Gwen Stacy

For the Christian metalcore band, see Gwen Stacy (band).

Gwen Stacy
File:Gwenspidey.PNG Gwen and Spider-Man. Art by Steve Rude.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	The Amazing Spider-Man #31 (December 1965)
Created by	Stan Lee Steve Ditko
In-story information
Full name	Gwendolyn Stacy
Supporting character of	Spider-Man Ultimate Spider-Man Dead Girl

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 (December 1965).

A blonde college co-ed, Gwen becomes the first love of Peter Parker (Spider-Man). The Green Goblin kills Gwen in The Amazing Spider-Man #121 (June 1973). Both the decision to kill Gwen and the method in which Marvel implemented it remain controversial among fans, but the death became 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. In the 2007 feature film Spider-Man 3, she is played by Bryce Dallas Howard.

Fictional character history

Background

Gwen first appears in The Amazing Spider-Man #31 (December 1965). Peter Parker meets Gwen while both study as undergraduates at Empire State University. Initially, with Aunt May in the hospital, Peter feels troubled and ignores her advances, and in return, she feels insulted by his aloofness. She dates both Flash Thompson and Harry Osborn while pining for Peter. Gradually, however, a romance develops; Gwen, a science major, seems to appreciate Peter's intellectual personality, different from that of jocks like Flash Thompson and preppies like Harry Osborn. In the comic books, she is Peter Parker's first love (but not in the recent Spider-man films).

Their relationship almost ends as it begins. A mind-controlled Captain Stacy gets into a fight with Peter, which Gwen observes. Thinking Peter attacked her father, she halts the relationship. Gwen eventually learns the truth and she and Peter reconciled. Peter would frequently feel insecure whenever he saw Flash Thompson with Gwen, and many misunderstandings ensued.

Their romance becomes more complicated when her father, Police Captain George Stacy, gets killed by falling debris from a battle which involved Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus (The Amazing Spider-Man #90). Gwen blames Spider-Man for that event, which sets back their relationship for a while. Gwen leaves for Europe to "deal with" her loss. She tries to get Peter to propose to her and convince her to stay, but his guilt stops him from doing so. By the time he changes his mind, she is already gone.

Peter goes to London to see Gwen, but has to go into action there as Spider-Man. Realizing she will put two and two together if she sees Peter and Spider-Man in London, Peter leaves without seeing Gwen. Gwen eventually realizes her error in trying to pressure Peter into marriage, so she returns to New York and they get back together.

The two start planning their future together and even discuss marriage a few times.

The Death of Gwen Stacy

Main article: The Night Gwen Stacy Died

In The Amazing Spider-Man #121 (June 1973), by writer Gerry Conway and penciller Gil Kane, the Green Goblin (Norman Osborn, who has identified Peter Parker as Spider-Man) holds Gwen Stacy captive on a tower of the George Washington Bridge. Spider-Man arrives to fight the Green Goblin, and when the Goblin throws Gwen Stacy off the bridge, Spider-Man catches her by her 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 has already died. Peter is unsure whether the whiplash from her sudden stop broke her neck or if the fall killed her, but he blames himself for her death regardless. (The Goblin does state that a fall from that height would kill anyone, and in the 1994 graphic novel Marvels, police confirmed this.) 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, and would not return for nearly three hundred issues.

The death of Gwen Stacy had an enormous impact in the world of comic-book fandom. 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.

In the real world, physicist James Kakalios shows in his book The Physics of Superheroes that, consistent with Newton's laws of motion, the sudden stop would have killed Gwen Stacy. 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. An issue of Peter Parker/Spider-Man revisits the issue, and further confirms that Gwen died due to an unforeseen error on Spider-Man's part: his webbing, at that time, was designed specifically for use by Spider-Man (who had increased strength that allowed him to handle the high-velocity falls that he routinely faced) -- but Gwen Stacy's neck snapped from the sudden jolt.

During a battle with the Sinister Twelve, the Green Goblin captures Mary Jane and takes her to another bridge, throwing her over the side just as he had Gwen; however, this time Peter succeeds in saving MJ by using multiple web-strands, catching Mary Jane by every major joint in the body and thus providing her with enough support to avoid any fatal injuries.

After death

Gwen Stacy's death has enormous repercussions. Mary Jane Watson, a close friend of Gwen Stacy, feels the loss of Gwen deeply and becomes a more serious person. Gwen's death also draws Peter and Mary Jane into a closer friendship, and eventually to romance and marriage.

