle nods to that era, such as Cyclops and Jean wearing variants of their X-Factor costumes in the Askani future, and their original modus operandi of “rounding up mutants” for their protection being reflected in X-Factor’s actions. The second iteration of the team is very similar to what appears in X-Men '97, a government-sponsored group meant to serve as an arm of the United States government. This squad also appeared in X-Men with Magneto's son Quicksilver among their number. While that roster eventually left, it was reconstructed by Forge with wildcards like Wild Child, a holographic recreation of Bishop's sister Shard, and the villains Mystique and Sabretooth.
In 2005, the title was relaunched, now focusing on X-Factor Investigations, a detective agency run by the Multiple Man that brought back some old stand-bys like Wolfsbane and Strong Guy while also incorporating other heroes like Rictor, Siryn, and M—the latter of whom has a cameo in X-Men '97 where she uses her Penance form to intimidate Quintin Quire. When that book ended, the team was replaced by All-New X-Factor, a corporate-sponsored version of the team led by Polaris and with recruits like Quicksilver, Gambit, and Danger. The most recent iteration of the team was in the Krakoan Age era, where the concept was effectively reimagined as the FBI of the mutant nation, investigating missing and presumed dead mutants. Over the years, X-Factor has meant a lot of different things, although the most famous concept is the one featured in X-Men ‘97.
How X-Factor Could Change X-Men ‘97’s Future
The ending of "A Force to Be Reckoned With” sees X-Factor positioned as an antagonistic counter to X-Force (and likely the X-Men) going forward in the series. Representing the traditional authorities much in the same way Captain America did during his brief appearance alongside Rogue in the first season, X-Factor are unaware of the danger that Apocalypse poses and aren’t willing to give the more militant anti-heroes a chance to explain. The result will likely be some complicated problems for the heroes once they fully return to the present day, with the squad potentially coming to blows with the two other teams.
There were plenty of stories in the comics that explored that kind of conflict, famously including “X-Cutioner’s Song,” which could easily become a more focused adaptation point in one of the future confirmed seasons of the show. The team could also go through one of the reinventions it experienced in the comics, especially if the show were to eventually embrace the gritty approach to the Marvel Universe that birthed X-Factor Investigations or if the show tackled Krakoa and wanted to reinvent the team as their FBI-esque counterparts. X-Factor’s presence in X-Men ‘97 lays the groundwork for a lot of potential directions going forward, especially once the show escapes the shadow of Apocalypse.
