When Gregory McGuire wrote "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West," it was about time that we got to hear her side of the story. After all, if your sister was killed by the House of (Auntie) 'M, wouldn't you be a little upset?

In the classic MGM movie musical version of L. Frank Baum's "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz," Glenda the so-called "good witch," steals the murdered witch's slippers and gives them to Dorothy. As if the poor Wicked Witch hasn't suffered enough, the phony wizard later asks Dorothy to steal the Wicked Witch's broomstick for him, knowing full well that the only way to accomplish that dastardly deed is for Dorothy to kill the witch. Is it any wonder that the Wizard's earthly counterpart in the film was named "Professor Marvel"?

No, I haven't forgotten which witch is which. I'll get to the House of Ideas' "House of M" faster than you can say, "Ding dong, the witch is dead."

The opening of House of M was interesting for several reasons. First, it's a nice dramatic sequence, discreetly showing the Scarlet Witch giving birth to her twins. Professor X appears and commands her to "Put it back. You have no children." It quickly establishes the basic conflict that caused Wanda, the mutant daughter of Magneto, to lash out at the Avengers, temporarily "disassembling" Earth's Mightiest Heroes. The set up for this series is Prof. X, realizing he may no longer be able to contain her, must seek council from the X-Men and the re-assembled Avengers on how to deal with this problem. In other words, should they kill the witch or what?

Second, this scene explicitly shows how Marvel has once again embraced continuity. After all of their talk about how comics need to be accessible to new readers, House of M, their biggest event of the year, is about as continuity heavy as can be. To be fair, it's told relatively clearly and accessibly by Brian Michael Bendis, but it's still difficult to imagine a first-time reader fully comprehending every nuance. What House of M proves is that the problem was never continuity. Without continuity, you have no Marvel Universe -- continuity is what holds that concept together. It's what creates a sense of history and mythology, and helps make it all seem a little more believable. In reality, the real problem was bad writing. If a writer didn't offer enough information to make his story easily understood, then he failed as a writer. If writers were just writing stories to explain insignificant continuity flubs, without having compelling stories to tell, then that was the problem, not that the Marvel Universe had a grand and glorious fictional history and any references to it would alienate new readers

Besides continuity can be so much fun! For a non-comics example, when the NBC soap opera Passions' resident witch, Tabitha, needed to summon forth a witch doctor, none other than Doctor Bombay, from the long-gone prime time Bewitched TV series, appeared. I won't even mention the Bewitched crossover with the Flintstones! And speaking of Bewitched, they've come up with a surprising take on that series in the soon to be released Bewitched movie.

So, while continuity is back, surprisingly, Marvel still seems to avoid actual flashbacks* – the opening sequence is a perfect example of incorporating past events into the present, as the Scarlet Witch "relives" the birth of her children. Misguided Marvel strongly believes that the American public can't comprehend flashbacks, and is convinced that the major Hollywood studios agree. Even if true, which is doubtful, it just seems to be an unnecessary rule intended to dumb down comics. Although the last issue of the "old" Avengers featured montages and an "epilogue" that's as close to actual flashbacks as we're likely to get now from the House.

Third, and getting back to what House of M is actually all about, it's interesting that no one is comparing the Scarlet Witch's immaculate conception to a similar blessed event in the Star Wars films. In House of M, the Scarlet Witch is really, really upset that she's not being allowed to use her powers to create children for herself and synthozoid husband, the Vision. And frankly, who can blame her? What harm was she causing? Yet, in Episode One, when it's revealed that Anakin Skywalkler had no biological father, it's more or less accepted by the film's legions of fans. I was convinced that Palpatine raped Anakin's mom and wiped her memory clean with his Jedi/Sith powers. And, nothing in Episode Three technically rules out that possibility. But in the now unencumbered by the Comics Code Marvel Universe, such an unnatural birth cannot stand.

Finally, we must look closer at the events in House of M, and ask how did this all happen? You may be tempted to think this is all the work of that Bendis guy, after all he's writing House of M. No, I'm afraid he's only revealing the consequences of events begun long ago. Begun in The Vision and Scarlet Witch Limited Series, edited by me, back in 1985. (I have to admit it's fun to see stories I edited years ago, play a major role in current Marvel continuity. It's also really cool that so many of the Marvel comics I edited are still available, collected in trade paperbacks. Oddly, The Vision and Scarlet Witch Limited Series has not been collected, despite its now historical importance.) Written by the brilliant Steve Englehart, currently writing Batman Dark Detective, here's what Steve says, courtesy of his website, about that ever-more important limited series:

"Since I was continuing The Avengers and kicking off a Vision & the Scarlet Witch maxi-series in the same month, I combined the first two issues of each series for a 4-part opening. More "bi-weekly" stuff.

"Richard Howell was the artist here. He had the same deep affection for Vizh and Wanda that I did, and we loved doing this book.

"Since Vizh and Wanda had gotten married in Giant-Size Avengers #4, the next logical step for them was to have a child. Of course, he's only an android, but she has magick..."

And that's where the trouble started. Where the, ahem, seeds for the House of M were originally planted, so to speak. So, believe it or not, Steve Englehart and I are responsible for Marvel's biggest crossover project of 2005! Who'da thunk it?! But Steve and I can't take all the credit (or blame) -- also playing a key role in helping to shape Marvel's current universe is none other than...(surprise!)...John Byrne!

Yes, it was "Mister Fix-it" himself, my old friend, John Byrne, who really made Avengers Disassemble and House of M possible! It was when he was writing and penciling West Coast Avengers that he revealed the truth behind the birth of Wanda's twins. As he told Peter Sanderson, in Marvel Age #70 (also edited by me), the Scarlet Witch's "twin sons turned out to be pieces of the demon called Pandemonium which she inadvertently used to complete the spell that made her pregnant."

Is anyone else reminded of the late, great Gorilla Monsoon whenever you hear the word "pandemonium"? During his later years as a ringside wrestling commentator it was always great to hear him announce "pandemonium has broken out in the ring!"

So as this latest edition of Addicted to Comics wraps up, we leave you with one final question...dare you enter...the House of M?

* The other banished Marvel staple is the footnote. Back in the day, whenever characters or events from the past were mentioned, helpful editor's notes would appear in yellow captions to cite the original Marvel comicbook sources. Or if strange Marvel Universe terms or acronyms were used, the footnotes would offer quick explanations. Maybe if someone at Marvel suggests utilizing footnotes as a way to promote sales of their trade paperback line, which are almost exclusively reprint collections of their comics, then the friendly little footnotes might return. Either that, or some big name writer will insist on using 'em, and Marvel will rollover.

Addicted to Comics is © 2005 by Jim Salicrup. All rights reserved.