The Green Goblin's murder of Gwen Stacy greatly elevates his status in Spider-Man's rogues' gallery. Before her death, Doctor Octopus had seemed Spider-Man's primary nemesis, but Gwen's death pushed the Green Goblin into that role.

Furthermore, the Punisher (who would go on to become an important character in the Marvel Universe after his first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #129 (February 1974)), was initially created as a character to hunt down Spider-Man. The Jackal manipulates The Punisher into believing that Spider-Man killed Gwen Stacy. The Jackal, Miles Warren in disguise, a former professor of Gwen's, was secretly in love with her. Following her death, Warren had grown increasingly insane and adopted the persona of the Jackal and he also became obsessed with Gwen.

In the fourth and final issue of the miniseries Marvels (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, demonstrated during a brief Atlantean invasion of Manhattan, convinces Sheldon of the purpose of the "Marvels" (superheroes) - beyond petty human jealousies and spite, they genuinely exist to protect innocents such as Gwen. He resolves to write a book to praise the heroes and what they should mean to humanity. But the Green Goblin kidnaps Gwen and holds her hostage to ensure that Spider-Man will challenge him. Sheldon, frantically following the resulting chase in a taxi, arrives at the George Washington Bridge in time to see Spider-Man fight the Goblin and to see Gwen accidentally knocked off the bridge and killed, despite (and tragically because of) Spider-Man's desperate attempt to save her. Sheldon's faith in the Marvels is shattered, as Sheldon cannot reconcile Spider-Man's failure to save Gwen with what he sees as the purpose of the heroes. Sheldon decides that he's done enough and retires, but not before passing on the body of his work to his assistant Marcie.

Clone

Approximately two years after her death, Gwen Stacy reappears, perfectly healthy but with no memory of the time since her death. The Jackal has managed to create a clone of Gwen, and uses her as part of a plot against Spider-Man in the original Clone Saga. At the end of that story, Gwen’s clone leaves to find a new life for herself.

In the 1988 crossover "The Evolutionary War", the High Evolutionary, who had once been Miles Warren's teacher, captures Gwen's clone. 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 identifies Carrion as a genetic weapon developed by Warren. Another former student of Warren's, Malcolm McBride, is infected with the virus and becomes the second Carrion.

The High Evolutionary identifies this Gwen Stacey to Spider-Man as in fact not a clone but a woman named Joyce Delaney whom Warren had altered. Beautiful Dreamer, a follower of the High Evolutionary, allegedly restored 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 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, 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. As of 2009 this "clone" of Gwen has yet to re-appear since her role in the second Clone Saga.

Other clones

Another Gwen clone appears in The Amazing Spider-Man #399 (March 1995). This clone believes she is the real Gwen. She dies from clone degeneration in Spider-Man vol. 1, #56 (March 1995), the next issue of the story arc.

Deadpool vol.3, #0 (December 1998) reveals that the evil geneticist Arnim Zola obtained samples of the DNA of various superhumans for cloning purposes. These experiments, discovered by the mercenary Deadpool, also involve four clones of Gwen Stacy. Zola allows Deadpool to take the four Gwens to his San Francisco base of operations, where they serve and entertain him. They later die in a plane crash. In the "American Son" story arc, one of Osborn's test subjects was labelled "G Stacy"

Spider-Man: Blue

Gwen and (to a lesser extent) Mary Jane become 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.

Dead Girl

In the 2006 limited series X-Statix Presents: Dead Girl, Gwen, along with Moira MacTaggert and Mockingbird, appear in Heaven as 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.

Sins Past and Sins Remembered

The story-arc "Sins Past" by J. Michael Straczynski in The Amazing Spider-Man #509-514 (August 2004 - January 2005) reveals 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 named Gabriel and Sarah. Due to Norman's enhanced blood, the twins aged about 2 to 3 times faster than normal and became adults within the span of a few years (speculation puts them at between 5 and 9 years old). Osborn told them that Peter was really their father and was responsible for their mother's death.

