Marvel Comics is so close to the final issue of the X-Men’s Krakoan era. The X-Men have operated out of Krakoa for years and recently the Anti-Mutant Organization named Orchis staged a deadly attacked that removed the X-Men from their paradise. In the post-apocalyptic twist on “House of X” called “Fall of the House of X,” author Gerry Duggan and artist Lucas Werneck are exploring the Sentinel City Division of Orchis. The X-Men are scattered across the globe currently and are looking to unite to strike vengeance on a foe that took so much from them. Today let’s explore one of the final chapters in the Krakoan era with “Fall of the House of X” #4!
Cover by Pepe Larraz and Marte GraciaWritten by Gerry Duggan
Illustrated by Lucas Werneck and Jethro Morales
Colored by Bryan Valenza
Lettered by VC’s Travis LanhamMY ALLY, MY ENEMY! They say a wounded animal can be the most dangerous kind of animal to face. As the fight between the mutants and Orchis reaches a deadly pitch, a startling revelation rocks the X-Men to their core. The two series that are one come together in one horrible betrayal as the Krakoan Age nears its conclusion!
“Fall of the House of X” #4 opens with style as Apocalypse joins the main X-Men narrative after being absent for an extended portion of time during the beginning stages of Fall of X. Watching Apocalypse fight on the side of the X-Men to save the Krakoan tree and slay the Stark Sentinels is an incredibly engaging narrative way for Gerry Duggan and Lucas Werneck to ratchet up the tension early on in the issue. It’s touching to see just how far Apocalypse is willing to go in order to try and keep Krakoa safe.
It’s refreshing to see Duggan return to the plot thread involving Cyclops, Nimrod and Sentinel City. Cyclops has gone through a bleak act of violence from Nimrod and Magik is seemingly able to pull him out of a spiral of depression before it manifests in full. Duggan, Morales and Werneck beautifully use Nimrod to shift plot threads over to Professor Xavier in a cleverly paced scene detailed just before the credits. Duggan’s playful dialogue for Omega Sentinel keeps the casual tone of this issue intact beautifully while he teases dark undertones beneath the surface.
The dark and dreary subplots are easy to love in “Fall of the House of X” #4. However, the visuals in the issue are not as consistent as Lucas Werneck’s interior art readers previously experienced in “Immortal X-Men.” “Fall of the House of X” #4 also suggests that artists Jethro Morales may clash with Werneck in certain scenes as well. Despite the fact that the visuals aren’t polished in terms of the anatomy, a lot of the individual character beats work nicely in “Fall of the House of X” #4. The sequence with Cyclopes and Xavier is emotionally charged from Scott’s glances alone. The art in “Fall of the House of X” #4 is inconsistent as the final page in the issue is rendered incredibly, teasing the return of an X-Men favorite. Some of the pages with Apocalypse also feature incredibly dense layouts and utilize techniques like negative space with a strong eye.
The longer that “Fall of the House of X” #4 goes, the darker the material seemingly gets. The happy reunion that Apocalypse was embarking on towards the end of the issue turns into a brutal struggle to keep the X-Men’s trusted ally alive. It seemed as if Duggan is ready to suspend the plot point numerous times in the narrative, but the way Duggan returns to this scene so many times over the course of the issue thrilling.
The thread with Cyclops forces him to acknowledge the damage suffered by Xavier during their fight with Orchis. The X-Men are fully present towards the end of this chapter to embark on a huge fight with Orchis mainstays like Nimrod and Omega Sentinel. Once again, seeing our X-Men heroes comes to blows with foes that have been taunting them for years is a cathartic feeling. Another aspect of “Fall of the House of X” #4 that is really impressive to witness is the scope of the series. At one point, “Fall of the House of X” felt like more of a sister title to Duggan’s X-Men run. However, “Fall of the House of X” #4 is spread across so much continuity that the issue feels like the next big sweeping chapter of the Krakoan comic books.
Marvel’s “Fall of the House of X” #4 is a triumphant comic book marred slightly by unfocused visuals. However, the script from Duggan highlights a great number of X-Men plot threads that easily catapults the issue to greatness. Using so many elements of Krakoan continuity from Mr. Sinister to Sunfire has allowed Duggan, Morales and Werneck to unlock so much potential for the X-Men characters during this run of comics. The animosity built up between the X-Men and Orchis from writers like Gerry Duggan has created such a compelling final set of issues for the Krakoan era. Also, the cliffhanger teased in the final moments in the narrative beautifully teases yet another fan-favorite Mutant set to return to the X-Men franchise after another long departure.
Final Verdict: 8.5 – “Fall of the House of X” #4 has a moment for every X-Men fan.
