Merge:House of M

House of M is an eight-part Marvel Comics crossover event which began in June 2005. It was written by Brian Michael Bendis, with art by Olivier Coipel. House of M is a follow-up to the events of Avengers Disassembled in which the Scarlet Witch suffers a mental breakdown and tries changing reality to recreate her lost children. Scarlet Witch is Magneto's daughter; their entire family, including Quicksilver (Magneto's son and Scarlet Witch's twin brother) played major roles in the series.

Introduction
Bendis, lead writer for the House of M event, was quoted in the House of M #1 Director's Cut that the series would "shake the world and break the internet wide open". In addition to the main eight-issue limited series, House of M had several tie-ins to ongoing series, foremost being a lead-in to Excalibur #13-14. More information on tie-ins can be found below in the Comics in Series section of this article. Prior to the event, Bendis also mentioned in several interviews that the event will have a lasting effect on the Marvel Universe, but remained tight-lipped as to what. The reduction of the mutant community was the only rumor that came true.

The crossover has been followed by a one-shot called House of M: Decimation - The Day After, a series called Son Of M which depicts Quicksilver dealing with his loss of powers and Generation M, which devoted each issue to a different mutant dealing with his/her loss of powers. Characters confirmed to star are Chamber, Jubilee, and Blob. A-list characters confirmed as losing their powers include Dani Moonstar and Magneto, and B-listers like Tag, Wind Dancer. It also rebooted 'Excalibur' into New Excalibur, and several comics had creative team shifts as a result. As well as an All-New X-Factor series; and spun-off 3 other mini-series: X-Men: Deadly Genesis, X-Men: The 198 and Sentinel Squad O*N*E; as well as the wrap up of loose-end (conclusion) to storylines from House of M cross-overs in Uncanny X-Men, New X-Men: Academy X & Wolverine. And most recently, in what appears to be the wrap-up (Epilogue) to the 'House of M/Decimation' storylines -and answer to the mystery of what that stange 'energy-cloud' hovering in orbit around the earth - at the conclusion of House of M issue No. # 8- really was, is revealed in the pages of New Avengers # 16-20. Check also under The Collective.

World of House of M
Unlike previous alternate timelines like Days of Future Past and Age of Apocalypse, the world of House of M is much the same as the mainstream universe.

In this world, Magneto was attacked by Sentinels over Manhattan in 1979 (taking advantage of Marvel's sliding timescale policy, there are no heroes active in the 1970s). At the end of the attack, Magneto revealed an alleged international anti-mutant conspiracy involving Richard M. Nixon. The main result of this was that Magneto was granted sovereignty of the island of Genosha as the leader of the world's mutants. Another result was that the protection of mutant life was judged to be the first worry of all laws (as a result, stem cell research on mutant embryos is illegal, but stem cell research on altered human embryos is permitted). Because of this, the world is a racist society, with mutants controlling governments, businesses and culture, and Humans (or "Sapiens") are looked down on as inferior. (essentially a reversal of the current status quo, where mutants are looked down on and despised instead).

Some exceptions apply to sapiens that live with privileges like Carol Danvers (Ms. Marvel) and Spider-Man. However, while Carol Danvers is widely known to be a sapien, Spider-Man is believed by the House of M world at large to be a mutant.

Decimation: The Aftermath of House of M
The House of M has created some serious consequences in the Marvel Universe. The greatest so far is the reduction of the mutant population from millions to hundreds. Fan reaction to these changes has been mixed. Some fans thought the previous reality, in which millions of super-powered mutants existed and lived as outcasts, was far-fetched and not as enjoyable as previously stated scenarios. Others criticized the fact that, despite the fact that 91.4% of the mutant population had been "depowered," few popular, marketable characters lost their abilities. Only two current members of the X-Men (Polaris, Professor X) suffered this fate, although the X-Men's main villain Magneto has lost his abilities as well.

Other consequences include the disappearance of Charles Xavier (only until he returned in Deadly Genesis without his powers), Scarlet Witch, and Quicksilver, and Wolverine's total recall of his past, which will cause a serious change in his status. Quicksilver's disappearance will be dealt with in the Son of M. Though not explicitly expressed in the House of M series, Bendis has stated in an interview with Newsarama that Hawkeye has been revived in the Marvel Universe. The Collective, a new villain that defeated the Canadian superhero team Alpha Flight, was created as a result of the Decimation event. The Collective was apparently formed from all of the mutant energies displaced by Wanda's actions...

Worlds Tour
The Exiles begin their Worlds Tour in Exiles #69 to chase down Proteus here. It will be their first stop of six.

Comics in Series
As a universe-wide event, House of M stretches beyond its main series with the storyline interacting with the following comics:


 * House of M Sketchbook
 * House of M limited series #1-8
 * Spider-Man: House of M #1-5
 * Fantastic Four: House of M #1-3
 * Incredible Hulk #83-86
 * Iron Man: House of M #1-3
 * Mutopia X #1-4 (of 5)
 * Uncanny X-Men #462-465
 * Wolverine #33-35
 * New X-Men: Academy X #16-19
 * Exiles #69-71
 * Excalibur #13-14 (it should be noted, however, that while the earlier issues were not mentioned as being part of the crossover, the storyline involving Magneto rescuing and taking care of Wanda begin in #8)
 * Secrets of the House of M
 * The Pulse: House of M Special Edition
 * Black Panther #7
 * Captain America #10
 * New Thunderbolts #11
 * The Pulse #10
 * Cable & Deadpool #17
 * Giant-Size Ms. Marvel #1 (Published after the conclusion of the event)

Trade Paperbacks
The trade paperbacks collect many of the issues involved with the House of M storyline. Arranged in order, the books form a logo of the House of M. They include: The Decimation trade paperbacks collect many of the issues involved with the aftermath of the House of M storyline. Arranged in order, the books form a logo of the Decimation. They include:
 * Excalibur: Prelude to the House of M (Excalibur 11-14)
 * House of M (House of M 1-8)
 * House of M: Spider-Man (Spider-Man: House of M 1-5)
 * House of M: Fantastic Four and Iron Man (Fantastic Four: House of M 1-3, Iron Man: House of M 1-3)
 * Mutopia X (Mutopia X 1-4)
 * World of M Featuring Wolverine (Wolverine 33-35, Captain America 10, Black Panther 7, Pulse 10)
 * House of M: New X-Men (Academy X 16-19, second half of Secrets of the House of M)
 * House of M: Uncanny X-Men (Uncanny X-Men 462-465, first half of Secrets of the House of M)
 * House of M: Incredible Hulk (Incredible Hulk 83-87)
 * Decimation: X-Men - The Day After (Decimation: House of M - The Day After and X-Men #177-181)
 * Decimation: Generation M (Generation M #1-5)
 * Decimation: Son Of M (Son of M #1-6)