Gwen Stacy
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Gwendolyne "Gwen" Stacy[1] is a fictional character that has been 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 (Dec. 1965).
A blonde college co-ed, Gwen was the first true love of the nerdy Peter Parker (Spider-Man). His adversary the Green Goblin murdered Gwen in the The Amazing Spider-Man #121 (June 1973). Both the decision to kill Gwen and the method in which Marvel implemented it are controversial among fans, but it is still a pivotal point in both Spider-Man’s history and in American comic books in general. Spider-Man writers and fans disagree about who is the character’s “one true love,” Gwen or his subsequent wife Mary Jane Watson.
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[edit] Fictional character history
[edit] Peter Parker's girlfriend
Gwen first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #31 (December 1965); Peter Parker met Gwen while they were undergraduates at Empire State University. Initially, Peter's problems as Spider-Man made him ignore her advances, and in return, she felt insulted by his aloofness. Gradually, however, a romance developed; Gwen, a science major, seemed to appreciate Peter's intellectual personality, different from that of jocks like Flash Thompson and preppies like Harry Osborn. She was Peter Parker's first true love.
Their romance became more complicated when her father, Police Captain George Stacy, was killed by falling debris from a battle which involved Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus (The Amazing Spider-Man #90). Gwen blamed Spider-Man for that event, which set back their relationship for a while. Gwen left for Europe to deal with her loss. When she returned from Europe, Gwen and Peter resumed their relationship, but it would not last for long.
[edit] The Death of Gwen Stacy
In The Amazing Spider-Man #121 (June 1973), "The Night Gwen Stacy Died" by writer Gerry Conway and penciller Gil Kane, Gwen Stacy was held captive on a tower of the Brooklyn Bridge by the Green Goblin (Norman Osborn, who is aware that Peter Parker is Spider-Man). Spider-Man arrives to fight the Green Goblin, and when the Goblin throws Gwen Stacy off the bridge, Spider-Man catches her by a leg with a string of web. He initially thinks he has saved her, but when he pulls her back onto the bridge, he realizes she is dead. In shock and anger, Spider-Man nearly kills the Green Goblin in retaliation, but in the end chooses not to do so. The Goblin still seemingly dies when he is impaled by his own Goblin Glider in an attempt to kill Spider-Man.
The death of Gwen Stacy had enormous impact in the world of comic-book fandom.[citation needed] Before her, except possibly as part of an origin story, superheroes simply did not fail so catastrophically; nor did a loved one of the superhero die so suddenly, without warning, or so violently. Because of this, some fans and historians take the death of Gwen Stacy as one marker of the end of the period they refer to as the Silver Age of Comic Books.
It is not clear whether it was the shock of the fall or the sudden stop which killed her. This is a controversial issue, because if it was the sudden stop, then in effect Spider-Man himself killed her. Physicist James Kalakios shows in his book The Physics of Superheroes that, consistent with Newton's Laws of Motion, it was the sudden stop that killed Gwen Stacy.[2] The comic book Civil War: Casualties of War: Captain America/Iron Man (2007) concurred that the proximate cause of death was the sudden stop during a high-velocity fall.
[edit] After death
Gwen Stacy’s death had enormous repercussions. Mary Jane Watson, a close friend of Gwen Stacy, was much affected by Gwen's death; her personality became much more serious. Gwen's death also drew Peter and Mary Jane into a closer friendship, and eventually a romantic relationship. The Green Goblin's status in Spider-Man's rogues gallery was much elevated by his murder of Gwen Stacy. Before the death of Gwen Stacy, Doctor Octopus had seemed to be Spider-Man's primary archnemesis, but the death of Gwen Stacy pushed the Green Goblin into that role. Furthermore, the Punisher, who has gone on to become an important character in the Marvel Universe since his first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #129 (Feb. 1974), was initially created as a character to hunt down Spider-Man.
The Punisher was manipulated into believing that Spider-Man had killed Gwen Stacy by a supervillain called the Jackal. The Jackal was once Miles Warren, a former professor of Gwen, who had secretly been in love with her. Following her death, Warren grew increasingly insane and adopted the persona of the Jackal; he also became completely obsessed with Gwen and created a clone of her.
