Captain America (vol. 5) #10
The Scarlet Witch has gone mad and used her powers to alter all reality. Earth is now dominated by the mutant race and her father, Magneto, and his royal family rule the world.[1] As a result, Steve Rogers has lived a very different life from the one we know….
Now
A military banquet, Steve Rogers is the guest of honor and is being toasted for his many accomplishments during the war….
April 1945
Captain America and Bucky were captured by Baron Zemo, who intended to launch a explosive filled done at Britain. Breaking free from captivity, the two heroes attempted to disarm the drone.[2] In this reality, Cap manages to disarm the drone and redirect it back at Zemo’s castle. Both he and Bucky were then able to leap free as the plane crashed and blew up, taking out Zemo and his men for good.[3] Surviving this encounter, Bucky then asks what’s next now that Zemo is dead.
Later that month, Captain America and Bucky rejoin the Invaders — the Sub-Mariner, the Human Torch, and Toro — and lead the Allied charge in to Berlin. The American media is there to capture the battle as Captain America fights his nemesis, the Red Skull, to the death.[3] Soon after the Skull’s demise, Captain America and Bucky force their way into Hitler’s bunker and capture him.[4]
Now
Retired soldier Dum Dum Dugan is recounting how the Red Skull cowardly committed suicide rather than face justice at the hands of Captain America. He tells the audience that kids these days — who all have super-powers — don’t understand how important Captain America was to the world. Back in those days he was one of a kind, part of a rare breed that helped them win the war. It’s then that Steve realizes that he hasn’t seen Dugan since his wedding.
1946
Steve Rogers is called in to meet with President Truman after he had heard that Steve was planning on getting married to his long time love Peggy Carter. Steve says he is unless the President has any objections. Truman has none, believing that Steve had more than earned the right to find happiness. However, the President says that relations with the Soviets have become strained even though they were allies during the war. He warns Steve that his nation may call on Captain America again in the future. Steve assures him that he’ll always be there to serve his country in its times of need. Deciding to take a walk in the White House Rose Garden, the President also wants to talk to Steve about the growing concern around mutants.
1951
Captain America has been called to Washington to testify during Joseph McCarthy’s Hearings on Mutant Activity in the United States. McCarthy is grilling Cap about his associations with the Sub-Mariner, a known mutant, even pulling up Steve’s wedding. However, Captain America wonders why he is being questioned about Namor at all, not understanding what threat they are so worried about.
McCarthy explains that mutants are infiltrating every aspect of their society. He points to the movie industry in Hollywood who, in his opinion, are trying to influence the nation’s children and convince them that mutants are normal instead of the aberrations they are. Senator McCarthy then starts grilling him about the Human Torch’s partner Toro as well,[6] but Captain America refuses to answer anymore questions, telling everyone that he is resigning from his post. He refuses to represent or answer to a government that is drunk with power and fans the flames of fear and paranoia. With that, Steve Rogers unmasks right in front of the cameras, revealing his true identity to the world.
1955
America has finally reached the moon and Steve Rogers is the lead astronaut on the mission. As this historic event is broadcast on live television on Earth, Steve Rogers uses the opportunity to make a statement as he takes his first steps on the moon. He says “This is one small step for man… One giant leap for peace between man and mutant-kind.”
This caused quite the controversy and NASA officials were quick to issue a statement to clarify that Rogers meant that America was able to reach the moon thanks to the hard work of humans and mutants working together. This was done in order to try and elevate growing fears that mutants were replacing the humans. Reactions were negative by many who accused the war hero of being a human sympathizer.
Back on Earth, Steve watches the news with his wife Peggy. She is annoyed that Steve couldn’t leave well enough alone. Because of his statements she is going to have a harder time working for SHIELD, a newly formed spy agency that actively investigates mutants. She can’t understand why Steve can’t be like Bucky and come and work for SHIELD as well, instead of getting himself in trouble for speaking his mind.
1957
Steve meets up with his old pal James Barnes at a bar to catch up. Bucky offers his condolences after hearing how Steve and Peggy got a divorce. Steve thanks him, but says she was never happy being an astronauts wife, especially since he gave up being Captain America years earlier. Bucky admits that resigning during the McCarthy hearings came as a shock to him as well. Steve asks James if he would have complied and testified against their old friends. Barnes admits that he doesn’t really know.
Steve can’t understand why that is difficult for him to decide. James explains that the mutant situation isn’t quite so black-and-white as it seems. He agrees that there are good people like Toro who fought alongside him during the war, but he points to mutant rights groups that exist in Europe, who engage in terrorist activity. Steve reminds Buck that there are human terrorists as well. James counters this by saying human terrorists plant bombs unlike mutant ones that are bombs. Hearing this disappoints Steve to hear.
Now
As the speeches in his honor go on, Steve thinks about the following decades. He always preached for equal rights between humans and mutants. He was a champion for peaceful co-existence. Over time, as mutants became more prominent they proved to be just as complex as humans were. Sure there were evil mutants but there were heroes as well, good and bad. However, over time, one mutant — Mangeto — rose to prominence.
In the 1970s, Magneto fought back against the anti-mutant hysteria and totaled the government’s Sentinel program. With that, the governments of the world began surrendering to Magneto. While Steve Rogers was always a champion for equality between both races, he began speaking out against Magneto. Hearing his speeches, Steve Rogers was reminded of tyrants like Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin and encouraged people to fight back against him. However, Magneto’s influence was already starting to affect the United States government. Not long after that speech, the Air Force forced him to retire from active service. Steve’s military uniform went into his closet right next to the Captain America costume he had stopped wearing 20 years earlier.
