Chapter 23: X-Factor – Judgement War (1989)

We’ve now reached the last major stretch of Iceman appearances that hasn’t been reprinted in color anywhere: the run of X-Factor from #41-59. Today, we’re going to cover the first half of this period, which includes the “Judgement War” story, an arc that was incredibly long for its age.

But first….

X-Factor #41 (June 1989)
Writer: Louise Simonson
Artist: Arthur Adams

X-Factor go to London to rescue teenage mutant Alchemy, who was kidnapped by trolls who want to use his power to turn things into gold to destroy the British economy.

Alchemy was created by a reader who won the mutant registration contest that Marvel ran during the “Fall of the Mutants” storyline. He’ll go on to make a few more appearances over the years, but will remain pretty obscure. He was finally killed off in Death of X #4 and has not yet appeared in the Krakoan resurrection protocols (though given the heroic circumstances of his death, you’d think he’d have been pretty high up).

The New Mutants are now living with X-Factor, following New Mutants #76. This status quo will barely register in X-Factor and ends with New Mutants #78, when they leave with X-Factor’s students as well. The kids tell X-Factor that while they’re on a mission, they’ll take the de-aged Illyana back to her parents in Russia. Honestly, it’s incredible they’ve kept her this long, given that she doesn’t speak English, none of them speak Russian, and none of them are her family. What exactly was Colossus doing during this whole time anyway? (None of X-Factor bother to tell the Mutants that the X-Men are alive, but they did see Colossus during Inferno so they should already suspect.)

The new living situation affords Boom Boom the opportunity to suddenly develop a crush on Cannonball, which finally ends the minor tease-flirting relationship she had with Iceman. She and Cannonball will continue their relationship well into the late 1990s in X-Force.

In a bit of botched storytelling, this issue ends with Jean exclaiming that baby Chris disappeared in the fight with the trolls (yes, they brought the baby along on the investigation). Next issue it turns out he was just right in front of her.

X-Factor #42 (July 1989)
Writer: Louise Simonson
Artist: Arthur Adams

X-Factor rescue Alchemy from the trolls. He decides not to join X-Factor, but to continue on to university so he can better learn about molecular chemistry in hopes of improving his powers.

In a bizarre scene, Alchemy learns that his powers work on living beings when he intentionally uses them to turn a dog into gold, killing it. You’d think he might’ve tried on plants first.

And in minor plot advancements – Chris turns out to have the power to generate an unbreakable force field when he’s scared. No one notices it, though.

This two-parter isn’t a particularly memorable story, but it does have beautiful art by Art Adams.

X-Men: Legends #3-4 (May-June 2021)
Writer: Louise Simonson
Artist: Walt Simonson

X-Factor help their Ship override some bizarre programming that is causing it to attack them, and then fight off Cameron Hodge, who’s been given a new robot body for his disembodied head.

X-Men: Legends was launched as a series where classic X-Men writers could get a chance to write in-continuity stories set in the eras they’re known for, with the intention of tying up loose ends and dropped plots. There really weren’t too many of those left at the end of the Simonsons’ run that weren’t picked up and resolved by subsequent writers, so they made this two-parter that sets up the “Judgement War” story and gives an origin story for the robot body Hodge suddenly appears in during “X-Tinction Agenda.” It turns out Apocalypse gave it to him because he wanted to see him destroy X-Factor, or failing that, make them stronger by forcing them to overcome a more powerful enemy. Apocalypse also told Hodge to take on Genosha, perhaps hoping that would bring the X-Men to finally upend the anti-mutant government there. And Apocalypse finally tells us that it was his plan all along to have X-Factor take his Ship, because he wanted Ship to take X-Factor to the Celestials in the “Judgement War” story, in hopes that by showing them the best humanity had to offer, it would stave off their judgement of the Earth. And indeed, the story ends with the Ship sending them off into space just as happens in the opening of X-Factor #43 and New Mutants #78.

Of course, the Simonsons writing in 2021 now know that Iceman is gay and was therefore in the closet during this era. They don’t give him a lot to signify this, but they do give him a couple moments of his classic team-up with his crush Beast, and then give him a cute little speedo to wear. And Hodge’s narration during the battle seems to confirm his jealousy for Warren.

X-Factor #43 (August 1989)
Writer: Louise Simonson
Artist: Paul Smith

In the first part of the “Judgement War” story, X-Factor’s ship suddenly takes them to a faraway world in the midst of a devastating civil war between the supposedly physically perfect “Chosen Ones” and the monstrous “Rejects.” The teams gets split up, captured by various rival factions.

Iceman gets hit on the head and captured by Lev, a blonde woman from the Chosen with fire powers.

Meanwhile, Archangel is presumed to be a Reject and captured by the Chosen Ones, and the reverse happens to Jean, who’s suffering severe multiple personality disorder with Madelyne and Phoenix still in her head following “Inferno”. Beast aligns himself with the Rejects, and Cyclops is presumed killed when a Celestial lands on top of him. And wee baby Chris is taken in by the Chosen Ones, who think he’s somehow escaped from their nursery.

