House of M: Fantastic Four/Iron Man

House of M: Fantastic Four/ Iron Man By John Laymen and Greg Pak, Art by Scott Eaton and Pat Lee. ISBN:078511923X

What Has Gone Before.

Magneto was the perennial enemy of the X-Men. The Mutant Master of Magnetism was embarrassed that the passion that had produced two of his children, Pietro and Wanda Maximoff, had been directed at a mere human woman. He felt degraded, because his great love had not been a mutant like himself.

Magneto set himself up as a would be conqueror more than once. Sometimes, his children fought at his side, as Quicksilver and The Scarlet Witch. Sometimes, they opposed him. The Scarlet Witch, in particular, chose to use her powers for good, serving as an Avenger for many years.

But Wanda' powers are based in chaos; and driven by desire. They are so powerful, that they have allowed her to give birth to twins, sired by her android husband, the Vision. Impossible, right? That' the point. Wanda can make impossible things happen.

The trauma of her early life, the strain of constantly saving the world, the deep seated insecurities, all served to give her a complete nervous break down. But when Wanda looses control of her mind, all she really does is loose control of her powers. And in her deranged state, she caused the deaths of her fellow Avengers, Hawkeye, Antman, and the Vision.

Now, Charles Xavier, founder of the X-Men and the world' greatest Telepath has been trying to put together the shattered pieces of her mind. He did not succeed.

Now, Wanda has remade the world in her Father's image. The House of M rules the world, and everyone's life is different. Here are two such tales.

The Plot: Fantastic Four.

Victor Von Doom, sovereign of Latveria, is one of the most powerful Homo sapiens on the planet. With a combination of Sorcery and Science, he has granted himself the power to transform himself into liquid metal, shapeable at his whim. His Wife Valeria, he granted the power to control air, conjuring shields, applying telekinesis. His ward Kristoff, he imbued with the power to conjure Hellfire, and fly on demonic wings. And the last member of his group, The It. The only survivor of Reed Richards rocket flight, Ben Grim has been hideously transformed. The It is a near mindless mass of muscle and stone, and serves as Doom's enforcer.

Doom is arguably the most powerful Sapiens on the planet. But he still answers to the House of M, and as he is constantly reminded, in this world, he will always be second best.

Magneto's arrogance finally pushes him over the edge, and he plots to bring down the House of M! If any single individual has the power, it is he. And Magneto plays into his hands, asking for a dimension to be used as a prison. Doom finds the perfect one...one where Sorcery reigns supreme, and Electromagnetism does not work. So how are Magneto and his followers going to get out of this one?

Laymen's writing is excellent. He does megalomaniac with out sounding hokey. That is a rare gift. The plot is good and tight, and ties up nicely in three issues. Further, it really remains true to the character of Doom. It is interesting to think of a world without Reed Richards and Sue Storm.

Scott Eaton's art is a wonderful accompaniment to the story. I have never encountered this artist before, but I like him. It reminds me of a smoother Mike Grell. He also has a gift for portraiture, which is where I put a lot of my rating. A-.

The Plot: Iron Man

Tony Stark is the biggest Sapiens in business. He also fights in the Sapiens Deathmatch wearing an armoured suit for fun. He is ranked 2^nd, just above Johnny Storm, and just below Henry Stark, his dad.

Henry casts a big shadow; he is not one of those supportive loving fathers. He is the kind that can inspire greatness by making a man want to prove him wrong. More often, that kind of father makes alcoholics. In Tony's case, it's done both.

Tony is walking a fine line between The House of M, his competitors, and his own demons. So when he discovers that Henry Pym has been investigating the mutant genome, research specifically forbidden by the House of M, Tony is at a loss for what to do. His father is not.

But when Tony discovers Sapien Liberation Terrorists are planning to kill countless mutants, what will he do? Side with his own species and condone a cowardly act that could spark war, or allow humanity to be locked away in reservations?

Greg Pak wrote this, and it is a fairly good story. The plot works, well designed to fit the niche of the House of M storyline. His understanding of father son dynamics makes me wonder what kind of relationship he had with his own dad. His dialogue is his weakest point. I give it a B. I know the man can do better.

Pat Lee's art is not my favorite. It's not bad, but it has a manga-ish quality. Not the big eyes and tiny mouth, but other titles out of Japan. He really needs to work on his portraiture. I give it a C+.

I find it interesting that they put two storylines featuring the non mutants together. It gives you a real feel for both sides of exactly what the human condition has become under the heel of their Mutant Master.

The House of M was not a long story arc, and each one of these stories is only three issues. But I think it really did something good for the writers in that it let them really stretch themselves and do something outside the box. I notice that in the years that have followed, there are a lot more fresh ideas and shiny content. So I feel confident that this arc has helped the franchise as a whole.