| Gwen Stacy | |
|---|---|
.png) | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance |
|
| Created by | Stan Lee (writer) Steve Ditko (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Full name | Gwendolyne Maxine Stacy[1] |
| Species | Human |
| Place of origin | New York City |
| Team affiliations | Weapon X |
| Supporting character of | Spider-Man |
| Notable aliases | Weapon X-31 |
| Abilities | As Gwen Stacy:
As Weapon X-31:
|
Gwendolyne Maxine "Gwen"Stacy is a character appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics, usually as asupporting character in those featuringSpider-Man (Peter Parker). A college student and the daughter ofGeorge andHelen Stacy, Gwen was the first romantic interest for Peter following his high school graduation before she wasmurdered by theGreen Goblin (Norman Osborn). Her death has haunted Peter ever since, and stories published long afterwards indicate she still holds a special place in his heart.
Gwen was posthumously subjected to numerouscloning experiments by her former professorMiles Warren, Peter's cloneBen Reilly, and anA.I. ofHarry Osborn, the latter resulting in the creation ofthe Kindreds, and Ben briefly resurrecting Gwen in "Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy" (2016–2017), with theembodiment ofDeath herself confirming inBen Reilly: The Scarlet Spider (2017–2018) that all clones Ben created of deceased people had their souls intact on being brought back, while clones of living people (like Ben himself) had unique souls of their own. A flashback solo miniseries,Gwen Stacy: Beyond Amazing (2020–2024), was written byChristos Gage. InThe All-New All-Deadly Gwenpool (2025), she is again resurrected withWeapon X-like abilities under the designationX-31, teaming up with Peter,isekai protagonistGwen Poole, and archerKate Bishop against "The Great Architect". In thealternate universes ofUltimate Marvel,Spider-Gwen, andUltimate Spider-Man, astill-living Gwen becomes their respective realities' versions ofCarnage,Spider-Woman, andMysterio.
The character was portrayed byBryce Dallas Howard inSpider-Man 3 (2007) and byEmma Stone inThe Amazing Spider-Man film series (2012–2014) andSpider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023; archive footage). AmultiverseSpider-Gwen is voiced byHailee Steinfeld in the animated filmSpider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) and its sequelSpider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023), and will reprise the role inSpider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse (2027) andSpider-Woman (TBA).
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Created by writerStan Lee and artistSteve Ditko, Gwen Stacy first appeared inThe Amazing Spider-Man #31 (December1965) as the primarylove interest ofPeter Parker.[2] In the story arc "The Night Gwen Stacy Died" written byGerry Conway, published inThe Amazing Spider-Man #121–122 (June–July1973), Gwen iskilled off on being murdered by theGreen GoblinNorman Osborn; the then-Mexican publisher ofMarvel Comics, La Prensa, did not think the Latin American readership would accept this, and so divergedEl Sorprendente Hombre-Araña into its own continuity with brand new stories (written by Raul Martinez and drawn by José Luis González Durán) in which Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy were still a couple, and Stacy was still alive, for another 60 issues and 45 stories, ending in1974 when another publisher picked up the Marvel rights.[3][4]
The2016–2017 crossover event "Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy" written byDan Slott andChristos Gage features Gwen Stacy reanimated byBen Reilly before seemingly dying again, an action repeated in the2022 eventA.X.E.: Judgment Day written byKieron Gillen. A flashback solo miniseries following the character,Gwen Stacy, written by Gage and illustrated byTodd Nauck, was published in2020,[5][6][7][8][9][10] concluded withGiant-Size Gwen Stacy in 2022,[11][12][13][14] and collected asGwen Stacy: Beyond Amazing in 2024.[15]
She first appears as Weapon X-31 inThe All-New All-Deadly Gwenpool #1 (May2025) byCavan Scott and Stefano Nesi, facing off againstGwen Poole,Kate Bishop, and Peter before teaming up with them against her boss "The Great Architect", who grew a new immortal body for her head.[16]
In her initial appearances, Peter Parker met Gwen while both are studying as undergraduates at Empire State University,[17] but withAunt May in the hospital, Peter was troubled and ignores her advances. She dated bothFlash Thompson andHarry Osborn to make Peter jealous. Gradually, however, a romance develops; Gwen, a science major, appreciated Peter's intellect. Their relationship began almost immediately after Peter stops going out withMary Jane Watson, whom he begins to see as shallow and self-absorbed.[volume & issue needed]
Later issues introduced Gwen's father, NYPD CaptainGeorge Stacy, as well as her motherHelen Stacy and her uncle Arthur Stacy. Though her father was both fond of Peter and supportive of his alter-ego Spider-Man, his death strained Peter's relationship with Gwen after he is killed by falling debris during a battle involving Spider-Man andDoctor Octopus.[18][19] Gwen blamed Spider-Man for his death, and left for Europe to cope with her loss. She wanted Peter to ask her to marry him and convince her to stay, but his guilt stopped him from proposing.[20] Gwen's feelings for Peter eventually prompted her to return to New York, and their relationship is rekindled.[21]
According to Lee, who scripted all of the stories featuring Gwen Stacy up to this point, the original intent was for Gwen Stacy to be Spider-Man's central love interest. However,Mary Jane Watson's unexpected popularity with readers after her debut changed the course of the plan as fans liked Mary Jane more and demanded she be Peter Parker's main love interest instead, and that "no matter how we [i.e. Lee and his artist/co-plotter collaborators] wrote it, Mary Jane always seemed more interesting!"[22][23]
Gerry Conway andRoy Thomas succeeded Stan Lee as writer and editor, respectively, ofThe Amazing Spider-Man. Together with inkerJohn Romita, Sr., they came to the decision to have Gwen Stacy killed.[24] It was Romita who first suggested the idea, during a plotting session with Conway when Romita was still penciller onThe Amazing Spider-Man.[25] Conway later said his contribution to the decision was motivated by a desire to bring Mary Jane Watson to the forefront,[25][26] as he shared Lee's feeling that she was a more interesting character than Gwen Stacy: "[Mary Jane] hadn't lost the edge that made her an interesting character. Gwen didn't have an edge. She was just a nice person".[27]
InThe Amazing Spider-Man #121 ("The Night Gwen Stacy Died", June 1973), theGreen Goblin kidnaps Gwen Stacy and throws her off a bridge (depicted as theBrooklyn Bridge but described in the text as theGeorge Washington Bridge).[28][29] Spider-Man shoots a web strand at Gwen's legs and catches her, but her neck is broken by thewhiplash from her sudden stop.[28]
In Superior Spider-Man #3, Peter briefly reunites with Gwen and her father in the afterlife, along with all his other lost loved ones, while in Doctor Octopus's failing body. Peter apologizes to them both for failing them but neither hold Peter accountable with Gwen even saying that “it worked out” because they were “together” and kissed him on the cheek.
