What If? House of M

[lordultimus]

The Red Skull, uniting AIM, Hydra, and the Hand, breaks into the Baxter Building using a damaged Cosmic Cube and gets Doctor Doom's armor, killing Ben Grimm and Reed Richards. He launches an attack on New York, but is confronted by armor wearing Avengers and X-Men with Shi'ar tech.

Peter Parker, having initially refused Tony's offer for armor, gets his web shooters and uses them to take away the Cube from the Skull as the battle turns against the heroes.





We then cut many years later, where Peter is with his daughter and grandaughter at a memorial park for super heroes. He runs into an old Tony Stark, and they talk about their hero days.

Comments

[crinos]

Okay forget this story, what is that "What if the Runaways became the Youn Avengers."

That seems like it would be the more interesting story of the two.

[lordultimus]

It was a backup that continued throughout all of the What If books that year. It was pretty good, as I recall.

[aperturedreams]

So it's like JLA: Act of God, but with "Iron Man is the best" instead of Batman?

[michaelsaint]

I was thinking exactly the same thing....

[lizard_of_aus]

Well, from what I can tell, there's a lot less whining and wrongheaded religious gibbering. This, however, is counterbalanced by hideous artwork and Maria Hill being Maria Hill.

[thanekos]

It is possible for an ex-Nazi to carry a gun that doesn't look like some kind of Mauser.

[burkeonthesly]

"Jeez, Red Skull, again with that gun?"
"You guys, I'm going for a certain aesthetic here!"

[locuatico]

Okay... WOULD Blackbolt be happy about losing his powers? like 80% of Inhuman's characterization is that they are superior to humans and, unlike mutants, they don't even give a tenth of a crap about being "normal".
It would make more sense for Reed, since trying to bring Ben back to normal is a common theme in the FF books.

[lordultimus]

Depends on the interpretation of the character. I've seen in in different ways.

Of course, there are a few hiccups in characterization. I guess the writers weren't aware Carol Danvers is a recovering alcoholic.

[lbd_nytetrayn]

So was the "What If...?" basically "what if Wanda got rid of ALL super powers," rather than just mutant-based ones? That's what it seems like, but it's never quite stated.

Also, I'm rarely one to criticize art in a comic, but this art...

[lordultimus]

Yeah that's about it.

[cygnia]

I was gonna say about this art too...

[jlbarnett]

I'm rarely one to criticize art in a comic, but this art...

it deserves every bit of criticism it gets

[featheredserpent]

This art is a parody of Liefeld. Except with feet.

[nyadnar17]

These stories always bother me.

They all basically boil down to "everything would be fine if this group of people just stopped existing".

Never mind alien invasions, demonic incursions, giant monster attacks, or
even "plain old" mad scientist. Nevermind the fact that mutants without their powers tend to end up butchered by hate groups. Nope everything would be fine if the "special" people just didn't exit.

[lordultimus]

I don't think we were supposed to agree with Maria Hill here.

[burkeonthesly]

Yeah, if Iron Man is still a going concern, then so is Doc Ock, so is the Scorpion, Hawkeye, Bullseye, Titanium Man, Crimson Dynamo, X-Cutioner, Arcade, anyone else who gets their powers from tech or money... there's still a lot of bad people out there in the costumed set. Also, did Asgard just lose Thor? Because I feel like Odin might have something to say about that. Or is this when Asgard was in Oklahoma, in which case did it just crash to the ground?

[goattoucher]

First: Oh my god, this art! Blerg!

Second: It's a good thing Iron Man is the only technology based hero out there, and that there are no technology based villains! Otherwise this whole thing would come crumbling down.

Third: The elimination of all biology based powers? Okay. I got you. That's a thing. But the elimination of all supernatural powers? How? Do other dimensions and the connections thereto just cease to exist?

Fourth: Nogoodniks break into the Baxter Building. Did Reed Richards' super scientific defenses get depowered too? Were there no weapons to defend themselves with? Would Reed not have made Power Suits (or at least force fields) to protect his family about ten minutes after he found out everyone's powers were gone (or several years before, as a contingency?)

Yeah, no. I appreciate What If? is supposed to be about thinking outside the box, but the good stories are based on -good- ideas that can't make it into the mainstream MU.

[lordultimus]

There were technology themed villains. We saw them fighting Winter Soldier (though MODOK was one of them... good luck explaining that). We saw Patriot, Kate Bishop and Vision get killed by the Red Skull.

[icon_uk]

Galactus will be very disappointed the next time he drops by, no Reed Richards to challenge him, and no handy superbeings to try and stop him... where's the fun in that?

[goattoucher]

Don't worry: extra-terrestrial/dimensional threats won't be a problem.

Just ask Maria Hill. She -knows things-.

[razsolo]

So I assume while this was going on Hawkeye, Jim Rhodes, Mockingbird, Hellcat, Moon Knight, Black Knight, Black Panther, Falcon and Stingray were quietly off on the sidelines fighting all the leftover tech-using villains huh? ;p

[goattoucher]

Hellcat has mystical powers (gone).

Black Knight's sword is mystical (gone).

Moon Knight's powers come from Konshu (gone).

Black Panther's "heart shaped herb" gives him biological powers that exceed baseline humanity (gone).

However, Clint, Jim, Bobbi, and Sam would do. We might also consider Deathlok, Songbird, Bucky, Forge, one of the assorted Vindicators, Shang Chi, Misty Knight, Ghost (If you could count on the T-Bolts), and probably a bunch more.

[tripodeca113]

Oh God the faces.
I thinks it's the weird expressions and the unnecessary extra detailing.

[reveen]

Holy shit the art. What the hell man.

Also, why was Doctor Strange power stripped? He doesn't have powers, he just knows how to use magic as a discipline that he learned.

[goattoucher]

Shh! Shshshsh!

:clutches your head to chest, stroking your hair:

Just let it happen. Just leeet it happen. That's it...

[thezmage]

Who’s the artist for this, and how can I ensure I never see his/her art again?

[berani00]

It's by Jim McCann and you can never see it again by avioding anything that has his name on it... Maybe.

[mrwalker]

I can't buy Tony being the ONLY hero left. As someone else mentioned, there are "badass normals," and on BOTH sides of the law. For that matter where was Rhodes? Unless Wanda's spell was VERY thorough to the point of taking away the skills of said badass normals as well?