While the new X-Factor that debuted during the Dawn of X rebranding of the X-Men has begun to carve out their own place in the new Krakoan age as the investigative wing of The Five's resurrection protocols, most of the members on the team have little connection to the past rosters of X-Factor.
This might make some fans' usual habit of reading essential storylines of X-Factor to learn more about the new team a little difficult, so today we are going to s explore some of the origins and must-read stories from the new team of X-Factor Investigations led by Northstar and Polaris that includes Rachel Summers/Prestige, Daken, Prodigy and Eye-Boy.
10 Eye-Boy Debuted In Wolverine And The X-Men Before Joining With Generation X
Trevor Hawkins/Eye-Boy first appeared in Jason Aaron, Nick Bradshaw, and Steven Sanders Wolverine and the X-Men #19 when he joined the Jean Grey School For Higher Learning. He was part of the first new wave of mutants since the House of M event decimated the population.
While he had a few defining moments at that school—including a power enhancement by Mojo in Spider-Man and the X-Men—he was given a bit more space to shine on his own when he joined Jubilee's new class of Generation X by Christina Strain and Amilcar Pinna before events like Age of X-Man led to the Dawn of X rebranding and his new place with X-Factor.
9 Daken Debuted And Sought Revenge Against His Father In Wolverine: Origins
Akihiro/Daken's troubled life began violently when he was pulled from his murdered mother's womb as revealed in Daniel Way and Steve Dillon's Wolverine: Origins, which explored the newly discovered memories of Logan following the House of M incident.
Daken's life of violence continued as he sought revenge on his father (who had only just learned of his existence) as he was guided on his path by the mysterious and powerful villain Romulus, who would play a large role in both Daken and Wolverine's lives.
8 Aurora Headed To The Stars In Captain Marvel After Her Debut With Alpha Flight
Jeanne-Marie Beaubier/Aurora first appeared as a member of the Canadian superteam Alpha Flight alongside her twin brother Northstar in the pages of Uncanny X-Men, though it was in the ongoing Alpha Flight series that her character was further explored and her struggle with dissociative identity disorder was revealed.
Aurora and Jeanne-Marie existed as separate personalities that often struggled for control, and she soon became a victim of organizations like Weapon X and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants before rejoining with Alpha Flight. Aurora finally found a new home with the Alpha Flight Space Program in Michele Fazekas, Tara Butters, and Kris Anka's Captain Marvel before the Dawn of X.
7 Prodigy Was A New Mutant And Member Of The X-Men Before Joining The Young Avengers
David Alleyne/Prodigy first appeared as a member of the new New Mutants squad in series like New X-Men and a number of huge X-events like Messiah Complex and Second Coming that continued even after he lost his mutant abilities during the House of M Decimation.
However, the character was explored further away from the X-Men when he joined Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie's Young Avengers team for a multiversal adventure that further prepared him for his new role with Krakoa's X-Factor Investigations.
6 Excalibur Helped Prepare Rachel Summers For Her New Future With The X-Men
Rachel Summers has a long and somewhat confusing time-displaced history that began in the iconic "Days of Future Past" storyline from Uncanny X-Men's Chris Claremont and John Byrne, though it was when she joined Claremont and Alan Davis's Excalibur that she was given the proper space to develop as a character.
She would eventually return to the X-Men as Rachel Grey/Marvel Girl in Claremont and Davis' Uncanny X-Men run that brought the character back to the big leagues and made her a major player in the X-Men's events again.
5 Polaris Was One Of The First New X-Men, But X-Factor Investigations Discovered Her True Origins
When Lorna Dane originally joined the X-Men and took the name Polaris, she had an incomplete understanding of her origins, though her mutant mastery of magnetism seemed to mysteriously connect her to Magneto through the death of her parents.
While she eventually discovered that Magneto was her real father and even sided with him for a bit in Fabian Nicieza and Roger Cruz's Magneto: Dark Seduction, it wasn't until Peter David and Leonard Kirk's X-Factor "Breaking Points" storyline that she learned the troubling truth about her own connection to the death of her parents.
4 Rachel Summers Fought In The Rise & Fall Of The Shi'Ar Empire Before Becoming Prestige
One of Rachel Grey's biggest missions with the X-Men came during Ed Brubaker and Philip Tan's "Rise & Fall of the Shi'ar Empire" storyline from Uncanny X-Men that brought a team to space to deal with the new threat of Vulcan that appeared in X-Men: Deadly Genesis.
Rachel would stay in space alongside Havok and Polaris as the new Starjammers in connected series like Emperor Vulcan and Kingbreaker. Rachel would eventually return to Earth and take on the new codename of Prestige in X-Men Gold before joining with the Krakoan X-Factor.
3 Daken Joined The Dark Avengers Before His Final Showdown With His Father's Uncanny X-Force
Daken took a new approach in his mission to understand his father before taking out his final revenge, which included taking on his role in Norman Osborn's Dark Avengers before he broke off on his own as Daken: Dark Wolverine by Daniel Way, Marjorie Liu, and Giuseppe Camuncoli.
However, he would return to his original mission of revenge when he formed his own Brotherhood of Evil Mutants in order to take down Wolverine's Uncanny X-Force in Rick Remender and Phil Noto's "Final Execution" storyline.
2 Northstar Was Marvel's First Openly Gay Superhero Who Showed His True Character Before Joining The X-Men
Some of Northstar's biggest moments from his time with Alpha Flight include the development of his relationship with his twin sister Aurora as well as iconically coming out as Marvel's first openly gay superhero in Scott Lobdell and Mark Pacella's Alpha Flight #106.
However, an essential story featuring the character that highlights not only Northstar's struggles with the ignorant but his strong character in Chuck Austen and Sean Phillips' Uncanny X-Men #414 as he attempts to save a young boy whose recently activated mutant powers are destructive and killing him, which ultimately leads to Northstar joining the X-Men for the first time.
1 Polaris First Joined X-Factor In The 90s Before Leading Her Own Corporate Team
Northstar may be the current leader of Krakoa's X-Factor Investigations, but Polaris has shown in her history as a frequent X-Factor member that she has what it takes to lead the team, even if she doesn't feel ready for the job quite yet. Polaris joined the government-sponsored team in the 90s and became a leading figure on the team.
Polaris was later asked to lead her own corporate version of the team for Serval Industries in Peter David and Carmine Di Giandomenico All-New X-Factor, making her more than qualified to carry the legacy of X-Factor.