Spider-Man: House of M
Encyclopedia
Spider-Man: House of M is a five-issue comic book
limited series
that ran concurrently with Marvel Comics
' House of M
crossover
event in 2005. In the House of M universe, mutant
s rule the world and humans are an oppressed minority. Magneto
and his family, the House of M, rule the world from the island of Genosha
.
Much like the Fantastic Four
: House of M miniseries, Spider-Man: House of M is a standalone story that takes place in an alternate universe inspired by the House of M. However, the events do not affect the story of the actual House of M series nor the characters of the restored mainstream Marvel Universe
.
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 a mutant
and thus born with his powers. His uncle Ben Parker, first love Gwen Stacy
and Gwen's father George Stacy
are all alive; Peter and Gwen are married and have a son together. 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 the Green 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 that Ox
, Vulture
, and Electro 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 the true
Marvel 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 the House 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.
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
limited series
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
that ran concurrently with Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
' House of M
House of M
House of M is an eight-issue comic book limited series and crossover storyline published by Marvel Comics in 2005. Written by Brian Michael Bendis and illustrated by Olivier Coipel, its first issue debuted in June 2005 as a follow-up to the events of the Planet X and Avengers Disassembled...
crossover
Fictional crossover
A fictional crossover is the placement of two or more otherwise discrete fictional characters, settings, or universes into the context of a single story. They can arise from legal agreements between the relevant copyright holders, or because of unauthorized efforts by fans, or even amid common...
event in 2005. In the House of M universe, mutant
Mutant (Marvel Comics)
In comic books published by Marvel Comics, a mutant is an organism who possesses a genetic trait called an X-gene that allows the mutant to naturally develop superhuman powers and abilities...
s rule the world and humans are an oppressed minority. Magneto
Magneto (comics)
Magneto is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the central villain of the X-Men comic, as well as the TV show and the films. The character first appears in X-Men #1 , and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby...
and his family, the House of M, rule the world from the island of Genosha
Genosha
Genosha is a fictional country that has appeared in numerous comic book series published by Marvel Comics. It is an island nation that exists in Marvel's main shared universe, known as "Earth 616" in the Marvel Universe. The fictional nation served as an allegory for slavery and later for South...
.
Much like the Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 , which helped to usher in a new level of realism in the medium...
: House of M miniseries, Spider-Man: House of M is a standalone story that takes place in an alternate universe inspired by the House of M. However, the events do not affect the story of the actual House of M series nor the characters of the restored mainstream Marvel Universe
Earth-616
In the fictional Marvel Comics multiverse, Earth-616 or Earth 616 is the name used to identify the primary continuity in which most Marvel Comics titles take place.-Origin of Earth-616:...
.
Plot
In the House of MHouse of M
House of M is an eight-issue comic book limited series and crossover storyline published by Marvel Comics in 2005. Written by Brian Michael Bendis and illustrated by Olivier Coipel, its first issue debuted in June 2005 as a follow-up to the events of the Planet X and Avengers Disassembled...
universe, Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
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 a mutant
Mutant (Marvel Comics)
In comic books published by Marvel Comics, a mutant is an organism who possesses a genetic trait called an X-gene that allows the mutant to naturally develop superhuman powers and abilities...
and thus born with his powers. His uncle Ben Parker, first love Gwen Stacy
Gwen Stacy
Gwendolyn "Gwen" Stacy appears as a supporting character in Marvel Comics' Spider-Man series. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, she first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #31 ....
and Gwen's father George Stacy
George Stacy
George Stacy is a supporting character in Marvel Comics's Spider-Man series. He first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #56 , and was created by Stan Lee, John Romita, Sr., and Don Heck. He is Gwen Stacy's father and he strongly approves of his daughter's relationship with Peter Parker...
are all alive; Peter and Gwen are married and have a son together. Rhino
Rhino (comics)
The Rhino is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist John Romita, Sr., the character first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #41 The Rhino (Aleksei Mikhailovich Sytsevich) is a fictional character that appears in comic...
is Peter's bodyguard, even though he is not needed. J. Jonah Jameson
J. Jonah Jameson
John Jonah Jameson Junior is a supporting character of Spider-Man in the .Jameson is usually the publisher or editor-in-chief of the Daily Bugle, a fictional New York newspaper and now serves as the mayor of New York City...
, 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 the Green 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 that Ox
Ox (comics)
Ox is a fictional Marvel Comics supervillain, and he usually works for the Kingpin, Mister Fear or Hammerhead.-Publication history:The original Ox, Raymond Bloch, first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #10 , and was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko...
, Vulture
Vulture (comics)
The Vulture is the name of six comic book supervillains in the Marvel Comics universe. The best known Vulture in the Marvel Universe is Adrian Toomes, an elderly enemy of Spider-Man created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko in The Amazing Spider-Man #2 .-Golden Age Vulture:In Young Men #26, a scientist...
, and Electro 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 the true
Earth-616
In the fictional Marvel Comics multiverse, Earth-616 or Earth 616 is the name used to identify the primary continuity in which most Marvel Comics titles take place.-Origin of Earth-616:...
Marvel Universe
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...
, 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 the House of M
House of M
House of M is an eight-issue comic book limited series and crossover storyline published by Marvel Comics in 2005. Written by Brian Michael Bendis and illustrated by Olivier Coipel, its first issue debuted in June 2005 as a follow-up to the events of the Planet X and Avengers Disassembled...
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.
Other versions
- An issue of What If...? had two alternative stories that could have happened from the Spider-Man: House of M story.