House of M TPB Review
The Scarlet Witch said, “no more mutants,” and I swear she must have also uttered ever so softly, “but produce twice as many x-books.” There is no doubt that Marvel did just that after House of M. Son of M, the 198, X-men Deadly Genesis, Sentinel Squad O*N*E*, Generation M, etc., etc. However, I’m not here to discuss the stories that sprung from House of M, but House of M itself. For the first time in awhile, an “event” comic actually lived up to the hype. The repercussions have been long lasting, and are still being felt. Even though those repercussions involved, for lack of a better word, the decimation of the mutant race, I think that the x-books have never been stronger.
Everything begins with a meeting. Said meeting has been called by Charles Xavier, so that the super heroes of the Marvel universe can decide the fate of the reality altering mutant, Wanda Maximoff, who wreaked havoc on the Avengers during Avengers: Disassembled. The solution seems simple: Maximoff must be killed. If she is left alive, she could cause immeasurable damage, but was killing her truly the right thing to do? The heroes decided that they should go confront the mass murderer, psycho, magic wielding, former heroine. They might be super heroes, but I would wager that none of them did real well on their SAT’s. So they journey to Genosha where everything explodes to white, and the next thing we know, we are in Spider-Man’s bedroom. Spidey rolls out of bed and the final panel reveals not Mary Jane on the other side, but a certain someone with blonde hair.
The Internet didn’t break in two like Mr. Bendis had expected, but there was quite an uproar. So, in the second issue, we are treated to the new status quo of the heroes of the Marvel Universe. Spider-Man is married to Gwen Stacy, Captain America is an aged veteran, Wolverine is a premier member of SHIELD, and Carol Danvers is Captain Marvel, the most popular hero in America. Turns out that none of these people remember how their lives were supposed to be. That is not entirely true I guess. The guy with the faultiest memory in the Marvel U, Wolverine, certainly remembers. So, he rightfully loses it a bit, and leaps from his home on a SHIELD helicarrier, and goes on a whirl wind adventure through New York. Finally he meats up with Luke Cage, and his human resistance movement, who explains everything to him in black and white terms: Homo Superior’s (mutants) rule the world, and homo sapiens are discriminated against. Wolverine then explains his side of the story, and one more note: Hawkeye is back. Oh, plus, Wolverine has all of his memories back, which is what he has wanted for as long as he can remember. Logan then comes to the conclusion that it was Magneto who manipulated his sick daughter (the Scarlet Witch, AKA Wanda Maximoff) into creating a world where everyone gets what they have always wanted (Magneto is pretty much the ruler of the world, and mutants are the dominant race…. hmmm…suspicious).
Luke Cage and his movement confirm Wolverine’s claims, with the help of Layla Miller, who has the power to “show” people the real world, the one that Wolverine remembers that is. So, Wolverine sets out to find all of his former teammates, who can be reminded of the real world by Layla, and then can band together and take down Magneto, and his House of M. So, in short, everything crescendos with a huge fight between Magneto, and his House of M, and the awakened heroes. The cliff notes version is this: the fight rages, Hawkeye confronts Scarlet Witch (he’s vaporized again, to the chagrin of the people who screamed after his death in Avengers: Disassembled), we are treated to the reveal that it was actually Quicksilver who caused the House of M, and the Scarlet Witch utters those fateful words, “no more mutants.”
Then, with a flash of light, the heroes are back to the real world, where some of them remember the events that had taken place, and others didn’t. Doctor Strange appears, and confirms the heroes’ fear: the House of M really had occurred. The X-men pick up the pieces at the x-mansion, where many of the students and even Iceman have lost their mutant abilities due to the Witch’s whim. The X-men speed to Genosha to confront Magneto, who also lost his powers. Wolverine decides that the biggest punishment for Magneto would be for him to live as the thing he hated most (a normal human), and he spares Magneto’s life. The series is concluded with the possibility that the Scarlet Witch is also powerless, and with this Hank Pym statement: “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction……..the question is: what will the reaction be?”
Overall, I thought that this was a true turning point for the Marvel universe. Avengers: Disassembled tore the place to shreds, but this mini series cemented the fact that the Marvel universe was changing, and that the classic status quo wasn’t coming back anytime soon. Brian Michael Bendis lent his unique voice to this project, and he did an excellent job. There isn’t much more to say about him that hasn’t been said already, so I’ll leave it at this: he really did a spectacular job with this story. Olivier Coipel did a pretty good job with the art chores. He’s not my first choice if I could pick someone to draw a story like this, but in the end, I think he did well. So, in conclusion, this is a must read for anyone that enjoys Marvel comics. This story will be pointed at as the turning point in the Marvel universe for years to come.
Grade: 9/10
Review by Christopher Hoerdemann |
