Grimlock ♥ Ultra Magnus

Gambit speaks, and thinks, less in this so his wonky accent isn't as distracting.   I'm also feeling like the author gets a better handle on  him.   In addition, the storyline gets tighter as there's no reason to set up the backstory to this team, and the divisions crack a little more, adding tension, even as they introduce a new storyline with an anti-mutant mogul and his adopted daughter, whom X-Factor tries to save - even though she didn't need it, or ask for it, and doesn't want to be saved. 

I'm a bit upset that other people - all men - try to take control of her life.  I'm proud of her for sticking to her guns: she blames X-Factor for the mess her life has become, and despite them trying to explain how wrong she is, she continues to be angry at them.   (Instead of fixing the situation up tidily by getting her to agree, and stripping her of the one real choice she has left.)   Also, when a super villain flat out tells her she'll help him, giving her no choice, she says no to him and fights him  off as best she can.   (Which turns out to be impressively well given how little combat, and even real world, experience she has - having been home-schooled since she was a mutant, with no access to the internet.)

But it ties into the troubling aspect of this team which has to do with their team leader, Lorna Dane (aka Polaris) who seems to be unstable.   Then again, Pietro Maximoff Quicksilver and Doug Ramsey (aka Cypher) are also depicted as unstable, although Cypher more so than Quicksilver, although there is a common thread with all of them: it doesn't seem to matter, nor is it dealt with.   Lorna, who heads this superhero team which is run by a company that says they want to do good, threatens police officers.  Threatens to murder them.   It's a pretty bankrupt move, but no one bats an eye or says anything about it.   Cypher lies about being suicidal and is called out on it by Danger - and then it's never mentioned again, even after he has what should be considered a pretty traumatic near death experience.   (I guess having his friend Warlock there, and being on a team again, makes his depression go poof?   I just... yeah.   Still seems like someone should mention him going to a psychiatrist or something.)   In fact, only Quicksilver is called out for his behavior - and this is past murders, and torture, and evil deeds - at a press conference for the team.  

How much do you bet only he gets called out for this by the rest of the team, because only will affect the public perception of the team?   Of course, one has to wonder why the officers who were threatened don't come forward. Either they were paid off - making Serval a shady company - or it's pretty unrealistic.   

Speaking of Serval, the C.E.O is playing a lot of games, which makes this interesting.   He's sleeping with his secretary Linda, and his wife finds out - and sleeps with Gambit.   When Snow, the C.E.O, finds out, it all comes to a head on X-Factor's next mission.   It all felt pretty gross (except for Gambit's part in all this which I'll get to in a moment) but also kind of like what a very rich, possibly completely morally bankrupt person will do.   It makes me not trust Serval, I can tell you that much!

As for Gambit, him hitting on Angela Snow, and taking her to bed, is one of the things that I found more true to his original character.   He was always kind of a charmer, a sweet talker, a ladies man, and it showed.   He never asked Angela who she was - and she knew who he was and didn't disclose that she was the boss' wife.   Pretty much, Angela set it up so Linda would walk in on them, and tell her husband, so he would feel it like a punch in the gut.   I feel like what Gambit did was innocent: he slept with what he assumed to be a single woman, who didn't disclose anything true about herself - well, except her first name.   He was definitely used, and while I'm not fond of seeing women playing these games, I also kinda feel Snow got what was coming to him.   After all, he'd been playing these games first!   Angela just wanted Linda to admit to it.   Angela in fact demanded the truth multiple times and when she found she was not only being cheated on, but lied to as well, she took what she deemed the appropriate steps. 

It's all causing more division and tension in the group, and it could be quite interesting to see how it plays out in the end.   For now, though, like I said earlier, it was kinda gross...