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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This comic has frustrated me for months on end.
House of M is a story that is a good idea, but would probably work better in an adaptation that can iron out the kinks (not an MCU one though, they do not have the character backgrounds nor quality writing to pull it off). It’s an event that makes things personal for the heroes and that had repercussions that lasted for quite a few years in the comics. The characters are a bit more morally gray in this and the ending where Wanda utters some iconic words hits like a bag of bricks.
There’s a lot of potential with House of M as a storyline, potential it doesn’t quite reach.
I think this would’ve worked better had it been a bit longer or less bloated, it was marketed as an Avengers and X-Men crossover, but it’s more so an X-Men story with Avengers drawn into the background. I wish this had gone more into the actual characters. I wish we could’ve sat with what it means for Wolverine to have his memories back instead of just one line saying “huh got my memories back, cool!” I wish we could’ve sat with Spider-Man’s domestic life with Gwen Stacy and Uncle Ben alive. I wish we could’ve explored what are the political ramifications of mutants oppressing humans (more on this in a minute). I wish we could’ve explored what Magneto is like when he finally gets what he wants.
HoM is able to truly break a comic book taboo by dramatically shifting the status quo. Though temporary, these are core parts of the characters that changed. And perhaps this was explored more by the other comics published at the time, like how Ms. Marvel took time to explore the ramifications of Secret Wars approaching. And perhaps I’ll even track down some of those comics to get a better look at this world. But I’m questioning what was the point of the main event then if Bendis didn’t take advantage? If it was only meant to sell well and tell the main storyline? A storyline that feels too big to fit within this miniseries.
This is why I’d love an adaptation of HoM but not in the MCU. The MCU needs to have the X-Men as a well established team first and deal with the reality of mutants. I also don’t trust the MCU with Wanda at this point after how she was treated in Age of Ultron (whitewashing her and Pietro and having them join HYDRA, a Nazi organization, while they’re two JEWISH characters in the comics, was a choice indeed) and how she was treated in Multiverse of Madness (wiping out all of her character development from WandaVision with a macguffin was also a choice indeed). But this could be adapted perhaps as a standalone animated movie or show as audiences are already well familiar enough with the backstories of Spider-Man, the X-Men, and the Scarlet Witch so we could jump right into the reality warping shenanigans.
I also feel kind of uncomfortable with how this book treats mutants. I find the idea of reverse oppression to always give me the ick and I think sometimes we forget the fact that mutants are an oppressed minority group within the Marvel universe. How the writer understands mutant oppression can best be seen with how Magneto is written. Because sometimes he’s written as a full villain and a mutant supremacist, other times he’s written more as an anti-hero or straight up hero who’s just fighting for mutant rights using extreme methods. Which given what he’s been through, makes sense.
HoM makes the odd choice of framing Magneto as a sympathetic mutant supremacist. He’s allowed to be a little more nuanced and isn’t presented as a villain per se, but his idea of an ideal world is one where he rules mutants who rule humans. Or is that perhaps Wanda’s idea of what Magneto would want?
With mutant oppression aside, I do think it’s an interesting world building concept to explore a superpowered group of humans oppressing normal humans and how that would look (and tbh more realistic than the vice versa version that is canon in Marvel). HoM at least understands that this oppression wouldn’t have a one-to-one allegory for any real world oppression and we see some interesting tidbits, such as how people will actively expose themselves to radiation while pregnant in the hopes their child will be a mutant.
I also must admit, the ending is iconic.The moment after Wanda says “no more mutants” is such a visceral scene. Seeing as the X-Men all wake up and find most of them without their familiar powers and the horror as what has happened dawns upon them. It’s essentially a genocide, but without killing anyone.
Now I know I’ve said Wanda is one of, if not my favorite Marvel character. And this must look pretty bad. To which I say: why can there be Kylo Ren stans when that guy killed literally trillions of people and is literally a fascist but when someone stans a problematic female character all of a sudden it’s a problem? Especially considering the fact that Wanda has understandable reasons for why she does this (daddy issues)? I find her doing something blatantly evil to make her more interesting as a character. Not only that, but come on this all happened in like 2006, she’s moved on and has worked to redeem herself. Including undoing the whole “no mutants thing.”
I also find Wanda’s motive in this to be interesting, as in a sense the whole HoM scenario is everyone fucking around and finding out. They decide to fuck with the Scarlet Witch, and so the Scarlet Witch fucks with them. You just know Wanda Maximoff is bopping to Karma by Taylor Swift.
And finally, the art style is your typical early 2000s comic book art style. Simultaneously realistic but also stylized in small anatomically incorrect details. The women are mostly hypersexualized, especially Storm and Emma Frost (though admittedly that is part of Emma Frost’s schitck). Shoutout to the panels where Wolverine jumps off a helicarrier and his shirt flies up and the one where Colossus is on his farm and the panel is mostly of his chest making me initially think he was naked, saved by the small bit of pants on the bottom of the panel. I am not above admitting that I have looked at men with lust in my days.