The twins then attack Spider-Man, and he subsequently deduces their true identities. However, in seeking to confirm it, Peter goes to Gwen's grave and digs up a sample of her DNA to compare to the twin's DNA (obtained from the envelope of a letter they had sent him). Spider-Man tells Mary Jane about his initial encounter with Gabriel and Sarah, whereupon Mary Jane reveals that she knew about Norman's involvement with Gwen and tells all to Peter. She has kept it from him all these years because Gwen was distraught and begged her not to say anything. By the story's end, Peter has told the twins the truth. Sarah believes Peter and concludes 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 does not. Gabriel takes the Green Goblin formula and briefly becomes the Grey Goblin. His glider explodes when it is shot by Sarah and he washes up on a beach with no memory of what happened.

"Sins Remembered," a follow-up story to "Sins Past" (published in The Spectacular Spider-Man (Vol. 2) issues #23-26, December 2004-March 2005 and written by Samm Barnes with art by Scot Eaton) spins directly out of the events of Amazing Spider-Man #509-514. Spider-Man locates Sarah in Paris, where Sarah has her brother (suffering from amnesia) restrained in her home. With the help of Spider-Man and Interpol, Sarah helps build a case against a criminal called Dupres in exchange for the government's help with her rapid-aging disease which is causing her and Gabriel severe headaches. However, during this time Gabriel escapes Sarah and Spider-Man and has yet to be seen again. This story arc was later collected as a trade paperback in 2005 as The Spectacular Spider-Man Vol. 5: Sins Remembered (ISBN 0-7851-1628-1).

Development of "Sins Past"

Straczynski later stated that he originally wanted to make Peter Parker 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. (However, given that Peter was romantically involved with Gwen at the time she bore the now-adult children, the story as published still ages him in much the same fashion.) The whole creative and editorial team then decided that Norman Osborn would be the father.

A seeming discrepancy exists with several earlier stories, including "Spider-Man: Revenge of the Green Goblin" (2002), in that Norman Osborn refers to Harry Osborn as his "only son", while "Sins Past" reveals that he has twin heirs. Osborn says "I have no heir, my son is dead...and my grandson Normie is much too young to carry on my stead."

In an apparent chronological discrepancy, Mary Jane Watson says in #512, "Gwen had barely gotten back into town when we found out that Harry Osborn had overdosed on LSD", while the original story depicts Stacy back for over 20 issues' worth of time and events prior to Osborn's overdose. However, Straczynski reasons that because #116-118 were a slightly modified reprint of Spectacular Spider-Man Magazine #1, those three months are "unaccounted" for—a blank slate in chronology terms.

In an e-mail to popular comic book website Newsarama, Straczynski claimed that he regretted the version of Sins Past that went to press, and that he had hoped to "retcon" it out of continuity during the events of the recent One More Day storyline: "I wanted to retcon the Gwen twins out of continuity, which was something I always assumed I could do at the end of my run. I wasn't allowed to do this, and yes, it pissed me off. I felt I was left holding the bag for something I wanted to get rid of, and taking the rap for a writing lapse that I had never committed."

In the original plans for One More Day, the story would have ended with Gwen Stacy being resurrected by Mephisto's reality-warping spell along with Harry Osborn, but it was eventually decided to let her remain dead.

Other versions

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, the Green Goblin never killed Gwen Stacy; instead she became the bodyguard of Donald Blake, who, in this reality, had never become the Mighty Thor. Gwen proves handy with a rifle.

House of M

Main article: Spider-Man: House of M

In the House of M storyline, in which the Scarlet 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 developer Norman Osborn. Mary Jane Watson, a popular actress in this reality, played Gwen Stacy in the film adaptation of Spider-Man's life story.

Marvel Adventures Spider-Man

Gwen Stacy first appeared in issue 53 as the new student of Midtown High, before Emma Frost and Sophia Sanduval entered the school to find Peter Parker, who they found out was Spider-Man. When a group of thugs(set-up by Emma) entered the school and demanded to hand-over the money, Gwen stood up to them by throwing a book at them, enough time for Peter to change into his Spider-Man costume. She is revealed to be an old friend of Peter and is also hinted to have a crush on him. She also feels slightly jealous when she heard Peter is dating Sophia Sanduval, a mutant also known as Chat.

Spider-Man: Fairy Tales

Issue #1 of Spider-Man: Fairy Tales follows the fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood. Mary Jane is the part of Little Red Riding Hood, and Peter is one of the woodsmen. Gwen Stacy has been previously killed by the wolf.

Issue #4 is an adaption of Cinderella with Gwen as Princess Gwendolyn. She falls in love with the masked "Prince of Arachne," who is revealed to be Peter Parker, servant to Sir Osborn, but is killed during a fight between Osborn and Parker.

Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane

Gwen Stacy first appears at the end of Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane #5.

Gwen Stacy is the new girl at school and, as Peter Parker shows her around the school, she quickly becomes close friends with him. Mary-Jane Watson realizes her feelings for Peter and is about to tell him, when she discovers Gwen and Peter's blossoming relationship. She then decides to hide her feelings and doesn't tell Peter. Gwen has provided a rival for his affections. In Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane #9, Peter and Gwen take their relationship to the next level by sharing a tender kiss, much to the dismay of Mary Jane. They date for a time, though Gwen breaks up with Peter when she learns that Mary Jane is the girl he truly loves. MJ, attempting to fix this, breaks up with Peter and reunites with Harry, but Peter cannot commit to Gwen and she is unwilling to accept him as a friend and not a boyfriend.

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.

Powerless

In this mini-series, Gwen Stacey 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.

Ultimate Gwen Stacy

File:Gwenstacyultimate.JPG

Ultimate Gwen Stacy. Art by Mark Bagley.

In the Ultimate Marvel continuity, Gwen Stacy first appears in Ultimate Spider-Man #14 (December 2001) as a teenage girl at Peter's high school. In stark contrast to her classic counterpart, Gwen is often strong-willed and rebellious and often dresses in punk style. In this continuity, her eyes are initially amber-colored.

In her first appearance she gives a rousing speech on 'super powers' in today's societies; in the next issue she pulls a knife on Kong, a classmate who was bullying Peter. She is suspended from school temporarily. Gwen becomes friends with Peter after that (at one point stopping by his house for help after a possible suicide attempt), which leads Mary Jane Watson to believe that Gwen is vying for his affections.

Gwen is later taken in by Aunt May after her father, police captain John Stacy, is killed by a burglar wearing a Spider-Man costume. 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. Like Peter, Gwen is an outsider with no friends and she has expressed a desire to be accepted by her peers. When Peter finds his friend Eddie Brock from his early childhood days, Gwen confides in him about her feelings of isolation. Eddie then tries to kiss her and Gwen is furious due to the age difference and the fact that Eddie isn't taking the fact that her father has recently died into consideration while he pursues her. Peter returns to their home later that night to find Gwen sitting on the couch in a bad mood. She explains what happened and how she believes Eddie to be a bad person.

Gwen has a lot of pent up anger which she directs at Spider-Man so when she eventually learns that Peter is Spider-Man she is furious and waits all night for him to return home. When he does, the angry Gwen pulls her father's gun on him. Fortunately, he manages to convince her that he is not to blame for her father's death. Gwen runs off but returns shortly afterwards, apologizing for her behavior. She explains 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 agrees to keep his secret.

Gwen Stacy dies in Ultimate Spider-Man #62. Initially Bendis wanted to avoid killing Gwen Stacy because he felt it would be redundant. However, as time went on, Bendis realized she had to die. 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 is killed by Carnage, a vampiric monster made by the splicing of genetic material from Peter Parker, his father, and Dr. Curt Connors. 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, but eventually he takes up his hero identity when his responsibility for the innocent becomes too great to overlook.

At the end of the arc, there was an issue that dealt with Gwen's death. Flash makes an off-color remark about Gwen's passing, and it infuriates MJ to the point where she physically attacks Flash. Peter and Liz try to restrain MJ and calm her down and Kong finds himself involved also, which land the five of them in detention. It is revealed that Flash had a crush on Gwen all along, and he feels 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.

A girl seeming to be Gwen Stacy appears 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."

The current Gwen has blue eyes, not amber. 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" and she transforms into what appears to be Ultimate Carnage before leaping out the window. (On a side note, it is 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 it is revealed that she was taken into custody by Nick Fury, along with the Scorpion, and it's unknown what's going to happen to her. Fury told his leading scientist to "get to work..."

In issue #113, Norman Osborn as the Green Goblin causes a massive prison break from the Triskelion. An inmate appearing to be 'Gwen' walks out amidst the chaos, disappearing in the shadows.

It has been revealed that the creature posing as Gwen Stacy is still the original Ultimate Carnage that Spider-man faced earlier in its run. When Carnage was first introduced he was a monster of instinct, with no intelligence or self awareness, with its only aim to devour the DNA of others to sustain itself. After "devouring" Gwen, this incarnation of Carnage has gone on to mimic her "essence" and now believes itself to be Gwen Stacy.

