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X-Men (2004) (Collected Editions) #5
Decimation: X-Men - The Day After
Collects Decimation: House of M - The Day After, X-Men (2004) #177-181.
It was the worst day in X-Men history. Now it's the day after. The House of M is over, but the effects will be felt for the rest of their lives. How do the X-Men pick up the pieces in a world that has completely changed? Plus: Something's amiss at the House of Xavier! A sneak attack forces the X-Men to re-evaluate just who their friends are, and to align themselves with former enemies!
It was the worst day in X-Men history. Now it's the day after. The House of M is over, but the effects will be felt for the rest of their lives. How do the X-Men pick up the pieces in a world that has completely changed? Plus: Something's amiss at the House of Xavier! A sneak attack forces the X-Men to re-evaluate just who their friends are, and to align themselves with former enemies!
168 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
10 people are currently reading
941 people want to read
About the author
Peter Milligan
1,294 books386 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Peter Milligan is a British writer, best known for his work on X-Force / X-Statix, the X-Men, & the Vertigo series Human Target. He is also a scriptwriter.
He has been writing comics for some time and he has somewhat of a reputation for writing material that is highly outlandish, bizarre and/or absurd.
His highest profile projects to date include a run on X-Men, and his X-Force revamp that relaunched as X-Statix.
Many of Milligan's best works have been from DC Vertigo. These include: The Extremist (4 issues with artist Ted McKeever) The Minx (8 issues with artist Sean Phillips) Face (Prestige one-shot with artist Duncan Fegredo) The Eaters (Prestige one-shot with artist Dean Ormston) Vertigo Pop London (4 issues with artist Philip Bond) Enigma (8 issues with artist Duncan Fegredo) and Girl (3 issues with artist Duncan Fegredo).
Series:
* Human Target
* Greek Street
* X-Force / X-Statix
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Peter Milligan is a British writer, best known for his work on X-Force / X-Statix, the X-Men, & the Vertigo series Human Target. He is also a scriptwriter.
He has been writing comics for some time and he has somewhat of a reputation for writing material that is highly outlandish, bizarre and/or absurd.
His highest profile projects to date include a run on X-Men, and his X-Force revamp that relaunched as X-Statix.
Many of Milligan's best works have been from DC Vertigo. These include: The Extremist (4 issues with artist Ted McKeever) The Minx (8 issues with artist Sean Phillips) Face (Prestige one-shot with artist Duncan Fegredo) The Eaters (Prestige one-shot with artist Dean Ormston) Vertigo Pop London (4 issues with artist Philip Bond) Enigma (8 issues with artist Duncan Fegredo) and Girl (3 issues with artist Duncan Fegredo).
Series:
* Human Target
* Greek Street
* X-Force / X-Statix
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
July 18, 2018
SUMMER OF X-MEN CAPSULE REVIEW #8
Peter Milligan's X-Men run is so completely hijacked by the time we get to this, the fourth book in the series, that it would be almost impossible to understand that it's the fourth book in a series rather than an event unto itself, as the title and cover suggest. Only half the book function as the Decimation event in question, which follows both Avengers: Disassembled and House of M as a mega-crossover in which the mutant ranks are thinned on a global scale by crazy witch magic.
Specifically, the first half of the book is possibly the worst offender of "decompressed" storytelling I've ever seen (that is, a short era in superhero comics in which short stories were 'expanded' to five or six issues to make them more cinematic and also to sell more paperback collections, which are usually five or six issues long). The storyline "House Arrest" is three issues long, and probably takes place, all told, in less than fifteen minutes of X-Men punching robots on their lawn in an existential post-witch-magic freakout. A new villain is introduced, explained, and then killed and/or abandoned, and the story abruptly ends.
Peter Milligan apparently doesn't even remember writing this story, either because he gave so little fucks or because the book had to shoehorn in a bunch of new characters that were about to be featured in their own spin-off series, so he was sort of just filling in the blanks with a few lines of story on every other page.
But I mean, Peter Milligan is possibly the only writer on earth whose autopilot is just as interesting as his more well-intentioned writing. I'm just saying.
The second half of the book, "What Lorna Saw," takes place weeks later (likely in and around the next 'event,' Deadly Genesis), and follows X-team members Havok and Polaris as they go on a vacation to work on their relationship, because LITERALLY X-RELATIONSHIPS ARE THE ONLY FUCK MILLIGAN GIVES IN THIS WHOLE SERIES. While travelling, Polaris not only runs into a clone of one of Milligan's most significant X-characters of all time, Doop, for no apparent reason, but she also stumbles upon a giant Apocalypse pyramid for no apparent reason. Then, again, everything abruptly ends.
The real charm of this collection is that I don't know how much of it I read in single issues the first time around, and its utter lack of concern with narrative cohesion, paired with weird therapy-language couple fights, made me feel like I was right back in 2006 reading the run for the first time, letting it make me all gloopy and weird. There's not a whole lot of writers I buy just to feel awkward, just like there's not a lot of writers who work so well on autopilot.
