House of X / Powers of X with Derek Van Dyke
We’re back with another episode of Trade School! This time, we’re talking about House of X / Powers of X! Our host is Derek Van Dyke from the Castle Bravo podcast!
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Edited by Case Aiken
Scored by Bret Eagleston
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Outline
️ Introduction to Certain Point of View’s Trade School and host Derek Van Dyke (00:00 - 00:30)
Derek’s credentials: editor, co-host of Godzilla series 'Castle,' and frequent collaborator with the network.
️ Background on writer Jonathan Hickman and his impact on Marvel Comics (00:30 - 01:09)
Highlighted Hickman’s notable runs on Fantastic Four (2010-2012) and Avengers up to 2016’s Secret Wars.
Compared Hickman to Brian Michael Bendis, emphasizing Hickman's bold and intricate storytelling style.
Introduction to the 'House of X' and 'Powers of X' miniseries launching the Krakoan Age (01:09 - 02:18)
Launched late 2019, rewriting the decades-long X-Men status quo.
Described as a timeline-dividing moment: before and after Krakoan Age.
Detailed synopsis of 'House of X' (02:18 - 03:00)
Story of Professor X forming a mutant sovereign nation on Krakoa.
Mutants unite as a nation with peace through trade, death dealt with differently.
⏳ Synopsis of 'Powers of X' (03:00 - 04:25)
Complex narrative structured around four timeline points spanning from a universal origin to distant future epochs.
Explores recurring extinction events of mutantkind by machine singularity, including alliances with alien Phalanx.
️ Combined impact of both series (04:25 - 05:08)
Presents a paradoxical scenario of mutants having a utopia but also looming existential threats.
The story provides hope along with paranoia, changing the X-Men narrative from ongoing struggle to a new phase.
Recommendation and closing thoughts (05:08 - 06:08)
Encourages listeners to read the trade paperback for full story clarity and emotional payoff.
Cautions against reading the out-of-order version on Marvel Unlimited.
Transcription
00:00
Welcome to Certain Point of View's Trade School, where each episode a different host.
00:03
Talks about a comic book trade paperback that they loved and why they love it.
00:08
Hi, I'm Derek Van Dyke, editor and co host of Castle, a Godzilla Verse retrospective and frequent collaborator on this network. Several folks from Certain Point of View have also guest starred on Castle. Bravo. So if you like the fine folks from this network and are interested in a walk through the history and craft of Godzilla movies, give it a shot for today's episode of Trade School, I'd like to talk to you about an interconnected pair of miniseries that launched a bold new Krakoan Age of X Men comics, House of X and Powers of X. The first thing you need to know is that writer Jonathan Hickman is that guy. You might recognize him as the writer behind maybe one of the most consequential set of runs in modern Marvel Comics history.
00:45
He wrote the absolutely iconic 20102012 run on Fantastic Four and relaunched Avengers in 2013 in a several year run that built all the way up to 2016's Secret Wars. He's basically the 2010s and onward equivalent to Brian Michael Bendis, except significantly bolder and more fussy. Brilliant. Sorry, I'm not a full on Bendis hater, but I am far from a Bendis Respecter. So a bit after the conclusion of Secret wars, when it was eventually announced that Hickman would be getting his hands on X Men, hardcore comic fans were paying attention. Starting in late 2019, Hickman's run on X Men was kicked off with a pair of interconnected prologue comics, House of X and Powers of Ten, that explosively rewrote the decades long status quo for mutant kind that had existed since most folks even got to know the X Men.
01:33
It was clear that this was a timeline dividing moment for the X Men. There was before the founding of the Krakoan Age, and there was after. House of X and Powers of X are complicated, intertwined stories that cannot be talked about separately, and they launch a storyline that weaves for years through multiple different ongoings, but they are surprisingly accessible as a standalone story, at least when read in the proper order, helpfully arranged in the trade paperback. By design, they do not require much comic specific knowledge of the X Men. They'll challenge you with their storytelling format, but the emotional weight of the story is obvious to anyone invested enough to have opinions on the X Men in the first place.
02:12
So yes, I'm going to try and keep it arch and convince you to check out the trade paperback yourself so you can read it. The House of X Half, read on its own, is a fairly direct story about Professor X forming a sustainable sovereign nation for mutants on the living island of Krakoa, using Krakoa's natural bounty to create a deal too good for the nations of the world to refuse. Former allies and enemies unite under the banner of mutantkind in their own Paradise Nation. A council of leaders assembled, peace with other nations achieved through trade rather than war, and the very idea of death itself removed as a consequence. For mutants, it is a paradigm shift that gives the X Men the most rigidly indestructible happy ending one could possibly engineer.
02:59
The powers of 10/2, meanwhile, takes a major plot element introduced early in House of X and frames around it a story of four points in time, one at a sort of universal origin point for the story being told. The first meeting of Charles Xavier and Moira MacTaggart. Year 110 to the zero with power. Another in the present era. The beginning of the Krakoan Age being told in House of X, year 1010 to the first power. Another in the future, near the end of an apocalyptic war where the last mutant resistance are being hunted to extinction by machines. Year 110 to the second power. And finally, the far future, where mutant kind have been wiped out and the last vestiges of humankind willingly await judgment and assimilation into the alien beings known as the phalanx. Year 1,010 to the third power.
03:52
Though told in deceptive order, it establishes the idea that mutantkind's extinction at the hands of the machine's singularity is an inevitable and universal constant, and that even knowing the futures that have elapsed may not be enough to stop it. Together, they create a simultaneously exhilarating and ominous future for mutantkind. We have, for all intents and purposes, solved the main problem that X Men comics have revolved around since their inception. Mutantkind has its Wakanda. All the old fights have been put aside, and mutants can no longer even die, so long as the collective wills it otherwise. But this is the beginning of a story. A story that has somehow ended in tragedy and struggle and extinction many times before. For all that the Krakoan Age brings, we as humans know that a story cannot begin with paradise and then remain in stasis.
04:48
It is a brilliant duality that Hickman employs, giving you a happy ending right at the start and letting the end of this prologue arc imbue the reader with as much paranoia as it does hope. Whether you're a devoted comics reader or just a nerd with an attachment to the X Men as a concept, I highly recommend picking up the trade paperback for House of X and powers of 10. Maybe it drives you on to reading trade paperbacks of the rest of the Krakoan age. Maybe you just take it as a cool standalone story that takes your casual understanding of the mission of the X Men and gives you a what comes after type of story turn. Regardless, it's a brilliant and intricate piece of storytelling with a tremendous amount of emotional payoff.
05:29
Just don't read the weird chronological order version that they recut for Marvel Unlimited. You're better than that. See you next time. And happy reading.
05:39
We love digging into epic comic book runs, but what about the art of the single issue? Single Bound is a new podcast series hosted by married couple Amy and Logan as they review single issues of comics. And if the title also makes you think of Superman, you're not alone as the man of Steel is Logan's favorite character and a regular topic of discussion on Single Bound. Listen and subscribe on Spotify and YouTube and follow the show on Instagram at single bound podcast cpov.
06:06
Certainpov.com.
Transcribed by https://fireflies.ai/