House of M: Fantastic Four / Iron Man (Fantastic Four (Graphic Novels)) [ペーパーバック]

These two stories serve to show what other characters were up to while Wolverine was uncovering the events of House of M. They provide backstory into why certain things happened towards the end of the series.

In the Fantastic Four arc, Reed Richards and Susan Storm died when they went up into space. The radiation from the cosmic cloud was too much for them to handle. Instead of Johnny Storm, J. Jonah Jameson's son John accompanied them and also ended up dead. Ben Grimm was there as well, and barely made it out alive. The shuttle crashed in Latveria, home of Victor von Doom. Doom, who never suffered an accident (thus he needs no mask) is the King of Latveria, and things seem to be going well for him. His mother is alive, he has a great family, and, even though he's human, he is Magneto's second-in-command. However, he desires more, but since he is human, this is as far as he will ever get. Until he is inspired by the corpses of Richards, Storm, and Jameson. He realizes that he can develop a method to safely harness the radiation that mutated the Americans to give his family superpowers that parallel those of the Fantastic Four. Using Ben Grimm as "The It", his wife as the Invincible Woman, and his son as the Inhuman Torch, they try to usurp power from the House of M.

The one thing I found kind of strange about this story is that the point of House of M is that the Scarlet Witch gave the people she knew their greatest wishes. However, since she was an Avenger, it is more likely that she knew Reed Richards and the Fantastic Four and would have given them their greatest wishes. Other than that, this is an interesting look at Dr. Doom and how he would have preferred his life to turn out.

In the Iron Man story, Tony Stark is still billionaire industrialist, but now he works out of Chicago. He is pretty much the most respected human in the business world, and he is famous for his skills at "Sapien Death Match", an American Gladiators-type show in which he, Johnny Storm, and his father (who is alive in the House of M reality) don power suits to fight sentinels. While on the surface Stark seems to be ok with the mutant domination of the world (most of his technology that he develops gets sold to the House of M to use against humans), he keeps his greatest invention to himself in order to use to help the oppressed humans. Hank Pym has a pivotal role in this story, and the introduction of his character in the main House of M arc pays off here.

Of the two stories, I preferred the Iron Man one. They both have their merits, and they both effectively enhance the main House of M storyline, so this is definitely more for comic purists and completists.

The Avengers and the X-Men meet to decide the fate of the Scarlet Witch who looses control of her reality-altering powers and to make matters worst; she has a nervous break down. Professor Xavier tries to help but fails. Quicksilver pleads to save his sister with their father Magneto.

The world burns white and is reborn where mutants are the dominant species and the regular people (homo sapiens) are on the verge of extinction in two generations.

The House of M was my return to the comic world. Overall, I like the series even though there have been changes to characters since I last read comic books(for instance the powers of the Scarlet Witch).

This issue involves two stories even though the title is a little misleading. In the story of the Fantastic Four, Reed and Sue Richards died from their adventure in space. Ben Grimm managed to survive after their rocket lands in the waters of Latveria.

Victor Von Doom takes Grimm and makes him his pet enforcer called "The It." Together with his wife The Invincible Woman and his ward the Inhuman Torch he forms a group called the Fearsome Four. This group's primary function is handling the dirty work of the House of M.

Victor Von Doom is no mutants servant. It is time for the House of M to fall!

Overall this was a nice story. I liked it even though you may see that it borrows from some old movies. Doom's mother reminded me of the mother in the movie Notorious.

I liked the outcome as the ending I found the ending to suit Victor Von Doom.

The second story involves Tony Stark who remains a respected industrialist but Iron Man is now a popular gladiator in a TV show. In the previous story, I wondered what happened to Johnny Storm. It is answered here.

Stark as always is tinkering and he has something to help the oppressed humans. We get to see Hank Pym as his story line is expanded from the main story.

Overall, I think I liked this story more then the other one. I liked the intrigue and was interested in the events that happen. The ending was appropriate when considering the nature of Tony Stark.

Collecting both the Fantastic Four and Iron Man mini-series' spawned from Brian Michael Bendis' House of M, House of M: Fantastic Four/Iron Man features classic Marvel icons re-envisioned in the alternate reality where mutants are the dominant species and humans are the oppressed. The Fantastic Four mini is the most interesting of the two, in which Reed Richards and Susan Storm never survived their trip into space. Instead, the Fantastic Four are led by Victor Von Doom (who never had has scarring accident) who also serves as Magneto's right hand man. Ben Grimm is the only original FF member here, as Doom plans to usurp Magneto's rule and power at any stake. The Iron Man mini finds Tony Stark being one of the world's most powerful humans as he designs and sells weapons to the House of Magnus. However, he also has a familiar iron suit in the wings for which he uses to help the oppressed humans of the world. Throughout each mini, you'll see plenty of familiar faces like Hank Pym and such, and each mini is entertaining and features great art as well. All in all, this House of M tie-in is definitely worth picking up.