Jonathan Hickman's rebranding of the X-Men for the Dawn of X era introduced a new X-Factor series with a roster that was only loosely tied to the history of the team, which has a storied history in the X-Men's mythology that made some fans question the new team before the series began to captivate readers.
However, since a name like X-Factor carries such a huge legacy in the Marvel Universe, readers who are currently enjoying X-Factor might be looking to explore more of the team's comic book history by exploring a few of the essential storylines from each roster of the team, which we've collected a few of here to celebrate the constantly evolving team.
10 Debut Of The Original Five
The original X-Factor series by Bob Layton and Jackson Guice served as a reunion for fans of the classic X-Men, as the roster consisted of the original five members of the team - Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Beast, Angel, Iceman - after the miraculous return of Jean Grey following her "death" in the Dark Phoenix Saga.
Since Magneto was leading the X-Men at the time, X-Factor banded together as a new team and tasked themselves with helping young mutants by disguising themselves as mutant hunters called X-Terminators, facing off for the first time with threats like Cameron Hodge and Apocalypse.
9 The Fall Of The Mutants Changed Everything
X-Factor eventually went public as mutant heroes after their mutant-hunting scheme backfired and dealt with a number of tragic situations that included the "Mutant Massacre," though it was their epic confrontation with Apocalypse and his Horsemen during the Fall of the Mutants event that stands tall among the rest of the series.
The storyline from Louise and Walt Simonson featured Warren Worthington III's transformation into Death/Archangel and introduced Apocalypse's Celestial Ship, which became the new headquarters for the team.
8 Saved The World During Inferno
X-Factor was at the forefront of the Inferno event, which saw Jean Grey's clone and Cyclops' abandoned wife Madelyne Pryor transform into the Goblin Queen and attempt to raise Hell on Earth alongside demons like S'ym and N'astirh.
While other teams like the X-Men and even Power Pack played crucial roles in the event, it was X-Factor that ultimately was responsible for stopping Pryor's plot to sacrifice mutant infants to open a demonic portal, which also dealt with a number of loose ends from the Dark Phoenix Saga and beyond that make Inferno essential X-reading.
7 X-Factor's Final Days Began In Endgame
Apocalypse and his Dark Riders returned to take back Ship and destroy X-Factor in Louise and Walt Simonson's "Endgame" storyline, which signaled the end of the era for the original roster of X-Factor, though the team would still play a large role in the following "Muir Island Saga."
X-Factor's epic battle with Apocalypse threatened the life of Cyclops' infant son, who would grow up in the future to become the mutant known as Cable. The storyline brought together a number of ongoing plot threads as the original team was prepared for their transition back to the X-Men.
6 Havok Took Over The All-New, All-Different X-Factor
After events like "X-Tinction Agenda" and "The Muir Island Saga" changed the dynamics of the various mutant teams, they were reorganized in the 90s and X-Factor became a government-sanctioned mutant team led by Cyclops' younger brother Havok.
X-Factor #71 by Peter David and Larry Stroman introduced the new roster which included members like Polaris, Wolfsbane, Multiple Man, Strong Guy, and eventually Quicksilver and kicked off the second era of the team that would continue to grow throughout the 90s.
5 Forge Brought X-Factor Underground
The X-Men's mutant maker Forge had a long history with the government as both a soldier and a scientific consultant, which made him the perfect candidate for the new leader of the government's X-Factor after the Fatal Attractions event altered the team and Onslaught further decimated them.
Forge was eventually forced to break away from the government and go underground with teammates like Polaris, Shard, Mystique, Sabretooth, and Wild Child in the final stretch of this version of the team.
4 X-Factor Investigations Formed During The Longest Night
Following Peter David and Pablo Raimond's Madrox mini-series that reimagined a few X-Factor members as private detectives, David teamed with Ryan Sook for a new volume of X-Factor that launched X-Factor Investigations after the House of M Decimation of the mutant race.
Jamie Madrox and his army of duplicates were joined by Wolfsbane, Strong Guy, M, Siryn, a depowered Rictor, and the mysterious Layla Miller to help humanity and the mutant community deal with their loss of abilities while dealing with a number of X-Men events like Messiah Complex and even the larger-scale Secret Invasion.
3 The Hell On Earth War Brought About The End of X-Factor Investigations
X-Factor Investigations welcomed new members like Shatterstar, Longshot, Darwin and saw the brief return of Havok and Polaris before they found themselves at a crossroads during the Breaking Points storyline that led the team to the "Hell On Earth War" and a battle between Hell Lords.
The team was divided and in some cases demonically transformed as the various members moved towards "The End of X-Factor" storyline that brought a close to Peter David's hit X-Factor Investigations premise until the Krakoan era.
2 All-New X-Factor Went Corporate With Serval Industries
Following the breakdown of X-Factor Investigations, Polaris was contacted by Harrison Snow to form and lead a new team that worked for Serval Industries as the first corporate-owned team of superheroes in Peter David and Carmine Di Giandomenico's All-New X-Factor.
The roster included frequent team member Quicksilver, along with new additions like Gambit, Cypher, Warlock, Danger, and later Sunfire as they attempted to find a new path while figuring out Serval's ulterior motives, which included bringing down Alchemax and teased a connection to the 2099 timeline.
1 X-Factor Investigations Returned During Dawn Of X
Leah Williams and David Baldeon introduced a brand new team in X-Factor that took over the defunct X-Factor Investigations role as they were tasked with looking into the deaths of mutants around the world in order to help with the new Krakoan resurrection protocols.
The new team is led by Northstar and Polaris and included Rachel Summers, Daken, Prodigy, and Eye-Boy as they first investigated the death of Northstar's sister Aurora on the multiversal Mojoworld to kick off the adventures of the new team.