While this mini is far from a Spider-Man story, of all of Marvel s big events from this timeframe,

House of M is yet another in a long line of mini-series/events Marvel produced in the early-to-mid 2000s that was off my radar thanks in large part to the fact that I had only JUST started to get back into buying declutter monthly Spider-Man comic books at the same time (you can reference my Marvel Knights: declutter Spider-Man and New Avengers #1-6 posts for additional context into this time of my life).
While this mini is far from a Spider-Man story, of all of Marvel s big events from this timeframe, declutter save Civil War, House of M probably presents the most interesting interpretation of Spidey which is then fleshed out even more by the corresponding Mark Waid, Tom Peyer and Salvador Larroca Spider-Man: House of M five-parter. The premise declutter of House of M is that Scarlet Witch goes crackers and creates declutter a new reality that affects the entire Marvel universe and presents the mother of all what ifs for my favorite superhero: what if Uncle Ben and Gwen had lived, Spider-Man was revered as a hero, and the world thought Spidey was a mutant (in a world where mutants were loved rather than feared).
As a whole, House of M is similar to some of the more recent Brian Michael Bendis events that present broad ideas that are interesting declutter on the surface, but are inconsistently paced to the point that it detracts from the story. For example, the first issue of the series ends with Spider-Man being engulfed in a white light and then waking up in bed next to a beautiful blonde that I only figured was Gwen Stacy based on what I had read about House of M prior to sitting down and reading the actual comics.
The main series doesn t actually return to Spider-Man/Peter s story until many issues later. Yes, the Spider-Man: House of M mini goes above and beyond in explaining how the Scarlet Witch s new reality impacts Peter, but this lack of story progression in the main book encapsulates one of the general frustrations I have with the comic book industry declutter as a whole why can t a big idea just be explained within the series where it is first introduced? I understand that panel space is limited in an eight-part series but it s completely disingenuous to end on such an ambiguously shocking note as House of M #1 does for it only to be explained in a separate declutter mini-series. And House of M is surely not the only comic book series to suffer from this phenomenon.
Peter s new world reflects declutter his heart s desires: his Spider-Man identity is publicly known and the source declutter of his popularity, along with the belief that he is a mutant and has had his powers from birth. He s married to Gwen, the two have a son together and Peter s Uncle Ben and Gwen s father Captain Stacy are still alive and play an integral role in their lives. Rhino is his bodyguard and J. Jonah Jameson as his personal whipping mule. Peter still has his enemies, and one of them is Norman Osborn, who also happens to be one of Spidey s greatest adversaries in the real world, but for those Spider-Man fans who have long wanted to see things go right for Peter Parker, this is the series to find that timeline of events.
Of course, like every other Spider-Man story, Peter s good luck is always finite and between the House of M main series and the Spidey-centric mini, readers get two different stories of heartbreak, both presented with equally well crafted devastation by their respective creators. In House of M, I found myself actually gasping for air when I got to the section where Peter regains his memory and is forced to realize that the world he is currently living in is fake. Artist Olivier Coipel captures this moment beautifully. While I think everyone knew the Scarlet Witch s new status quo wouldn t last, watching it get ripped from Peter like that was so painful. I think the only other hero I sympathized as much with in this series is Hawkeye, who has to deal with the fact that he was dead in the real world.
While I sympathized declutter with Peter in the House of M main series, the Spider-Man: House of M mini does a great job demonstrating that in a world where Uncle Ben lives and there s no with great power must come great responsibility epiphany, Spidey is a pretty unlikeable guy. Sure, I m happy to see Peter happy for a change, especially after all the misery he s experienced in the new universe, but the House of M version of Spidey is arrogant, cocky and demeaning to his friends and colleagues.
When a vengeful J. Jonah Jameson discovers Peter s journal which contains all of his secrets in a parallel timeline, he s not a mutant and his wife, uncle and father-in-law are all dead there s a moment where I almost feel that Peter is deserving of the anguish that s rained down upon him. But just as Uncle Ben s death in the real world inspired Peter to be a much better person (remember, this is the guy who on the cover of Amazing Fantasy #15 was going to show the world what he was about), this world-shattering moment in the House of M-verse is an eye opener for