What If House Of M

What I tend to like best about "What If" books is that they teach one something about the subject. I have read a lot of What If stories in the past, even if they referred to stories I didn't know previously, because I gained a great deal of context.

Interestingly, this story didn't give me any more understanding of the House of M aftermath or the Marvel Universe in general, yet I still thought it was excellent. Without wanting to leak a spoiler, one de-powered hero rises as a hero in a post-heroic world. That hero is both unexpected and predictable. It made the whole story work.

The Young Avengers/Runaways add-on, on the other hand, provides a great deal of context (confession - I don't read these books). I am getting a good sense of the story, especially as relates to the formation of the Young Avengers. Unfortunately, the part of the story presented here seems a bit sterile. Hopefully it will pick up in the next What If to be released in the next few weeks.