Reprinting stories from Mutopia X #1-5
Writer: David Hine
Artists: Lan Medina (p), Alejandro Sicat (i)
Publisher: Mavel
Damn, I wish I’d read ‘District X’. Not because I need it to understand this story, but because the creative team behind both titles is so damn good!
Ismael Ortega is a human FBI officer married to a mutant. His daughter’s latent mutant powers can be activated by Brother Mercator, spiritual leader of the Mutopia center for transformation. Ortega’s opposed to the process because he feels humanity is being treated like a disease. Complicating his life are Shaky Kaufman, shady mutant media mogul, and his shape-shifting wife Lara. The pair is targeted for death by the Sapien League, a militant anti-mutant group. They mark Ortega for death after he’s caught having an affair with Lara. And somehow, Ortega feels all of this happened before.
The events in this story mirror events from ‘District X’. From Ismael’s real-world monologue at the beginning and the wrap-up in issue #5, we learn Ortega did cheat on his wife with Lara, and Mercator saved his daughter from a fatal gun shot. It’s interesting to see how changing society didn’t change Ismeal. He still makes poor decisions and puts his family in danger. The ending isn’t exactly hopeful, but is ambiguous enough to make you think the Ortega’s will survive.
This is a uniquely character-driven comic book resembling “Law & Order” more than ‘X-Men’. The story is driven by the characters’ decisions and personalities more than the sparse action. I also love the realistic artwork. Medina does a terrific job depicting real, down-to-earth people and the many feelings they express. Sicat’s inking is a little sketchy at the start, but quickly improves.
On the whole, this is a solid, dramatic, human, and emotional story about choice, prejudice, and loss. The final chapter showing the people of Mutant Town turned into humans conveys the suddenness and deadly consequences of the Scarlet Witch’s decision. Easily one of the best parts of ‘House of M’ and one of the best trades you could ever read.
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