Rob Liefeld: Both artist and writer; drew and plotted the early issues of X-Force, added Siryn to the team. I'm not a fan of his art, but since he plotted the issues in which Terry got her voice back (Wolverine #154-5), he gets thousands of coolness points in my book. Thanks, Rob!
Fabian Nicieza: Writer. Now this guy deserves a lot of credit. He initiated the relationship between her and James, and came up with the idea to make her an alcoholic (and have her quit drinking.) She was never in the spotlight much in most of his issues, but #31, the one where she quit drinking, was so wonderful it makes up for her supporting role in the rest of his run.
Greg Capullo: A great artist, and drew Siryn very well. He designed new costumes for the team, and Siryn’s was especially attractive.
Tony Daniels: A fun, dynamic, original, yet professional artist, who drew Siryn to be very cute and sexy, sometimes in odd poses, but always attractive.
Jeph Loeb:
Then: Writer (sort of). Don’t get me wrong. This guy nearly ruined X-Force as a
whole. But he was good with Siryn’s characterization. He made her the deputy leader, added
complexity to her sordid, tangled love life, and kept up her personality. She was always a
decisive, but usually nice person when he was on the book. (But if you get me started on
what he did to X-Force as a team, you will be sorry.)
Jeph Loeb Now:Writer. Honestly I'm not sure what to say about him. He has an excellent reputation overall for his usual work; in fact I really enjoyed his writing of X-Man during Age of Apocalypse, but his run of X-Force, starting immediately after AoA, was a very different story. I now think that the direction that the book went at that point wasn't his decision, and he was dealt a rotten hand when he came on to pen the series. If you try to jam a square peg into a round hole, there will probably be a mess, and I think Loeb got put in the wrong place at a very unfortunate time. The book was a farce, the team got its ass kicked on a regular basis, his run drove a wrecking ball through Shatterstar, and I no longer know what to say about his treatment of Siryn. On the one hand, she became Deputy Leader of X-Force, but on the other, I'm not sure this step ultimately ended up for the better. He generally characterized her as fairly easy to get along with, but he also wrote her into the phase of carelessness towards James that led to his taking up with Risque.
Adam Pollina: Artist. Okay, don’t murder me for saying this, but this guy is not the best artist ever to pencil X-Force. He’s nowhere near it. Right now, he’s really inconsistent, and when he started out, he was consistently bad. He’s definitely original, no denying that, but sometimes he gets a little carried away. When he’s not carried away, he draws Siryn well. But when he is carried away, she often ends up a stick figure with goofy facial expressions.
John Francis Moore: Writer. Now, the best thing I can say for this guy is that he’s done wonders for X-Force. As for Siryn, I wish I could be as pleased. He was good to her love life for a few months, but then he just sort of forgot about that. At least she’s not torn between two men anymore. He hasn’t been nearly so kind to her personality, however. *sob* When he started out, she was a bitch. The look she gave to Risque at the end of issue #66 (no matter how much she deserved it) could turn honey into vinegar, so I taped a piece of paper over it so I don’t have to look at it. These days, she’s just as tight as a violin string. When she’s alone with Jimmy, she’s sweet and concerned and somewhat likable, but when she’s with the whole team, she’s got a huge stick up her butt. She simply will not let them do anything fun or spontaneous if it involves using their powers, which is very often. Now, Moore’s rationale behind this could be that she is so afraid of her teammates getting hurt that she won’t let them take any chances, but she’s still no fun to be around. It's not like he can't write her decently, either. In #82 she was great, and issue #91 was incredibly touching, so why couldn't he do that more often?! Also, Moore has no idea where she’s from. First it was Northern Ireland, then it was Scotland, then Northern Ireland again. Then, he went and chucked Terry off the team by ripping her vocal chords out. It took Liefeld, patron saint of fanboys, to put her back together again!
Jimmy Cheung: Artist. This guy's art is a little round-faced at times, but very palatable. He draws Siryn very nicely. Admittedly, it's not the most original look I've ever seen in X-Force, but after trying to get used to Pollina for as long as he was on the book, this new guy is a welcome breath of fresh air. No more hair looks like it's wafting away.
Peter David: Writer. The first and so far only writer of the current incarnation of X-Factor, and personally I hope he sticks around for the long haul. He writes Siryn in a way that not only makes me happy, but which, finally, I can put into clear terms. PAD's Siryn is fierce, driven, honest, compassionate, quick-tempered, powerful, clever, and slightly foul-mouthed, which I love. She cares about the work she does. She's proud to be Irish and loves America. She's still alcoholic but also still sober. This, IMO, does not contradict her past characterization by Nicieza, Loeb, Moore and other writers who've handled her for an issue here and there, but rather matures and clarifies her, portraying a stage of life at which she's more sure of herself, more secure in who she is and what she wants out of life, than she was in the wake of the Shadow King's attack on Muir Island.
Pablo Raimondi: Artist. If there's a weak link in the execution of X-Factor Vol. 3, it's that the book has already gone through at least as many pencillers in 2 years as X-Force had in 6, and that is saying something. Raimondi, however, appears to be the most likely prospect for a long-term artist for the book, and we'll be fortunate if he keeps it up. His Siryn is confident yet vulnerable, expressive and credible. If pressed to criticize his portrayal of her, I'd say only that he often makes her look rather young. He usually even draws her to look cuter than Monet, which, by itself, is a striking choice.