OH THAT MILLIGAN THO. OH THAT CHARMING MAN.
Peter Milligan's X-Men run is so completely hijacked by the time we get to this, the fourth book in the series, that it would be almost impossible to understand that it's the fourth book in a series rather than an event unto itself, as the title and cover suggest. Only half the book function as the Decimation event in question, which follows both Avengers: Disassembled and House of M as a mega-crossover in which the mutant ranks are thinned on a global scale by crazy witch magic.
Specifically, the first half of the book is possibly the worst offender of "decompressed" storytelling I've ever seen (that is, a short era in superhero comics in which short stories were 'expanded' to five or six issues to make them more cinematic and also to sell more paperback collections, which are usually five or six issues long). The storyline "House Arrest" is three issues long, and probably takes place, all told, in less than fifteen minutes of X-Men punching robots on their lawn in an existential post-witch-magic freakout. A new villain is introduced, explained, and then killed and/or abandoned, and the story abruptly ends.
Peter Milligan apparently doesn't even remember writing this story, either because he gave so little fucks or because the book had to shoehorn in a bunch of new characters that were about to be featured in their own spin-off series, so he was sort of just filling in the blanks with a few lines of story on every other page.
But I mean, Peter Milligan is possibly the only writer on earth whose autopilot is just as interesting as his more well-intentioned writing. I'm just saying.
The second half of the book, "What Lorna Saw," takes place weeks later (likely in and around the next 'event,' Deadly Genesis), and follows X-team members Havok and Polaris as they go on a vacation to work on their relationship, because LITERALLY X-RELATIONSHIPS ARE THE ONLY FUCK MILLIGAN GIVES IN THIS WHOLE SERIES. While travelling, Polaris not only runs into a clone of one of Milligan's most significant X-characters of all time, Doop, for no apparent reason, but she also stumbles upon a giant Apocalypse pyramid for no apparent reason. Then, again, everything abruptly ends.
The real charm of this collection is that I don't know how much of it I read in single issues the first time around, and its utter lack of concern with narrative cohesion, paired with weird therapy-language couple fights, made me feel like I was right back in 2006 reading the run for the first time, letting it make me all gloopy and weird. There's not a whole lot of writers I buy just to feel awkward, just like there's not a lot of writers who work so well on autopilot.
OH THAT MILLIGAN THO. OH THAT CHARMING MAN.
August 19, 2016
The Day After. Claremont’s contribution has some nice character moments, but spends too much time on a few plot points and checking in with a bunch of different mutants to be particularly great [6/10].
House Arrest (177-179). This sets up an intriguing new status quo for the X-Men, with their Sentinel wardens. The downside of the story is the X-Men’s incompetence against the Sentinels (and *all* the fighting), but the issue of who’s really lost their powers comes across quite well [6.5/10].
What Lorna Saw (180-181). A nice follow-up to the previous story, but at the same time it’s weird, doesn’t make a lot of sense, and doesn’t actually have a conclusion(!). Great connection to Milligan’s X-Force though [6/10].
House Arrest (177-179). This sets up an intriguing new status quo for the X-Men, with their Sentinel wardens. The downside of the story is the X-Men’s incompetence against the Sentinels (and *all* the fighting), but the issue of who’s really lost their powers comes across quite well [6.5/10].
What Lorna Saw (180-181). A nice follow-up to the previous story, but at the same time it’s weird, doesn’t make a lot of sense, and doesn’t actually have a conclusion(!). Great connection to Milligan’s X-Force though [6/10].
April 20, 2022
The X-Men have to deal with the fall out of the House of M situation, with many former mutants seeking refuge at the X-Mansion. They get it in a form of a camps monitored by Sentinels and they cant leave without implanting a tracking chip first. The government has deployed these manned Sentinels for the "protections of the mutants", but really its just a way of imposing their will on the last remaining few. The X-Men have their hands tied because.... it's either this or attack the government.
See, the premise of this plot sounds pretty intriguing right? Peter Milligan sets up the pieces quite well, but doesn't really deliver on the possibilities of the story. Instead, we have long, drawn out fight scenes, meandering sub plots, and lots of questionable characterization - especially from the X-women. It really feels like Milligan is trying to keep the spirit of Chuck Austen alive in the X-books, because the tone feels pretty much identical, and that's not a good thing at all.
The story where Polaris suddenly leaves and falls for an alien like Doop - out of the fuckin blue - only to then call out for Havok when things go haywire, is a great summary of how bad the characterization is and how frivolous the story beats feel.
I was hoping that after Austen, things would get better, but Milligan seems intent on keeping them just the way they were at that time. Unfortunately I wouldn't recommend this unless you are a diehard completionist who is stubborn about reading all the adventures of the X-Men.
See, the premise of this plot sounds pretty intriguing right? Peter Milligan sets up the pieces quite well, but doesn't really deliver on the possibilities of the story. Instead, we have long, drawn out fight scenes, meandering sub plots, and lots of questionable characterization - especially from the X-women. It really feels like Milligan is trying to keep the spirit of Chuck Austen alive in the X-books, because the tone feels pretty much identical, and that's not a good thing at all.
