Long among the most popular superheroes, the X-Men have recently suffered from adaptations to the cinema far from living up to the potential of the mutants.
In the House of X comics, screenwriter Jonathan Hickman has been tasked with reviving them.
The result is a virtuoso and eminently political story.
In September 1963, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the most prolific duo in comic book history, created a new group of superheroes: the X-Men.
This time, their powers did not come from alien ancestry, a nuclear accident or high-tech armor: the gifts of mutants were written in their genes.
A script and political innovation embodied by Professor Xavier, Magneto, Wolverine, Cyclops, Tornade and many others.
After six decades of dedicated service, Marvel has decided to revive the somewhat worn-out X-Men with
House of X
, a groundbreaking comic book series.
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From revolutionary beginnings to Hollywood wringer
The strength of the X-Men has long been the political subtext of the series.
Mutants are the embodiment of all minorities.
They are different humans, feared and often mistreated or even hunted down.
The main thread therefore revolved around the concept of integration: on the one hand, Professor Xavier, presented as the hero, who pleads for collaboration with humans;
on the other, Magneto, his old friend turned enemy, who despises humans and wants to dominate them.
A metaphor that each reader has adopted in their own way.
"I love the X-Men because I was told that it was a transposition of the vision of Martin Luther King, represented by Professor Xavier, and Malcolm X, represented by Magneto", tells Europe 1 singer Imany.
For more than 50 years, this history of integration has nourished comics but also films.
Since 2000, mutants have inspired 13 more or less successful feature films.
Except that by dint of wringing the X-Men, Hollywood ended up drowning the political subtext under special effects and XXL action.
"Humans, while you were sleeping the world has changed"
To revive the mutants, Marvel has therefore entrusted the reins of the X-Men to a man: Jonathan Hickman, screenwriter recognized in the world of comics.
And the latter blew everything up.
Exit the old struggle over the integration model.
In
House of X
, a four-chapter mini-series released in France in the summer of 2020, Xavier and Magneto unite with a radical bias: they create a Mutant Nation on Krakoa, an island in the Pacific.
Obviously, this does not please other countries and diplomatic negotiations are at the heart of the story.
House of X
clearly marks the failure of the integration of mutants who are all invited to come and live on Krakoa and therefore to isolate themselves from the rest of the world.
Even Professor X eventually admits it: despite his best efforts, humans continue to distrust them.
This is why he rallies under his banner all mutants, including his historical enemies like Magneto and Apocalypse.
They all have the same goal: to ensure the survival of the mutant race.
"Humans of planet Earth. While you were sleeping, the world has changed", warns Xavier in a message sent to the whole world.
Comics that make you think
Obviously,
House of X is
talking about mutants.
But, again, we can't help but draw a parallel with our times.
At the time of the Black Lives Matter movement, feminist struggles or for LGBT rights, the radicalism and pessimism of the remarks assumed by Jonathan Hickman inevitably question.
Is living together an illusion?
Can we really convince our political opponents?
Is technological progress necessarily progress?
This is the kind of question we ask ourselves when reading
House of X
, a reading that leaves no stone unturned, far from it.
And the reflections do not stop there since in reality,
House of X
is published as a duet with
Powers of X
, another series also scripted by Jonathan Hickman.
In it, he plays on multiple temporalities: year 0, the start of the X-Men;
year 10, which corresponds to the events of
House of X
;
the year 100, time of a war which decimates the mutants;
and the year 1000, a future dominated by robots.
The chapters of the two series are interwoven in each of the four volumes.
The format is daring, complex and demanding at first glance, but it's worth diving into it for the virtuosity of the writing.
Think of comics as series
In fact, beyond the substance, the form of
House of X / Powers of X
is also revolutionary.
Jonathan Hickman has a role here equivalent to that of a serial showrunner.
He scripted the two founding comics of this revival, but above all he brought a long-term vision.
Indeed, behind, there is
Dawn of X
, a sequel to
House of X
bringing together six series, each centered on a group of mutants (publication in progress, six volumes published in France).
Hickman wrote only one but he oversees everything.
"
Modern
storytelling
must take the form of a series. You have to tell stories that lead somewhere, think in the long term. By doing this, you arouse the reader's curiosity, you make them want to invest in the story and the characters, "Jonathan Hickman explained at San Diego Comic Con in 2019. And that long-term vision is felt in
House of X
, there are a lot of story arcs started in a chapter and coming back. much later.
Without a doubt, these three exciting series are tipping the X-Men into a new era.