House Of X #6
Xavier and the Quiet Council lay down the law in House Of X #6, by writer Jonathan Hickman, artist Pepe Larraz, colorist Marte Gracia, and letterer Clayton Cowles. There’s something so very stirring about this issue and it’s a fitting and uplifting end for a series that has turned the X-Men mythos on its ear.
In a flashback, Xavier, Moira, and Magneto prepare to make the announcement of the Krakoan drugs to the human world. Xavier dons the new Cerebro helmet and sends a message to all of humanity at once, telling them about the drugs and the price that humanity will have to pay for them. In the present, the Quiet Council, the ruling body of Krakoa, have their first meeting. They lay down the laws of the island and have to deal with punishing the first mutant to break the laws. After the meeting, they depart out to wild party, as all mutants, hero and villain alike, stand united in their homeland.
Xavier’s opening message to humanity is amazing. There’s really no other way to describe and it’s easily one of the best moments in an X-Men book in ages. Xavier tells humanity about the Krakoan drugs that will make life better for them and how at one point he would have given them to humanity as a gift. That point in time is long gone, though. The X-Men have saved humanity countless times and have always been thanked with genocide. Xavier acknowledges that his old dream is dead, killed by a humanity that could not learn to live in harmony with mutants. This is a big deal. Hickman has taken the one thing that defined Xavier and the X-Men and thrown it out. The sad thing is that it makes sense. As the inheritors of the earth, there’s no way humans could live with mutants in harmony. While mutants like Magneto and Apocalypse and others have killed humans, none of them have killed nearly as many humans as humans have killed mutants. As much Xavier and the X-Men tried, the worst parts of humanity would never see mutants as anything other than a threat and the unfortunate reality is that often those people are the ones in power. The dream is dead, killed by humanity. That said, Xavier is still willing to help humanity, if they just give him and his people what they want- a home protected by international law, just like humans have. A new dream to take the place of the old one.
The rest of the issue deals with the leadership of Krakoa drafting the laws of the island, of which there are only three- make more mutants, murder no man, and respect the land of Krakoa. Hickman then gives readers a glimpse of what happens to lawbreakers, as a mutant is brought before the Council and tried for their crimes. There are no prisons on Krakoa, nor will there be, but there is a way to deal with criminals. It’s both humane and horrific. From there, Hickman shows mutants united in a way they have never been before. It’s an uplifting ending, as friends and enemies celebrate the future together.
Pepe Larraz’s art is a bit uneven in this issue. There are spots where he gets the proportions of things a little wrong and there’s a distinct lack of detail towards the end of the book in the celebration scene. It’s not everywhere, mostly on long shots, but it is noticeable. He does a great job during the Council session though and he draws one of the best renditions of Sabretooth ever.
House Of X #6 doesn’t go out with a bang, but with a huge party. Hickman has killed Xavier’s dream, but he’s given mutants, and readers something new- hope. Hope has been in short supply for mutants for a very long time and that’s what makes this ending so powerful. The new status quo that he’s built is new and exciting, something that the X-Men hasn’t been in a long time and this issue captures that perfectly. There’s still a sense of foreboding- Apocalypse is part of the ruling council and that’s a scary thought- but there’s something that’s so uplifting about this issue that there’s this feeling that mutants can survive anything because they are finally together. Pepe Larraz’s art is a bit uneven in places, but it doesn’t take anything away from the book. In fact, the vast majority of his work in this one is pretty great and without his pencils, a lot of scenes in the book wouldn’t have hit as hard. The future is now and if this issue is any indication, it’s going to be great.