History ComicBook / Madrox

''Madrox'' is a five-issue miniseries starring the ''Franchise/XMen'' character ComicBook/MultipleMan. Written by Creator/PeterDavid and drawn by Pablo Ramiondi, the series shows Jamie Madrox working as a private detective operating out of New York's "Mutant Town" district following the fall of X-Corporation. Joining Jamie are his former X-Factor teammates, Guido Carosella a.k.a. Strong Guy and Rahne Sinclair a.k.a. Wolfsbane. The series serves as a prelude to the [[ComicBook/XFactor2006 2006 run of X-factor]] which was also written by Peter David.

!! ''Madrox'' contains examples of:

* AmbiguouslyBi: One of Jamie's duplicates tells Stringer that he has a "very shapely mouth" much to Stringer's discomfort and Jamie's annoyance. When Jamie insists he has no idea what is going on, another dupe says, "In denial much?".
--> '''Jamie''': Great. Just what I need: to start ''rumors'' about myself.
* AskAStupidQuestion: This exchange from Issue #2 between Carol Campbell and a Jamie dupe:
-->'''Carol Campbell''': Mr. Madrox, I believe my husband, Ned, is cheating on me.
-->'''Jamie duplicate''': With another woman?
-->'''Carol Campbell''': [[SarcasmMode No, with a cocker spaniel.]]
-->'''Jamie duplicate''': Guess I walked into that one.
-->'''Guido''': Guess you did, Holmes.
** [[spoiler: Considering Issue #4 reveals that Ned is actually having an affair with a man, Jamie asking if he was seeing another woman actually isn't that unreasonable]].

* AtrociousArthropods: [[spoiler:Sheila [=DeSoto=], the fiancée of mob boss Eddie Vance]], is the true villain of the story and is a mutant with the ability to take on a terrifying insectoid form. She got engaged to [[spoiler:Eddie]] in order to kill him and take over his racket, and murdered a Madrox duplicate when he learned of her plans.

* BitchInSheepsClothing: [[spoiler:Sheila is the one who had Jamie's dupe killed when he learned she was planning to kill her husband and take over his racket]].
* {{Blackmail}}: Jamie threatens to reveal Stringer is a telepathic mutant if he doesn't help him gain access to the Chicago Tribune's archives to help with the case.

* BodyHorror: [[spoiler: Sheila can sprout insect-like limbs and other body parts giving the impression of a giant insect wearing a human skin]].

* ChekhovsGun: The new pane of glass Jamie's duplicate installs turns out to be very helpful in saving his life when [[spoiler: Clay tries to kill him]].

* CrazyPrepared: [[spoiler:The pane of glass Jamie's duplicate had installed in Issue #2 is revealed to be refractive in Issue #3 -- it makes him look two inches to the left of where he actually is to the outside observer. This throws off Clay's aim and he ends up only grazing the duplicate instead of killing him]].

* EvenEvilHasStandards: [[spoiler:Eddie Vance lets Jamie go after the latter saves his life and exposes his fiancée's treachery]].
* FemmeFatale: [[spoiler:Sheila [=DeSoto=] married the Jamie duplicate with the intent of having him join her in her criminal endeavors. He fled from her and she had Clay kill him because he knew too much. She also got engaged to Eddie Vance so she could learn who the major players in the Chicago mob scene were and kill them to take over their rackets with the intention of killing Eddie once she was done with him]].

* GenderBlenderName: [[spoiler: The "Kim" Ned Campbell is having an affair with is actually a man]].

* HeKnowsTooMuch: The reason [[spoiler: Sheila]] had Jamie's dupe killed.
* IKnowKungFu: Jamie acquires whatever knowledge his duplicates have learned when he re-absorbs them. In Issue #3, he saves himself from an attempted drowning by one of Eddie Vance's men by breaking the man's fingers after recalling what his dupe learned in an anatomy class. He later uses some escape artist tricks he learned from Creator/PennAndTeller and Ricky Jay to pick his cuffs.

* LovecraftianSuperpower: [[spoiler: Sheila's superpower transforms her into a horrific combination of human and insect]].

* MuggingTheMonster: While walking down the street in Issue #1, Rahne is harassed by two guys. She wolfs out and they run away.

* RememberTheNewGuy: Jamie's narration states that Stringer is an acquaintance of his from when he was working for the government-sponsored version of X-Factor. However, this series is the first [[spoiler: and last time]] Stringer has ever appeared.
* RequiredSecondaryPowers: Carol Campbell's mutant power allows her to spontaneously combust like the ComicBook/HumanTorch. Unlike the Human Torch, however, she isn't fireproof, which the heroes realize when she [[spoiler: confronts the man her husband was sleeping with and her anger and the shock cause her powers to activate]].

