In February 1986, Layton revived the original X-Men characters in the series "X-Factor", which he wrote and Jackson Guice drew. Layton wrote the first five issues before handing over the series to Louise Simonson. Michelinie and Layton became the creative team on "Iron Man" once again in issue #215 (Feb. 1987) They crafted the "Armor Wars" storyline which ran from #225 (Dec. 1987) through #231 (June 1988). After Michelinie and Layton finished their second "Iron Man" run with issue #250, Layton returned to the title briefly to write and draw #254 and write #256 before leaving Marvel. A year later, he returned to the comics industry to ink Jim Shooter's "Magnus, Robot Fighter" #1, from Valiant Comics.