One of my favorite Marvel titles for years has been the on-again, off-again, What If…? which takes an important moment or storyline in the Marvel Universe and changes a single aspect just to see what might have happened differently. Now, all the tales aren’t winners but when it’s good it’s pretty damn good. Today we take a look at what would have happened if the Scarlet Witch had taken away all powers from the Marvel Universe. Check out the review inside.
Written by Brian Reed, C.B. Cebulski, Jim McCann. Art by Paolo Pantalena, Patrick Spaziante. Cover by Jim Cheung, Mark Djurdjevic.
Marvel’s House of M storyline ended with the Scarlet Witch uttering three magic words “No More Mutants,” causing the vast majority of all mutants to lose their powers.
But what if instead she had uttered, “No More Powers?” That’s the subject of this What If…? alternate universe tale where all the heroes including Spider-Man, She-Hulk, and even Dr. Strange, find themselves powerless.
What results is a world where Iron Man is the only hero, Wolverine (weighed down by his adamantium endoskeleton) can’t move, Captain America dies from the instant on-set of old age, and the Red Skull is left to fill the vacuum of missing heroes and villains and take power (with the help of the Cosmic Cube). Which all leads to a big showdown as heroes realize even without power they still have responsibilities.
Although the logic of the tale is a bit mixed (how does the loss of Logan’s healing ability effect his strength, is magic considered a power, why are people effected but not objects like the Cosmic Cube?) what’s presented here is an engaging story true to What If…?‘s roots. I’m not entirely sold on the art, but watching the Red Skull cull a hero-less Marvel Universe (including murdering the Fantastic Four) is pretty memorable. I don’t think this story expanded into a full arc would work, but for a single issue I’m happy.