The story where Polaris suddenly leaves and falls for an alien like Doop - out of the fuckin blue - only to then call out for Havok when things go haywire, is a great summary of how bad the characterization is and how frivolous the story beats feel.
I was hoping that after Austen, things would get better, but Milligan seems intent on keeping them just the way they were at that time. Unfortunately I wouldn't recommend this unless you are a diehard completionist who is stubborn about reading all the adventures of the X-Men.
August 24, 2012
This starts off with a competent epilogue to House of M, but as a whole it doesn't really work, as this volume spends most of its pages setting up storylines in an uneven and ultimately unsatisfying way.
Peter Milligan is a talented but frustratingly inconsistent writer. He specializes in odd characters who don't really act in realistic ways, which can work in the offbeat indie book--his Human Target, for example, was a masterful demonstration of how he can combine questions of identity and oblique, symbolic characterization with a thrilling action story. But here his odd, not-quite-believable characters fit uneasily with the standard superhero elements. The main villains of the piece are a ragtag bunch of human terrorists led by a creepy zealot called the Leper Queen. But these terrorists only pose a symbolic threat to the X-Men, not a physical one. While House of M has sent the X-Men running about with robots and terrorists, you get the feeling that Milligan is more interested in Gazer, the bulbous-eyed character orbiting the earth, dying of radiation poisoning and chatting with his dead torso companion. But Gazer's only there for five pages, tops, before donning his spacesuit and heading off to die. You almost wish Milligan would focus on him, and leave the bog-standard and disappointing super-heroics behind on Earth.
Peter Milligan is a talented but frustratingly inconsistent writer. He specializes in odd characters who don't really act in realistic ways, which can work in the offbeat indie book--his Human Target, for example, was a masterful demonstration of how he can combine questions of identity and oblique, symbolic characterization with a thrilling action story. But here his odd, not-quite-believable characters fit uneasily with the standard superhero elements. The main villains of the piece are a ragtag bunch of human terrorists led by a creepy zealot called the Leper Queen. But these terrorists only pose a symbolic threat to the X-Men, not a physical one. While House of M has sent the X-Men running about with robots and terrorists, you get the feeling that Milligan is more interested in Gazer, the bulbous-eyed character orbiting the earth, dying of radiation poisoning and chatting with his dead torso companion. But Gazer's only there for five pages, tops, before donning his spacesuit and heading off to die. You almost wish Milligan would focus on him, and leave the bog-standard and disappointing super-heroics behind on Earth.
February 27, 2014
Establishing the tone and political atmosphere of the world post-"House of M".
Literally, this collection deals with the reaction of the mutant community one day after they learn that over 90% of the mutant population worldwide has lost their powers due to the Scarlet Witch's snap decision for there to be "No More Mutants".
We see the different fractions of society mobilizing in the fallout. The X-men scramble to stay together and regroup. The government sets up the Sentinel Squad. A stronger anti-mutant sentiment begins to grow amongst the humans. And a small fraction of the humans decide that now is the time to rid the planet of mutants once and for all.
There are some really nice moments of character growth in these pages; but, for the most part, the focus is on how the Marvel Universe is restructuring for the next big cross-over event. I would say it is an important read, but not imperative to understanding the overall story arc of the MU.
3/5
Literally, this collection deals with the reaction of the mutant community one day after they learn that over 90% of the mutant population worldwide has lost their powers due to the Scarlet Witch's snap decision for there to be "No More Mutants".
We see the different fractions of society mobilizing in the fallout. The X-men scramble to stay together and regroup. The government sets up the Sentinel Squad. A stronger anti-mutant sentiment begins to grow amongst the humans. And a small fraction of the humans decide that now is the time to rid the planet of mutants once and for all.
There are some really nice moments of character growth in these pages; but, for the most part, the focus is on how the Marvel Universe is restructuring for the next big cross-over event. I would say it is an important read, but not imperative to understanding the overall story arc of the MU.
3/5
August 24, 2009
I was excited when I found this cheap at the used book store and was looking forward to finding out what happened after the cataclysmic events at the end of House of M. Sadly, the writing in this book is really, really bad. I suppose I've been spoiled by all the well-written stuff I've been finding lately, so my wrath against all sub-par comics comes out on this one poor X-Men title. The characters were indistinguishable from one another, the action was more or less incomprehensible and -- despite the fact that like 99% of the mutants on Earth had just lost their powers, I didn't feel a damn thing for these people. It was just bad. Couldn't bring myself to finish it.
January 4, 2018
A lot of setup with no real payoff.
September 18, 2025
Decimation is a reasonably skippable follow-up to House of M. The "Day After" issue does a good job of showing the shock around the world and among the mutant community relating to the "No more mutants" declaration. Oddly, many more mutants than those specifically involved in the final House of M battle are revealed to have kept their mutant abilities. So...why?
