X-Factor: The Original X-Men Omnibus #2
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeThis omnibus gathers the heart of Louise Simonson's defining run on the original X-Factor — the issues that delivered the 'Inferno' crossover, one of the most structurally ambitious multi-title events Marvel had produced to that point, simultaneously resolving Jean Grey's identity crisis, the mystery of Madelyne Pryor, and the full revelation of Mister Sinister. Within its pages, Warren Worthington III completes his harrowing arc from Angel to Archangel and publicly reclaims that identity, while Hank McCoy's reversion to his blue, fur-covered form permanently restores the Beast most readers recognize today. Equally significant is the way these stories forced X-Factor and the Uncanny X-Men — two books that had operated in deliberate parallel — to finally collide, reuniting the original five X-Men with the Claremont-era roster and setting the stage for the line's early-1990s reinvention.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Louise Simonson came to X-Factor almost by accident: called in to write an emergency fill-in issue in 1986, she was so energized by the characters that she pitched story ideas to editor Bob Harras; when original writer Bob Layton departed shortly after, Harras — on the recommendation of Chris Claremont and Ann Nocenti — chose her as his replacement. Her husband Walt Simonson joined as penciler with issue #10, and the two collaborated on the title through 1989, with Walt drawing through issue #39 and Louise writing through issue #64. The Inferno crossover collected here was coordinated across X-Factor, Uncanny X-Men, New Mutants, and the dedicated X-Terminators miniseries, requiring Louise to orchestrate the plot threads of multiple creative teams — a complexity that showcases how thoroughly the couple had reshaped the structure of Marvel's X-line.
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- Collects X-Factor (1986) #27–50, X-Factor Annual #3–4, X-Terminators #1–4, Uncanny X-Men #240–243, New Mutants #76, Fantastic Four #342, material from New Mutants Annual #5, and Marvel Comics Presents #15 and #17–24.
- Primary writer: Louise Simonson; primary pencilers: Walt Simonson and Steve Lightle, with additional art by John Byrne, Marc Silvestri, and a large rotating pool of artists across the crossover chapters.
- Both cover variants feature painted art by Walter Simonson — the standard edition carries the 'Inferno' cover; the direct-market exclusive uses an 'Evolutionary War' cover design.
- The omnibus encompasses the full 'Inferno' crossover (1989), in which Madelyne Pryor transforms into the Goblin Queen, targets infant Nathan Summers, and is revealed to be a clone of Jean Grey created by Mister Sinister.
- Beast's reversion to his blue, fur-covered physical form — a permanent change that defines the character to this day — occurs within the issues collected here, following Apocalypse's earlier assault on the team.
- Warren Worthington III, having debuted as Archangel in X-Factor #24 (just before this volume), fully integrates that identity during 'Inferno,' formally retaking the Archangel codename in issue #36 after escaping Apocalypse's control.
- The collected X-Terminators miniseries is a companion series spinning out of 'Inferno,' focusing on the young mutants Rusty Collins, Skids, Artie, Leech, Boom-Boom, and Rictor rather than the adult X-Factor team.
- Louise Simonson is credited across multiple sources as the person who originally suggested that Chris Claremont's Mutant Massacre concept be expanded into a coordinated crossover across all the X-titles — establishing a template that the 'Inferno' event (collected here) directly built upon.
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