* SmarterThanYouLook: One of the thugs roughing up Stringer in Issue #2 is able to eloquently explain what the term "film noir" means.

* ImprovisedWeapon: Jamie kills one of Vance's men by slashing his throat with a playing card.

* ClonesArePeopleToo: Rahne expressed concern for the Jamie duplicate when he is nearly shot dead by Clay.

* CrazyPrepared: [[spoiler: The pane of glass Jamie's duplicate had installed in Issue #2 is revealed to be refractive in Issue #3 - it makes him look two inches to the left of where he actually is to the outside observer. This throws off Clay's aim and he ends up only grazing the duplicate instead of killing him]].

* DestinationDefenestration: Clay is in the midst of stalking a man he's been hired to kill when he learns that Jamie survived his assassination attempt. The next page shows the man being tossed out a window from several stories up after Clay is told to finish his initial assignment. A later scene suggests people believe he jumped.
* DownerEnding: [[spoiler: Sheila is killed by Vance after she is revealed as the true villain. However, Stringer also dies from a trap set for him and Jamie by Sheila and Clay, Jamie realizes a woman he thought he loved was a liar and a murderer, and Vance is still in power as a crime boss with fewer rivals thanks to Sheila killing his competition. On Guido and Rahne's end, Rahne accidentally kills the husband of their client when she finds proof of him cheating on his wife and she feels terrible about it. Worse, the client finds out despite Rahne and Guido trying to keep the truth from her.]]

[[caption-width-right:350:And 5X the ways for Jamie's dupes to bug him.]]

* AmbiguouslyGay: One of Jamie's duplicates tells Stringer that he has a "very shapely mouth" much to Stringer's discomfort and Jamie's annoyance. When Jamie insists he has no idea what is going on, another dupe says, "In denial much?".

* BatmanGambit: [[spoiler:Jamie comes to Vance's house and reveals everything to him - how Sheila only got engaged to him to learn which Chicago mob bosses to kill off so she could take over, how she was planning to kill Vance herself once she was through with him and how the Jamie dupe that Sheila married figured this out and was killed by Clay under Sheila's orders. Jamie then shoots Vance in the head and is attacked by Sheila who tries to kill him. However, it turns out that Jamie actually shot Vance with a paint gun and his true plan was to expose Sheila's treachery to Vance who plays possum and then shoots both Sheila and Clay.]]

* DownerEnding: [[spoiler: Sheila is killed by Vance after she is revealed as the true villain. However, Stringer also dies from a trap set for him and Jamie by Sheila and Clay, Jamie realizes a woman he thought he loved was a liar and a murderer and Vance is still in power as a crime boss with fewer rivals thanks to Sheila killing his competition. On Guido and Rahne's end, Rahne accidentally kills the husband of their client when she finds proof of him cheating on his wife and she feels terrible about it. Worse the client finds out despite Rahne and Guido trying to keep the truth from her.]]

* FemmeFatale: [[spoiler:Sheila [=DeSoto=]. She married the Jamie duplicate with the intent of having him join her in her criminal endeavors but he fled from her and she had Clay kill him because he knew too much. She also got engaged to Eddie Vance so she could learn who the major players in the Chicago crime scene were and kill them to take over their rackets with the intention of killing Eddie once she was done with him]].

* RequiredSecondaryPowers: Carol Campbell's mutant power allows her to spontaneously combust like the ComicBook/HumanTorch. Unlike the Human Torch, however, she isn't fireproof, which the heroes realize when she [[spoiler: confronts the man her husband was sleeping with and her anger and shock cause her powers to activate]].

* LovecraftianSuperpower: [[spoiler: Sheila]].

* FamousLastWords: [[spoiler: A dying Stringer's last words to Jamie are "Always hated you".]]

* ChekovsGun: The new pane of glass Jamie's duplicate installs turns out to be very helpful in saving his life when [[spoiler: Clay tries to kill him]].

* PersonalityPowers: [[spoiler: Sheila [=DeSoto=] had the Jamie duplicate, whom she married, killed when he fled from her upon learning of her criminal ambitions and was going to kill her fiancé Eddie Vance once she'd gotten all the information she needed out of him. Her mutant power is to transform into a frightening spider-human hybrid. In other words, she is a metaphorical and literal BlackWidow]].

* RequiredSecondaryPowers: Carol Campbell's mutant power is to spontaneously combust like the ComicBook/HumanTorch. Unlike the Human Torch, however, she isn't fireproof, which the heroes realize when she [[spoiler: confronts the man her husband was sleeping with and her anger and shock cause her powers to activate]].

* SpiderPeople: [[spoiler:Sheila's power allows her to sprout spider-like limbs from her body and pedipalps from her mouth]].