That's not revealed here. Instead, we get lots of setup for the ongoing X-Men series that now has to circle the wagons around the remaining mutants. Pretty quickly, this takes on the plot points of an ongoing series - namely, a drawn-out, multi-issue battle with "friendly" Sentinels and the Sapiens League.
Then Lorna and Alex leave the X-crew and we follow them for two issues in which they battle the Sapiens league and discover a very ugly alien. At this point, I was pretty happy when the book ended. What the heck was that crap? Glad I don't have to keep reading that storyline.
That's not revealed here. Instead, we get lots of setup for the ongoing X-Men series that now has to circle the wagons around the remaining mutants. Pretty quickly, this takes on the plot points of an ongoing series - namely, a drawn-out, multi-issue battle with "friendly" Sentinels and the Sapiens League.
Then Lorna and Alex leave the X-crew and we follow them for two issues in which they battle the Sapiens league and discover a very ugly alien. At this point, I was pretty happy when the book ended. What the heck was that crap? Glad I don't have to keep reading that storyline.
July 26, 2025
Updated Review During 2025 Reread:
The first issue in this collection is some of Claremont's best work in years. He does an excellent job of setting up the post-House of M status quo. His dialogue isn't that sharp but the story elements flow together well and his sense of who the X-Men are as characters is one of his strengths as a writer.
Unfortunately, Milligan quickly undoes some of Claremont's ideas. And as the action starts to focus less on the X-Men and more on Havoc and Polaris, the book goes from a solid four-star story to a one-star hack job. It is astounding to me that Milligan has been able to work as a writer in comics for forty years despite showing absolutely no talent for it. Maybe he's good at meeting deadlines?
I wish the Claremont story was in another collection beside this one because the rest of the book is absolutely not worth wasting any time on.
***
Original 2018 Review: Both Peter Miligan and Chris Claremont's runs on the X-Men in this era are fairly terrible, so it's not surprising that this follow up to House Of M contains some interesting ideas that are completely undone by wooden dialog, and no sense of characters. Crazy Lorna and the arrival of Doop and Apocalypse into the storyline are the worst of the plot developments, although a runner up is presenting the idea that one of the original X-Men is depowered, which would have made a great story, only to have it undone in two issues.
It's a shame the Scarlet Witch didn't say "No More Milligan" at the end of House Of M.
The first issue in this collection is some of Claremont's best work in years. He does an excellent job of setting up the post-House of M status quo. His dialogue isn't that sharp but the story elements flow together well and his sense of who the X-Men are as characters is one of his strengths as a writer.
Unfortunately, Milligan quickly undoes some of Claremont's ideas. And as the action starts to focus less on the X-Men and more on Havoc and Polaris, the book goes from a solid four-star story to a one-star hack job. It is astounding to me that Milligan has been able to work as a writer in comics for forty years despite showing absolutely no talent for it. Maybe he's good at meeting deadlines?
I wish the Claremont story was in another collection beside this one because the rest of the book is absolutely not worth wasting any time on.
***
Original 2018 Review: Both Peter Miligan and Chris Claremont's runs on the X-Men in this era are fairly terrible, so it's not surprising that this follow up to House Of M contains some interesting ideas that are completely undone by wooden dialog, and no sense of characters. Crazy Lorna and the arrival of Doop and Apocalypse into the storyline are the worst of the plot developments, although a runner up is presenting the idea that one of the original X-Men is depowered, which would have made a great story, only to have it undone in two issues.
It's a shame the Scarlet Witch didn't say "No More Milligan" at the end of House Of M.
September 27, 2020
After Wanda says “no more mutants” the world and the X-men are dealing with the aftermath. With the X-men’s forces reduced, now would be the perfect time for someone to attack. Then the sentinels pull up at the Xavier school. But are they friend or foe? Also the Sapien league have the place surrounded and they’re out for blood. I enjoyed this one.
May 3, 2009
Dreadful nonsense based on a stupid editorial idea. Extremely poorly written. Chaotic. Begins new plots and spontaneously abandons them in favor of new ones. The cliff hanger ending felt more like a non-ending, at this point i certainly wasn't hungry for more. Don't waste your time.
May 26, 2020
Bad things have happened to mutants again and Claremont has been let out to tie things together to show how bad those happened things have been. Not sure why that has been let to happen, that Claremont bit. He still writes way too much dialogue. That becomes so clear when the bit that Milligan has written comes. You do not have to talk so much to make clear bad things have happened.
Not at all bad comic. Not the best thing ever, but good.
Not at all bad comic. Not the best thing ever, but good.
January 19, 2024
This era is a little frustrating to read. All the characters are acting so dumb. I know it’s M day aftermath but we should be seeing what makes these people heroes when they’re at their lowest and it’s not like that at all. Just a bunch of bickering, paranoia, and stupidity.