Beast gets unnecessarily physically intimate with Bobby and Warren when the Ship takes the team away.

In mid-battle, Bobby is flirting with the Rejects.

X-Factor #44 (September 1989)
Writer: Louise Simonson
Artist: Paul Smith

X-Factor all begin to figure out their fates in the different factions they’ve landed with. Cyclops escapes death and ends up with a non-aligned faction who explain that the Celestials periodically return to judge the planet’s inhabitants and if they’re found wanting, the Celestials destroy them.

Meanwhile, Iceman wakes up in a medical bay with no memory of who he is and is promptly knocked out by a doctor. It turns out he has developed a plot convenient form of amnesia. Although the “head trauma amnesia” trope was already laughable in the late 1980s, it ends up being important to how we’re going to read Iceman’s arc in this story. The Chosen faction seem to settle on him being a “Dualer,” a subset of the Chosen who appear physically perfect, yet have a second form that appears monstrous.

X-Factor #45 (October 1989)
Writer: Louise Simonson
Artist: Paul Smith

Archangel is forced into gladiator combat in the Chosen’s arena.

Iceman doesn’t remember anything about himself, but he does recognize something “indomitable” about Archangel when he sees him. Further evidence that Bobby was the sub in that relationship (as if we needed more).

He also gets into a heated fight with one of the Chosen’s aspiring leaders, Lord Rask, which Paul Smith draws with palpable sexual tension.

X-Factor #46 (October 1989)
Writer: Louise Simonson
Artist: Paul Smith

The plates continue to spin as the various plot threads move incrementally forward.

Iceman only appears in half a page, where he solicits bets in his upcoming battle against Archangel in the arena.

X-Factor #47 (November 1989)
Writer/Artist: Kieron Dwyer

This is a fill-in issue with a token framing sequence in the ongoing story. Archangel remembers breaking up a gang run by an abusive quasi-priest who forces runaways to sell drugs for him. Iceman does not appear.

X-Factor #48 December 1989)
Writer: Louise Simonson
Artist: Paul Smith

Again, the plot moves incrementally forward. Iceman appears in a one-page subplot where he and Lev simply recount the plot thus far.

X-Factor #49 (January 1990)
Writer: Louise Simonson
Artist: Paul Smith

We finally get to the Iceman vs. Archangel arena fight, four issues after it was first teased!

Iceman sure sits like a gay man.

Amnesiac Iceman kisses Lev while talking about killing Archangel. It’s the first time we’ve seen Iceman make a move on a woman when it wasn’t for show but it’s easily explained away by the strange amnesia he’s suffering.

Beast attempts to break up the fight and free his friends by reminding Iceman how he used to be the little spoon.

X-Factor #50 (February 1990)
Writer: Louise Simonson
Artist: Rich Buckler

Iceman, Beast, Archangel and the Rejects inspire the Dualers to rise up and join them, while Cyclops frees Jean and baby Chris and brings in the non-aligned group. They all agree that if the incredibly diverse group X-Factor can be friends, then so can the Chosen and the Rejects. Everyone comes together and turns on the Celestials, who are driven back when Jean channels all the power and mind of Phoenix and Madelyne into Scott’s optic beam and blasts them. As a side effect, this cures Jean of having their memories/personalities trapped in her head.

Also, X-Factor learn about baby Chris’ force field power.

Iceman is largely sidelined in the issue, but Lev thanks him for inspiring the revolution by kissing him. Bobby looks incredibly uncomfortable and acts like he doesn’t even remember being attracted to her. Because of course, he’s back in his own mind now.

And so X-Factor head home. Because this is an anniversary issue, we also get a cameo from Professor X, as the team fly past the Starjammer, where he’s being taken care of by Lilandra. He left the X-Men to get emergency medical treatment in Uncanny X-Men #200 (1985) and his only appearances since then had been in UXM #203 and New Mutants #50. He really did disappear for quite a while!

Finally, in a backup strip, Loki tries to recruit Apocalypse into the linewide “Acts of Vengeance” crossover, but it really contributes nothing to the story. Coincidentally, in the Wolverine “Acts of Vengeance” story, Wolverine ends up learning about the Celestials as well.

The “Judgement War” is a fun, if overlong romp. Louise Simonson is clearly trying to hit the “diversity is good” theme hard to make this alien revolution story feel like it belongs in an X-book, even as the X-Factor characters are increasingly sidelined as the story goes on in favor of the one-off aliens we’ll never see again. And of course, we’re getting an importance of diversity story in a book whose main cast are all white people and the humanoid aliens they meet are all also Caucasian. It really muddles the message.

Next time: Bobby gets his first actual girlfriend in years as Opal Tanaka makes her debut!

Where to find these issues: None of these stories has been reprinted in color, although they did appear in the Essential X-Factor collection fifteen years ago. Presumably an Epic collection is coming eventually, after which they’ll hopefully find their way to Marvel Unlimited.

ROB SALERNO

Chapter 23: X-Factor – Judgement War (1989)

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