Returns to the 1980s run of the X-Factor! The X-Factor is fighting Cameron Hodge who has been turned into a robot by Apocalypse. Find out if they survive in X-Men Legends #4 by Marvel Comics!
X-MEN LEGENDS #4
Writer: Louise Simonson
Artist: Walter Simonson
Colorist: Lauren Amaro
Letterer: John Workman
Editor: Mark Basso
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: June 23rd, 2021
Previously in X-Men Legends: Apocalypse has given Cameron Hodge the opportunity to destroy the X-Factor. Even though Hodge hates all mutants, he allies himself with Apocalypse and is placed into a robot exterior. His new body is powerful enough to fight against all five members of the X-Factor. Meanwhile, Beast, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Iceman, and Angel momentarily lost control of SHIP but was able to repair it before they perished from SHIP’s deadly transformations!
SAVE THE BABY
X-Men Legends #4 starts off with a remark that Cameron Hodge cannot speak in his new form. To the X-Factor he is just a robot that someone has sent to attack them. But his actions speak louder than words as he is able to deflect Cyclops’ optic beans and resist most of the attacks from the mutants. The X-Factor also has another variant because they must protect a baby, Christopher Summers. Hodge is able to take out the X-Factor one by one, but Angel realizes that this robot uses similar attacks to him. He makes the semi-correct assumption that this robot was sent by Apocalypse! Angel then is able to defeat Hodge.
Cameron returns back to Apocalypse and blames the robot body for his own failure. Apocalypse decides to let him leave because he is a tool that could be exploited in the future. Meanwhile, SHIP abandons the X-Factor because it seems called to the Celestials which sets up the Judgement War storyline.
NICE WORK
This issue was fun and exciting. It has a lot of action in a few short pages that left me on the edge of my seat. There wasn’t any sort of deep theme that we could explore, but rather just a fun reminder of an old team. X-Men Legends #4 is successful because of nostalgia. X-Factor in the original run was all about bringing the original team back. Now we see that version of the team returned to provide context of a storyline. It is like a nostalgic comic about a nostalgic comic which is fairly neat.
The return of Walter Simonson’s art is a nice reminder of what that X-Factor run was all about. Seeing this version of Angel was a lot of fun. Great work here.
BOTTOM LINE: SOLID NOSTALGIC READ
If you are interested in how X-Men has evolved over the years I would suggest you pick up X-Men Legends #4. The amount of history and costume changes may provide context on the relationships in the modern runs of these titles. High recommendation from me and a solid 4 out of 5 from me.
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X-Men Legends #4
X-Men Legends #4 gives us a lovely reminder of the great 1980s X-Factor run and provides some context for the Judgement War storyline.
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Christopher Rondeau is a storyteller based in Tulsa, OK. Finding himself with little work, he ended up creating a job as a Game Master full time on the internet. Chris spends most of his days reading everything he can, writing bad fiction, and watching old Digimon cartoons with his daughter. Sometimes you can find him Dungeon Mastering a podcast or streaming on twitch. Recently, he has completed his Master's degree with a focus on collaborative storytelling. Find out more at https://rondeaucreator.com