October 4, 2019
This was definitely *not* what I hoped it'd be. Only the first issue had all that much to do with the "day after" or "decimation" from the House of M. The rest of the story was typical serially-convoluted superhero stuff (or, at least what X-Men often was) with no real focus or meaning to it. The characters also often acted stupidly and pettily - particularly the love triangle between Iceman and Havok and Polaris (although these are people who've been superheroes for many years and their characters should've matured somewhat by now - and that applies well beyond the "love triangle" also). Similarly the artwork was only pretty good in the first issue and the rest of the artwork in this "book" was inconsistent and often not all that good. The worst was how Lorna was one of the main characters but her face and overall look was very different in practically every issue compiled here. Really, combining these several standard X-Men issues with the one that followed up from the House of M was probably just a marketing ploy and had no other reason to go together. I usually expect a lot more from "graphic novels" and this was a fairly big disappointment. It also makes me totally uninterested in reading any of the Uncanny X-Men issues after these.
October 11, 2014
The Day After was a bit of a disappointing boring read. It starts off interesting enough, showing the dramatic results M Day has had on mutants across the globe, knocking down the numbers from millions to a few hundred left. But I don't think it was expressed successfully, it all feels rushed.
There's a lot of subplots being thrown in, a lot of set up creating more questions than answers, and frankly, I don't care much for finding out where any of these events are headed.
The characters are real bland/poorly written. None of them stand out or have the likability to really care enough for what direction these subplots are going [with the exception of the Leper Queen, my first introduction to this character and it actually sparked an interest/curiosity for me.]
Overall it feels like there's a lack of focus; too many subplots shoved in to give any of them a proper amount of pages to resonate successfully to readers.
Would not recommend, you wont remember it in t-half an hour.
There's a lot of subplots being thrown in, a lot of set up creating more questions than answers, and frankly, I don't care much for finding out where any of these events are headed.
The characters are real bland/poorly written. None of them stand out or have the likability to really care enough for what direction these subplots are going [with the exception of the Leper Queen, my first introduction to this character and it actually sparked an interest/curiosity for me.]
Overall it feels like there's a lack of focus; too many subplots shoved in to give any of them a proper amount of pages to resonate successfully to readers.
Would not recommend, you wont remember it in t-half an hour.
April 1, 2015
This X-men tale was a mixed bag. First, I thought the artwork was a little weak and sometimes a bit off for certain characters. The story itself had some good dialogue but a few cheesy moments. I really didn't care for the Iceman, Havok, and Polaris love triangle. The Mystique trying to get a man for Rogue plot points were a bit cheesy as well. There was a little bit of action and as a whole I enjoyed looking at how the House of M event effected the mutant community especially the X-men fan favorite characters. It was a good story with a few weak points.
June 17, 2019
Not bad. Claremont’s characterization and dialogue is on point. The art is good. I enjoyed seeing the immediate aftermath of HoM,
I wish this volume included all the relevant Decimation material. It felt very incomplete. A few more issues of UXM wouldn’t have hurt either, since it launches some threads that aren’t resolved in this book. Kind of a let down. Now I have to hop onto Marvel Unlimited and finish the damn story!
Overall, it moves the larger story along, but leaves a bit to be desired as far as what the volume contains.
I wish this volume included all the relevant Decimation material. It felt very incomplete. A few more issues of UXM wouldn’t have hurt either, since it launches some threads that aren’t resolved in this book. Kind of a let down. Now I have to hop onto Marvel Unlimited and finish the damn story!
Overall, it moves the larger story along, but leaves a bit to be desired as far as what the volume contains.
March 30, 2009
Mutant powers have been stripped from many of the superheroes and those without have to find out what they can do now with their lives. The remaining x-men try to consolidate their lives and on top of that there's a bunch of peole trying to kill them.
March 11, 2012
The Xmen are recovering from House of M, and then the Sentinals appear. A nice little story but should be read as part of the Decimation series, and you really need to have read House of M too. Nice artwork though.
January 29, 2022
”It’s security, Scott. Maybe that costs a little freedom.”
“That’s how it begins, isn’t it? Give up a little freedom in the name of security… then you’re asked to give up just a little more freedom...”
“That’s how it begins, isn’t it? Give up a little freedom in the name of security… then you’re asked to give up just a little more freedom...”
May 5, 2014
Funciona como enlace entre Dinastía de M y Decimation más que otra cosa, exponer la situación desde el punto de vista de los Xmen y poco más.
February 15, 2016
Preeety ridiculous cleavage on the women, even for a comic.
November 4, 2018
Immediato seguito a House of M, Decimation inizia con la quasi totale scomparsa dal mondo del gene X, il gene responsabile dell'esistenza dei mutanti, e con la necessità da parte dei pochi sopravvissuti a questa ecatombe genetica di trovare un modo di andare avanti e ricostruire la propria esistenza, come singoli ma soprattutto come gruppo.
E' un cambiamento di portata epica, lo si potrebbe addirittura definire un volume che si dovrebbe avvicinare al genere post-apocalittico, in quanto si va a ribaltare e annientare artificialmente quello che pareva un trend evoluzionistico ormai assodato, ovvero la progressiva e inevitabile sostituzione dei sapiens con una nuova specie, quella dei mutanti.
