X-Factor #75

Title:  “The Nasty Boys”

Writer: Peter David

Penciller: Larry Stroman

Inker: Al Milgrom

Colors: Glynis Oliver

Editor: Bob Harras

On a television set, Strong Guy is seen being released into the custody of X-Factor liaison Val Cooper. The television goes on to say that Strong Guy is named in a complaint by Senator Shaffran saying that the activities of X-Factor pose a threat to the public safety. Val Cooper tells the reporters that she has no comment. A tomato hits the television. Slab says that he has his ‘no comment’ right there. He says that he messed Strong Guy up real good. Gorgeous George’s elongated fingers poke Slab. He says that Slab knows that he worries about him when he talks about himself in the third person. He tells him “down in front”. Slab tells George to get his fingers off of him, and that he sits where he feels like. Hairbag tells Slab that he doesn’t care if he messed up Strong Guy and to keep the produce off the television. Slab tells Hairbag to shut up and that all he has been doing is flapping his gums. He tells him to do something useful and chase a car or find a hydrant or something. Hairbag starts to yell at Slab, but George tells them to be quiet and that they are about to have company. Mister Sinister walks down the stairs and says hello. He says that he guesses that they haven’t heard of air fresheners, and that the atmosphere down there could flatten Magneto. He asks what that is growing in the corner. George asks if he means gray or green. He says that if it is gray that they are Slab’s socks waiting for him to put his feet back in them. Sinister says that he meant the green. George says that it is his pet mold, and that he is waiting to see how long until it gains sentience. Sinister tells them to clean up the place and to tell him where Ruckus and Ramrod are. George says that they had an emergency. Sinister asks if that emergency was another beer run. Slab says that it was. Sinister says that he isn’t pleased with that, and that he will have to talk to them. Sinister looks at the television and sees tomato, now on Senator Shaffran, and says that it is an improvement. Shaffran is saying that the American people aren’t going to stand by while mutants run rampant in the streets. He says that it is especially when their rampages are sanctioned by the government and supported by tax dollars. He says that the dollars could be “funding some secret sinister agenda”. Sinister says that the man knows a good sound byte, but that he knows little else.

Guido says that he is quitting, and that was the single most humiliating experience of his life. He says that they arrested him, fingerprinted him, and took his Gucci belt. Val says that they got him out, and that their lawyers say that the Samaritan defense should get him off from the charges. Guido says that he is quitting. Alex tells him that he is not. He says that there is someone out there behind all this, and that if he quits that they’re going to win. He asks if he wants to be so predictable and gullible that they could get him to abandon them. Guido growls and says that this had better be sorted out quick. Alex promises that it will be. Baldrick comes running over. He tells Val that he has the hook up to Moira MacTaggert that she wanted. Val tells him to pipe it down to where Madrox is being held.

At a convenience store, the clerk sees two people drinking beer. He tells them that he wants some ID and asks if they are planning to give him any money for the beer. Ruckus says that as far as ID goes that he is Ruckus and that his friend is Ramrod, and that as far as money goes that the cashier should give him the money in the register and that they will give him some of it back. The clerk starts pushing the alarm. Ramrod says that wasn’t nice. He forms a rod and smashes the clerk with it. Ruckus tells him to grab the cash, but the register falls over. The police arrive and Ruckus remarks about how quickly they got there. He asks Ramrod if he has his earplugs. Ramrod says that he does. Ruckus says that there are so many sounds to choose from. He decides to use them all. Ruckus screams out an unbearable noise. The police’s noses bleed as they fall to the ground.

Moira tells Val that it is true. Val asks if she is sure, and Moira says that Jaime has told him about the coconut grove thing many times and that the mutants he was with were called “Fallen Angels”. She says that it is exactly as the Jaime that they don’t have tied up like a “prize steer” described. Val asks why the other doesn’t remember it. Moira says that he is lying or that perhaps it is a mental block. She says that there is much that they don’t know about Jaime’s powers. She says that the longer the dupes are apart that the more independent they become. She says that is why the two Jaimes didn’t disappear when they were knocked out. She says that his mind is his own now. Jaime says that everyone should talk about him as if he weren’t there. Moira yells at Jaime for running off in such a childish way and Jaime apologizes. Moira says goodbye. Jaime thanks Mr. Atkinson for his expertise and that only have been able to detect the truth between he and his dupe. Edmund says that he was pleased to help. Edmund says that he is going to go and Val says that she will walk him out. Jaime asks if he can be alone with his dupe to convince him that all is forgiven. Polaris tries to apologize to Multiple Man, but can’t finish and runs out.