Both the decision to kill Gwen and the method in which Marvel implemented it remain controversial among fans because some believe that Peter himself was the one who caused her death. The death became a pivotal point in both Spider-Man's history and inAmerican comic books in general. Many point to Gwen's death as the end of theSilver Age of Comics.[30] Before her death, except possibly as part of an origin story, superheroes did not fail so catastrophically, nor did the hero's loved ones die so suddenly and without warning.[31][32][33]
A note on the letters page ofThe Amazing Spider-Man #125 states: "It saddens us to say that the whiplash effect she underwent when Spidey's webbing stopped her so suddenly was, in fact, what killed her".[28] The comic bookCivil War: Casualties of War: Captain America/Iron Man (2007) concurred that the proximate cause of death was the sudden stop during a high-speed fall. An issue ofPeter Parker/Spider-Man revisits the issue, and further confirms Gwen died of a broken neck due to the use of the webbing.[34] On the other hand, in the 1987 edition of theOfficial Handbook of the Marvel Universe, Gwen's death is attributed to the fall, not to Spider-Man's webbing, though the listed cause of death is still technically true – if she hadn't fallen from the bridge, the event that caused her death couldn't have happened. In his bookThe Physics of Superheroes, physicistJames Kakalios confirms that, consistent withNewton's laws of motion, the sudden stop would have killed Gwen Stacy.[35]
Within theMarvel Comics, Gwen Stacy's death has enormous repercussions.Mary Jane Watson feels the loss of Gwen deeply and becomes a more mature, compassionate person. Gwen's death also draws Peter and Mary Jane into a closer friendship, and eventually to romance.[volume & issue needed] Miles Warren, one of Gwen's professors, was secretly in love with her. Following her death, Warren goes insane and adopts the persona of theJackal.[36] In the fourth and final issue of the miniseriesMarvels (April 1994), photographer Phil Sheldon befriends Gwen Stacy, who has absolved Spider-Man of any blame for her father's death. Gwen's simple faith in heroes convinces Sheldon of the purpose of the "Marvels" (i.e., superheroes)—to protect innocents such as Gwen. He resolves to write a book to praise the heroes and what they should mean to humanity. When the Green Goblin kidnaps Gwen and holds her hostage to bait Spider-Man, Sheldon frantically follows the resulting chase in a taxi and witnesses her death. While it is reported that she died from the shock of the fall, Sheldon thinks it looks like something else. Sheldon's faith in the Marvels is shattered.[37]
Following the publication ofThe Amazing Spider-Man #121, Stan Lee (who had since become Marvel's publisher) was frequently criticized by fans during his public appearances for killing off Gwen Stacy.[26] Lee, who had also found the character's death objectionable,[24] insisted that Conway write a story bringing her back.[26] Conway strongly objected since he felt any sort of resurrection would break the plausibility of the stories, but ultimately gave in under the condition that after reviving Gwen, he could write her out of the book as soon as he wanted.[27] He decided that cloning would be the best means to bring the character back.
