A dark side to X-Men Founders' party revealed in X-Factor #9 preview

X-Factor #9
(Image credit: David Baldeon (Marvel Comics))

The Founders' party was the high point of the milestone House of X / Powers of X saga in 2019, but in next week's X-Factor #9 it will be revealed there was something dark, brooding, and ancient lurking in it all.

In a preview of X-Factor #9 released to Newsarama, the dark goddess the Morrigan who has been causing trouble for mutantkind is revealed to have been a part of the Founders' party in House of X #6, but only Siryn - who the Morrigan has been subtly possessing - could see the dark force.

Take a look:

'Gaes', for those wondering, is a word from Irish folklore describition a debt or obligation magically imposed on a person. That person, in this case, appears to be Siryn.

(Image credit: Ivan Shavrin (Marvel Comics))

This all comes to light when Rachel and the rest of X-Factor telepathically enter Siryn's mind to discover what's been going on with her - and the true extent of the Morrigan's powers.

The Morrigan has been a part of Siryn going all the way back to 2012's X-Factor #244, when the mutant sacrificed herself to take on the Morrigan's dark power to save her friends. Since the advent of the 'Dawn of X' era in 2019, Siryn has died at least twice by the hand of the Morrigan - only to be resurrected as part of mutantkind's new abilities to resurrect any mutant. The circumstances of Siryn's death is what led X-Factor to investigate.

"BEST! CONCERT! EVER! The Morrigan needs to be destroyed," reads Marvel's description of X-Factor #9. "The answer lies in the Mojoverse. LOOKS LIKE WE'RE GETTING THE BAND BACK TOGETHER."

X-Factor #9 goes on sale on May 12.

Keep track of this and all the new X-Men comics, graphic novels, and collections in 2021 and beyond.

Chris Arrant

Chris Arrant covered comic book news for Newsarama from 2003 to 2022 (and as editor/senior editor from 2015 to 2022) and has also written for USA Today, Life, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher's Weekly, Marvel Entertainment, TOKYOPOP, AdHouse Books, Cartoon Brew, Bleeding Cool, Comic Shop News, and CBR. He is the author of the book Modern: Masters Cliff Chiang, co-authored Art of Spider-Man Classic, and contributed to Dark Horse/Bedside Press' anthology Pros and (Comic) Cons. He has acted as a judge for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the Harvey Awards, and the Stan Lee Awards. Chris is a member of the American Library Association's Graphic Novel & Comics Round Table. (He/him)