Edmund sits in his car. Val thanks him for coming so quickly and says that he is the best. Edmund says that she deserves the best. They kiss and Val tells him not to be a stranger. He says, “Stranger? Moi? Not a chance.” The car pulls away.

Jaime asks Multiple Man if he finally understands. He says that it is nothing personal, and that he likes him. He says, “I’m okay, you’re okay.” He says that enough is enough and that there can only be one prime self, and that he is that one. He says that he had no way of knowing and that he had convinced himself that he was the original. He says that he must have known deep down. He says that the lie detector guy knew, Moira vouches for him, and that all his friends have walked out. He asks what more proof he needs. He says that they should be one happy family again. Multiple Man says that he is right. Madrox puts his hand through Multiple Man’s head and he is absorbed. Madrox walks out of the room.

Havok tells Jaime that the offer to the others still applies to him. Madrox says that he will have to think about joining X-Factor, but that he will get back to them. Madrox walks outside. Edmund’s car pulls up and the window opens. Madrox says, “Hello, ‘Edmund”. The window opens to reveal Mr. Sinister. Sinister asks if Madrox wants a lift.

Quicksilver is running on a treadmill. He tells the doctor that if he drops dead that he will see him in court. The doctor tells him that he can stop now. Havok asks what the verdict is. The doc says that there is nothing wrong with him. Pietro says that he feels so lethargic and that he looks ghastly. He says to ask anyone. Havok says that it is true, but that he didn’t look so great before. Quicksilver tells him to be quiet. The doctor says that his instruments show that everything is normal. Alex says that it seemed as if he had a heart attack outside the monument. The doc says that there is no scarring and so there was no heart attack. He says that he attributes it to stress. He tells Pietro that it is all in his mind, and that physiologically he is fine. He says that he recommends two aspirin and a night on the town with a lovely young lady.

Ruckus stands with the other Nasty Boys and says to look who is back. He says that they were getting worried about Multiple Man, and that Gorgeous George was up in arms. George says to spare him the jokes. He says that he knew he shouldn’t have had that third beer and that he will never remember how long his arms are supposed to be. Ruckus asks how it went. Multiple Man says that it went perfectly. He says that he went without a whimper, and that they were standing around apologizing to him. Ruckus and Jaime high five. Sinister tells them to hold off on that and that they have an illustrious guest. Sinister says that Senator Steven Shaffran is a man destined for great things. He says that he hasn’t met all the Nasty Boys. He says that there is “Hairbag, Gorgeous George, Ruckus, Ramrod, Slab, and Multiple Man who was acted as their go between and was kind enough to shoot himself to set things in motion. Shaffran says that it looks like Multiple Man got what he wanted and that he is now the primary personality. Jaime says that there will be no more skulking around when Jaime is asleep. He says that there will be no more drugging him like he did when he went off with the Fallen Angels, and no more mental blocks or concerns that he might not be able to recreate himself. He says that there is just him and that he has Shaffran to thank. Shaffran says to thank his power. The power to event manipulate and unsettle the minds of others and cloud their thinking and abilities. He says that only the Scarlet Witch has something similar and that when he takes on the Avengers that there will only be him. He tells everyone to keep up the good work and that he is making a speech in the Senate that will be his next major salvo on the president. He says that next election there will be a new man in the White House. Multiple Man says that if his power is so great then why didn’t he use it on Bush during the first election. Shaffran says that he did and asks why he thought Bush picked Quayle as his running mate. Shaffran leaves. Ruckus says that he still doesn’t see why Sinister cooperates with that guy, and that he must be paying him plenty. Sinister asks what his point is. Ruckus asks when they’re going to get their cut. Sinister hits Ruckus and says that what he will “get” is in line. Ruckus goes flying into Gorgeous George, Sinister says not to think that Ruckus’ business at the convenience store went unnoticed. He says that Ruckus may be the leader of the Nasty Boys, but that he is his leader and not to forget it. Jaime says that he has a headache and that he is going to lie down. Sinister tells him to go ahead.

Professor Vic Chalker walks triumphantly in his powerful exo-skeleton. He says that he is going to go rid the world of mutants, but his incredible powerful suit is so powerful that it used up all his power immediately after starting up. He says that he will augment the power, but then realizes that he doesn’t know how to get out of his suit.