Insomma, se tanto mi dà tanto in questo volume dovrei sentire tutta un avasta gamma di emozioni che segue a un avvenimento di tale portata: il dolore, la confusione, la rabbia o il sollievo (non per tutti essere un mutante rappresentava una benedizione, c’era chi si trovava la vita rovinata a causa dei suoi poteri) ma a conti fatti questo volume è una parentesi di inconsistenza rara che alla fine della lettura non lascia veramente nulla, e se si ha la vaga impressione di provare una qualche forma di emozione non è merito della sceneggiatura, ma è solo perché le tematiche affrontate sono comunque forti quindi un minimo qualcosa ti arriva comunque. Di base, in questo volume si conclude in fretta e furia la saga precedente (i mutanti non ci sono quasi più, liberiamoci di quelli tornati normali e andiamo avanti mentre cerchiamo Xavier) e si mette nuova carne al fuoco nelle ultime pagine, ma manca il cuore, e non è una mancanza da poco.
Una delle cose che mi ha fatto storcere il naso è la scena in cui i non mutanti vengono mandati via dalla scuola (ora una riserva per i pochi mutanti rimasti) in fretta e furia: nonostante uno dei nuclei fondanti degli X men sia la paura e l’accettazione del diverso, e il fatto che i mutanti, almeno quelli che si spacciano per buoni, non nutrono alcuna forma di odio verso i sapiens ma si difendono dall’odio altrui e cercano solo di combattere i pregiudizi in modo da vivere tutti in armonia, la prima decisione che viene presa è sbattere fuori i neo sapiens senza far loro capire che non è una decisione presa a cuor leggero, che è per il loro bene, o facendogli capire che saranno sempre i benvenuti nonostante la situazione al momento richieda questo sacrificio.
L’idea che viene data è di ragazzini che vengono nuovamente ripudiati per i loro geni, tra l’altro nel totale disinteresse da parte dei “buoni” su quello che potrebbe essere il loro destino: se gli va bene torneranno dalle loro famiglie, ma non tutti arrivano da situazioni familiari aperte e comprensive verso i mutanti, anche verso quelli che non sono più tali da un giorno all’altro. Se non vogliono tornare da famiglie che li hanno ripudiati o se le famiglie non li rivogliono che fanno, vanno a rimpolpare le file dei barboni o andranno nel vivace e solare sistema di assistenza minorile statunitense?
Intendiamoci, sono tutte tematiche che avrei adorato veder affrontate con un minimo di criterio, ma nulla di tutto questo avviene. C’è giusto un ragazzino che mette il broncio mentre sta tornando a casa e stop.
Altro punto dolente è Magneto, uno di questi neo sapiens risvegliatisi privi del gene mutante: ora, stiamo parlando non del primo mutante stronzo che passa ma di Magneto, il portavoce della superiorità dei mutanti sui sapiens, che provava indicibile orgoglio in quello che era e che disprezzava quei sapiens da lui ritenuti deboli e inferiori, una razza da dominare al più con benevolenza paternalistica (e questo nei giorni in cui non ci voleva sterminare).
Questo Magnetto più che un uomo disperato e distrutto, privato degli affetti, del suo scopo, senza più niente per cui combattere, in questo volume sembra più un vecchio rincoglionito vaneggiante che una vittima del suo stesso odio che ora si ritrova ad aver perso tutto: l’avessero messo davanti a un cantiere a dare ordini al capomastro almeno avrebbe fatto ridere (ma li avranno in America gli umarel?).
Un volume francamente inutile, che avrebbe avuto bisogno di un maggior approfondimento psicologico vista l’importanza di quello che stava accadendo alla fine di House of M e di un arco narrativo decisamente più autoconclusivo.
E' un cambiamento di portata epica, lo si potrebbe addirittura definire un volume che si dovrebbe avvicinare al genere post-apocalittico, in quanto si va a ribaltare e annientare artificialmente quello che pareva un trend evoluzionistico ormai assodato, ovvero la progressiva e inevitabile sostituzione dei sapiens con una nuova specie, quella dei mutanti.
Insomma, se tanto mi dà tanto in questo volume dovrei sentire tutta un avasta gamma di emozioni che segue a un avvenimento di tale portata: il dolore, la confusione, la rabbia o il sollievo (non per tutti essere un mutante rappresentava una benedizione, c’era chi si trovava la vita rovinata a causa dei suoi poteri) ma a conti fatti questo volume è una parentesi di inconsistenza rara che alla fine della lettura non lascia veramente nulla, e se si ha la vaga impressione di provare una qualche forma di emozione non è merito della sceneggiatura, ma è solo perché le tematiche affrontate sono comunque forti quindi un minimo qualcosa ti arriva comunque. Di base, in questo volume si conclude in fretta e furia la saga precedente (i mutanti non ci sono quasi più, liberiamoci di quelli tornati normali e andiamo avanti mentre cerchiamo Xavier) e si mette nuova carne al fuoco nelle ultime pagine, ma manca il cuore, e non è una mancanza da poco.