In the resulting story, written approximately two years after the story of Gwen Stacy's death,[38] "Gwen" reappears, perfectly healthy but with no memory of the time since her death. This story, published inAmazing Spider-Man #144 (May 1975), initiated theoriginal Clone Saga. At the end of that story, Gwen's clone, a creation of Spider-Man villain theJackal, leaves to find a new life for herself, coming to accept that she is not really the same person who had a relationship with Peter Parker.[39]
In the 1988 crossover "The Evolutionary War", theHigh Evolutionary, who had once been Miles Warren's teacher, captures Gwen's clone. He determines that Warren had actually not perfected the process, and instead injected a young woman with a genetic virus carrying Gwen's DNA, turning her into a copy of Gwen. After a subsequent altercation of Spider-Man and the Young Gods against the High Evolutionary's Purifiers, this woman is purged of the virus by the Young Goddess Daydreamer.[40] This is laterretconned, with the High Evolutionary stating that Warren had in fact succeeded in perfecting his own cloning technique, and Daydreamer had accidentally given the Gwen clone a false new life under the name of Joyce Delaney.[41]
During the second "Clone Saga", Joyce, now married to a clone of Professor Warren named Warren Miles, sees a copy of Peter Parker's book of Spider-Man photos,Webs, and remembers (to an extent) her real history. She returns to New York City, but after helping Spider-Man andScarlet Spider fight the Jackal, she again disappears from Spider-Man's life.[42] She makes herself a new life in London, but before she is murdered by the Gwen Stacy clone known as Abby-L shows signs of clone degeneration.[43]
Another Gwen clone appears inThe Amazing Spider-Man #399 (March 1995). This clone believes she is the real Gwen. She dies from clone degeneration inSpider-Man #56 (March 1995), the next issue of the story arc.
A further Gwen clone appears in the "Sibling Rivalry" crossover storyline betweenSuperior Spider-Man Team-Up andScarlet Spider. She joins the Jackal (alongsideCarrion and a regular Miles Warren clone) in capturingSuperior Spider-Man andKaine.[44] She is sympathetic towards "Peter" and Kaine, but at the same time utterly loyal to the Jackal. When the Spiders break free, Superior Spider-Man disarms and attempts to kill her, but is stopped by Kaine. When the Jackal's lab is engulfed in flames, Kaine offers to save her, but she refuses, and is seemingly consumed by the fire.[45]
The story arc "Sins Past"[46] byJ. Michael Straczynski apparently reveals that Gwen Stacy had an affair withNorman Osborn and fell pregnant with twins, a girl and a boy, to whom she gave birth while in France, and namedSarah and Gabriel Stacy, respectively. Gwen vowed to raise the twins with Peter Parker and refused to allow Norman access—an event which precipitated Norman's decision to kill her. By the time that Peter and his (then-considered-to-be) wife,Mary Jane Watson-Parker, discovered the twins' existence, they were grown to adult proportions, despite the relatively "short" time since Gwen's death, due to the genetic effects of their father's "goblin formula".
Sarah and Gabriel revealed their existence to Peter, with threats and as masked figures, after their father was publicly exposed as the Green Goblin—sending to Peter a page of an unsent letter from Gwen "from a time when she traveled to Europe between college semesters"—which revealed her pregnancy; an analysis of the letter by police detective Lamont revealed handwriting impressions of a second page—saying that she had given birth,[47] with the twins born fully developed after only seven month's gestation. When Peter as Spider-Man went a genetics lab, where he would prove Gwen's maternity of the twins, Sarah confronted him, and Spider-Man unmasked Sarah[48]—finding her to be "a dead ringer for Gwen".[47] Gwen Stacy herself, however, only appears in this story arc in flashback, as Mary Jane explained to Peter that she knew about Gwen's illegitimate offspring and Norman's paternity thereof because she overheard Gwen and Norman arguing over custody of the children[49]—a secret of Gwen's that Mary Jane had "promised to keep all these years".[47] Sarah later signed up withInterpol, while Gabriel later become the Gray Goblin.[50]
Marvel would later retcon this revelation in the pages ofNick Spencer's run onAmazing Spider-Man during theSinister War event. Norman Osborn arrives at the safe house of Gabriel and Sarah in Paris, where anArtificial Intelligence back-up copy of his sonHarry reveals to Norman that he never truly fathered the twins, and that he never had a sexual encounter with Gwen Stacy. The whole plan was to convince him he had the heirs he always wanted, so AI Harry hypnotized Norman and Mary Jane Watson with the help ofMysterio and theChameleon, whileMendel Stromm created the mutated twins in a lab (this explains their rapid aging, as it is not truly related to Osborn's Goblin serum). Thus, this is all an elaborate scheme of Harry's to torment both his father and Peter.[51]
In the "Clone Conspiracy" storyline,[52] a flashback revealed that Gwen Stacy was conscious during Spider-Man and Green Goblin's battle on the bridge, and as she was falling to her death. She overheard their conversation and discovered Peter is Spider-Man in the process. She was angry at Peter for keeping this secret and for his involvement in her father's death. This flashback confirms the Green Goblin's real motivations for the murder: he clearly states that Gwen "is just a pawn", contradicting the whole core ofSins Past in which Osborn wanted to kill her to keep the twins with him and silence her forever. The "Stacy-Osborn" affair was retconned during theSinister War event, 17 years later.[53]
