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Marvel Pick Of The Week – September 16, 2015 [SPOILERS]

By Matt Conner

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Pick Of The Week:

House Of M 3, by Dennis Hopeless, Cullen Bunn, and Ario Anindito

House Of M as the original crossover was pretty light – Brian Michael Bendis united the super popular New Avengers and Astonishing X-Men  teams in an alternate reality story where the Scarlet Witch placed everyone in a world where mutants ruled under Magneto’s leadership. The concept was cool, and many of the tie-ins were terrific, but the main story itself was pretty padded, losing several issues to a big fight at the castle and a couple to a gathering of the team to fight in said battle. It was a good time, and it’s fondly remembered, but the only really memorable part was that after restoring reality, the Scarlet Witch cast a “No More Mutants” spell that took powers away from everyone whose book wasn’t selling very well – I mean, a random sampling of mutants, for real.

The Secret Wars version of the House Of M is even better with the first three issues than the original eight-issue event. This book has a tight, moving plot. Several persecuted humans (including Misty Knight, Black Cat, and Hawkeye) led by Death Locket have tried to assassinate Magneto with a power inhibitor, but they unfortunately struck at the same time that prince Quicksilver and Namor the Submariner brought Atlantis’s army to destroy the castle. In this episode, Polaris convinces Magneto to join the humans and get the heck out of the waterlogged building and go into hiding. With him out of the way, Quicksilver assumes the throne and gets even more genocidal on the poor human slums.

Dennis Hopeless has been writing this book by himself, and the action, intrigue, and character development has been as strong as his breakout Avengers Arena book, but he’s joined by Cullen Bunn now, and the story has developed this wonderful dark narration like we loved in Bunn’s Magneto. For instance, Magneto is drowning in his own throne room, surrounded by the bodies of family, servants, and his would-be assassins, and he narrates, “You could certainly say I had all of it coming. Go ahead. Say it. Say it to my face. See what happens.” Chills. This is the voice of a conqueror. And on the next page, when Polaris impresses him, he narrates, “You aren’t supposed to choose a favorite child… well, it’s really no contest.” Icy. Wonderful. Magneto says the overconfident things we’re all afraid to admit to thinking, and it comes across as complexity more than him just being a jerk. Ario Anindito has picked up art chores from Kris Anka, so much of the stylish look has toned down, but both artists charmingly approximate the clean Olivier Coipel art of the original.

For action, political maneuvers, and scares, nothing this week beats House Of M.

Honorable Mentions:

All-New Hawkeye 5, because new Hawkeye would prefer that original Hawkeye not refer to her as “a stupid little kid” and sees no irony in her reaction.

Spider-Island 4, for this sad and absurd scene of Stegron The Dinosaur Man having a moment with the display skeletons of his people in the Museum Of Natural History.

Secret Wars Journal 5, for this delightful attempt by Mill-E The Model Citizen to use corporate perceptions of teen culture to attempt proselytization. She’s adorable and clueless, and I am so into her.

Check out previous Picks here!

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