During War of the Symbiotes, Gwen/Carnage's backstory in the Triskelion is revealed. It is shown that Gwen has been taking some form of therapy with Tony Stark and a team of doctors in the compound. 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 comes and tries to attack Aunt May to get into the house, and retake his Symbiote. In a rage, Spider-Man engages Venom on a nearby rooftop, and Gwen follows behind. 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 SHIELD intervenes, and has her checked, Peter questions Iron Man about how Gwen isn't the real article. Iron Man reassures him that if she is biologically 100% Gwen Stacy, and has her mind, then who are they to say she's anything but Gwen Stacy. Following this, however, SHIELD Director Danvers states that Gwen will remain in SHIELD custody, Peter and May argue for her to come back to live with them,with Tony Stark supporting the Parkers. In Ultimate Spider-Man #129, the Parkers are now helping to rebuild Gwen's life.

Six months after Ultimatum, in Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #1, Gwen is living with the Parkers again and seems to be dating Peter. Why they got together or what happened to Peter and MJ's relationship has yet to be seen.

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.

What If...?

• In "What If" Volume 1 number 24, Peter manages to save Gwen by jumping after her rather than catching her with a web-line. In doing this, he was able to cushion her from the impact as they hit the water and subsequently give her CPR. In the aftermath of this rescue, Gwen sees him without his mask and after explaining himself to her, Peter proposes to Gwen.

In a subsequent confrontation with the Green Goblin in his apartment, Norman Osborn finally fights off his evil side on seeing his son Harry move to protect him regardless of what he's become. Realizing that he can not kill his own son, Norman returns to normal.

However, Peter and Gwen's life is not destined to be a happy one.

During the battle in the warehouse, but before the fight in the apartment an escaping Goblin mailed to "Spider-Man's second greatest enemy" J. Jonah Jameson proof of Spider-Man's real identity. On the day of Peter's wedding to Gwen, Jonah has published the expose and uses it to acquire a warrant for Peter's arrest, thus forcing Peter to escape from the police mere moments after his wedding to Gwen. The shock of her nephew "being that awful Spider-Man" causes Aunt May to have a heart attack as well.

As the issue ends, Gwen departs with Joe 'Robbie' Robertson, who promises Gwen that they will do whatever they can to help Peter after quitting the Bugle and Peter undecided on what to do next.

• In "What If Spider-Man Had Kept His Six Arms?," Spider-Man (whose six-arms mutation was permanent here) was able to prevent Gwen Stacy's death.

• 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.

Marvel Zombies Return

Gwen Stacy appears in Marvel Zombies: Return #1 in an alternate reality that takes place when Peter is still in College (before her death). She is later seen as a zombie after she is zombiefied (off screen) by a zombiefied Sinister Six who were zombiefied themselves by Zombie Spider-Man.

In other media

Television

Spider-Man: The Animated Series

File:Stacyanimated.png

Gwen Stacy in Spider-Man: The Animated Series.

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 could not get killed, due to the show's censorship.

The Spectacular Spider-Man

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Gwen Stacy in The Spectacular Spider-Man.

Gwen Stacy appears in the animated television series, The Spectacular Spider-Man, voiced by Lacey Chabert. Gwen is portrayed as Peter's best friend, though she would like to be his girlfriend, and intellectual equal, as well as a friend of Harry Osborn.

She gains an internship at Dr. Curt Connors's laboratory at Empire State University with Peter and Eddie Brock. After Peter seemingly runs out of the Connors's Lab, where Gwen, Eddie and Martha Connors are attempting a serum which will restore Curt's human side after he transformed into the lizard, to take pictures for the Bugle (in reality, he disappeared to stop the Lizard as Spider-Man) Gwen becomes angry with him.

She forgives Peter by the episode "Competition," when on a bus ride home from Peter's football try-outs she nervously tries to ask him to the Fall Formal. He remarks that he would not go anywhere near the dance before Gwen can ask him to be her date. Days later, Gwen is seen working in the ESU lab when Eddie mentions the dance and inquires if Peter asked her to go with him yet. Gwen tells Eddie that Peter isn't going, so he suggests that he'll take her himself. Gwen is not aware that Peter is in fact going to the Formal, with Mary Jane Watson.

In the episode "Catalysts," she silently feels hurt for thinking Peter lied to her. and she walks away from Eddie.