In the present, Gwen (her soul intact) is revived byBen Reilly (as the Jackal II) in a clone body. Ben offers Gwen the opportunity to be his business partner as he tries to change the world with his new technology. Gwen is hesitant about this new life at first but accepts it when Ben shows that he has reanimated her father, who is in much better health than he was before he died.[53] When Spider-Man arrives at the incorporation and discovers Ben's experiments, he is surprised by Gwen's presence and notes that unlike the other people Ben revived, Gwen does not trigger his spider sense, making him wonder if she was the real one. He is attacked by the "reborn"Doctor Octopus before he can question the issue further.[53]
After Ben breaks up the fight and shows Spider-Man around the New U, George Stacy recognizes something off about Gwen's face and points his gun at her. It is revealed that this Gwen was actually her Earth-65 counterpartSpider-Woman who assists Spider-Man in escaping. The real Gwen is kidnapped byKaine and taken toParker Industries to be studied. Kaine reveals that he and Spider-Woman came to this Earth to assist Spider-Man because they saw that Spider-Man agreeing with Ben's offer on other worlds always results in a global disaster.[54] Rhino and the second Electro are sent to retrieve Gwen after attacking the staff, but Gwen tells them to take Kaine with him too because his condition could help Ben's experiments.Anna Maria Marconi also volunteers to come with because she has studied both Kaine and the drug.[55]
When Spider-Man is taken to Haven, he catches up with Gwen in the household in the facility, where she tries to convince him to support New U Technologies. Peter still has a hard time believing she is the real Gwen given his other experiences with clones. Gwen tries justifying her existence by telling Peter her memories, including how she overheard the Green Goblin talking to Spider-Man before her death. Peter thinks she died hating him, but Gwen said that she did not hate him, but rather died feeling betrayed. Peter again still has doubts towards Gwen not being a clone. She tries kissing him, to no avail which only pushes him to put the mask back on. Gwen witnesses Ben order his cloned villains to kill Spider-Man and decides to help Peter.[56]
Doctor Octopus pulls a switch that activates the Carrion Virus in all of the revived, including Gwen and George, and causes them to start rapidly decaying.[57] After Gwen's father deteriorates in her arms, she assists Spider-Man by helping him get to the lab. When the cloned villains get to the lab doors, Gwen locks Spider-Man inside the lab and sacrifices herself via an explosion to give him more time. Following the Carrion Virus being thwarted, Spider-Man and Anna check the building and see that Gwen has been reduced to dust.[58] In the sequel ongoing seriesBen Reilly: The Scarlet Spider, theembodiment ofDeath herself confirms that all clones Ben created of deceased people had their souls intact on being brought back, while clones of living people (like Ben himself) had unique souls of their own, making Gwen's revival by him a legitimate resurrection.
During the "Last Remains" storyline,Kindred visits the cemetery where Gwen Stacy and George Stacy were buried. He exhumed their bodies and placed them around the table at his hideout while awaiting for Spider-Man to find him.[59] When Spider-Man finally confronts Kindred, Gwen and George's corpses were sat around a dinner table alongside the exhumed bodies ofBen Parker, Flash Thompson, J. Jonah Jameson Sr.,Jean DeWolff, and Marla Jameson.[60]
In theA.X.E.: Judgment Day crossover event, theCelestial known as the Progenitor is resurrected and gives humanity 24 hours to justify their existence and judges each human individually. The Progenitor appears to Peter in the form of Gwen, who watches him as he spends the day helping his friends and loved ones. The Progenitor deems Peter worthy and rewards him by briefly resurrecting the real Gwen to give them one last moment together. Norman Osborn witnesses their reunion, but brushes it aside as it is revealed the Progenitor also appeared to him as Gwen.[61]
Gwen Stacy made her next return to Marvel Comics in theGwenpool series beginning May 2025. When Gwen is resurrected byWeapon X as the hyper-violent assassinWeapon X-31 by "The Great Architect", she saves Peter Parker andisekai protagonistGwen Poole from three escapedDeathloks working for the Great Architect.[62][63][64][65] After confronting Peter over her prior death and accidentally killing Poole,[66] Poole's ghost possesses her roommateKate Bishop, their sonJeff the Land Shark, and Peter in an attempt to avenge her own death, while Gwen apologizes to Peter and Kate for accidentally killing Poole.[65] After being threatened with the nano-charges installed in her head by the Great Architect, Gwen remembers that he wasn't the one to put them in place, rememberingBen Reilly (the Jackal II) to have done so. After talking with Poole's ghost, X-31 learns that she is the same Gwen Stacy reanimated by Reilly inDead No More (the one with her soul placed in a clone body by New U Technologies). As her severed head survived the explosion she set off, the Great Architect has her body grow her head ("the sample") as a new immortal body equipped with metal bones to serve as a joint antagonist to Gwen Poole and Peter Parker. Gwen, Peter, Kate, and Poole's ghost proceed to team up to defeat the Great Architect who Spider-Man unmasks. Poole's ghost identifies him to be the counterpart of Marvel Comics writerCavan Scott. Poole possesses her own Deathlok corpse to return to life and convinces Gwen not to kill the Great Architect but rather arrest him. In the aftermath, Gwen asks out Peter again (who rejects her as Gwen passing off her question as having been a joke) Gwen proceeds to join the group in fightingFin Fang Foom as X-31 while intending to work on a new and worthy codename.[67]
Gwen Stacy is gifted at biochemistry and is shown to have good investigative skills which she inherited from her father.