Una delle cose che mi ha fatto storcere il naso è la scena in cui i non mutanti vengono mandati via dalla scuola (ora una riserva per i pochi mutanti rimasti) in fretta e furia: nonostante uno dei nuclei fondanti degli X men sia la paura e l’accettazione del diverso, e il fatto che i mutanti, almeno quelli che si spacciano per buoni, non nutrono alcuna forma di odio verso i sapiens ma si difendono dall’odio altrui e cercano solo di combattere i pregiudizi in modo da vivere tutti in armonia, la prima decisione che viene presa è sbattere fuori i neo sapiens senza far loro capire che non è una decisione presa a cuor leggero, che è per il loro bene, o facendogli capire che saranno sempre i benvenuti nonostante la situazione al momento richieda questo sacrificio.
L’idea che viene data è di ragazzini che vengono nuovamente ripudiati per i loro geni, tra l’altro nel totale disinteresse da parte dei “buoni” su quello che potrebbe essere il loro destino: se gli va bene torneranno dalle loro famiglie, ma non tutti arrivano da situazioni familiari aperte e comprensive verso i mutanti, anche verso quelli che non sono più tali da un giorno all’altro. Se non vogliono tornare da famiglie che li hanno ripudiati o se le famiglie non li rivogliono che fanno, vanno a rimpolpare le file dei barboni o andranno nel vivace e solare sistema di assistenza minorile statunitense?
Intendiamoci, sono tutte tematiche che avrei adorato veder affrontate con un minimo di criterio, ma nulla di tutto questo avviene. C’è giusto un ragazzino che mette il broncio mentre sta tornando a casa e stop.
Altro punto dolente è Magneto, uno di questi neo sapiens risvegliatisi privi del gene mutante: ora, stiamo parlando non del primo mutante stronzo che passa ma di Magneto, il portavoce della superiorità dei mutanti sui sapiens, che provava indicibile orgoglio in quello che era e che disprezzava quei sapiens da lui ritenuti deboli e inferiori, una razza da dominare al più con benevolenza paternalistica (e questo nei giorni in cui non ci voleva sterminare).
Questo Magnetto più che un uomo disperato e distrutto, privato degli affetti, del suo scopo, senza più niente per cui combattere, in questo volume sembra più un vecchio rincoglionito vaneggiante che una vittima del suo stesso odio che ora si ritrova ad aver perso tutto: l’avessero messo davanti a un cantiere a dare ordini al capomastro almeno avrebbe fatto ridere (ma li avranno in America gli umarel?).
Un volume francamente inutile, che avrebbe avuto bisogno di un maggior approfondimento psicologico vista l’importanza di quello che stava accadendo alla fine di House of M e di un arco narrativo decisamente più autoconclusivo.
January 12, 2023
This book deals directly with the aftermath of House of M in a collection of stories but it is simply too broad to have an emotional impact. Too many characters and plotlines are introduced in 2 and 3 issue-long stories and the writing just didn't do it for me.
Decimation: House of M - The Day After is a solid 4 stars and was somewhat entertaining but pessimistic. The Day After shows the impact of House of M on mutantkind and society at large and how they're dealing with the sudden loss of their powers. There's a strong resurgence of anti-mutant hate in the world which is kinda surprising since there's way less of them now. There are also some terrorist groups like the Sapien League seeking to murder the remaining mutants, even going so far as to attack them on their own turf.
The other 5 X-Men issues were just below average. Decimation - House Arrest was 3 stars and What Lorna Saw was 2 stars at best.
House Arrest's plot is about the few remaining X-Men trying to defend themselves against a rabid anti-mutant hate group called the Sapien League and the sudden appearance of Sentinels on the X-Mansion grounds. It turns out those Sentinels are human-controlled and were stationed there for the mutants' protection but you can tell it's BS because they enjoy throwing around the mutants at first. Some of the humans are too trigger-happy and it's subtle but clear that they harbor some anti-mutant prejudice. Another plot point was Lorna trying to hide the loss of her powers and choosing to leave in search of some way to bring them back. Havok chooses to go with her and leaves the X-Men.
"What Lorna Saw" didn't make much sense as it was just too short for the story to go anywhere important. She sees a strange light out in space which then falls down to Earth. It's revealed to be a strange, green creature who speaks an unknown language that Lorna claims to understand. The ending of this plotline left me like "what?" and I feel like the alien's purpose in the story should've been made clearer.
Decimation: House of M - The Day After is a solid 4 stars and was somewhat entertaining but pessimistic. The Day After shows the impact of House of M on mutantkind and society at large and how they're dealing with the sudden loss of their powers. There's a strong resurgence of anti-mutant hate in the world which is kinda surprising since there's way less of them now. There are also some terrorist groups like the Sapien League seeking to murder the remaining mutants, even going so far as to attack them on their own turf.
The other 5 X-Men issues were just below average. Decimation - House Arrest was 3 stars and What Lorna Saw was 2 stars at best.
