Editor's Note: What If?: House of M arrives in stores Thursday, December 4.

What if, the art in this issue was a little less distracting? This issue addresses the question, what if Scarlet Witch had said something different at the end of House of M. What if she had said, "no more powers"? How would the world have changed then? This issue investigates and plays out that question while providing for a clear and powerful message to its readers: you don't need superpowers to be a hero.

I just have one question: what's with the size of the lips on the characters in this issue? It's as though the loss of their powers left them all with a desire for collagen injections, and believe me, they all took a visit to the plastic surgeon. The lips are so large that I have to admit that on a couple pages I had to read the page again because I was so caught up with the art that I missed the dialogue. But this is no reflection on the writing, which is very good; the lips are just that pronounced. I have seen Pantalena's pencils for some panels on this issue and the lips don't seem to pop as much as they do in the finished product. Maybe it was the coloring team who chose to bold a color contrast and forced the lips to slap this reader in the face every time he turned the page.

Other than the lips – which only seemed natural for Mary Jane - the art was great, with powerfully drawn body structures and powerful colors. Pantalena's anime influences are very clear, the clearest example being his depiction of Gambit. Anything from the way the eyes are shadowed to the classic maniacal smile of our most beloved anime characters. Pantalena does a great job with the Iron Avengers, which looked so great they jumped out of the page. The mechanics created by the team for Wolverine's suit is great. The energy blades he releases from each hand to create his infamous claws is pure brilliance and as a fan, you would expect nothing less from Tony Stark.

As I was reading through the issue, I couldn't help but be reminded of Dr. Doom every time I looked at Red Skull. I couldn't place what it was but there was an air of Dr. Doom to Red Skull that I couldn't shake. Ironically enough, while researching to write this review, I came across the following from an article on the Marvel website:

"Initially we had Doctor Doom because he seemed the most appropriate," reveals McCann. "Doom would still have the technology base, but we wrote our outline and somebody pointed out that if you look at the continuity, Doom is in hell at that point, so he really couldn't be our villain. And that sucked. So then we looked at the power players who were still on the board, and the Red Skull came to mind."

I can only assume that this likeness was born from this fact. Thankfully, it is only an air and does not negatively affect the character.

The writing in this issue was great. McCann, who has been an important part of Marvel Comics for some time now, and Reed, who worked on New Avengers: Illuminati with Brian Michael Bendis, put one heck of a lot of information into a one shot issue and don't lose the reader for a second. The writing allows for the depth and the action necessary to tell this story in such a condensed format. What's great here is the story and the message behind it. There are times when a comic can be well written but the story can be weak and uninteresting; this issue never falls victim to that. The premise is interesting and the message that you don't need superpowers to be a hero is one that people around the world can always use a reminder of.

All-in-all, this is a really good and refreshing read. Pick it up at your local comic shop this Wednesday; it's a comic that reminds us of the power people have when they choose to stand together as one.

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