Lorna tells Rahne that the others will be back from the doctor soon and that they should have a talk. Rahne asks if they should. Lorna asks if there is anything she wants to talk about. Rahne says that Lorna is the one that wanted to talk, and that she can’t guess why. Lorna says that there are several interesting topics… war… famine… Alex. Lorna says that she remembers Alex and that he is the one whose bedroom she sneaked into the other night. Rahne says that she doesn’t know what she is talking about, and that it sounds like Lorna is jealous. Lorna says that Rahne has been acting weird since she came back from Genosha and that she had better tell her what is up with her. The others return and Guido asks if they missed them. Lorna asks what is up with “Blur Boy”. Alex says that apparently there is only room enough for two things in Pietro’s head… his ego and his problem. Pietro says that he doesn’t accept it and asks how it could be psychosomatic and have such an affect on him. Alex says that he thinks that they are dealing with someone that can turn their powers against them and cause situations where their powers ricochet back on them. He says that it happened with Quicksilver, Guido, and then he realizes that maybe it happened against Jaime. Val wonders if maybe Jaime had a dupe that was rebelling and that maybe this “Ricochet” helped him take control. Alex realizes that the Jaime that walked out of there wasn’t the real one and says that they have to find him. Pietro says that he will scour the city at high speed. Rahne says that she will come with him and track his scent. Val says that she will alert field agents, and Guido says that he will phone for pizza.

Ramrod asks Jaime what is the matter with him. He says that it looks like he is going to barf. Jaime says that his head is just pounding. Suddenly his stomach starts to swirl around and close in on itself. Jaime says that it isn’t fair. He says that he had his chance and to go away. Ramrod calls the others. Jaime says that he has worked too long and done too much. He says that he can’t let him take it all away. The others arrive and Slab asks what is going on. He says that he seems to be shrinking. As Jaime gets smaller and smaller he says that he didn’t do anything that wrong. He asks if it was too much to ask and begs “let me be”. Jaime pops out of existence and is replaced with Multiple Man. He says, “No. You idiot. Dupes may be identical… but there is only one genuine, original… accept-no-substitutions… Multiple Man…” He says that he let the renegade dupe believe that he had conned him. He says that he hid within him and took him apart from the inside out. He tells them all not to applaud but to just throw money. The Nasty Boys rush Jaime. Jaime tries to punch Gorgeous George, but his arm just sticks in him. George says that he hopes Jaime isn’t allergic to dying. Jaime stomps his foot and creates a dupe on the other side of George and the dupe pulls his original self free. They run right toward Mister Sinister. Sinister asks if he is planning on leaving. Jaime admits that he was. Sinister says not to let him stop them. Hairbag asks if he is just going to let him get away. Sinister says that he doesn’t want him to get away, but that he does want him monitored. He says that he will head to the Capitol, and that now that he has overwhelmed the renegade duplicate that all the mental blocks are gone and Madrox knows all. He says that he will doubtlessly confront the Senator. He tells them not to force a battle before they get to the Senate, but that once they are to take their best shots. Sinister says that he will be dealing with matters in another way and disappears.

Quicksilver races past people holding Rahne. Rahne asks if Pietro doesn’t like the new headsets, and that now they can stay in contact with Val and one another. Pietro says that what he thinks is that she is slowing him down  and not sniffing out Madrox. Rahne asks since when Pietro cares about Madrox. Quicksilver says that he wants to get his hands on the one messing with his mind, and that if he has to save Madrox to do that… that it is the price of vengeance. Rahne says that she thinks she caught his scent. Rahne tells Val that they are onto Jaime and asks if she is tracking them. Val says that the headsets are working perfectly. She says that they are readying the car, and that the others will be catching up soon. She tells Rahne to proceed with caution. Rahne says that caution is her middle name.

Jaime runs up to the Senate. He says to wait until he gets in there and tells everyone who Shaffran’s friends are. He wonders how he will prove it and thinks about calling Val. He decides to forget them and that they didn’t believe in him, and that he doesn’t need them. Suddenly the Nasty Boys fly in front of Jaime. He says that he could use X-Factor now, but that he can be pretty self-reliant as well. The Nasty Boys are confused which Madrox to go after. Ruckus tells them to just cut off any that are heading toward the Senate.

Inside the Senate, the Chair recognizes Shaffran. Shaffran says that he is there to lodge a formal protest to the President. He says that he is in the process of wasting tax dollars to support the activities of dangerous mutants. He says that mutants roam the land, and that the president created a taskforce of these dangers to the American people and gave them the sanction of the highest office in the land. The other senators mutter to one another that they knew Shaffran was going to start attacking the President since he wants to run against him in the next election.

