House of X #1 Review (Jonathan Hickman, Pepe Larraz)

Mutant numbers are drastically on the rise. New projections show that in 20 years homo superior will eclipse homo sapiens as Earth’s dominant species. The X-Men are united under the leadership of Charles Xavier and are gathering all mutants to the mutant nation of Krakoa. They have consolidated power through creating powerful new drugs to aid humanity that cure its most devastating physical and mental diseases and extends longevity. But where did this new medicine come from? Will the rest of the world respect Krakoa’s sovereignty or will the mutants have to fight for their right to party exist as a nation? And what’s going on in the disembodied Sentinel head floating near the sun…

Jonathan Hickman returns to the Marvel Universe after blowing it up in Secret Wars except this time he’s relaunching the entire X-Men line with a similarly epic new storyline. Good! The X-Men have been without a compelling story arc for the longest time. I don’t even care when or how Xavier returned from the dead or why all the mutant characters, heroes and villains, are suddenly on the same side; I just want to read a good X-Men story that isn’t bogged down with dreary, convoluted continuity nonsense!

And House of X #1 isn’t bad. I like Xavier’s new look, though having Cerebro as a helmet makes him seem derivative of Ultimate Reed Richards/The Maker from Hickman’s last Marvel storyline. And speaking of Makers, there is biblical imagery galore in that opening scene that looks like its set in a weird new Garden of Eden with Xavier walking amongst it all like the Old Testament God (or maybe Devil?). Hickman lays on the god stuff pretty thickly though it lends the story an appealing weight and seriousness.

Like most first issues, there’s a lot of setup. Magneto and the Cuckoos are meeting ambassadors from around the world; the classic cast – Xavier, Jean Grey (as Marvel Girl), Wolverine – are welcoming the new mutant arrivals on Krakoa; and Mystique, Toad and Sabretooth are up to their usual shenanigans in New York. It was interesting to see how the mutants have developed their own language to go with their new home and they have a mutants-only transport network system in the portals to move around the planet seamlessly. Hickman’s trademark infographics pages also help explain some of the terminology for new readers like what Omega-Level mutants are. And I’m not sure what the Sentinel head in space is meant to be about – undoubtedly a hint as to an as-yet-unknown larger threat - but I’m intrigued. There’s some solid world-building in this issue.

The most effective thing Hickman does in this comic is establish a growing sense of unease: I couldn’t shake the feeling that the X-Men – not just Magneto, Mystique, etc. but Xavier and the usual good guys – are ALL villains. Which, if that’s the case, is a really interesting and unexpected approach to take. So who’re the heroes? In this issue at least, it’s the Fantastic Four which I’m sure Hickman fans will love as that’s the series he’s received the most praise for during his time at Marvel. The FF step up to Mystique and co. and then face Cyclops in a tense encounter.

Having read enough of his work before, I have my doubts as to whether Hickman will be able to deliver the goods – he’s strong when it comes to establishing big idea stories but rarely realises them satisfactorily – and nothing here really blew my hair back, but House of X #1 is a solid foundation to base the beginning of what will no doubt be an ambitious and sprawling story.