Secret Wars on Infinite Earths: The Comic Book Fight Club

X-FACTOR versus FRENZY

"Trials and Errors" (Marvel)
Where: X-Factor #4 When: May 1986
Why: Bob Layton How: Keith Pollard & Joe Rubinstein

The Story So Far...
The revelation that Jean Grey had survived the death of The Phoenix -- and returned from suspended animation -- brings about a reunion of the original class of X-Men, with a purpose to continue Charles Xavier's dream of peaceful coexistence between humans and mutants.

Operating under the public facade of the mutant hunting X-Factor: the group uses Angel's fortune to investigate public tips into mutant activity, secretly parlaying their knowledge to offer assistance to young mutants in need of training and guidance.

X-Factor aren't the only clandestine organization interested in the fates of their young students. From the shadows, a new threat observes first recruit, Rusty Collins, with intense interest. After the failure of mercenary Tower, this mysterious group sends another powerhouse to capture the boy. A woman named Frenzy!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Frenzy 5 (Super-Human)
Intelligence: Beast 6 (Genius)
Speed: Beast 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Frenzy 5 (Marathoner)
Agility: Iceman 7 (Unlimited)
Fighting: Cyclops 4 (Trained)
Energy: Jean Grey 5 (Lasers)
Total: Beast 26 (Metahuman)

X-Factor are: Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Beast, Angel, and Iceman, with Rusty Collins.

You might recognize X-Factor as the original X-Men, who fought Sub-Mariner and the Brotherhood in X-Men #6, and have a wealth of experience behind them -- if you ignore Marvel Girl's lost years after being cocooned by The Phoenix force.

Frenzy makes her first appearance in this issue, debuting as a mysterious power house with a "steel hard" body and super-human strength. Her true name is Joanna Cargill and at this early stage she's working as field-leader for the Alliance of Evil, answering in secret to Apocalypse!

Against X-Factor she's clearly out-numbered, but Frenzy's tough exterior means she can probably withstand a standard optic blast from Cyclops, and attacks from Iceman.

Her strength is also more than a match for all but Beast -- who's just re-joined the team after experiments reverted him to his earlier furless form, putting considerable strain on his heart, in the process. He's hit the Danger Room, but it remains to be seen if there are any lingering side effects.

Angel is inexplicably our best ranked of the classic X-Men, despite a reputation for not being especially suited to combat. He challenges this notion with aerial stunts against The Executioner, The Lizard, and in a daring solo contest against Peregrine.

Is Angel likely to be a difference-maker, or could this all actually add up to giving Frenzy a fighting chance? Let's get into it to find out what happened!

The Tape: X-Factor Ranking: Angel (#49)

What Went Down...

A presenting savior turns hostile as Frenzy reveals her intentions to take Rusty Collins from the street whether he wants it or not. Her powerful hands suddenly grab at his ribs and begin to squeeze the air from his body. It's all he can do to remain conscious long enough to summon a burst of flame!

The blast startles Frenzy into loosening her grip, but has little effect on her steel-hard exterior. Even her leather clothes are completely unsinged!

Intent on completing her mission she moves upon the startled boy and smacks him through the air with a powerful backhanded slap!

The young mutant manages to roll with the blow and runs for his life!

Alas, it seems no obstacle will stand in Frenzy's way. She smashes through a concrete wall -- cutting off Rusty's frantic path through the lonely streets.

With his back to the wall it seems as if there's no hope of escape, but Frenzy's mysterious benefactor isn't the only one interested in Rusty Collins.

To the rescue comes Beast with a high impact dive kick to Frenzy's back!

X-Factor was alerted to their trainee's peril by the insightful psionic pictograms of Artie Maddicks, but their element of surprise is quickly lost.

Frenzy stands her ground and delivers a haymaker to Beast that launches him into the air!

Marvel Girl catches her teammate in the air with a telekinetic cushion that brings him down safely.

Not about to abandon her objective without a fight -- Frenzy grabs hold of a chunk of the partially demolished dilapidated tenement and brandishes it overhead with malicious intent!

The quick thinking of Cyclops reduces the would-be concrete projectile to a shower of rocks with an optic blast shattering it in Frenzy's hands!

The X-Factor leader calls for a pre-made play, inciting Angel and Marvel Girl to action for "maneuver three". A combination assault that sees Jean Grey telekinetically holding Frenzy in place, while Cyclops blasts her -- and Angel delivers a two-fisted uppercut with the momentum of a dive-bomber!

Iceman takes the opportunity to lock the super-strong villain down -- encasing her in ice and telling Rusty to make a run for it.

The deep freeze doesn't last long. A simple flex of her super-humanly powerful muscles shatters the ice around her and frees Frenzy!

Seeing X-Factor are too powerful for her to face alone, she makes a run for it, pulling down a nearby burnt-out building to cover her escape with dust and debris!

The Hammer...

A pretty good effort from Frenzy, all things considered. She held her own, and escapes to fight another day thanks to a messy, but effective exit strategy.

Next time she'll be able to even the odds with X-Factor by bringing The Alliance of Evil to back her up!

If you don't remember the Alliance of Evil - that's probably fair enough. They all skew a little generic, and are overshadowed soon enough by more enduring Horsemen of Apocalypse, who hadn't even stepped into the light at the time he was relying on the Alliance's services.

So why the sudden interest in Frenzy? Like Tempo a couple of years ago; Frenzy has emerged as one of the more intriguing candidates eligible for Marvel's 2023 X-Men Vote!

Just like Tempo she faces some pretty stiff competition, up against high-profile and seasoned former members already familiar with the team. There's Cannonball, Dazzler, Jubilee, Juggernaut, and Prodigy.

The fan-decided election will select the final member of a refreshed upcoming X-Men team: democratically elected to the Protectors of Krakoa. Former winners were Polaris and Firestar -- proving there's a chance for the second tier.

Jubilee might have the most compelling momentum right now, with a recent nuclear-explosion of her powers in X-Terminators, and an imminent nostalgia-sodden return to animation in Disney+'s X-Men 97.

The bubblegum princess of the X-Men makes sense, but there's just something interesting about a more punk rock option. Not that Frenzy is quite the same character she was when she debuted in X-Factor #4.

Her journey took her through various allegiances, from Superia's Femizons, to Magneto's Acolytes, and perhaps inevitably The Marauders. Along the way she lost a little bit of the flavour that made her original leather design a more interesting style simpatico with the ragtag mutant-killers working for Mister Sinister. She really did always look like a Marauder who strayed from the herd!

Eventually circumstances conspired to bring Frenzy into the fold with the X-Men in the late 2000s, and it feels to me like the character, although gaining greater complexity, has lost some of that tough-as-nails persona that I like about this first appearance. She might throw down with Paibok as SWORD Ambassador, but she's been softened in ways that don't quite feel right to me.

If Frenzy returns to the X-Men with the next Hellfire Gala announcement, I'd kinda like to see a makeover taking her back to this classic look. C'mon. The eighties are so hot right now, and leather and buckles feels perfect for a new Hellfire Gala look -- and maybe a new Frenzy.

Of course, maybe I just need to dig deeper into her appearances to gain greater appreciation for the nuance of her evolution. You can find future entries about Frenzy, or any of the other topics covered in today's feature, by following links throughout this post, or by checking the Secret Index.

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Winner(s): Inconclusive (Draw)
#49 (--) Angel
#55 (--) Beast
#89 (+1) Cyclops
#149 (+4) Iceman
#155 (+1) Marvel Girl (Jean Grey)
#488 (new) Frenzy
#489 (new) Firefist (Rusty Collins)