The Gwen Stacy of this reality had a similar history to the main iteration of the character, until she encountered aGwen Stacy from a future alternate timeline. At first, thinking that this Gwen was a clone, she later learned that this Gwen was actually a superhero, but when trying to get more information, Spider-Gwen fled in a rage. She learned that Spider-Gwen's father had been put in a coma, which caused her rage, then Gwen helped her counterpart to come to epiphany that she should treasure that she still has her father alive in contrast to her, whose father had died. After that, Gwen with the help ofTony Stark andHank Pym of this reality, successfully send Spider-Gwen to her timeline. After this encounter, Gwen was inspired to become a detective and bonded to theVenom symbiote of her reality to becomeSpider-Woman. With the use of a Dimensional Travel Watch, she was able to travel across themultiverse and encountered other versions of herself; some of which who had also become Spider-Woman. With these Spider-Women, they formed theCouncil of Spider-Women and they avoided theSpider-Verse event. She then came across the Spider-Gwen from the past and sent her to her past timeline, creating a time-loop. She then terrorized theUatus from Earth-65 and Earth-8, since they were fighting the children ofMiles Morales and Gwen Stacy. After that, she returned to her reality to fight crime.[68]
From 1973 to 1974, a divergent continuity inEl Sorprendente Hombre-Araña was published by La Prensa in Mexico, in which the events of "The Night Gwen Stacy Died" never took place, with Gwen Stacy never having died and her and Peter Parker having remained a couple.[3][4]
In theHeroes Reborn event, a change in the timeline results in a continuity in which the Squadron Supreme are Earth's mightiest heroes while the Avengers never came to be. In this reality, Gwen was inspired by her mother to become a psychiatrist at Ravencroft Asylum. After the death ofthe Falcon (which mirrors how Gwen died in the main continuity), she was trained byNighthawk and became the vigilante known asNightbird. She briefly dated Flash Thompson for a time, but her refusal to be with him drove him to be insane and become the second Jackal. She also appears to have a close relationship withMisty Knight.[69]
In the reality seen in the "House of M" storyline, in which theScarlet Witch alters reality to make mutants the ruling class over humans, Gwen was never killed. Instead, she married Peter Parker, and the couple had a young son. She had become a scientist, a savvy businesswoman, and a peace activist – and had a decidedly hostile relationship with chemical weapon developerNorman Osborn. Mary Jane Watson, a popular actress in this reality, played Gwen Stacy in the film adaptation of Spider-Man's life story. Gwen and her father read textual accounts of their deaths in the main universe, though they believe this simply to be the morbid imaginings of Peter Parker, who is suffering from mental health issues.[70]
Gwen Stacy first appeared inMarvel Adventures Spider-Man #53 as a new student of Midtown High. She had transferred from her previous school after the Torino Gang, a powerful New York mob, began harassing her in an attempt to keep her father, police captain George Stacy, from arresting members of their gang. However, the Torinos continued to harass Gwen at Midtown, prompting Spider-Man to help the police take down the gang.[71] Like her father, Gwen believes Spider-Man is a hero. She subsequently began participating in a "Spider-Man Appreciation Society" designed to foster better public opinion of Spider-Man.[72] Gwen is also attracted to Spider-Man's alter ego Peter Parker; although she openly flirted with him, Peter began dating a different girl,Sophia "Chat" Sanduval, which made Gwen very unhappy.[73] Later, Gwen was brainwashed byEmma Frost into believingshe was dating Peter. Gwen's brainwashing wore off (or was undone by Emma), but Gwen now believes her relationship with Peter ended when he chose Chat over her,[74] causing her to treat Chat very coldly. She has since warmed to Chat, however.[75] Recently, Gwen began a close friendship with Carter Torino who is the grandson of the head of the Torino Gang.[72] Their relationship is complicated by the fact Gwen's father is still trying to take down Carter's criminal family.[76]
In the limited series,Marvel Zombies Return, Gwen of 'Earth Z' is still a college student out with her friends Mary Jane and Harry Osborn. The zombified Spider-Man travels to this earth and, despite his best intentions, turns theSinister Six. They then slay and partly consume Gwen and her friends. To stop the spread of the virus, Spider-Man obliterates the bodies.[77]
In thePowerless mini-series, Gwen Stacy again appears as the girlfriend of Peter Parker. Norman Osborn again kidnaps and attempts to kill her as a part of a plan to intimidate Peter. In a twist, the powerless Peter (with a limb crippled from a spider bite) manages to save Gwen from falling to her death.[volume & issue needed]
InSecret Wars: Battleworld #3, a version of Gwen with the powers ofWolverine calledGwenverine, was brought along with theother Wolverines byMojo, into fighting the pacifist Monk Wolverine.[78]
