X-Factor #79

Name: X-Factor #79
Brand: Marvel
Availability: InStock

Jun 1992 · Marvel · 1.25 USD; 1.50 CAD; 0.85 CAD

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“Rhapsody in Blue”

★ 1st appearance — Rhapsody★ 1st appearance — Shrew

About this Issue

X-Factor #79 is the debut issue of Rachel Argosy, the blue-skinned mutant musician known as Rhapsody, who would go on to survive M-Day and resurface decades later at the Krakoan Hellfire Gala, making her creation genuinely durable in the Marvel universe. The issue simultaneously plants the first shadowed, in-story appearance of Cyber within the X-Factor corner of the Marvel universe — the same adamantium-laced villain Peter David had co-created with Sam Kieth in Marvel Comics Presents #85 just months earlier — now positioned as the unseen antagonist who breaks Polaris's jaw in a subplot whose consequences (her wired-shut jaw) persisted through the major 'X-Cutioner's Song' crossover. Beyond its first appearances, the issue stands as a self-contained showcase of what made Peter David's government X-Factor run distinctive: sharp character-driven comedy mined from the Quicksilver/Multiple Man odd-couple dynamic, grounded ethical stakes around mutant prejudice (Rhapsody was fired as a teacher simply for being a mutant), and a serialized subplot architecture that rewarded loyal readers without alienating newcomers. Also of note is the photographic cameo of Shrew (Marilyn Maycroft), marking her first appearance in the Marvel Universe ahead of her full debut in issue #80.

writer Peter David · artist Jim Fern · inker Al Milgrom · colorist Glynis Oliver · letterer Michael Heisler · cover Joe Quesada, Kevin Nowlan

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History

The issue was written by Peter David, whose celebrated run on the government-era X-Factor had restructured the team and the title's voice since issue #71. Regular penciler Larry Stroman sat out this installment; fill-in artist Jim Fern stepped in for the interior pages, delivering a more traditionally rendered style than Stroman's idiosyncratic work. The cover, however, was supplied by Joe Quesada and inked by Kevin Nowlan — a pairing already making waves together in 1992 (they also collaborated that year on Batman: Sword of Azrael). Bob Harras served as the series editor under editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco, with Suzanne Gaffney as associate editor. The issue was released on April 21, 1992, carrying a June 1992 cover date.

Trivia · 8 facts

First appearance of Rhapsody (Rachel Argosy): a blue-skinned mutant music teacher whose sonic/psionic powers allow her to induce euphoric hallucinations and achieve flight through music; introduced as a suspect in an accidental death.
First appearance (photo only) of Shrew (Marilyn Maycroft): a former member of the mutant gang Hell's Belles who has turned state's evidence against her cartel; her first full appearance follows in X-Factor #80.
Cyber (Silas Burr) appears in shadow only, breaking Polaris's jaw in a single-panel ambush — his first appearance in the X-Factor series, bridging his Wolverine-centric debut in Marvel Comics Presents #85–86 (Sept. 1991, created by Peter David and Sam Kieth) to a broader X-Men corner role.
Polaris sustains a broken jaw from Cyber's off-panel attack, an injury she wore (jaw wired shut) through the high-profile 'X-Cutioner's Song' crossover of late 1992.
Written by Peter David; interior art by fill-in penciler Jim Fern with inks by Al Milgrom; cover art by Joe Quesada (pencils) and Kevin Nowlan (inks).
Story title: 'Rhapsody in Blue!' — a deliberate pun on the Gershwin composition, as Rhapsody is a music teacher whose skin literally turns blue when her mutant powers emerge.
A contemporaneous pop-culture gag runs through the issue: Strong Guy's date, actress Sean Young, appears in a Catwoman costume — a pointed reference to Young's highly publicized, unsuccessful campaign to be cast as Catwoman in the 1992 film Batman Returns.
The issue has been collected in X-Factor Visionaries: Peter David Vol. 3 (trade paperback, ISBN 0-7851-2457-8), X-Factor Epic Collection Vol. 7: All-New, All-Different X-Factor (2019), and X-Factor by Peter David Omnibus (2021).