The world kept on changing, with mutants becoming more and more dominant. When Bucky was killed in a covert SHIELD operation in Genosha, Steve was not allowed to speak at the funeral. While in attendance, he also noticed that Peggy didn’t attend.
That’s when the final speaker of the night takes the podium, Namor’s son, Prince Wringor. As he speaks, Steve wishes Peggy could be there, thinking she’d really like the Sub-Mariner’s boy. All and all, Steve reflects back on his life and after everything he has accomplished, he figures that there is not much else he can do from here on out. Leaving the party alone, he thinks how the world he lived in no longer exists and the new one is very different. As he enters the subway, he is almost knocked over by a group of mutant hoodlums. When he gives them a glare, they — not knowing who he is — challenge the old man to a fight. Steve decides its not worth the challenge and ignores their laughter as he boards the train.
He thinks about everything he fought for and this is how the world turned out, and that its unfair. He is reminded by one thing Peggy told him on day when they were still married: “You got everything you ever wanted, Steve Rogers. If you world didn’t turn out how you thought it would… well that’s just life.” Reciting those words again makes Steve smile and continues on his way home. Little does he know that he is being observed by a group of outlaws — both human and mutant — seeking allies to take down Magneto’s empire.[7]
Recurring Characters
Steve Rogers, Dum Dum Dugan, Wolverine, Luke Cage, Emma Frost, Cloak, Spider-Man, (in flashback) Bucky, Nick Fury, Magneto
Continuity Notes
This story is predicated on the idea that the Scarlet Witch is both a mutant and the daughter of Magneto, two fact that later turn out to be false:
Wanda and her brother Pietro were actually kidnapped as babies by the High Evolutionary. After he finished his experiments he covered up his work by making it so the two would always register as mutants if their genetics were screened. See Uncanny Avengers (vol. 2) #4-5.
Wanda was likewise led to believe that Magneto was her biological father in Vision and the Scarlet Witch #4. This was also revealed to be a falsehood. Per Scarlet Witch (vol. 2) #3, her mother is Natalya Maximoff while the identity of her biological father remains a mystery time of this writing (Feb. 2023)
Regardless, the Scarlet Witch went mad in Avengers #500-503 and was left in the care of Magneto. When the Avengers and X-Men believed that the Scarlet Witch was still a threat they confronted her and she used her powers to alter reality, as seen in House of M #1.
Per Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #4 this reality has been designated Reality-58163. As explained in Exiles #69, Reality-616 was briefly replaced with 58163. Handbook entries on the various characters involved in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z goes on to explain that one reality was overlayed on the other, merging the two realities with Reality-58163 being the dominant one. The memories of Earth-616 would be unlocked among many of the characters. When the Scarlet Witch was defeated in House of M #7-8, the two realities were separated. Reality-58163 continues to exist following this separation as seen in House of M: Avengers #1.
This of course is based on the events seen in Avengers #4. On Earth-616 the done exploded sending Captain America into suspended animation for decades before he was rescued by the Avengers. As explained next issue, Bucky survived as well and was turned into the Russian assassin known as the Winter Soldier.
This also is contrary to Earth-616 history, as Baron Zemo would survive in to the Modern Age only to die in battle against Captain America in Avengers #15.
On Earth-616, the Red Skull survived World War II after his bunker collapsed and he was sustained by an experimental gas that put him in a state of suspended animation. See Tales of Suspense #79.
On Earth-616, Hitler was immolated by the Human Torch, as per Young Men #24. However, per Super-Villain Team-Up #17, Hitler has managed to cheat death by having his mind downloaded into cloned bodies. He has resurfaced many times in the present day as the Hate-Monger, the first time being in Fantastic Four #21.
It was long believed that Toro was a mutant since his powers manifested when he was a teenager. This concept that was first coined in Invaders #22. However, it will later revealed in All-New Invaders #8 that Toro’s powers were actually derived from having Inhuman genes in his DNA.
This would be Wolverine, Luke Cage, Spider-Man, Emma Frost and Cloak. They were seeking out Steve Rogers to see if they can enlist him in their fight against Magneto. Seeing how old he is, they decide to leave Cap out of the fight. See House of M #5.
Topical References
Steve Rogers states that it has been about 50 years since the end of World War II. This measurement of time should be considered a topical reference. The House of M reality operates on a Sliding Timescale just like Earth-616. As such, the length of time between the end of the war and the start of the Modern Age will continue to grow over time.
World War II and the House of M
As the House of M reality is analogous to the Prime Marvel Universe, it too must operate on a Sliding Timescale. Under normal circumstances, that would make it increasingly impossible for the World War II veterans in this story to still be alive as the Modern Age of the Marvel Universe is slowly bumped forward in time. I think the simplest way to explain this growing anachronism is that the House of M reality was created via a reality warp created by the Scarlet Witch. The very nature of her powers are to bend reality, it doesn’t seem outlandish to consider that World War II veterans still being alive in the Modern Age are because that’s what she wanted.
House of M Reading Order
House of M #1-2, Fantastic Four: House of M #1-3, Spider-Man: House of M #1-5, Iron Man: House of M #1-3, Incredible Hulk (vol. 2) #83, 84, 85, 86, New X-Men (vol. 2) #16-19, House of M #3-4, Cable & Deadpool #17, The Pulse #10, Wolverine (vol. 3) #33-35, New Thunderbolts #11, Captain America (vol. 5) #10, House of M #5, Mutopia X #1-4, Black Panther (vol. 4) #7, Giant Size Ms. Marvel #1, House of M #6-7, Uncanny X-Men #462-465, Exiles #69-71, House of M #8