During thereturn of the Inheritors, Spider-Gwen's device to travel through the multiverse got destroyed by Verna and then Gwen got stranded in an alternate universe.[79] In this universe, Peter Parker and this universe's Gwen Stacy got jobs at Oscorp and Peter wanted to create a cure for cancer after his Uncle Ben died from it. Peter was experimenting with spider venom to create the cure, but one of the spiders bitHarry Osborn, making Harry this universe's Spider-Man. Harry, alongside Gwen Stacy as this universe'sGreen Goblin, started to fight crime together, where they even took down Vulture. This lasted until a fight with the Sandman where both Harry and George Stacy were killed. The accident did something to the circuitry that enabled Gwen to control the Goblin Glider that left her mostly acting like the Green Goblin, with no memory of being Gwen Stacy. Spider-Gwen is eventually able to free her counterpart from her insanity. To thank her, the Goblin Gwen fixes Spider-Gwen's multiversal travel device to allow her to return to her allies.[80]
In the alternate reality designated Earth-65, Gwen Stacy is the one bitten by the radioactive spider, and becomes a superhero going by the name ofSpider-Woman. She is also a member of a band fronted by Mary Jane Watson, simply called the Mary Janes. Shortly after Gwen begins fighting crime, Peter Parker, her best friend attempts to exact revenge on those who bullied him, becoming this universe's version of theLizard. Gwen subdues him, but Peter dies towards the end of the battle due to the chemical he used. Spider-Woman is blamed for his death, causing an outcry for her arrest, led byJ. Jonah Jameson. Her father, who is also a police chief in this world, begins a hunt for her. This follows Gwen into college, where she is still a member of the Mary Janes. At a gig of theirs, an assassin is sent after Gwen's father, who is in the audience. Gwen defeats the assassin, the audience and band clearing out during the battle. While they are alone, Captain Stacy holds Spider-Woman at gun point, with Gwen taking off her mask to reveal who she is. Shocked upon learning Spider-Woman's identity, he tells her to run before he changes his mind. In the distance, the Captain Britain from Earth-833, called Spider-UK, is watching, saying that Gwen will "do quite nicely".[81]
Gwen is recruited by Spider-UK to team up with other Spider-Totems across the multiverse, and next appears on Earth-616 with Old Man Spider-Man of Earth-4 andSpider-Man of Earth-70105 (who in that reality isBruce Banner) to rescueKaine, who was under attack by theInheritors.[82] Marvel-616 Peter is hesitant to put Gwen in action and she is told by the others of how he failed to save her in his world. However he does recruit her for a mission and they both agree to look out for each other.[83] Gwen is sent to recruit an alternate version of Peter Parker who is driven insane after he failed to save the Gwen Stacy in his dimension, killed the Green Goblin, and became theHobgoblin. She tells him that he can become the man he once was if he joins them, but they are attacked by the Inheritors. Hobgoblin sacrifices himself to save Gwen.[84]
After the events ofSpider-Verse, Gwen returns to her home of Earth-65 where she continues her career as Spider-Woman in her own solo series,Spider-Gwen. She first saves George Stacy from mercenaryAleksei Sytsevich who was sent byWilson Fisk and his lawyerMatt Murdock to target him; Murdock is ultimately revealed to be the real Kingpin, with Fisk serving as hispatsy.[85] Then she begins a hunt for theVulture who has been terrorizing the city in her absence.[86]
She appears as one of the main characters in theSecret WarsSpider-Verse event withSpider-Ham,Spider-Girl,Spider-UK,Spider-Man Noir, andSpider-Man India in a Battleworld called Archania ruled by Norman Osborn. They eventually form a team called the Web Warriors where they help other Spider-Men and Women in various dimensions. A child version of her also appears inGiant Size Little Marvel Avengers vs X-Men as a new kid that Tony Stark tries to ask out on a date. She rejects him because he's a kid with a goatee and mustache. Another version of her is a member of Arcadia's'sA-Force. On Earth-8, she is married to Miles Morales and they have two children with Spider Powers.[87]
InWeb Warriors,Spider-Punk mentions that the Gwen Stacy in his dimension was a musical icon, who ultimately died young.[88]
Issue #1 ofSpider-Man: Fairy Tales follows the fairy tale ofLittle Red Riding Hood, reimagined with Mary Jane Watson as the titular character. Gwen Stacy has been previously killed by the wolf. Issue #4 is an adaption ofCinderella with Gwen as Princess Gwendolyn. She falls in love with the masked "Prince of Arachne" who is revealed to be Peter Parker, servant toSir Osborn, but is killed during a fight between Osborn and Parker.
Gwen Stacy first appears at the end ofSpider-Man Loves Mary Jane #5. She is the new girl at school and quickly becomes close friends with Peter Parker. InSpider-Man Loves Mary Jane #9, Peter and Gwen take their relationship to the next level by sharing a tender kiss, much to the dismay ofMary Jane. They date for a time, though Gwen breaks up with Peter when she learns Mary Jane is the girl he claims he truly loves. MJ, attempting to fix this, breaks up with Peter and reunites with Harry,[89] though eventually she and Peter realize that neither of them are as happy with Gwen and Harry as they were with each other, and break up with them to start dating each other again.
