| Spider-Man: House of M | |
|---|---|
 Cover forSpider-Man: House of M #1 (August 2005). Art bySalvador Larroca & Danny Miki | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| Format | Limited series |
| Publication date | August – December2005 |
| No. of issues | 5 |
| Main character(s) | Peter Parker / Spider-Man / Green Goblin J. Jonah Jameson |
| Creative team | |
| Written by | Mark Waid Tom Peyer |
| Penciller | Salvador Larroca |
| Inker | Danny Miki |
| Colorist | Liquid Graphics |
Spider-Man: House of M is a five-issuecomic booklimited series that ran concurrently withMarvel Comics'House of Mcrossover event in 2005. In the House of M pocket universe,mutants rule the world and humans are an oppressed minority.Magneto and his family, the House of M, rule the world from the island ofGenosha.
Much like theFantastic Four:House of M miniseries,Spider-Man: House of M is a standalone story that takes place in theHouse of M universe, but the events do not affect the story of the actualHouse of M series. However, it is shown in theHouse of M series that the Peter Parker of themainstream Marvel Universe remembers the life he had in this pocket universe.
In theHouse of M universe,Spider-Man is famous for being an actor, super-hero, wrestler, and businessman. His identity as Peter Parker is known to the public, who believes he is amutant and thus born with his powers. His uncleBen Parker, first loveGwen Stacy and Gwen's fatherGeorge Stacy are all alive; Peter and Gwen are married and have a son together.Crusher Hogan aka the "Green Goblin" is his mentor.Rhino is Peter's bodyguard, even though he is not needed.J. Jonah Jameson, after years of publishing anti-Spider-Man articles, takes a high-paying job as Peter's publicist, where Peter constantly humiliates him in public.
At Peter's surprise birthday party, Jameson is attacked by theGreen Goblin, who states his intention to use Jameson to destroy Spider-Man. Jameson awakens the next morning holding Peter's journal, part of which explains how he got his powers and that he is not a mutant. Spider-Man searches all over the city to find Jameson, but it's too late. J. Jonah Jameson, with a camera crew, reveals the truth in Spider-Man's journal.
After the news breaks, a mutant boy is beaten half to death for wearing a Spider-Man shirt. Peter visits the boy at the hospital, where he meets a mutant security guard who expresses respect for Spider-Man. An announcement comes in that Rhino is causing havoc downtown. The guard turns to face Peter, but sees only an open window.
Spider-Man tries to stop Rhino from destroying downtown, but gets attacked by angry mutant pedestrians. Rhino escapes and meets the Green Goblin, who he tells to meet him behind Parker's house tonight. As soon as Green Goblin arrives, he sees thatOx,Vulture, andElectro are there as well, and they all attack the Green Goblin. During the fight, Gwen Stacy runs to see what's going on. Rhino grabs the Green Goblin and lets Gwen take his mask off, revealing Peter Parker.
It is revealed that Peter has been having recurring nightmares of horrifying events that Spider-Man faced in thetrueMarvel Universe, including the deaths of Ben, George, and Gwen. Thinking him insane, his family believes that Peter may have subconsciously created his Green Goblin persona to force the truth of his non-mutant origins to come out.
In the end, Spider-Man fakes his own death, leaving a note for the House of M, threatening to come back if Magneto does not "lay off the humans." The Parker family is last seen somewhere in the countryside, contentedly building their new home away from mutant civilization. For this story to fit in with the larger story told in theHouse of M miniseries, the Parker family would have had to return to New York at some point, as it was there that Wolverine and the rest of the memory-restored heroes introduced him to Layla Miller.
