House of M

by Brian Michael Bendis & Olivier Coipel
collects House of M #1-8

I’m embarrassed that I hadn’t read House of M until now, even though I’ve known the story for a long time. It was a huge crossover Marvel event, and even 15 years later, there are still ripples from its conclusion, both in its story and how DC and Marvel approach universe events. Growing up I read more DC comics and House of M was never really on my radar. But now things have switched – I’m almost completely reading Marvel now that I have a Marvel Unlimited subscription (not an ad) and no access to the library. These circumstances made it easier to pick up House of M, and I’m glad I didn’t wait any longer.

Lots of crossover events from DC and Marvel can be overly complicated and steeped in continuity, which is usually why I hesitate picking them up in the first place. But at its core, House of M is a compelling and well executed what-if story – one of the best I’ve ever read, right up there with Superman: Red Son. Some previous story lines will help you enjoy House of M more (Avengers Disassembled, New X-Men, Astonishing X-Men), but it also stands on its own.

In House of M, the Avengers and X-Men are faced with a difficult decision – what to do with an unstable Scarlet Witch, who already killed several heroes (from Avengers Disassembled) and is becoming too powerful for Xavier and Strange. Using all of her power, Wanda alters the world as a mutant utopia: mutants are the accepted majority, and her father Magneto rules Genosha. She wipes the Avengers’ and X-Men’s memories, giving each member their heart’s desire in this new world.

While the story is epic, creating an alternate reality and bringing together almost all the big players from the Marvel universe (Thor and Hulk are glaringly missing) Bendis instead focuses on real emotion and grief from Wanda’s actions. The story was most engaging when it focused on these emotional and ethical dilemmas while keeping the story moving at an exciting pace. These dilemmas keeps things human and anchored emotionally in a big story, and Bendis strikes just the right balance. By far the most emotional is Peter, who must lose his loved ones in order to set the world right; a dead hero is brought back to life and must also make a painful decision. Wanda, Pietro and Erik also have their own compelling reasons, but I won’t reveal due to spoilers.

Bendis nicely sets up an ongoing series of tensions and problems, including who’s going to first realize things are wrong (who does, and why, is very smart), how the rest of the heroes are woken up, who will struggle with losing this reality, where is Xavier, and how to defeat Wanda. This kept everything moving forward in a genuine way, filling eight issues but keeping a tight story. (There are dozens of other tie in issues that I chose to not read, but might go back to.)

However there are a few weaknesses in House of M. One has already been brought up by other reviewers – why didn’t Wanda bring back her husband Vision? (I would have been fascinated to see his choices once he learned the truth.) In fact, we barely see much of Wanda – if it wasn’t for Layla and Emma, the story would have been dominated by men, including those using Wanda to their own ends. Speaking of Layla, a new mutant with just the right kind of powers, running right into Luke Cage, felt pretty contrived. And while the “deepest wishes” of each hero was, for the most part, nicely done, there were some that surprised me. Splitting up couples, like Luke and Jessica, doesn’t make sense, while Emma and Scott didn’t seem that thrilled to be married once they woke up. I doubt Shang Chi and Luke wanted to be a mob bosses, and Tony as a business mogul felt like a horizontal move rather than a vertical one. So it was really a mixed bag: most heroes were just placated, and the only ones who really got what they wanted were Peter Parker, Wolverine, and the Maximoffs.

Olivier Coipel’s art was consistent, vibrant, and effectively portrayed a convincing alternate reality. I really liked the costume changes and how he adapted different art styles from different series (like the Astonishing X-Men) to co-exist in one universe. I mean this as a compliment: the art totally immersed me in the story, to the point that I wasn’t really pausing to admire the art. However I did find it odd that the covers didn’t match the universe – Magneto, Von Doom and others were in their original costumes. Was this a communication issue or meant to avoid spoilers?

Overall, this is one of the best executed what-if stories that was both epic and also made a huge impact on the Marvel universe. Even if you aren’t invested in the modern Marvel universe, it’s worth the read.