[edit] Gwen Stacy’s clone
Approximately two years (comic book time) after her death[3], Gwen Stacy reappeared, perfectly healthy but with no memory of the time since her death. The Jackal, manipulated by Norman Osborn, had managed to create a clone of Gwen, and used her as part of a plot against Spider-Man in the original Clone Saga. At the end of that story, Gwen’s clone left to find a new life for herself.
In the 1988 crossover "The Evolutionary War," Gwen's clone is captured by the High Evolutionary, who had once been Miles Warren's teacher. The High Evolutionary is determined to discover how Warren had been able to perfect cloning. In the process, he discovers that Warren had not, but had instead created a genetic virus (the "carrion virus") that transforms already living beings.
Spider-Man investigates Warren's old laboratory and discovers that Carrion had in fact been a genetic weapon created by Warren. Another former student of Warren's, Malcolm McBride, is infected with the virus and becomes the second Carrion.
The High Evolutionary tells Spider-Man that this Gwen Stacy is in fact not a clone but a woman named Joyce Delaney whom Warren had altered. Beautiful Dreamer, a follower of the High Evolutionary, is said to restore Delaney's memories, but later events suggest that the High Evolutionary had lied and Delaney never existed.
During the second Clone Saga, Gwen Stacy's clone, now married to a clone of Prof. 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, and returns to New York City. During this storyline, she again disappears from Spider-Man's life.
In many of her appearances, Gwen Stacy's clone has appeared somewhat confused by her contradictory and bizarre memories.
[edit] Other clones
Another Gwen clone is created and introduced in The Amazing Spider-Man #399 (March 1995). This clone believes she is the real Gwen. She is killed in Spider-Man vol. 1, #56 (March 1995) the next issue of the story arc.
In Deadpool vol.3, #0 (Dec. 1998) four Gwen clones appear, created by Arnim Zola. Afterward, they went to live with the title character in San Francisco, California.
[edit] Spider-Man: Blue
Gwen and, to a lesser extent, Mary Jane, are the focus of the critically-acclaimed Spider-Man: Blue, a 2002 limited series by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale that retells the beginning of Peter's relationship with the two women.
The frame narrative has Peter, several years after her death, on Valentine's Day recording a voice "letter" to his dead love.
[edit] Dead Girl
In the 2006 limited series X-Statix Presents: Dead Girl, Gwen, along with Moira MacTaggert and Mockingbird, are in Heaven, where they are members of the Dead Sisters' Book Club. They assist Doctor Strange, Dead Girl, and a small group of dead heroes on a mission to the lower depths of Hell.
[edit] Sins Past
The controversial story arc "Sins Past" by J. Michael Straczynski in The Amazing Spider-Man #509-514 (Aug. 2004 - Jan. 2005) revealed that Norman Osborn, the Green Goblin's alter ego, fathered twins, a boy and a girl, with Gwen Stacy, to whom she gave birth while in France shortly before her death. She vowed she would raise them with Peter, and, seeing Norman's disregard for his sick son Harry, refused to allow Norman access to them.
Seeing her as a threat to his potential heirs, the Green Goblin killed Gwen Stacy. Norman Osborn then raised Gwen's two children, a boy and a girl Gwen had named Gabriel and Sarah, respectively. Due to Norman's enhanced blood, the twins aged about 2-3 times faster than normal and became adults within the span of a few years (they are speculated to be between 5 to 9 years old). Osborn told them that Peter was really their father and was responsible for their mother's death.
The twins then attacked Spider-Man, and he subsequently deduced their true identities. However, seeking to confirm it, Peter went to Gwen's grave and dug up a sample of her DNA to compare to blood samples he'd acquired during his initial fights with the twins. Spider-Man told Mary Jane about his initial encounter with Gabriel and Sarah, whereupon Mary Jane revealed that she knew about Norman's involvement with Gwen and told all to Peter. She had kept it from him all these years because Gwen was distraught and begged her not to say anything. By the story's end, Peter had told the twins the truth. Sarah believed Peter — concluding that he would never have dug up Gwen's grave to acquire a DNA sample if he thought there was even a chance that he was their father- but Gabriel did not. Gabriel took the Green Goblin formula and briefly became the Grey Goblin. His glider exploded when it was shot by Sarah and he washed up on a beach with no memory of what happened.
