Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Art: Pepe Larraz, Marte Garcia, VC’s Clayton Cowles, and Tom Muller
Price: $4.99
Release Date: October 2nd, 2019

This is it! The last issue of HOUSE OF X with only one more RED issue of POWERS OF X to follow. How will Jonathan Hickman conclude this epic introduction while ushering in a new dawn of the X-Men? After last week’s POWERS OF X #5, readers witnessed Xavier ”forge” his idea to save mutantkind forward with every detail calculated and every stone left unturned. However, Charles and Magneto had to make deals with some unlikely mutants in order for their vision to come to fruition. Moreover, what will happen if this resurrection process goes wrong? Furthermore, is Xavier building a mutant nation or a mutant cult? And, how does all of this impact the future of the human and mutant race? Well, let’s open this issue up and get down to business!

As the first of the two launch series wraps up, Jonathan Hickman establishes the basis for the future landscape of the “present” X-Men tales moving forward. This issue solidifies the principles, laws, and rationale of the nation of Krakoa and ultimately forges what Magneto and Charles have been striving to do since readers first heard the word “mutant” in Marvel Comics. Sure, Magneto and Charles have seen eye-to-eye before but never to this extreme. These two spearheaded this unique country and initiated ways to stiff-arm humanity into accepting mutants… at least on the surface.

The issue may not have been the action-packed extravaganza that several of the supplementary comics have been to date. But, it was a fascinating issue with various small revelations that truly got this reviewer’s brain working for future storylines down the road. Additionally, Sabretooth’s role served as something much larger than readers anticipated by the end of this series while intuitively helping the Quiet Council develop their first three laws.

That said, this critic’s fundamental suspicion after leaving the issue was merely about the members of the council chosen. Can anyone else see the future conflicts that will arise from Xavier’s choices on this council? Furthermore, does anyone else see trouble in paradise happening in the future? Holy Toledo! This crew of 12 is going to crumble faster than my Great Aunts Coffee Cake! And, if that wasn’t enough uneasiness in this tale, who is the Red King? Could it be Omega Red? Only time will tell!

Hickman has carried your X-Men back into the limelight with this series and has given birth to a new voice for the X-Men that has been neglected for quite some time. There is certainly an agenda at hand with possible conflicts that any modern reader could see coming a mile away. However, knowing Hickman’s writing like this critic does, it’s the story that’s hidden below the surface that will truly come to bite this mutant kingdom in it’s $&$. In my humble opinion, it will be Victor Creed that will bring down all this new frontier stands for.

Fans, Jonathan Hickman is all about the Longview. He can see the chessboard and anticipates every move before readers make them. Be prepared for each of these up and coming series to feed into each other and eventually culminate into something totally revolutionary, unseen, and completely unheard of in the history of the X-Men, as well as Marvel Comics. Technically, what readers have witnessed to date has been unheard of. Magneto, Charles, Emma Frost, Apocalypse, and even Sinister working concurrently for the sake of mutantkind. There is no doubt that this uneasy alliance will fracture. Hickman wrote the council scenes with tension in mind. This reviewer could feel it within the art as well as the dialogues. But, if that wasn’t enough suspicion, apprehension, or even trepidation for the direction of the series, fans should ask themselves this question; what does this have to do with the Year 1000?

With only one last RED issue to go of POWERS OF X, will readers finally understand what’s happening in the future? This issue summed up the Year 1 and Year 10 storyline. Technically, the Year 100 storyline was abstracted many issues ago. However, turmoil and complication still hang over the Year 1000 causing a fog around that narrative which this reviewer still can’t work his way through. Should Hickman have used some of his last HOUSE OF X pages to tell a bit more about what’s happening in the future? Personally, yes! It’s the only dangling plot threads left without persuading explanations. It’s the only complicated portion of the story left to tell. That said, this reviewer cannot penalize a writer for something he may clear up next week.

FINAL THOUGHTS

HOUSE OF X #6 concludes with a wonderful RETURN OF THE JEDI moment that feels reminiscent of fireworks and dancing Ewoks. However, the undertone and behind the scenes impression and anecdotes gave off more of an EMPIRE STRIKES BACK vibe that this reviewer could sense in his core. Was it the ”mutant cult” feel from prior issues mixed with Charles’ aggressive tone towards humanity? Or, simply who the X-Men are going to bed with that makes this reviewer feel uneasy. Who knows? Maybe it’s everything mixed together? But, this reviewer does know something simply gives off a creepy sensation that fans like myself just can’t shake. That said, Hickman is still doing a masterful job and is ultimately getting this reviewer back into the X-Men, as well as many other readers. So, it’s working and it’s working really well! Now, let’s see if the master of ceremonies can wrap everything up next week with his last RED issue and answer all of the dangling Year 1000 plot threads.

9/10