Rating:  -
I found the "Fantastic Four" part of this to be very well written, so much so that it made up for the initially promising but ultimately "lame" (for lack of a better word) Iron Man issues that make up the second half of the book... the Iron Man half got off to a good start but the conclusion felt almost forced, like it was wrapped up way too quickly and left too many issues unaddressed - which is normal for "crossover" comics but even taking that into consideration I found it a weak effort. The "Fantastic Four" in this case is really a team assembled by, of all people, Doom himself i.e. you shouldn't be expecting a House of M version of Reed and Sue Richards (Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Girl), and Johnny Storm (the Human Torch) but rather a different group of people entirely - interesting folk but I found the peek into Doom's mindset / way of looking at things to be the most fascinating part of the book...more than that I can't say without giving away too much but again, I found the first half (FF) to be very well written and worth the purchase price alone. I applaud the other reviewers for their efforts but, with all due respect to them - be careful! If you read their reviews you'll find there are so many "spoilers" in there that you'll feel like you've already read the graphic novel before even purchasing it.. this isn't intended as a criticism by any means, it's very difficult to publish a review without discussing the content of a book after all.
People planning on purchasing this should also check out the "Main" House of M graphic novel by Bendis (author) and Coipel (illustrator) in order to find out what happens next... I posted a review of that particular title as well if that's of any interest to anyone out there...
Rating: -
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.
Rating: -
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.
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