House Arrest's plot is about the few remaining X-Men trying to defend themselves against a rabid anti-mutant hate group called the Sapien League and the sudden appearance of Sentinels on the X-Mansion grounds. It turns out those Sentinels are human-controlled and were stationed there for the mutants' protection but you can tell it's BS because they enjoy throwing around the mutants at first. Some of the humans are too trigger-happy and it's subtle but clear that they harbor some anti-mutant prejudice. Another plot point was Lorna trying to hide the loss of her powers and choosing to leave in search of some way to bring them back. Havok chooses to go with her and leaves the X-Men.
"What Lorna Saw" didn't make much sense as it was just too short for the story to go anywhere important. She sees a strange light out in space which then falls down to Earth. It's revealed to be a strange, green creature who speaks an unknown language that Lorna claims to understand. The ending of this plotline left me like "what?" and I feel like the alien's purpose in the story should've been made clearer.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 31, 2017
Continuing the (sometimes) great x-read of 2017...
Since I am at the very tail end of 2017 and I haven't updated my reading in quite a while so I am "cheating" and just kind of writing one review for all of the volumes that I have read so that I can get them up by the end of the year.
The aftermath of M day has been mixed to say the least. There were a few high points (Cable and Deadpool, the 198, the beginning of the new X-factor series... and more than a fair share of low points (the new Excalibur, Colossus, Deadly Genesis...). It certainly has not come across as a well-orchestrated and planned out event at this point. (And the plot armor of the main characters primarily being the ones that retained their powers is a bit ridiculous, but that is to be expected.)
At any rate, my x-read of 2017 is going to extend into 2018 since I am still not close to catching up. It may have to slow down in velocity a bit so that I can do a bit more "real" reading but the slog shall continue...
Since I am at the very tail end of 2017 and I haven't updated my reading in quite a while so I am "cheating" and just kind of writing one review for all of the volumes that I have read so that I can get them up by the end of the year.
The aftermath of M day has been mixed to say the least. There were a few high points (Cable and Deadpool, the 198, the beginning of the new X-factor series... and more than a fair share of low points (the new Excalibur, Colossus, Deadly Genesis...). It certainly has not come across as a well-orchestrated and planned out event at this point. (And the plot armor of the main characters primarily being the ones that retained their powers is a bit ridiculous, but that is to be expected.)
At any rate, my x-read of 2017 is going to extend into 2018 since I am still not close to catching up. It may have to slow down in velocity a bit so that I can do a bit more "real" reading but the slog shall continue...
August 15, 2022
Takes place immediately after House of M. Mutantkind has been decimated. That's when the Sentinels show up to turn Professor Xavier's mansion into a reservation for mutants. In the last two issues Lorna and Alex go off alone to chase after what Lorna saw in space at the beginning of Milligan's run. Doop from Milligan's X-Force comes hurtling out of space and Lorna keeps calling him Daap. None of it makes any sense and then it ends without a resolution. It's terrible like most of Milligan's writing.
December 31, 2018
After the absolutely awful last volume, this one was significantly better...until the last issue. We finally get to see "What Lorna Saw"...and it was a complete letdown. It wasn't even an answer, just a weird development with Havok acting too impulsively. And man, did the art take a nosedive in the last couple of issues.
But the stories before it, dealing with the fallout of House of M, were great and in many ways harrowing. It was painful to see some of the characters stripped of their powers. If you never thought you could cry for the Blob--you will.
But the stories before it, dealing with the fallout of House of M, were great and in many ways harrowing. It was painful to see some of the characters stripped of their powers. If you never thought you could cry for the Blob--you will.
July 18, 2020
This is a weird book. It doesn't feel like a core X-men title at all. If you had told me this was like "Prelude to Post-Decimation, I would say that's about right. It does a lot of work to set up stuff in X-Factor and features the birth of Doop (the only survivor of X-Statix, right?)
And all the stuff about O*N*E just never feels like it's really happening to the X-Men. Not sure why.
Also, I thought it was strange how Cyclops doesn't freak out because he winds up freaking out over Decimation for the next decade (realtime).
And all the stuff about O*N*E just never feels like it's really happening to the X-Men. Not sure why.
Also, I thought it was strange how Cyclops doesn't freak out because he winds up freaking out over Decimation for the next decade (realtime).
April 23, 2024
Decimation: The Day After is a book that is attended to be read alongside the other Decimation titles, though anyone who is wanting to see what the physical after-effects of M-Day at the end of House of M will be able to see the broader scale impacts of the decimation and witness a few key status quo changes that influence the X-men stories at the time of events like Messiah Complex. While not as focused as the later titles in the event, I still found myself enjoying this far more than many of the reviewers here seem to.
October 21, 2021
Sehari setelah Wanda Maximoff mengucapkan kalimat saktinya "no more mutant". Inilah hari yang disebut M-Day dalam jagat X-Men. Populasi mutan menurun. Para mutan kembali normal. Jumlah mutan yang masih memiliki kemampuan tinggal seratusan lebih. Di komik ini, disoroti beberapa tokoh mutan yang kehilangan kekuatannya, termasuk yang berada di Institut Xavier, markas para X-Men.
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