X-Factor’s newest member has only just gotten into action, and he’s already part of the next mutant power couple.

X-Factor #4 finds the eponymous team embarking on a rescue mission deep beneath the Earth’s crust which, while not out of the ordinary, is fraught with all manner of startling developments. For Cecilia Reyes, the most startling development of all just so happens to be the sudden return of her former boyfriend Oskar, aka Wintergeist. Though Cecilia believed Oskar had simply ghosted her for personal reasons, the truth is far more disturbing than that and once she understands exactly what happened, the two are quick to pick up right where they left off.

• Written by MARK RUSSELL
• Art by BOB QUINN
• Colors by JESUS ABURTOV
• Letters by VC’s JOE CARAMAGNA
• Design by JAY BOWEN
• Main cover art by GREG LAND, JAY LEISTEN & FRANK D’ARMATA
• Variant covers by ANAND RAMCHERON & EDGAR DELGADO and MARCUS TO & ALEX SINCLAIR

X-Factor #4 marks the first appearance of Wintergeist, a powerful teleporter with a dark and tormented past. Following the fall of Krakoa, Wintergeist found work as a mercenary, using his powers to help carry out all manner of horrific acts on behalf of the mutant supremacist group commanded by the villainous Laynia Petrovna, better known as Darkstar. After being sent to bomb an army outpost that was manned by literal children, Wintergeist left the group behind, leading them to kill his parents in retribution and the hero’s ultimate abandonment of his relationship with Cecilia Reyes.

Introduced back in 1997’s X-Men #65 by writer Scott Lobdell and artist Carlos Pacheco, Doctor Cecilia Reyes lost her father at an early age to a random drive-by shooting, setting her off on a path to make a difference in the world any way she could. Reyes eventually found an illustrious career in medicine, one which she turned down a spot on the X-Men to keep. In fact, it wasn’t until Reyes was targeted by Prime Sentinels that anyone in her life discovered her mutant status, though her ability to conjure and command a psioplasmic bio-field was more than enough to keep her alive not just during the initial attack, but for nearly three decades since.

The heroes of X-Factor are just one of numerous X-teams to crop up in the wake of the Krakoan Era’s untimely end. Whereas the likes of the X-Men and their Uncanny counterparts are focused on continuing their usual missions as best they can, X-Factor has taken a decidedly different approach to saving the day in a post-Krakoan world. Instead of extending their reach to try and bring young, uncertain mutants into the fold, X-Factor has been formed as a government-sanctioned, social media-sponsored super team whose presence is meant to help normalize mutants in the eyes of the general public, all while providing the best online content possible.

X-Factor #4 is on sale now from Marvel Comics.

Source: Marvel Comics

X-Men

Since their debut in 1963, Marvel’s X-Men have been more than just another superhero team. While the team really hit its stride as the All New, All Different X-Men in 1975, Marvel’s heroic mutants have always operated as super-outcasts, protecting a world that hates and fears them for their powers.

Key members of the X-Men include Professor X, Jean Grey, Cyclops, Wolverine, Iceman, Beast, Rogue, and Storm. Often framed as the world’s second strongest superheroes, after the Avengers, they are nonetheless one of Marvel’s most popular and important franchises.