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Synopsis: In a bedroom, surrounded by friends, the Scarlet Witch gives birth to twins. As she celebrates with her husband, the Vision, Professor X appears, telling her to return reality to the way it should be. She argues the point, but then collapses and returns to her disheveled bedroom in Genosha, sobbing that she killed several Avengers, including Vision. Outside the room, Magneto checks on Xavier, revealing his guilt over Wanda’s condition. He thinks that maybe he deserves what he’s gotten, but Xavier states that Magneto’s daughter doesn’t.
In New York City, Ms. Marvel and Wonder Man head towards Stark Tower to a called meeting of the Avengers. The Falcon meets them at the tower’s base and the three head up just as the X-Men’s plane lands on the roof, entering the Astonishing X-Men to the scene. They go inside to find Professor X surrounded by several Avengers. After quick greetings, Xavier gets down to business. They have to decide the fate of Scarlet Witch.
Back in Genosha, Quicksilver appears at Wanda’s bedside. When Magneto questions him, he says that the teams are going to kill her. Magneto says that they may be right on the matter, which causes Pietro to go off on his father. As his son breaks down into tears, Magneto looks at his daughter and lowers his head.
At the meeting, Emma gives the most obvious answer, putting her down, which causes argument from the Avengers. Wolverine agrees with her, but Captain America swears there must be a way to save her. Emma asks both Professor X and Doctor Strange whether they’ve been able to help her, whom both answer negatively. Cap states they should wait for Strange to research the problem, but Wolverine and Emma again argue. As it continues to go back and forth, Spider-Man asks if they’d kill him if his powers wig out. Wolverine says he would, hoping they’d do the same to him. Wasp says she needs to find out what Wanda herself would want, so the teams head for Genosha, depending on Xavier, Emma and Dr. Strange to protect them.
They return to Genosha to find that Wanda is gone. As they contemplate what has happened, Professor X suddenly vanishes. Emma catches her location, though Strange, Iron Man and Spider-Man all report that they are not seeing anything in their respective senses. Spider-Man notices that no one is moving, and as he moves forward into the building, a bright light flashes.
In his home, Peter Parker is awakened by his wife telling him to check on their baby crying. As he gets out of bed, a picture is shown of their wedding – Peter Parker to a blonde woman…presumably Gwen Stacy.
Review: Now this is a way to start an intriguing story. Faithful readers of Excalibur (and those of you who made it to issue 14 certainly are faithful) will pick up on the story of Professor X and Doctor Strange trying to help Scarlet Witch, as its been a backup story for months. Unlike the Ultimate Universe’s Ultimate Nightmare, the X-Men have reason to be in this situation, besides the fact that Wolverine is also an Avenger. It’s natural that the bright, shiny heroes of the Avengers would automatically refuse to use drastic measures on their teammate, no matter how bad she got. However, not only do the X-Men have a shady member like Emma Frost in their ranks, but they’ve also been through Dark Phoenix, and know the feeling of a friend going rogue all too well.
A few problems fall in doing a story advertised as an Astonishing X-Men/New Avengers crossover, though. Both books are painfully behind schedule, so newer readers of either book may be somewhat confused here. In New Avengers, Wolverine is not yet an Avenger and the Sentry is still in prison, though both are shown here as members. In Astonishing, Professor X is still in Genosha, preparing to battle the Danger Room. It seems that of all the books that are dealing with this huge event, the advertised ones are keeping it here, while chugging along with their own (delayed) stories. It makes you think that perhaps it’s the flagship books that are the ones that don’t fit into continuity.
Tapping Oliver Coipel for art was a good move on the part of Marvel, as the art is fantastic. The scene between Magneto and Quicksilver, with half of the dreary room completely black was especially good. My only complaint about it is that Genosha is depicted more as a dilapidated metropolis rather than an eradicated wasteland as it is seen in Excalibur…especially when Xavier’s crew have been working for six months to clear out the rubble. It’s not an important issue, but it shows how unimportant the focus of Excalibur really has been to the mainstream Marvel Universe.
An excellent starting issue for House of M. It’s more exciting than DC’s Countdown to Infinite Crisis, and has a better name, to boot. Here’s hoping the entire story keeps the momentum and is worth the hype.