In the episode "Reaction," Peter (as Spider-Man) ends up saving both MJ and Gwen. She then decides to talk to Peter about Harry's condition, as he is taking the Globulin Green formula.

In the episode "Intervention," after a symbiote-controlled Peter blows her off, Mary Jane gets Gwen to admit to her true feelings for Peter, and urges her to "step up."

This version of Gwen Stacy is much more sensible, compassionate and peaceful than all the other versions. Gwen is often seen as Peter's psychological support and is known by him (and possibly more, including her father) for her infamous "look" by which her glasses lower and she stares at the "victim." To date, this is the only version of Gwen who wears glasses. Her appearance and personality appears to be partially influenced by Debra Whitman's character.

In "Nature vs. Nurture," the finale of the first season, Eddie Brock becomes Venom, ties up and gags Gwen, and then suspends her from a large balloon during the Thanksgiving Day parade just for walking away from him over Peter at the Formal , hoping that she will fall to her death, thus mentally torturing Peter. While Spider-Man battles Venom, the webs holding Gwen to the float eventually snap and she is sent hurtling to the street, but she is saved when Mary Jane Watson, Flash Thompson, Liz Allan, Randy Robertson, and her other classmates using the now-deflated balloon to catch her. In the final moments of the episode, Gwen kisses Peter for the first time after she and her father have Thanksgiving dinner with him and his Aunt May. This making Peter realizing his unknown deep feelings for her, as Venom stated he would go after the one he cared about the most.

However, Liz Allen's own growing affections for Peter leads him to start going out with her instead, much to Gwen's dismay. Gwen is later kidnapped by Electro and used as a hostage by the Master Planner, who forces her father to do as he says. Gwen is saved by Spider-Man however. She soon finds herself the center of the returned Harry Osborn's attention, and winds up his girl, despite her interest in Peter.

When Venom outs Peter's identity, she finds the entire concept hilarious. Peter and Gwen are soon mobbed by a gang of reporters, several of whom believe her to be "Spider-Man's Girl." They hide underneath a statue to escape them, and almost kiss, before Gwen's cell phone interrupts the moment.

Later in "Gangland" she got a facial makeover with Mary Jane's help and has stopped wearing her glasses since.

When the Green Goblin took control of New York, Peter and Gwen finally talked, and agreed to end their respective relationships so they could be together. However, when Harry's father appeared as the real Green Goblin and was killed by Spiderman for framing his own son, Gwen stayed with Harry out of guilt. She and Peter exchange a short glance before she leaves with Harry, thus leaving Peter alone.

Film

File:Howard in Spider-Man 3.jpg

Bryce Dallas Howard as Gwen Stacy in Spider-Man 3.

Spider-Man 3

Gwen Stacy is portrayed by Bryce Dallas Howard in Spider-Man 3. She is a potential new love interest for Peter Parker, serving as a rival to Mary Jane Watson. Gwen is a classmate and lab partner of Peter, who (as Spider-Man) rescues her early in the film from a construction crane accident. She kisses an upside-down Spider-Man (the same way MJ kissed Spider-Man in the rain in the first film) which causes MJ to become angry and hurt. As Peter is at the top of Dr. Connors's quantum mechanics class, he tutors her; Peter told MJ science was not Gwen's strongest subject. She considers Peter a genius and is very fond of him.

She is also in a relationship with Eddie Brock, who (as a friend) took pictures of her so Gwen could be a model. Eddie mistakes her casual friendship for the same kind of romantic attraction he feels for her. This relationship is short-lived, as Peter Parker, under the influence of the symbiote, steals her from Eddie (fueling his hatred for Parker) and goes out on a date with her. He dances with her at the same jazz club where MJ works, but Gwen realizes that Peter is doing this to make MJ jealous and as if Peter has moved on and does not care about her, she apologizes to Mary Jane, and leaves. After the events at the jazz club, Peter rejects the symbiote and it takes hold of Eddie, transforming him into Venom. Venom then kidnaps Mary Jane and tells Peter, "You made me lose my girl. Now I'm gonna make you lose yours." Gwen is later present at Harry Osborn's funeral.

See also

• The Night Gwen Stacy Died
• Spider-Man supporting characters
• Portrayal of women in comics
• Women in Refrigerators

References

• The Grand Comics Database
• The Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators
• Physics of Superheroes 1 - Death of Gwen Stacy