Spider-Man: Life Story features an alternate continuity where the characters naturally age after Peter Parker becomes Spider-Man in 1962. In 1966, Gwen discovers that Peter is Spider-Man when she sees his costume underneath Peter's shirt at the train station shortly after Flash was deployed to Vietnam. She eventually marries Peter and becomes Chief Biologist for Miles Warren's bio-engineering company. In 1977, Harry Osborn's attack on Warren's company as the Black Goblin revealed that Miles created clones of Norman Osborn, Peter, and Gwen. Harry blows up the containment tubes containing the clones which kills all of them except for Peter's clone. However, Miles reveals that the "Gwen" Peter was with was actually her clone; he abducted the real Gwen with the intention of attempting to win her over later, with the result that the real Gwen died in the explosion. A year later, Peter and Gwen's clones rename themselves as Ben andHelen Parker and move out of New York for a second chance at life, the clone's relationship with the original Peter apparently not surviving the revelation of her clone status.[90]
She and Ben eventually split up and she renamed herselfHelen Carroll. After years of therapy, she was inspired to become a prison therapist to help those whose lives were ruined by super heroes and worked closely with Norman Osborn and J. Jonah Jameson.[91]
In the fourth issue of the comic book based on theSpider-Man Unlimited animated series, Spidey encounters aCounter-Earth version of Gwen Stacy. She helps him escape a hidden paradise known as "The Haven".[92]
Gwen Stacy first appears in theUltimate Marvel universe inUltimate Spider-Man #15 (January 2002) as a teenage girl at Peter's high school. In this continuity, Gwen, whose rendition by artistMark Bagley was inspired by an early-careerMadonna,[93] has amber eyes, wears punk-style clothing, and harbors a rebellious personality.[94] In her first appearance, she gives a rousing speech on 'super powers' and later pulls a knife onKong, one ofPeter's bullies, and is suspended from school temporarily. Gwen becomes friends with Peter, which leads Mary Jane Watson to believe she is vying for his affections.[volume & issue needed]
Gwen is later taken in byAunt May after her father, police captain John Stacy, is killed by a burglar wearing a Spider-Man costume and her estranged mother does not want to take her in. Her living in the Parker house creates more tension between Peter and Mary Jane, and leads to their temporary break-up. Peter's relationship with Gwen is further complicated by her hatred of Spider-Man, whom she blames for her father's death. When Peter finds his friendEddie Brock, Gwen confides in him about her feelings of isolation. Eddie then tries to kiss her and Gwen is shocked.[volume & issue needed] When she eventually learns Peter is Spider-Man, the angry Gwen pulls her father's gun on him. He manages to convince her he is not to blame for her father's death. Gwen runs off but returns, explaining she is just really mad at everything at the moment. She wouldn't have really shot him, a fact Peter already knew because his spider sense didn't go off despite Gwen's wrath. Gwen then agrees to keep his secret.[volume & issue needed]
Gwen Stacy dies inUltimate Spider-Man #62. Before her death, she made peace with Mary Jane and assured her she never had romantic feelings for Peter. She considered him just as a friend. She is killed byCarnage, a symbiote which was the offspring of the Venom symbiote, as he sucks the essence from her, draining her body to a husk. Although Peter is not in the area when she dies, he still feels some responsibility for her death, as he allowed Dr. Connors to use his genetic material for experimentation. His guilt makes him decide to retire as Spider-Man for a while. Eventually, he takes up his hero identity when his responsibility for the innocent becomes too great to overlook.[volume & issue needed] At the end of the arc, there was an issue that dealt with Gwen's death.Flash Thompson makes an off-color remark about Gwen's passing. It infuriates MJ to the point where she physically attacks Flash. It is revealed Flash had a crush on Gwen all along.[volume & issue needed]
Gwen Stacy returns to life inUltimate Spider-Man #98. According toMark Bagley, "Gwen's return is integral to the Clone storyline and is basically a way to rock Peter's world...again".[dead link][95] In this issue, Gwen appears to have no memory of her "death" and believes she was in a hospital, from which she has escaped. In issue #100, after a raft of revelations, the stress of the situation enrages "Gwen". She transforms intoCarnage before leaping out the window.[volume & issue needed] In the next issue, "Richard Parker" claims Gwen should not have met Peter at all, and was merely an experiment instem cell research. This Gwen/Carnage fights with the Fantastic Four, Nick Fury, and the Spider-Slayer drones, until she is knocked unconscious by a beam of light, and taken into custody. In issue #113, Norman Osborn as the Green Goblin causes a massive prison break from the Triskelion, with Gwen walking out amidst the chaos, disappearing in the shadows. It was then revealed that during government experiments to regrow the Carnage symbiote from its remains, Gwen's consciousness (still alive inside of Carnage) had assumed control over the symbiote to reconstitute her body, with no knowledge of her death.[dead link][96]
During the "War of the Symbiotes" storyline, Gwen/Carnage's back story in the Triskelion is revealed. It is shown Gwen has been taking some form of therapy with Tony Stark. However, when the Green Goblin broke out of the Triskelion, Gwen escaped and went to Peter Parker's house in a confused and terrified state, with Carnage's face on her body. During an exchange between Peter and Gwen, Eddie Brock attempts to attack Aunt May and retake his symbiote. In a rage, Spider-Man engages Venom on a nearby rooftop. During the fight, Gwen is shown to be able to use her symbiote to fight off Eddie but Eddie reabsorbs his symbiote along with the Carnage symbiote rendering Gwen Stacy an average girl. After a series of tests, it is concluded that Gwen is not a clone but consciously and genetically is the original reborn (though Gwen's original body died, the Carnage symbiote absorbed her being and they had bonded since her original death) with her eyes turned blue (originally, they were hazel). After S.H.I.E.L.D. intervenes, S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Danvers states Gwen will remain in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody. Peter and May argue for her to come back to live with them, with Tony Stark supporting the Parkers. InUltimate Spider-Man #129, the Parkers are now helping to rebuild Gwen's life. Her ghastly experience with the Carnage symbiote also causes her to develop a death anxiety she gradually controls. Six months after the "Ultimatum" storyline, inUltimate Comics Spider-Man #1, Gwen is living with the Parkers again and is dating Peter after MJ broke up with him. However, circumstances involving the Chameleon made Gwen realize that Peter and MJ are still in love, and believes that they shouldn't be together, even if she wants to be with him. She breaks up with him, but vows to be his loyal friend. She also continues to live with the Parkers due to Gwen and Aunt May having become close in a surrogate mother-daughter fashion.
