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Welcome back to the latest edition of The All-New Uncanny X-Piles! Where it’s all about the Children of the Atom at all times. Now, if you’ve been keeping up with their exploits lately then you know some huge changes are on the horizon. Courtesy of Jonathan Hickman’s House of X and Powers of X that will establish a new status quo when it’s all said and done. So we’ll be taking a look at both titles and see if this attempt to shake things up is worth your hard earned money and time!

House of X #1
Publisher: Marvel
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: Pepe Larraz
Colors: Marte Gracia
Letters: Clayton Cowles
Cover: Pepe Larraz & Marte Gracia

This new era for the X-Men begins with House of X and Hickman wastes no time making us aware that things have changed for the team and for mutantkind as a whole. No longer do we see them on the defensive but taking a more proactive role in their survival and establishing their place in the world. And they’re telling the world they’re here to stay! 

From the start, Hickman’s story feels different from what we’ve see in the past as these X-Men don’t seem bent on protecting anyone but themselves and their future generations. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing considering how many heroes the Marvel U already has maybe it’s time the X-Men focus on themselves instead of a world that hates and fears them.
The changes are evident from the start as Professor X comes off as a creepy, divine figure instead of a school headmaster. This in part to his new character design that in part resembles The Maker who is a version of Reed Richards from the Ultimate Universe. So when he says his famous phrase, “To me, my X-Men.” to the newly hatched (yeah, hatched) mutants it’s less a call to arms and seems more like a call to worship at the feet of Xavier. So from there on everything just seems suspect. This new Xavier also has the world on edge as he’s made an offer in the form of the Flowers of Krakoa. Each granting fantastic promises in the realm of medicine to the human race. 

Hickman ups the tension during a meeting between certain representatives who expecting to see Xavier but guess who walks in the room in his crisp white suit sporting his “I really don’t like y’all would-be oppressors” attitude? You guessed it, Magneto! Every interaction here builds to a great payoff where Magneto makes it very clear what’s happening and where the mutants stand. The back and forth is worth the price of the book alone and the payoff at the end is visual and narrative perfection as the two sync when Magneto delivers the mic drop moment of the issue. Only equal to Cyclops’ statement to Sue when he attempts to stop her team from taking Sabertooth. The FF and X-Men have a long history and Hickman’s inclusion of them might mean something more but if it doesn’t he made the best of this small moment right here. 

Pepe Larraz and Marte Gracia’s visuals are still some of the best and if you haven’t seen them before then prepare to be impressed here. There’s not one panel that doesn’t convey the weight and magnitude of this story while delivering stellar art along the way. From the Krakoan landscapes to the Sentinel space station where nefarious things are taking shape, every page is eye candy. 

If you’ve been gone for some time from X-Men comics picking up House of X is where you need to come back and see what happens next. It’s a solid entry point for a new reader as everything here is brand new while still keeping longtime fans hooked on the characters they’ve come to like over the years. 4.5/5

Powers of X #1
Publisher: Marvel
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: R. B. Silva
Inks: R. B. Silva & Adriano Di Benedetto
Colors: Marte Gracia
Letters: Clayton Cowles
Cover: R. B. Silva & Marte Gracia

Powers of X is definitely the other side of the coin when it comes to the new stage for the X-Men. Where House was a bit creepy but still lighter, Powers of X slams you right into the darker side of things. And though Hickman begins with the familiar here in the way of a more recognizable Charles Xavier, we’re soon flung to the far future where $#!% gets crazy real quick! So for those of you who like to see your mutants struggling to survive in a world that hates and fears them, Powers might be your thing. 

Hickman introduces new characters in a world that’s part Days of Future Past, part Terminator, with a dash of Age of Apocalypse to spice things up. It looks as if the lofty dreams presented in House of X began to crumble along the way and Hickman has crafted a worse possible future than what we’ve seen before. There’s so much attention to detail as to how we got here that piecing it all together is half the fun as it looks like Mister Sinister had his hand in some of this. Which is only a small part of the narrative if it’s true because Hickman takes us through several points in the future that lead to the one thousand year mark. Along the way we meet Cardinal, a Nightcrawler/Azazel combo and Rasputin who wields Magik’s soulsword and looks to have organic steel skin like Colossus. There’s also a new version of Nimrod who is in the company of the sentinel, Karima. The same one we meet in House of X. 

The amount of desperation and hopelessness is at peak level as Hickman paints a picture here that doesn’t bode well for anyone’s favorite mutants. However, it’s an issue filled with some action but it’s the character moments and drama that help put this one over. Everyone introduced holds your attention and has a significant part to play in the narrative. Not just thrown in for a fleeting moment of fan service. 

When it comes to the artwork, R. B. Silva and Marte Gracia are on fire with every panel. Each time period feels completely different from the last and brings with it its own great moments. The new character designs for Cardinal and Rasputin are amalgamations of X-Men we know and love but carry their own distinctiveness making them stand out. Even Nimrod’s new look is fantastic. Though, that could also be my excitement for seeing my favorite sentinel back in a story so forgive my bias. Gracia’s colors are as on point as they are in House of X and shift the mood of the story right on time and helps to give the narrative that extra punch throughout. 

Now Powers of X isn’t as accessible to new readers as House of X is. You’ll need to pick up the latter to put several things into context here but there’s enough in Powers to help it stand on its own…for now. Going forward I’d suggest picking up both to get the full impact of what Hickman is doing. Plus if you don’t then how will you fully put together those wild theories about what’s next for the X-Men?  4/5

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