Previously on Reviews of X: We took a trip to four different time periods in X-Men history and it was super weird. In House of X #2, we take a trip through the many lives of Moira MacTaggert. SPOILERS AHEAD!
House of X #2: The Uncanny Life of Moira X
Story: Jonathan Hickman
Art: Pepe Larraz
Colors: Marte Gracia
Letters: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Publisher: Marvel
Something Eternal
I’ve been reading comic books since the ’90s but there are only a handful of comics that I can genuinely call “my favorites”. This is one of those comics.
Hickman, Larraz, and the rest of the creative team masterfully tell a story that starts with Moira MacTaggert living a quiet, unremarkable life and then escalates into multiple lives being lived in multiple timelines, one more bonkers than the last.
It turns out that Moira is a mutant with the power of reincarnation. We see how she deals with this truth and the seemingly inevitable deadly conflict between mutants, humans, and machines.
She’s initially just curious about her true nature, and then she decides that mutation is a disease and comes up with a cure. She’s blackmailed by Destiny, who I never thought could be such a badass, into fighting for her fellow mutants. She legit fights for mutantkind, going so far as to team up with Apocalypse to form the X-Men.
Her reincarnation mutant power is finite, however, and she’s on her tenth and last life. She still hasn’t figured out how to save her people, so now she’s ready to do something truly revolutionary. And that’s where House of X picks up her story.
House of Moira X
I like how this story ties right back into that “most important scene in the history of the X-Men” from Powers of X #1. I’m glad we didn’t wait too long to find out what’s happening there.
It does irk me that House of X and Powers of X look like they’re flowing into each other like they should just be a single mini-series, but we’re only on the third week of this X-Renaissance, so we’re still in the wait-and-see-if-this-actually-makes-sense stage. So, eh.
Design pages are still here and this has got to be my favorite so far. I love the Many Lives of Moira X infographic. I would read an entire mini-series that explores these timelines. I need to know what happens in the Apocalypse War.
Conclusion
From the comics to the ’90s animated series to the movies, Moira MacTaggert has never been the most interesting character, at least for me. But after House of X #2, she is now one of the most compelling comic book characters ever.
Hickman’s words plus Larraz’s art, it’s beautiful. Moira’s many lives, her unique mutant power, and the fun story possibilities we can explore just from this single comic book, are all beautiful. I can’t wait to see what comes next.
House of X #2 is available now wherever fine comic books are sold.