After Peter's death, Gwen and May re-locate to France but return to New York after hearing about the re-emergence of anew Spider-Man, Miles Morales.[97][98]
During the "Spider-Men" storyline, Gwen and Aunt May meet the Peter Parker of theEarth-616 continuity after he is accidentally and briefly sent to the Ultimate universe. They even attack him, as they believe he is trying to imposter their Peter.[99] It is only through his mannerisms similar to Peter and his choice of words that they believe that he is not an imposter. Gwen, being intrigued to learn about her counterpart (although she is not informed of her other self's death, nor does she inform him of her own previous death and resurrection), talks with him. Later, she also tries to tell Mary Jane about the other Peter's arrival in their world, as the two have formed a friendship.[100]
When Green Goblin escapes custody after S.H.I.E.L.D. was shut down, he arrives at the front yard of Aunt May's house and confronts Miles.[101] Gwen and Aunt May are inside watching the television where the battle of Miles and Green Goblin was being broadcast. Soon, Peter emerges to aid Miles in the fight, to the surprise of Gwen and Aunt May. Green Goblin flees at his arrival and the two Spider-Men depart. Gwen is unsure of the identity of the original Spider-Man, but Aunt May assures her that his motives show that it is him.[102] Later, Gwen and Aunt May walk over to Mary Jane's house and overhear Peter's explanation of his unknown resurrection. Gwen sprints over and joyfully reunites with him.[103] After the two Spider-Men defeat Green Goblin, Peter tells Gwen that he intends to go on a quest to find out the truth of his mystery resurrection and leaves her and Aunt May once more, promising to return.[104]
The Ultimate Universe is destroyed in theSecret Wars event, but the world is restored later on. In it, Peter returns to the role of Spider-Man and Gwen is possibly still living with Aunt May.
Early in the series,Ultimate Spider-Man #25 (October 2002) paid homage to Gwen Stacy's death in theEarth-616 continuity, although Gwen herself was not involved. The Green Goblin tossed Mary Jane off theQueensboro Bridge. Spider-Man caught her leg with his webbing, just as with Gwen. The issue ended with a cliffhanger: when Spider-Man pulled Mary Jane up, she appeared to be either unconscious or dead. The cliffhanger was resolved in the next issue when Mary Jane awoke in #26, uninjured.[volume & issue needed]
An alternate universe variant of Gwen Stacy from Earth-6160 appears in the "Ultimate Universe" imprint. This version is the wife ofHarry Osborn.[105] After Norman and Emily Osborn are killed in afalse flag attack orchestrated by theMaker's Council, Gwen and Harry become the sole inheritors ofOscorp. Moreover, Gwen becameMysterio after her predecessor and father George died under mysterious circumstances.[106]
Gwen Stacy has been featured in numerous "What If" stories:
Gwen Stacy / Spider-Woman appears inSony'sSpider-Verse film franchise, voiced byHailee Steinfeld.[128][113] This version has operated as Spider-Woman for two years, saved her father George Stacy, but failed to save her friend Peter Parker after he became theLizard. She first appears inSpider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) before returning inSpider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023). Additionally, she will appear in the upcomingSpider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse (2027)[129] andSpider-Woman, a female-centered spin-off film.[130][131][132]
Paige Embry, a character based on Gwen Stacy, appears in the novelThe Refrigerator Monologues. She is the unofficial leader of the Hell Hath Club, a group of women in the afterlife trying to cope with the brutal termination of their plot lines, and provides connecting narration for each of their stories. Embry was the girlfriend of Tom Thatcher/Kid Mercury and was unceremoniously killed during a fight between him and Dr Noucture.[144]
Gwen Stacy was an Americanmetalcore band fromIndianapolis, Indiana, active between 2004 and 2010, whose name came from the comic book character Gwen Stacy. The band announced a reunion in April 2014.
Due to the popularity ofSpider-Gwen, analternate reality version of Gwen asSpider-Woman introduced inEdge of Spider-Verse in September 2014, in June 2015 Marvel published variant covers for 20 of their current series, which saw Gwen Stacy re-imagined as other Marvel characters, such asDoctor Strange,Groot andWolverine.[145] One of those variants, forDeadpool's Secret Secret Wars #2, featured an amalgam of the design of Gwen Stacy andWade Wilson dubbed "Gwenpool", which came to be especially popular with the fans.[146] As a result, Marvel produced two stories featuring Gwenpool as an original character, a backup story in the seriesHoward the Duck, and a one-shot,Gwenpool Holiday Special #1,[147] withHoward the Duck #1 establishing that her name is actually "Gwen Poole", not Gwen Stacy, or even an alternate version of either Gwen Stacy or Wade Wilson, presented as afangirl from the real world who istransported to the Marvel Universe. Following the publication of the one-shot, an ongoing series titledThe Unbelievable Gwenpool by the same creative team (Christopher Hastings andGurihiru) was announced, starting in April 2016,[148][149] with awebtoonspin-off,It's Jeff!, premiering in September 2021.[150]
| Title | Material collected | Published date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gwen Stacy: Beyond Amazing | Gwen Stacy #1–2/3 (2020) and Giant-Size Gwen Stacy #1 (2022) | November 13, 2024 | 978-1302954567 |
In June [1973], Marvel embarked on a story that would have far-reaching effects.The Amazing Spider-Man artist John Romita, Sr. suggested killing off Spider-Man's beloved Gwen Stacy in order to shake up the book's status quo.
The idea of beloved supporting characters meeting their deaths may be standard operating procedure now but in 1973 it was unprecedented...Gwen's death took villainy and victimhood to an entirely new level.
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