Aurora's dead. Northstar can feel it. Too bad the Five don't go on "feelings." There's a sequence of recruits starting with Lorna, then Daken, then Rachel, then Prodigy, then Eyeboy (accidentally). They track down Aurora's last known whereabouts and find her body. They deduce that she was in a car with the brakes cut that drove off a bridge, leading to her drowning. An anti-mutant human murderer? Maybe. Anyway, the Quiet Council appoint the group as the new X-Factor, and although Mags thinks Lorna should lead, she suggests Northstar. They're then tasked with finding all the missing mutants of the world.

I have to say, as excited as I was for this... I didn't love it. It felt very coincidental, with the group constantly getting bigger for no real reason. I guess it was nice seeing how each one offered something different for investigation?

Northstar was great, as I assumed he would be. Leah Williams has a fun time with the character and his quick-to-anger/snark personality, especially after the loss of his sister. I can see that being explored throughout the series, and I especially look forward to his interactions with Daken, who he immediately wrote off. (NO sexual chemistry, though, please. I will be so irritated if Northstar and Kyle don't stay in their healthy, monogamous relationship.) I also really, really dug JP's reationship with Lorna. I think they make for a good pair bouncing off each other.

The other characters? Meh. The team doesn't have the flair that, say, Hellions or Marauders has. But we'll see.

I'm in the book for the long haul, at least until Northstar isn't in it anymore, but I do hope we get more than just chit-chat between the characters (seriously, there was a LOT of dialogue in this issue, and a good portion of it felt like fluff that could've been cut for anything else).

What'd y'all think?