[edit] Controversy
Straczynski later stated that he originally wanted Peter Parker to be the father of Gwen's kids but the editors vetoed the idea. They felt that it would age Peter Parker too much if he had two adult children. It was then decided by the whole creative and editorial team that Norman Osborn would be the father. [1]
The story was controversial because it contradicted established continuity: none of the original issues upon which it was based (The Amazing Spider-Man #89 to 122) contain any hint of an attraction between Gwen and Norman (she never once referred to him by anything other than Mr. Osborn), nor any indication that she is pregnant or had ever been unfaithful to Peter. Her thought balloons at the time were clear indicators that Gwen seemed only to have eyes for Peter Parker - although this could easily be interpreted as Self-Denial that she had ever been unfaithful. Her aunt and uncle invite her to live with them in London in #93 after her father's death (which takes place in Amazing Spider-Man #90), and the apparent reason she stays away so long is given in Amazing Spider-Man #98 as grief and anger over his death. In addition, she does not seem to be pregnant when seen in #95. Another discrepancy appears in the fact that the trip itself lasted from Amazing Spider-Man #93 to #98; the dialogue indicates that she was gone for no more than a few weeks rather than the several months suggested in "Sins Past." The final and last discrepancy occurs in that Mary Jane says in #512 that "Gwen had barely gotten back into town when we found out that Harry Osborn had overdosed on LSD,"; in actual fact this event happens over twenty issues after her return, in #120.
[edit] Alternate continuities
[edit] Ultimate Gwen Stacy
In the Ultimate Marvel continuity, Gwen Stacy first appeared in Ultimate Spider-Man #14 (December 2001). She is a teenage girl at Peter's high school who soon became close friends with Peter. In big contrast to her classic counterpart, Gwen was often loud, moody and rebellious and often dressed in risque clothing. In this continuity, her eyes are amber-colored.[4]
In her first appearance she gave a rousing speech on 'super powers' in today's societies; in the next issue she pulled a knife on Kong, a classmate who was bullying Peter. She was suspended from school temporarily.
Gwen became friends with Peter after that (at one point stopping by his house for help after a possible suicide attempt), which led Mary-Jane Watson to believe that Gwen was vying for his affections.
Gwen was later taken in by Aunt May after her father, Police Captain John Stacy, was killed by a burglar wearing a Spider-Man costume. Her estranged mother did not want to take her in. Her living in the Parker house created more tension between Peter and his girlfriend, and lead to their temporary break-up. Peter's relationship with Gwen was further complicated by her hatred of Spider-Man, whom she blamed for her father's death. Like Peter, Gwen is an outsider with no friends and she has expressed a desire to be accepted by her peers. When Peter found his friend Eddie Brock from his early childhood days, Gwen confided in him about her feelings of isolation. Eddie then tried to kiss her and Gwen was furious due to the age difference and the fact that Eddie wasn't taking the fact that her father had recently passed away into consideration while he pursued her. Peter returned to their home later that night to find Gwen sitting on the couch in a bad mood. She explained what happened and how she believes Eddie to be a bad person.
Gwen had a lot of pent up anger which she directed at Spiderman so when she eventually learned that Peter was Spider-Man she was furious and waited all night for him to return home. When he did, the angry Gwen pulled her father's gun on him. Fortunately, he managed to convince her that he was not to blame for her father's death. Gwen ran off but returned shortly afterwards, apologising for her behaviour. She explained that she is just really mad at everything at the moment and that 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 agreed to keep his secret.
Gwen Stacy died in Ultimate Spider-Man #62. Before her death, she made peace with Mary Jane and assured her that she never had romantic feelings for Peter, and that she considered him just as a friend (or, in her words, "her superhero little brother"). She was killed by Carnage, a vampiric monster made by the splicing of genetic material from Peter Parker, his father, and Dr. Curt Connors. Although Peter was not in the area when she died, he still felt some responsibility for her death, as he allowed Dr. Connors to use his genetic material for experimentation.
At the end of the arc, there was an issue that dealt with Gwen's death. Flash made an off-color remark about Gwen's passing, and it infuruated MJ to the point where she physically attacked Flash. Peter and Liz tried to restrain MJ and calm her down and Kong found himself involved also which landed the five of them in detention. It was revealed that Flash had a crush on Gwen all along, and he felt bad that he never got the nerve to ask her out.