Ramrod sees what he thinks is the original Madrox and hurls one of his rods at him. Quicksilver smashes the rod. Ramrod is glad to see some “heavy hitters”. He says that he is going to knock him to the moon. Pietro says that he has relatives there. Quicksilver says that Ramrod doesn’t seem like much of a threat without his rod. Ramrod asks who said that the only wood he controlled was his rod. The roots come out of the ground and ensnare Quicksilver. Guido leaps out of their flying transport with Alex and Lorna and says that the Calvary has arrived. He says that they would have been there sooner, but that they had to paint their logo over the big “4” that used to be there. Gorgeous George says that they have to be X-Factor. Guido says that they do have to be since all the better names were taken. George engulfs Guido and says that he thinks his name “Gorgeous George” suits him fine. Ramrod dives at Rahne, but misses. He says that he will get his hands on her. Rahne says that men that were tougher, smarter, and had better breath than him have tried. She hits Hairbag. Hairbag says that he barely felt that. Rahne says that she has barely started. Gorgeous George tells Slab to stop waltzing with the green haired woman and that he couldn’t hold the muscle man. Guido breathes some fresh air and says that his name is “Strong Guy” not “Muscle Man”. Guido slams into Slab, and Havok blasts Gorgeous George into pieces. Ruckus throws a firecracker at Polaris. She mocks him, but then he amplifies the noise a thousand times. She hits him back with a magnetic force.

Inside the Senate, Shaffran is still philabustering when Guido and Slab smash through the wall. He says to look and see that their destruction knows no bounds. Multiple Man says that he is the one that hired the Nasty Boys and their weird leader. He says that Shaffran is a mutant too and that he used their powers against him. Havok says that he has a lot of explaining to do. Power starts to flow from Shaffran and he says that he doesn’t have to explain anything. He says that he represents the American people and that they won’t be fooled by another of their kind. Jaime tells Havok to get back and says that he isn’t using special effects. Shaffran says that Havok made him do this. He says that the American people will understand and support him. He says that they will appreciate his honesty and love him all the more. Havok creates a blast to meet Shaffran’s. He tells Shaffran to knock it off. He says that he isn’t accomplishing anything and that he is going to get someone killed. Shaffran flies into the air and says that he hates to admit that Havok is right. He says that there will be another time and place. He tells America to watch out and that he is coming to spread the word. Shaffran explodes through the top of the Capitol. Lorna contacts Alex. Alex says that they confronted the Senator and that he went ballistic. He asks how things are out there.

Lorna says that Quicksilver caught the one that controls wood, and Rahne caught the one that looks like a perfect date for her. Rahne says that Lorna is a riot. She says that the rest of them got away. She says that the press is coming at them. She says that this isn’t going to be any fun, and that the camera adds ten pounds.

Sinister teleports back into a room where a bound and gagged Shaffran sits. He apologizes to Shaffran for accosting him in his office and bringing him back there, but that it was important that he had a stand in today. He says that he made sure to leave CNN on and that he assumes Shaffran saw it all. Sinister unties Shaffran and removes his gag. Shaffran says that he thought they were partners. He says that he promised him power when he became President. Sinister says that he already has power. He says that his only concern was the difficulties that Shaffran would have caused for mutants. He says that if he had been left unchecked that Shaffran would have indeed become President and that he path he would have taken would have lead to the deaths of Alex Summers and Lorna Dane. He says that he couldn’t allow that for personal reasons. He says that he manipulated him and made the people believe that he was one of the mutants that he was warning against. He says that after Val Cooper puts the right spin on this that X-Factor will be seen as heroes and that suits his purposes. Sinister says that it will take Val some time to figure out how her husband fell into all this, but that he is going to let that sit and stew for now. Sinister says that Shaffran is probably wondering why he didn’t just kill him, but that “Ricochet” will do that himself. Shaffran says that he will tell the people about Sinister and that they will believe him. Sinister asks if they cared about Gary Hart’s explanations or Ted Kennedy’s. He says that in Roman times that disgraced senators opened their veins. He hands Shaffran a gun and says that this is more reliable. Sinister turns his back on Shaffran. Shaffran fires at Sinister, but Sinister turns. The bullet bounces off him and hits Shaffran right in the forehead. Sinister says, “You think I’m formidable? Then you think correctly my friend. For when it comes to the domination of our kind… and of the destruction of all those who ever bore the name, ‘X-Men’… no one compares to Mr. Sinister.” On the television, Havok tells the press that he will have to keep this short since he just learned that they are heading to Trans-Sabal, but that he wants the people to know that they are in no danger from X-Factor. He says that often those that are detractors of “GeeCees” have their own agenda. He says that they were fortunate enough to root out Shaffran and that they will be rooting out the Nasty Boys and the leader they called “Mr. S”. He says that they are there to serve and protect the American people, and to go where they are needed. He says that they have his blood oath on that. The television turns off.

Mutant Scum rating: 8.5 out of 10

 Review and pictures by The Leader

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