It’s been nearly six years since I last picked up a new X-Men comic with any real consistency. The last series I read with any regularity featuring the merry mutants was Jason Aaron‘s Wolverine and the X-Men. Which apparently ended around six years ago. It’s fair to say that I’m a little out of touch with that side of the Marvel Universe (though I have been following both Old Man Logan and Dead Man Logan, but those series didn’t really involve the X-Men as much as a team book would). More than a little, honestly. A lot has happened in the six years I’ve been away, and since I barely pay attention to solicitations I have missed most of it.

But with Johnathan Hickman steering the X-Men in a new direction with both House and Powers Of X, I thought this might be a good time to start reading X-Men comics again.

But how easy is it to jump back in relatively blind after more than half a decade away? Join me, and I’ll tell you.

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Expect spoilers as I try to make sense of the comic.

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Much to my surprise, I was expecting to read House Of X #3 this week, not Powers Of X #3. That’s what I get for not paying attention to solicitations, I guess.

If you’ve been reading the entire series so far, and by that I mean everything under the House/Powers Of X banner and not just Powers then you’ll have absolutely no problem reading this comic. It focuses on the Year 100 timeline that you’ll remember from previous issues of Powers, an era where there are less than a dozen mutants/X-Men left in the solar system (really at this point, mutant and X-Man are one and the same). This issue follows the suicide mission, with said remaining mutants trying to find the information about when Nimrod, the machine responsible for the subjugation of humanity became active.

There’s a really interesting outcome with this story, and it’s perhaps the first real instance on the House/Powers being a single series.

I’ve gotta say, that so far this has been one of my favourite issues that I’ve written about for this column because it’s one of the few we’ve had since the event began that you can fully enjoy after having read only the comics in the event so far. There is literally no prior knowledge you need, as long as you have a passing familiarity with the characters – which you should have if you’ve been following the story since House Of X #1.

The exposition pages return again; this time they return to the map of nine of Moira X’s different lives as well as a couple of pages illustrating just how dire things have become in this timeline. There’s also more of the mutant language scattered throughout the comic, too, and if you have the time, patience or google ability to translate it, then you’ll uncover another layer to this comic. I haven’t done that yet, and probably won’t because I am far too lazy, but I love that it’s there.

Once again, the artists are on point. R.B. Silva is the artist and is joined on inking by Adriano Di Benedetto and colour artist Marte Gracia. The trio are solid, providing the comic with a visual gravitas that’s on par for the story that Hickman is telling within the issue. The action is phenomenally choreographed, and in some places it’s oddly shocking, heartbreaking and remarkably satisfying.

This issue is going to have reverberations across the series – perhaps not in the same way House Of X #2 has over the entire Marvel Universe, but certainly within the event as a whole.

“You see I know how you humans love your symbolism, almost as much as you love you religion. And I wanted you – I needed you – to understand… you have new gods now.”

Magneto, House Of X, #1 p.47.
I keep leaving this image and quote in the column because, for me, it’s emblematic of the series as a whole. It’s Hickman, through Magneto, setting the stage for the future of the X-Men.

Powers Of X #3 is one of my favorite issues in the series so far. It’s a great payoff comic five issues in, and one that keeps the pacing of the event absolutely on point. I loved everything about this comic, and am amazed that Hickman has been able to meet the expectations that I had for this issue.

I can’t wait to see what’s going to come our way next week.

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Will I understand next week’s installment in the saga, House Of X #3? Do I regret skipping six years of X-Books? Am I ever going to find out how Xavier is walking again*?

We might find out next week. We might not.

Marvel provided a FREE copy for review purposes, but I read the comic in print from my LCS.

*The answer is yes, but it made no sense when two of my friends told me individually last week, but it basically boils down to “comics being comics” which I’ve kind of accepted with an air of nonchalance.