We thought the Arcade thing was done with last issue? Arrgh . . not quite. We still have to deal with the suicide-bomber, Taylor, that's left in Arcade's control room. As a final contingency, if Arcade failed, Taylor would poison himself, and when his heart stopped a series of bombs would go off around Mutanttown. And, on top of that, Arcade has the whole area encased in an electronic barrier so no one can get in or out. This really turns out to be a test of the whole group's fortitude as heroes. Even Rictor, who ends up lucking out, again, saves the day by overloading Arcade's computer systems and brings the barrier crashing down. These events are also going to cause Valerie Cooper to revisit the terms of thier relationship, between SHIELD and X-Factor. "Now I'm going to find Madrox . . and tell him how things are going to be from now on." I also have a feeling this little exercise is going to serve in bringing our malcontent group back together. Recently they've all been feeling a little lost in purpose. Their individual visions of the group, and it's future, are starting to fray, and show it's unraveling around the edges. But, there's nothing like a quick dose of adrenaline, and some acts of heroism, to get everybody back on the same page. This was an interesting side-trip for the group, but I'm glad it's over. I was never really a big fan of any of the Arcade stories. They all just seemed kind of . . hokey, to me. Anyways, we seem to have a regular creative team now . . they've been on board together for more than 2 or 3 issues . . . so I think that Peter David and Pablo Raimondi will, maybe, finally get this group to the greatness that it deserves. Well . . maybe not greatness. But . . consistency would be good. Despite my criticisms, I really do enjoy this book and it's characters. Hopefully, they'll get, at least, a brief respite after this.
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