I'm not quite sure what to make of this issue. I mean, even for "X-Factor," having Jamie Madrox fight a resurrected Robert E. Lee to prevent him from killing Civil-War reenactors is a different type of story.
First, David does a great job fueling the story with a certain paranoia from the start, a paranoia born from the fact that Vanora murdered Madrox and Layla on their wedding night on the alternate world that we saw in issue #229. David really plays up that fear when Madrox panics after hearing Layla say, "Owww!" on the phone only to reveal that she tripped over a chair. But, it lurks throughout the issue, amping up the tension.
The rest of the issue deals with Madrox's fight with Lee, who blames mutants and their constant resurrections for weakening the boundary between life and death. Several comics have taken up this theme over the last few years; after all, it was pretty much the whole point of "Blackest Night." David is clearly going somewhere with it, though it's not particularly clear to me where at this stage. I'm not sure why mutants are responsible in Lee's mind, since any number of non-mutant heroes (Captain America, Iron Man, the Winter Soldier etc.) have returned from the alleged dead. David also doesn't clarify who sent back Lee. Moreover, it's pretty clear that Lee didn't return simply to get revenge on those people who would mock the dead, but we don't really have a sense of his motives beyond that. But, given the "To Be Continued," banner at the end of the issue and the teaser image for next issue, it seems that we'll have plenty chance for David to reveal everything.
Finally, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention how hilarious I thought it was that David gave us an insight into Madrox and Layla's sex life. Built-in threesome! Marvel really does let him do whatever he wants and I have to applaud them for that.
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