Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: Pepe Larraz
Colors: Marte Gracia
Letters: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Design: Tom Muller
With House of X #5 the pieces of Jonathan Hickman’s grand mutant design begin to fall into place. The mystery of how so many mutants thought lost have returned is finally answered and the immense sacrifice last issue isn’t as immense as we once thought. Also Professor X’s plan for a mutant nation becomes clear and what that nation means to the mutant race is nothing short of the means of survival. The religious zealotry on the House of Xavier is once again amplified and Professor X himself feels off and his machinations are still veiled in secrecy.
House of X #5 is titled Society, and it’s a fitting title as that is what Professor X, Magneto and their allies are attempting to create. Magneto states very early in the issue that man did not begin to prosper and advance until they gave up their hunter/gatherer roots and settled down into societies. Now it is time for the mutants of the world to stop running, to stop hiding, and to come home to Krakoa and the new mutant society. By all mutants I do mean all mutants, even those with questionable backgrounds, as well as those would be tyrants like Apocalypse. For Professor X no longer believes in integration or coexistence and he wants to leave no mutant in the wild. Professor X and Magneto also want to restore mutantdom to their pre-Decimation status and luckily they have found a way to bring every mutant back from the dead, with the help of Mister Sinister’s vast DNA codex, Cerebro, and five very special mutants whose combined powers can create life and restore memories. The mystery of the returned is therefore solved but the cultish zealotry of the X-Men and really all of Marvel mutandom is still in question. With all the pieces of this puzzle starting to fall into place and the connections between House of X and the Powers of X becoming more defined I can’t wait to see how Hickman and company stick this landing and establish the new X-Men status quo.
House of X #5 was yet another wonderful entry into the Hickman relaunch of arguably Marvel’s most popular line of books. While there wasn’t as much action as the previous two entries into this series I didn’t find myself any less enthralled. I find the politics and religious aspects of House of X to be fascinating as well as the inventive science Hickman is using to establish the mutant hierarchy as he reorders the food chain of the Marvel universe, with mutants firmly at the top. Pepe Larraz’s art was once again a tour de force. His depiction of Krakoa and the bio-science of the mutant island is incredible and under his art the mutant’s have never looked better. I hope they find a place for Larraz in the X-Men relaunch since I want more of his phenomenal artwork. The design elements and text pieces were once again incredibly intriguing and informative, broadening the comic story and making for a fascinating comic experience. Hickman and his designer, Tom Muller, have once again knocked it out of the ball park and I’m interested in what they will pull off in the final three issues of this event.
Verdict: House of X #5 is yet another incredible entry into Jonathan Hickman’s revolutionary take on Marvel’s Mutant franchise and is an absolute Buy!
