Product Description: Hot on the heels of both smash hits House of M and Son of M, Quicksilver returns! But is he friend or foe!? Complicating matters even more, the divisiveness of Civil War has spread to X-Factor: half of them want to cooperate with the government; the other half wants to take a stand against it. It's Jamie's choice that may well decide whether X-Factor stays together or cracks apart. Plus: in another corner of the X-Men universe, the Civil War really hits home! What happens when Cable and Deadpool find themselves on opposite sides of the fence, and both refuse to budge? What else: They fight! But it's not just your usual fun super-hero teeth-chipping spittle-snarling battle. It will change the lives of these two characters forever! Collects Cable & Deadpool #30-32, X-Factor #8-9.
Civil War companion This little Marvel Civil War companion shows us whats going on in the lives of Cable and Deadpool during this event. Deadpool is sent out by the government to help round up mutants that don't want to register. His good friend Cable has different ideas. You also get to see whats up in Mutant Town with X-Factor when Quicksilver shows up. Still on the run after the events of M-Day, he has some explaining to do.
The two issues of X-Factor are drawn a little different and there really isn't any action that takes place. The X-Men show up, but they are portrayed almost as bad guys. The Deadpool/Cable issues (3) are a little better as the merc with a mouth gets into some battles with mutants who don't want to register and even with his own buddy Cable. These three issues help save this collection as a whole in my opinion. Pick it up if you like Deadpool or if you just want to get the entire Civil War picture.
Two very different tales At the time of this writing, N. Durham is the only other individual to review this collection. While I agree on some points, I strongly disagree on others.
This collection includes two different crossovers from Marvel's Civil War event. One is a set of three "Cable/Deadpool" issues. While they are a bit light on plot (though not as light as the "X-Factor" portion) I find them to be a rare source of highly developed, yet still occasionally lowbrow, humour. Deadpool joins the registration side, not due to any strong philosophical viewpoints, attitudes, or any other sign of forethought and character depth, but because he wants to get himself some of those lucrative government contracts. Cable, on the other hand, is firmly on Cap's side of the battle, and he will do whatever it takes to sway Deadpool to his side.
The two "X-Factor" issues are in a completely different style, with a completely different approach. While the "Cable/Deadpool" tone is that of an action comedy, the "X-Factor" tone is most definitely noir with some cynical humour and loads of pathos. The story here is only tangentially related to the Civil War, though it is well handled.
In short, we have two quality entries of wildly varying types. I doubt that most readers will find the two stories equally satisfying, though they could well enjoy one or the other greatly. My advice is to use this more as a cost-effective sampler of the two titles to decide if you'd like to see more of either. It's not a critical part of the Civil War event.
Mixed bag If you read Mark Millar's main Civil War story, you'll notice how little a part the X-Men played in the massive turning point of the Marvel universe. Civil War: X-Men Universe attempts to add some depth to the proceedings involving Marvel's merry mutants that weren't covered in the Civil War: X-Men mini from David Hine. This tie-in collects issues of Cable & Deadpool and X-Factor, but what you get as a whole is a mixed bag. Cable & Deadpool focuses on, well, Cable and Deadpool. Each man is on opposite sides of the fence in regards to the superhuman civil war between Captain America and Iron Man, resulting in a showdown between the two. Fabian Nicieza's story is boring as a whole, but if you ever read any of his X-Men work from the early 90's, you know this already. X-Factor finds Jamie "Multiple Man" Madrox at a cross roads as Strong Guy, Wolfsbane, and the rest of the crew find themselves on opposite sides of the Civil War fence too. The X-Factor chapter, written by the great Peter David, is undoubtedly the best part of the TPB. Oh yeah, in the middle of all this, Quicksilver makes a comeback, for some reason or other. All in all, there's nothing particularly bad about this Civil War tie-in that features some nice artwork, but in terms of picking up various Civil War tie-ins, not picking this one up won't kill you.
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