So there, my long postponed review for House of M. I’ve been procrastinating because I’ve had all these thoughts and they’ve been a hassle to organize, feeling more like an essay than a review. And I’ve had more important things to do as I’m a college student and working on my own novels. But I’ve ranted to a few friends and family a few times since reading this about my thoughts on HoM. It is certainly the most comic ever.
House of M is a story that is a good idea, but would probably work better in an adaptation that can iron out the kinks (not an MCU one though, they do not have the character backgrounds nor quality writing to pull it off). It’s an event that makes things personal for the heroes and that had repercussions that lasted for quite a few years in the comics. The characters are a bit more morally gray in this and the ending where Wanda utters some iconic words hits like a bag of bricks.
There’s a lot of potential with House of M as a storyline, potential it doesn’t quite reach.
I think this would’ve worked better had it been a bit longer or less bloated, it was marketed as an Avengers and X-Men crossover, but it’s more so an X-Men story with Avengers drawn into the background. I wish this had gone more into the actual characters. I wish we could’ve sat with what it means for Wolverine to have his memories back instead of just one line saying “huh got my memories back, cool!” I wish we could’ve sat with Spider-Man’s domestic life with Gwen Stacy and Uncle Ben alive. I wish we could’ve explored what are the political ramifications of mutants oppressing humans (more on this in a minute). I wish we could’ve explored what Magneto is like when he finally gets what he wants.
HoM is able to truly break a comic book taboo by dramatically shifting the status quo. Though temporary, these are core parts of the characters that changed. And perhaps this was explored more by the other comics published at the time, like how Ms. Marvel took time to explore the ramifications of Secret Wars approaching. And perhaps I’ll even track down some of those comics to get a better look at this world. But I’m questioning what was the point of the main event then if Bendis didn’t take advantage? If it was only meant to sell well and tell the main storyline? A storyline that feels too big to fit within this miniseries.
This is why I’d love an adaptation of HoM but not in the MCU. The MCU needs to have the X-Men as a well established team first and deal with the reality of mutants. I also don’t trust the MCU with Wanda at this point after how she was treated in Age of Ultron (whitewashing her and Pietro and having them join HYDRA, a Nazi organization, while they’re two JEWISH characters in the comics, was a choice indeed) and how she was treated in Multiverse of Madness (wiping out all of her character development from WandaVision with a macguffin was also a choice indeed). But this could be adapted perhaps as a standalone animated movie or show as audiences are already well familiar enough with the backstories of Spider-Man, the X-Men, and the Scarlet Witch so we could jump right into the reality warping shenanigans.
I also feel kind of uncomfortable with how this book treats mutants. I find the idea of reverse oppression to always give me the ick and I think sometimes we forget the fact that mutants are an oppressed minority group within the Marvel universe. How the writer understands mutant oppression can best be seen with how Magneto is written. Because sometimes he’s written as a full villain and a mutant supremacist, other times he’s written more as an anti-hero or straight up hero who’s just fighting for mutant rights using extreme methods. Which given what he’s been through, makes sense.
HoM makes the odd choice of framing Magneto as a sympathetic mutant supremacist. He’s allowed to be a little more nuanced and isn’t presented as a villain per se, but his idea of an ideal world is one where he rules mutants who rule humans. Or is that perhaps Wanda’s idea of what Magneto would want?
With mutant oppression aside, I do think it’s an interesting world building concept to explore a superpowered group of humans oppressing normal humans and how that would look (and tbh more realistic than the vice versa version that is canon in Marvel). HoM at least understands that this oppression wouldn’t have a one-to-one allegory for any real world oppression and we see some interesting tidbits, such as how people will actively expose themselves to radiation while pregnant in the hopes their child will be a mutant.
I also must admit, the ending is iconic.
Now I know I’ve said Wanda is one of, if not my favorite Marvel character. And this must look pretty bad. To which I say: why can there be Kylo Ren stans when that guy killed literally trillions of people and is literally a fascist but when someone stans a problematic female character all of a sudden it’s a problem? Especially considering the fact that Wanda has understandable reasons for why she does this (daddy issues)? I find her doing something blatantly evil to make her more interesting as a character. Not only that, but come on this all happened in like 2006, she’s moved on and has worked to redeem herself. Including undoing the whole “no mutants thing.”
I also find Wanda’s motive in this to be interesting, as in a sense the whole HoM scenario is everyone fucking around and finding out. They decide to fuck with the Scarlet Witch, and so the Scarlet Witch fucks with them. You just know Wanda Maximoff is bopping to Karma by Taylor Swift.