Also, upon cleaning out Gwen's locker, Peter and MJ discover a photo of them smiling with Gwen hanging inside the locker, dating from a time the three skipped school earlier.
Recently, a girl seeming to be Gwen Stacy appeared in Ultimate Spider-Man #98. Says Ultimate artist Mark Bagley, "Gwen’s return is integral to the Clone storyline and is basically a way to rock Peter's world...again."[5] The current Gwen has blue eyes, not amber. In this issue "Gwen" appeared to have no memory of her "death" and believed she was in a hospital, from which she had escaped. In issue #100, after a raft of revelations, the stress of the situation enrages "Gwen" and she transforms into what appears to be Ultimate Carnage before leaping out the window. (On a side note, it was revealed as far back as the thoughts page in issue #50 of Ultimate Spider-Man that Gwen would become Carnage.)
In the next issue, "Richard Parker" claims that "Gwen" should not have met Peter at all, and was merely an experiment in stem 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. Later is revealed, that she was taken into custody by Nick Fury, along with the Scorpion, and it's not known what's gong to happen to her, because Fury says to his leading scientist: "Get to work...".
Early in the series, Ultimate Spider-Man #25 (October 2002) paid homage to Gwen Stacy's death in the Earth-616 continuity, although Gwen herself was not involved. The Green Goblin tossed Mary Jane off the Queensboro Bridge, and 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.
[edit] What If: The Other
At the very end of Peter David's "What If: The Other" one-shot, Peter Parker, now calling himself "Poison", uses part of the Venom symbiote attached to him in a resurrection of Gwen Stacy. She takes the appearance of Carnage.
[edit] House of M
In the House of M storyline, in which the Scarlet Witch altered reality to give as many people as possible their greatest desires, 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 developer Norman Osborn.
When the world was returned to normal at the conclusion of the story, Gwen remained dead and Mary Jane was again married to Peter - though Peter still had the memories of an idyllic life (and child) with Gwen. The shock of having his true life's memories restored was devastating to Peter, prompting him to nearly beat Quicksilver to death out of anger for what he'd prompted his sister to do.
Ironically, Mary Jane Watson, who was a very popular actress, played Gwen Stacy in the film adaptation of Spider-Man's life story.
[edit] Age of Apocalypse
In the two-issue mini-series X-Universe which detailed what happened to the rest of the Marvel Universe during the Age of Apocalypse, Gwen Stacy was never killed by the Green Goblin but instead became the bodyguard of Donald Blake, who, in this reality, had never become the Mighty Thor.
[edit] Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane
Gwen Stacy first appeared at the end of Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane # 5.
Gwen Stacy is the new girl at school and, as Peter Parker showed her around the school, she quickly became close friends with him. Mary-Jane Watson discovered her feelings for Peter and was about to tell him, when she discovered Gwen and Peter's blossoming relationship. She then decided to hide her feelings and didn't tell Peter. Gwen has provided a rival for his affections. In Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane #9, Peter and Gwen have taken their relationship to the next level by sharing a tender kiss, much to the dismay of Mary Jane. They are now currently dating with Mary Jane doing everything in her power to avoid the happy new couple.
[edit] Spider-Man Unlimited Animated Comic
In the fourth issue of the comic book based on the Spider-Man Unlimited animated series, Spidey encounters a Counter-Earth version of Gwen Stacy. She helps him escape a hidden paradise known as The Haven.
[edit] In other media
[edit] Television
Gwen was deliberately excluded from the 1990s animated series, as the creators felt they could neither allow her to live nor deliberately include a character who was going to die. As in the later movie, a variant of the bridge scene occurs with Gwen replaced by Mary Jane. Both Mary Jane and the Goblin are cast into a dimensional void in the forty-first episode of the series, because they couldn't get killed, due to the show's censorship.
Later in the series finale, Spider-Man visits a parallel universe, in which Peter Parker (Armored Spider-Man) is a wealthy industrialist similar to Iron Man. Gwen Stacy is his fiancée, and Spider-Man reflects that his alternate self is engaged to a woman he doesn't even know. Spider-Carnage teams up with this dimension's Wilson Fisk in a plan to conquer or destroy every parallel reality (Spider-Carnage actually lied to Fisk that they were going to take over all reality).
