Stillanerd Reads: House of X #1

The X-Men ruled Marvel Comics once. Long before Marvel Studios turned Iron Man, the Avengers, and the Guardians of the Galaxy into household names, fans knew of the mutants first. With hundreds of characters, the X-Men were practically a universe unto itself, an action-packed soap opera for all audiences. It’s themes of prejudice, intolerance, and equality spoke to every minority and persecuted class. Such appeal allowed the X-Men to dominate pop culture, from comics to toys to cartoons to video games and movies.

Then along came Disney. Marvel became part of the “House of Mouse.” And thanks to a previous deal with 20th Century Fox, they no longer had complete ownership of the X-Men. Gradually, they sidelined, vilified, replaced, or killed off many of their most popular mutants. The more obscure and polarizing Inhumans adopted much of the X-Men’s core themes and metaphors. Even the fan-favorite Wolverine all but disappeared from any promotional materials.

But now that Disney acquired Fox, Marvel now seeks to revitalize their once top-selling franchise. To do this, they’ve brought back with much fanfare Eisner Award nominee, Jonathan Hickman. They’ve also canceled their entire lineup, paving the way for a new group of titles, starting with pair of interrelated, congruent miniseries, House of X and Power of X.

Having built a reputation for crafting high-concept, complex, mature narratives with such titles as Fantastic Four, Secret Wars, and Image Comics’ East of West, Hickman’s a logical choice. Only instead of building off of previous runs, Hickman has opted to scrap it all, rebuilding the entire X-Men line from the ground up. Thus when one opens the pages of House of X #1, the X-Men are in a very, very different place.

How different? Instead of reopening his school, Professor Charles Xavier has turned the sentient island of Krakoa into a mutant utopia. Seeds from the island create a network of organic gateways across the world, the Moon, and Mars. Within five months, an independent nation of mutants has sprouted into being, complete with their own embassies, language, and economy. Their major export: super drugs derived from Krakoa’s flowers which can prolong human lifespans or cure a variety of ailments. All the mutants ask in return is recognition of their sovereignty.

Not everyone is happy about this, of course. A secret organization known as Orchis are making plans to combat this sudden rise in mutant dominance. They have cause for concern; according to their calculations, normal baseline humans will become extinct within a generation. Nor does it help when Magneto, now Krakoa’s ambassador, makes it clear that mutants are humanity’s “new gods” whether they like it or not.

One also can’t shake the feeling that there’s something off about Xavier’s new island paradise. Cyclops is once again a true believer, offering political asylum to the likes of Mystique, Toad, and Sabretooth. The normally recalcitrant, feral Wolverine laughs and plays with children. Xavier wears Cerebro 24/7. The opening prologue especially suggests something far more sinister and disturbing is at work. These definitely aren’t the same X-Men as before.

This overriding mystery behind Xavier’s ultimate aims is what makes House of X #1 so fascinating. You know something must have happened, only you’re just as much in the dark as ordinary humans are. At the same time, it’s one of the most accessible, new-reader friendly comics in recent years. One doesn’t even need to know decades of confusing, often contradictory, history and alternate histories of the X-Men to appreciate this. You certainly don’t need to have read Matthew Rosenberg’s run on Uncanny X-Men or the Age of X crossover.

As you can also imagine, there’s a lot of exposition. Hickman devotes every line of dialogue towards explaining his new status quo that there’s no time for character development. There are moments where it feels like you’re reading the hard copy of a PowerPoint presentation than an actual narrative. In the span of its 34 pages of story, there’s just one, extremely short action scene to speak of.

Yet House of X #1 is anything but boring. While X-Men comics have explored the concept of a mutant nation numerous times before, this feels far more unique. The amount of detail Hickman has placed into his worldbuilding is staggering. And although the X-Men still wear costumes, this definitely feels more hard science fiction than it does superhero. There are elements here of Arthur C. Clarke’s Childhood’s End, Clifford D. Simak’s All Flesh is Grass, and (perhaps) Jack Finney’s The Body Snatchers.

The visuals are especially breathtaking. Every panel Pepe Larraz illustrates gives a sense of scope and space, allowing you to take in everything at once. His environments are just as important as the people in them. However, Marte Garcia’s coloring is what truly gives these images life. Thus you can look on in awe as Jean Grey leads young mutant through a Krakoa gateway overlooking a waterfall, or when you see a titanic space station orbiting the Sun.

Moreover, the X-Men, the Orchis members, even Krakoa itself have perfect design esthetic. Some characters wear their older suits like Jean Grey in her “Marvel Girl” outfit or Magneto’s all-white garb from his solo series. Others, such as Cyclops and Wolverine have “old school” styles with contemporary flourishes. Many artists attempt to make their figures look “timeless.” Larraz has achieved it.

If House of X #1 is any indication for where Hickman plans on taking the X-Men, then they’re definitely in good hands. It also brings back the sincerity, intrigue, and just plain weirdness not seen since Grant Morrison’s New X-Men. Still, Marvel’s merry mutants still have a long way to go until they can reclaim their former glory. Perhaps Hickman’s offbeat, non-traditional, yet highly creative take will lead them there.

Stillanerd’s Nerdy Nitpicks

• I never realized just how creepy Xavier’s “To me, my X-Men” actually was until those first two pages. Not to mention the X-Men are probably feeling a lot like Keanu Reeves right about now.
• Okay, I know it took five months for the X-Men planting those Krakoa habitat seeds everywhere but…no one noticed multiple buildings around the world covered with huge vines and foliage until after Xavier’s telepathic broadcast?
• Hold on? Esme and Sophie? But those are the Stepford Cuckoos who died and have been dead for years. How did they come back to life? Come to think of it, how is the original Xorn alive? Or for that matter Banshee considering he just died (again) a few months ago?
• Yep, it wouldn’t just be a Jonathan Hickman comic without solid white pages containing quotations, field reports, topographic maps, and infographics. Hence how we know Krakoa, at 263 square miles above sea level, doesn’t seem large enough for every single mutant on Earth. Speaking of large…
• That is one massive Sentinel head!
• Also, looks like Hickman can’t help making callbacks to some of his other Marvel work. Not only do we get a Fantastic Four cameo, there’s a reference made to “Sol’s Hammer” from his Avengers and New Avengers run.
• Wait? Toad seriously cracked a database built and designed by Tony Stark and Reed Richards? Toad?!
• Okay, all you translators and codebreakers, start cracking on deciphering Krakoan. Because if we can figure out Elvish, Kryptonian, and Klingon, we can figure out this, right?
• Finally! After all these years, we get a clear definition of what an “Omega Level Mutant” actually is. Though methinks some might be missing from Xavier’s list.

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