Previously on Reviews of X: IMPLIED MUTANT SEXUAL ORGY. And now, in Powers of X #6, we have reached the end of HoX PoX. Questions are answered while more questions are asked. Things are different now! SPOILERS AHEAD!
Powers of X #6: House of X
Story: Jonathan Hickman
Art: R.B. Silva and Pepe Larraz
Colors: Marte Gracia and David Curiel
Letters: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Publisher: Marvel
Send Me on My Way
We start with the same scene from Powers of X #1 where Moira and Charles Xavier meet for the first time (again) at a fair. I get how this would remind us how important this moment is in X-history, but I just wish we didn’t see the same 7 pages again.
From Year One, we take one last trip to Year One Thousand where the whole Phalanx ascension thing finally pays off. We find out that the Librarian is actually a post-human jerk who has been keeping the last mutants on Earth captive in a mutant zoo.
Among these captive mutants are Moira MacTaggert and mutant murder machine Wolverine. They’ve been playing the long game with the Librarian, trying to find out what he’s up to. His main goal, it turns out, is to be a “small part of god” via ascension so he could eventually squash Moira and her crazy resurrection mutant power. That’s dedication, bro.
The Librarian, like all good super-villains, discusses his master plan in front of his intended victims. That gives Moira the realization that the enemy isn’t humans. It isn’t the machines either. The enemy is… genetic engineering?
Humans will always find a way to take an evolutionary leap using biology and technology. they will always become homo novissima. Mutants will always lose.
With all the info and motivation she needs to try to save mutantdom all over again, Moira asks Wolverine to send her on her way like what we saw in Powers of X #3. And thus ends Moira X’s sixth life.
So basically, the whole point of Year One Thousand is to show Moira that mutants always lose. This intricate storytelling is what makes this mini-series so mesmerizing — and also super annoying at times. But mostly mesmerizing.
Dreaming the Wrong Dream
We finally see the continuation of Moira and Charles’ conversation at the fair. It’s heartbreaking especially if you’re a fan of the whole “Xavier’s Dream” concept. Most of the X-Men’s existence stemmed from this dream and now we’re being told by Resurrection Woman that The Dream is the wrong dream and things have to change.
I’ve been saying all throughout this series that something is wrong with Professor X and he’s going to be revealed as the bad guy. I am 100% wrong. Charles isn’t a bad guy with evil intentions. He’s just a broken man. Moira has corrupted him. While both them and Magneto are acting shady and scheming like villains, nothing they’re doing is inherently evil. They just want mutants to win for once.
There’s no big reveal of a secret bad guy here. Everything we need to know about why these characters are acting the way they are have been there from the start. It’s a straightforward story told in a complex way.
It’s also great to read some of Moira’s journal entries, especially those that refer to Proteus and Moira’s death. These are some of the best retcons in comics I’ve read. I would pay good money to read an entire series about Moira X’s journal.
Tea and Other Things
Moira MacTaggert, who was a B-list supporting X-character at best, is now the most important character in X-Men lore. She is leading mutantdom into a hopefully brighter future thanks to her ten lifetimes’ worth of knowledge. Thanks to her, mutants now have the chance to finally win.
Of course, we have to take into account that she’s a woman who knows everything and there are these two arrogant white dudes who are constantly undermining her on an island with a bunch of traditionally evil mutants, with the rest of the world secretly wishing mutants would just go away. What could possibly go wrong? And that’s the tea.
IN CONCLUSION
Powers of X #6 closes out the HoX PoX series with a satisfying conclusion and, more importantly, the promise of a more exciting world for the X-Men. Things feel more mysterious and dangerous. A few dead characters are back. A new status quo has been established. Everything feels new again. The possibilities seem endless.
It’s been a wild and mostly satisfying ride. Both House of X and Powers of X brought a lot of life back into the X-Men. We got new ideas, a richer universe, and a renewed interest in Marvel’s merry mutants among comic book readers and creators alike. It’s a great time to be an X-Men fan.
Kudos to Jonathan Hickman, R.B. Silva, Pepe Larraz, and the rest of the HoX PoX team. I can’t remember the last time I thoroughly enjoyed reading comics on a weekly basis. This lapsed X-Men fan is now officially… unlapsed? ONWARD TO DAWN OF X!
Powers of X #6 is available now wherever fine comic books are sold.
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