When Gwen tries to help Spider-Man stop Spider-Carnage, even after realizing that the Spider-Man we know isn't her fianceé, by using a sonic gun to kill him, Fisk foils the plan by removing the gun and Spider-Carnage kidnaps her, threatening to everyone present if one of them follows him, she'll die first before he destroys all reality, thus having Fisk realize about Spider-Carnage's real intentions.
Spider-Man then understands that Spider-Carnage isn't truly evil as he is confused because in his reality, his Uncle Ben and Aunt May have died and he is believed to be a clone to the Scarlet Spider, also known as Ben Reilly. So, Spider-Man then goes to the Uncle Ben who was alive in this reality (Since this world's Spider-Man has never failed at anything, Uncle Ben was still alive) and tells him everything about Spider-Carnage's plan. Meanwhile, Spider-Carnage tells Gwen on how he'll destroy all reality - he's mixed up his dimension's Time Dilation Accelerator insides, thus creating an imbalance. So if a portal is created by the Accelerator, it will not lead to anywhere - it will vapourize anything that goes in there. Spider-Man and Uncle Ben then arrive and Ben reforms Spider-Carnage while Spider-Man frees Gwen. Spider-Carnage prevents the destruction of all reality but unfortunately cannot remove the Carnage symbiote. Gwen then witnesses as Spider-Carnage jumps into an unbalanced portal, killing himself by vapourizing himself and thus committing suicide. Gwen was voiced by Mary Kay Bergman.
[edit] Novels
Gwen Stacy appears in the sequel to the Mary Jane novel, where she is a nerdy and unpopular teenage girl who Mary Jane gives an extreme makeover, revealing Gwen Stacy's pretty face. However, Peter and Gwen start getting very close, and Gwen serves as a rival for MJ. In the end, Gwen and Mary Jane become friends.
[edit] Film
In Spider-Man (2002), the Green Goblin holds Mary Jane above the Queensboro Bridge, not Gwen Stacy. Spider-Man is successful in saving Mary Jane when the Goblin throws her off, swinging down to catch her before she falls. The last name "Stacy" appears on a headstone in the cemetery during the funeral of Norman Osborn.
In the official novelization of Spider-Man 2 by Peter David, Gwen Stacy appears briefly on page 106. While Peter is rambling during class about not making it on time for MJ's play, a girl described as a "pretty, young student, named Gwen Stacy" whispers "Huh?" to Peter. He shrugs her off and continues to think about MJ.
Gwen Stacy will be portrayed by Bryce Dallas Howard in Spider-Man 3, set for release on May 4th, 2007. She will be a new love interest for the title character, serving as a rival to Mary Jane Watson.[6] She will also be in a relationship with Eddie Brock, Junior.[7] Otherwise, she is implied to be similar to her mainstream comic book counterpart. It has been confirmed by Sam Raimi that Gwen Stacy will not be killed in the film.
[edit] See also
- The Night Gwen Stacy Died
- Spider-Man supporting characters
- Portrayal of Women in Comic Books
- Woman in Refrigerator syndrome
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ a b Gwen Stacy's full first name was given in Amazing Spider-Man #62 as "Gwendolyn" and in #90 as "Gwendolyne." Both issues were written by Stan Lee.
- ^ Inventing Tomorrow (University of Minnesota Institute of Technology magazine), Spring 2002: "Jim Kakalios enlists the aid of costumed crimefighters to teach critical thinking in an imaginative freshman seminar", by Paul Sorenson
- ^ http://www.spiderfan.org/comics/reviews/spiderman_giant_size/005.html
- ^ In an interview in Wizard Magazine #180 (2006), Mark Bagley remarked that there were some "coloring issues" in Gwen's first appearances, and that he did not intend her eyes to be yellow.
- ^ http://www.wizarduniverse.com/magazine/wizard/001060044.cfm
- ^ http://forums.superiorpics.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/612931/Main/610896/
- ^ "Ultimate Superhero Preview", Empire, 2006-09-29, pp. 78, 80, 81, 230. Retrieved on 2006-09-29.
[edit] References
Categories: Comics articles needing cleanup | Cleanup from March 2007 | Articles with unsourced statements since February 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | 1965 introductions | Marvel Comics supporting characters | Fictional Americans in Marvel Comics | Fictional characters from New York City | Fictional clones | Fictional symbionts
