House/Powers of X Ends with the Ultimate Revelation

When you think of the most lucrative brands that Marvel has, 3 names come to mind almost immediately: Avengers, Spider-Man, and X-MEN. With that in mind, it has always fascinated me that given X-Men's place as a cornerstone of Marvel literature, there was a time where the adventures of Xavier's school of Mutants were almost put to an end and canceled. However, the book was saved by prolific X-men scribe Chris Claremont who brought new life to the series in Giant-Sized X-Men #1 which would introduce the characters: Nightcrawler, Colossus, Storm, and Wolverine to the fold as the newest members of the team. These new characters along with Claremont's new creative direction revitalized the book and it's needless to say that the name Claremont has become as synonymous to  X-Men the same way that Lee and Kirby are. Here'ns the thing though, this article isn't a history lesson, it's not an article discussing the achievements of Chris Claremont, I am merely just laying the groundwork so that there is an understanding of the gravity about what I am about to say. This article is about a new writer, who like Claremont before him, has redefined the future of X-men in a way that will make his name synonymous with the X forever. This article is about the achievements of Johnathan Hickman and how his dual miniseries event, House/Powers of X, has redefined X Men once more.

Johnathan Hickman got his start writing small-time mini-series at companies like Image. Little odd stories that captured the attention of the bigger companies for his unique methods of storytelling and intricate concepts. He made his first big splashes in the industry on his run of the Fantastic Four, or as they were known during Hickman's run: The Future Foundation. Since then Hickman has gained even more acclaim with him spearheading the two main Avengers books during the initial MARVEL NOW! relaunch. These runs pumped out story after story, iconic narratives like Infinity and Time Runs Out. And yet, it would seem all good things come to an end as he parted ways with the company upon completing the most recent Secret Wars arc. However, then after a few years, Hickman announced his return, and the book he would be tackling was by far the book that needed it most: X-Men. 

When an initial deal between Disney and Fox about shared rights of X-Men and Fantastic Four, Marvel made adjustments to make X-Men and Fantastic Four irrelevant. The Fantastic Four were killed off as a result, and the X-Men were put on the back burner while Marvel tried to push their Inhuman property. However, with Disney now owning Fox and Marvel's attempts at pushing the Inhumans pretty much failing, it was time to bring the spotlight back to the Children of the Atom, and so they brought back the writer that was inarguably one of if not the best writer of team books ever: Johnathan Hickman. Hickman announced the House of X and Powers of X miniseries some months ago along with a few promises: 1. that he would streamline X-men continuity, 2. that he would create rules for all X books to follow from henceforth, and 3. that X-Men would be in the spotlight again. With the event's conclusion being released in the final issue of Powers of X, Hickman has delivered on all of those promises, and honestly, he delivered more than we could have even begun to have hoped for. 

Over the past 2 months, almost, we have gotten new issues each week of these books, each with their own twists and turns. Each issue has kept us on the edge of our seats, each issue captivating our eyes with gorgeous artwork. In this story, we have seen the rise of the Mutant Nation Krakoa, the creation of Mutant Language and Law, we have had the true power of Moira McTaggart revealed to us, and so much more. However, none of these revelations hold a candle to the true truth revealed by the series, a truth that will shape the X-Men's future, an ultimate truth that the X-Men must face: that "Mutants always LOSE!" Hickman has turned X-Men into an epic poem of tragedy, it doesn't matter how many sentinels they destroy, nimrods they prevent, Mutants will always lose. However, even faced with these facts, this event ends with 2 friends, once divided by old dreams, now unified with a singular purpose, to fight against certainty and against all odds, and for the first time, win.