John Carpenter’s “The Factor” has one of many biggest horror film endings of all time, however it additionally baffled audiences upon its preliminary launch. After buckets of physique horror and sufficient suspense to make your blood run chilly, Carpenter left the world dangling by a thread, hoping that identical to MacReady (Kurt Russell) and Childs (Keith David) within the film’s ultimate moments, we would merely wait it out some time and see what occurs. Nothing ever did, although, and you realize what? For a lot of, it is why the movie’s ending is ideal, leaving us to dread that the titular alien had consumed one and even each of the survivors of Outpost 31. Extra decided “Factor” followers nonetheless wanted solutions, nevertheless, and so they truly obtained them courtesy of the Darkish Horse comedian guide collection “The Factor from One other World” (together with the opposite tales that spawned from it).
Debuting in 1991, “The Factor from One other World” picks up after the occasions of Carpenter’s movie and reunite us with MacReady and Childs, each of whom are nonetheless alive after destroying their outpost and almost freezing to demise. They half methods for a time, with MacReady instantly testing himself to make sure he’s nonetheless human and never prone to changing into a spindly, limb-growing alien more likely to separate its head from its physique. Fortunately, he is not, so he decides to return to the place the nightmare started to attempt to eradicate the other-worldly “Factor” as soon as and for all. Sadly, he fails, and because of this, his previous colleague Childs suffers drastically for it.
The Factor takes Childs within the second comedian guide collection
Whereas Childs may need remained himself by way of “The Factor from One other World,” his luck lastly ran out within the second “Factor” comedian guide collection, “The Factor from One other World: Local weather of Concern.” Revealed in 1992, the story catches up with MacReady, who’s now working at a science analysis base in Argentina to attempt to carry the Factor down as soon as extra. Tragically, although, the the creature lastly takes one of many final remaining survivors of Outpost 31 and finally ends up changing Childs for good, as revealed within the third subject of the comedian’s four-issue run.
What’s disappointing about this twist is that it is an extremely ill-fitting demise for such an iconic character. Childs-Factor then willingly reveals himself (which is an odd factor for an alien that always tries to stay in hiding to do) and is swiftly eviscerated by a workforce of commandos within the subsequent subject, which does not really feel proper at away. However whereas Childs undoubtedly deserved higher than that, the “Factor” comedian guide collection was apparently decided to play out nearer to an ’80s motion film, turning all of its focus onto MacReady and reworking him right into a one-man military. With extra firepower and fewer pressure, the ultimate chapter of the “Factor” sequel comics advanced MacReady into a really completely different model of the unique character, and it did not even want a shape-shifting alien to do it.
The Factor comedian guide turned MacReady right into a gung-ho motion hero
By the point MacReady had made it to the ultimate installment within the “Factor” comedian guide collection, “The Factor from One other World: Everlasting Vows,” the times of him being a paranoid, extremely weary loner had been over. As a substitute, he’d turn into a bulkier, flame-throwing motion hero who was wanting to confront the eponymous alien and in the end battled a Factor/human hybrid that had merged with its host relatively than replicating its goal fully. Did this break all the principles that Carpenter had established years earlier? Completely. However the “Factor” comics took a really completely different storytelling strategy in comparison with Carpenter’s unique horror movie total, and it ended up being all of the flimsier for it.
Certainly, when beloved movies are tailored into comedian books, their guidelines are sometimes bent and their established lore is scrapped, all within the hopes of making an enticing page-turner. Within the case of the “Factor” comedian guide collection, that meant killing off Childs and reworking MacReady right into a lead just like John Rambo or Dutch from “Predator.” For individuals who weren’t happy, nevertheless, one other tackle the chilling and extremely ambiguous ending to Carpenter’s unique movie would emerge years later — one which took a really completely different strategy to persevering with its story and in the end eradicated one of many film’s surviving characters a lot ahead of the “Factor” comics did.
MacReady saved the day but once more within the Factor online game
In 2002, Konami and Black Label Video games revealed “The Factor,” a online game that served as a sequel to Carpenter’s film. The third-person survival horror shooter let gamers face the enduring monster themselves, placing them within the place of a Particular Forces workforce despatched to uncover why issues had gone so quiet within the Antarctic, solely to seek out one thing not human chilling on the market. In addition to being a bloody good horror recreation that used paranoia and belief as a recreation mechanic, it additionally gave its reply to the age-old query concerning Childs and MacReady’s identities. Gamers uncover early on that Childs was, in actual fact, a Factor by the top of the movie, whereas MacReady was savvy sufficient to have stopped him earlier than the creature made its method again to civilization. The closely bearded helicopter pilot additionally seems close to the top of the sport, coming to your rescue and flying you to security.
Whereas the sport might have retconned the expanded comedian guide story that Darkish Horse wove within the ’90s, it is nonetheless attention-grabbing to see that even years later, individuals stay hungry as ever to know what occurs after the ending of “The Factor.” Carpenter, for his half, teased {that a} “Factor” film sequel might come to move as not too long ago as 2023, so it is doable moviegoers might but get an opportunity to return to Outpost 31 and uncover the reality for themselves. Ought to that ever occur, although, it begs the query: will we discover MacReady alive and effectively … or will we lastly study for sure that no matter is left is not MacReady in any respect?