And finally, the art style is your typical early 2000s comic book art style. Simultaneously realistic but also stylized in small anatomically incorrect details. The women are mostly hypersexualized, especially Storm and Emma Frost (though admittedly that is part of Emma Frost’s schitck). Shoutout to the panels where Wolverine jumps off a helicarrier and his shirt flies up and the one where Colossus is on his farm and the panel is mostly of his chest making me initially think he was naked, saved by the small bit of pants on the bottom of the panel. I am not above admitting that I have looked at men with lust in my days.
So there, my long postponed review for House of M. I’ve been procrastinating because I’ve had all these thoughts and they’ve been a hassle to organize, feeling more like an essay than a review. And I’ve had more important things to do as I’m a college student and working on my own novels. But I’ve ranted to a few friends and family a few times since reading this about my thoughts on HoM. It is certainly the most comic ever.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Grief
Moderate: Violence
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Recommended to me. Very interesting since for the most part my avengers knowledge and definitely my X-men knowledge is limited to movies. I don’t understand if this is a spin off or what canonically happens in the marvel universe (I think it’s a spin off) and I’m curious what happens next since it ended on a cliff hanger.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"No more mutants."
Three of the most devastating words spoken in all of comicverse. And Marvel's version of armageddon when it comes to cleaning the house of unnecessary mutants. House of M marked the first of three major storylines that would alter the Marvel Universe drastically; the other two being Marvel's Civil War and World War Hulk. I am not much into X-Men lore (in fact, I am not much into Marvel works overall), however having seen numerous pictures of the same panel over and over again in different comic book forums, I was definitely intrigued enough to give this storyline a try.
The only thing I knew for sure was that it was spoken by Wanda Maximoff, better known as Scarlett Witch, daughter to Magneto and sister to Pietro Maximoff a.k.a Quicksilver. Knowing standard comic book policy, I knew that even with these ominous words, Marvel wouldn't wipe off all the mutants, especially the ones bringing in the payday (primarily Wolverine). I wasn't too familiar with Bendis' work. Another uncertainty was that, given this was part of the canon works and not a one-shot, I wasn't sure how much of background reading I would have to do. As it turns out, none. For the comic book purist, of course, there are a few arcs they could read before diving into this one, Avengers Disassembled being the major one. But for casual readers, the background given during the storyline is enough to start with.
The storyline deals with Scarlet Witch's ability to alter reality, though it is amplified in this storyline. It starts with Magneto bringing in Scarlet Witch to Genosha and asking Xavier for help to cure his daughter. Instead, she ends up altering reality, with some unwilling help from Xavier, to grant the New Avengers and the X-Men their deepest desires. In the altered reality, mutants are the dominant species (as per Magneto's wishes), Spiderman is a successful businessman, leads a contented life, and is supposedly a mutant, Iron Man, while still a 'sapien', has his father back to see him achieve astounding success, Captain America is a war veteran who is on his last legs and all the other mutants have achieved similar wish fulfillment. AND, the world is run from the tiny island of Genosha by Magneto and his 'House of Magnus'. Bendis has also used this opportunity to bring Hawkeye back from the dead.
The rest of the storyline follows the altered lives of all the Avengers and X-Men, all the while slowly intertwining them towards a grand finale. This particular storyline demonstrates why Marvel love Wolverine so much (though they did kill him off recently). His healing abilities have been used on numerous occasions by writers to perform a Hail Mary. While it wasn't exactly Hail Mary that Bendis performs this time, he uses Wolverine's healing abilities and his chequered past to maintain a tenuous thread between the two realities and then start the journey back to the original reality from there. Bendis also makes use of Dr. Victor Von Doom brilliantly. Even those unfamiliar with the Fantastic Four stories know that Doom is a formidable antagonist. His massive ego combined with his brilliant intellect has made him an adversary that can be 'outsourced' to other superheroes too. And here, he serves well as the King of Latveria and the leader of the Fearsome Four.
The climax is slightly rushed I felt, but closes off all the threads properly. And the final confrontation between Magneto, Quicksilver, and Scarlet Witch is a great spectacle. Like most X-Men stories, this one deals with the basic human (or mutant?) desire to be accepted. Only, this time, it encompasses most of the Marvel universe. Bendis has captured the internal conflict for all the characters well, especially, Wolverine, Spiderman, and Iron Man (the former two are probably two of the most conflicted characters in Marvel).
The overall pace of the story is steady. There are a few dull moments, especially involving Captain Marvel. But that may be just because I haven't an iota of clue about this particular part of Marvel universe. The art work is good enough to keep you engaged throughout.
Overall, this a series worth reading. It combines all the characters from Marvel famous or otherwise and puts them through the grinder. And, given the state of Marvel's cinematic universe at the moment, it seem a distant possibility that we may see this storyline come to fruition.
P.S. - This is the first storyline I've read where Gwen Stacy and Uncle Ben are alive and healthy. Part of the reason that makes this series a worthy read.
P.P.S. It was great to hear the Spiderman is finally back in the Marvel dugout. It would be great to see someone seasoned handling the character and giving us some good storyline.
Three of the most devastating words spoken in all of comicverse. And Marvel's version of armageddon when it comes to cleaning the house of unnecessary mutants. House of M marked the first of three major storylines that would alter the Marvel Universe drastically; the other two being Marvel's Civil War and World War Hulk. I am not much into X-Men lore (in fact, I am not much into Marvel works overall), however having seen numerous pictures of the same panel over and over again in different comic book forums, I was definitely intrigued enough to give this storyline a try.
The only thing I knew for sure was that it was spoken by Wanda Maximoff, better known as Scarlett Witch, daughter to Magneto and sister to Pietro Maximoff a.k.a Quicksilver. Knowing standard comic book policy, I knew that even with these ominous words, Marvel wouldn't wipe off all the mutants, especially the ones bringing in the payday (primarily Wolverine). I wasn't too familiar with Bendis' work. Another uncertainty was that, given this was part of the canon works and not a one-shot, I wasn't sure how much of background reading I would have to do. As it turns out, none. For the comic book purist, of course, there are a few arcs they could read before diving into this one, Avengers Disassembled being the major one. But for casual readers, the background given during the storyline is enough to start with.
The storyline deals with Scarlet Witch's ability to alter reality, though it is amplified in this storyline. It starts with Magneto bringing in Scarlet Witch to Genosha and asking Xavier for help to cure his daughter. Instead, she ends up altering reality, with some unwilling help from Xavier, to grant the New Avengers and the X-Men their deepest desires. In the altered reality, mutants are the dominant species (as per Magneto's wishes), Spiderman is a successful businessman, leads a contented life, and is supposedly a mutant, Iron Man, while still a 'sapien', has his father back to see him achieve astounding success, Captain America is a war veteran who is on his last legs and all the other mutants have achieved similar wish fulfillment. AND, the world is run from the tiny island of Genosha by Magneto and his 'House of Magnus'. Bendis has also used this opportunity to bring Hawkeye back from the dead.
The rest of the storyline follows the altered lives of all the Avengers and X-Men, all the while slowly intertwining them towards a grand finale. This particular storyline demonstrates why Marvel love Wolverine so much (though they did kill him off recently). His healing abilities have been used on numerous occasions by writers to perform a Hail Mary. While it wasn't exactly Hail Mary that Bendis performs this time, he uses Wolverine's healing abilities and his chequered past to maintain a tenuous thread between the two realities and then start the journey back to the original reality from there. Bendis also makes use of Dr. Victor Von Doom brilliantly. Even those unfamiliar with the Fantastic Four stories know that Doom is a formidable antagonist. His massive ego combined with his brilliant intellect has made him an adversary that can be 'outsourced' to other superheroes too. And here, he serves well as the King of Latveria and the leader of the Fearsome Four.
The climax is slightly rushed I felt, but closes off all the threads properly. And the final confrontation between Magneto, Quicksilver, and Scarlet Witch is a great spectacle. Like most X-Men stories, this one deals with the basic human (or mutant?) desire to be accepted. Only, this time, it encompasses most of the Marvel universe. Bendis has captured the internal conflict for all the characters well, especially, Wolverine, Spiderman, and Iron Man (the former two are probably two of the most conflicted characters in Marvel).
The overall pace of the story is steady. There are a few dull moments, especially involving Captain Marvel. But that may be just because I haven't an iota of clue about this particular part of Marvel universe. The art work is good enough to keep you engaged throughout.
Overall, this a series worth reading. It combines all the characters from Marvel famous or otherwise and puts them through the grinder. And, given the state of Marvel's cinematic universe at the moment, it seem a distant possibility that we may see this storyline come to fruition.
P.S. - This is the first storyline I've read where Gwen Stacy and Uncle Ben are alive and healthy. Part of the reason that makes this series a worthy read.
P.P.S. It was great to hear the Spiderman is finally back in the Marvel dugout. It would be great to see someone seasoned handling the character and giving us some good storyline.
I'd never actually read this before! I just read a lot of the aftermath. I was surprised by how much I liked it, given how annoyed I am at a lot of the aftermath of it. It's a pretty interesting alternate world and everybody's emotional responses were pretty moving!
Also, the art is really lovely and I enjoyed the bits of in-universe news coverage.
one personal complaint: Gambit is FRONT AND CENTER on the cover of this and he's in it for like 3 panels, very misleading >:(
Also, the art is really lovely and I enjoyed the bits of in-universe news coverage.
one personal complaint: Gambit is FRONT AND CENTER on the cover of this and he's in it for like 3 panels, very misleading >:(