Gwen Stacy

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Character
Name: Gwendolyn "Gwen" Maxine Stacy
Occupation: Human; Mutate (Spider-Gwen series)
Relationships: George Stacy (father);
Peter Parker (love interest), Harry Osborn (friend/love interest), Mary Jane Watson (friend/rival), Flash Thompson (friend/love interest);
Norman Osborn (enemy), Carnage (enemy)
Fandom: Spider-Man (all films, comics, cartoons), The Avengers, Fantastic Four, Ultimate Universe, Dead Girl
Other:
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Gwen Stacy is a character from the Marvel Comics series Spider-Man.

Canon

Gwen Stacy first appears in the The Amazing Spider-Man #31 (December 1965). After her death in The Amazing Spider-Man #121 (June 1973), she was cloned by The Jackal aka Miles Warren, who was one of Gwen's professors and secretly in love with her. Several? clones appeared in and out of Spidey's life due to the ongoing Clone Saga. Gwen appears in various different Marvel Universes, although prominently Ultimate Spider-Man (where Gwen is devoured by Carnage, and the Gwen that appears is actually Carnage but mimics and believes itself to be Gwen) and now Spider-Gwen (a universe where it was Gwen that was bitten by the radioactive spider and became Spider-Woman, not Peter Parker). The latest one is Gwenpool, an "amalgam of Gwen Stacy and Deadpool from a variant cover of "Deadpool's Secret Secret Wars #2".

In the Sam Raimi Spider-Man film Trilogy (2002-2007), Gwen Stacy is played by Bryce Dallas Howard. In the reboot film series, The Amazing Spider-Man, created by Marc Webb (2012-present), Gwen is played by Emma Stone.

Gwen Stacy appears briefly in the cartoon Spider-Man: The Animated Series, appearing as the fiancée of the high-tech armored Spider-Man from another universe. She did not star in the show due to the fact the creators didn't want to add her because they felt that they could neither allow her to live nor deliberately include a character who was going to die.

Gwen Stacy stars in the cartoon The Spectacular Spider-Man. In the series, Gwen is friends with Peter Parker and Harry Osborn. She had romantic feelings for Peter but when he dated Liz Allen she dated Harry. Harry later seeks to cause Peter pain, by playing on Gwen's concern for him after Norman's apparent death; Gwen is forced to stay his girlfriend.

Fandom

Death

Gwen's death in the comic arc "The Night Gwen Stacy Died" is considered one of the Top 10 Most Shocking Comic Book Deaths:

"Here's why "The Night Gwen Stacy Died" is so important: it simply wasn't something that was done back in 1973. Unless it was an origin story, the loved ones of a superhero were generally "off-limits" as far as death was concerned. Did anyone ever really think Lois Lane was in any danger? Certainly not! So, for Gerry Conway and Gil Kane to suddenly and without warning kill of Peter's beautiful, platinum-haired girlfriend in fairly intense "on-panel" fashion was pretty daring. And heartbreaking. Considering how much of Spidey's character is built on loss and guilt, adding Gwen's death to Peter's conscience was a whole 'nother level of mean."[1]

Not only that, but its considered probably the first example of Women in Refrigerators, although the term was coined much later. Her death is often debated. (Examples anyone?)

When Gwen Stacy appeared as a main character in the reboot film series by Emma Stone, many fans feared that the character was going to be killed again. While some fans had hoped that would be the case since that would be closer to the comics and some wanted Mary Jane Watson to appear, others hoped that because it was a different version of Spider-Man, Gwen could survive. This ended up not being the case, because she was later killed in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. There were rumors that even though she died, Gwen/Emma Stone was still going to appear in the third film - suggesting the possibility of a Miles Warren clone storyline. However since Sony made a deal with Marvel Studios to have the Spider-Man character(s) appear in Marvel Cinematic Universe, it's unclear if a third film will actually happen or if Gwen would return.

"It was only in later, non-regular Marvel continuity stories like Ultimate Spider-Man and the animated Spectacular Spider-Man that Gwen was given a richer, more interesting personality. The most recent example of this is The Amazing Spider-Man films, where Emma Stone’s portrayal of Gwen was among the bright spots of those films. When she died at the end of the Amazing Spider-Man 2, it felt like a waste of a character, merely done to give Spider-Man something to cry about and then “man up” and get over. Who really wanted an Amazing Spider-Man 3 when the best thing about those movies was gone?"[2]

Spider-Verse

Trans!Gwen

Fans have been quick to point out the ways in which Across the Spider-Verse, the second film of the Spider-Verse, portrays Gwen as trans-coded. The most common arguments are as follows:

  • The 'Protect Trans Kids' flag in her room
  • A trans flag on her father's cop uniform in one shot. Though this doesn't seem to be a constant feature of his uniform, and has been theorised to be likely simply a reflection of the world's colour scheme.
  • The trans flag colours prominant in many of her scenes, including a pivotal discussion with her father.
  • The wider story of her character arc in the film.
  • The wider messages of the film itself involving the subversion of canon and conformity.

Links:

Pairings

Popular pairings include Gwen/Peter, Gwen/Miles, and Gwen/Mary Jane.

Fanworks

Fics

Earth 616

The Amazing Spider-Man

  • Maggie Fitzgerald and the Saltwater Drip by antistar_e Google politely tells her there are no poisonous spiders in Manhattan. Judging by her symptoms -- fever, superstrength, newfound desire to shove herself into small dark spaces, and sudden reputation as a masked vigilante -- Gwen would beg to differ. [Spider!Gwen AU.]

The Spectacular Spider-Man

MCU/The Amazing Spider-Man

  • Internship by Salmon_Pink, Rated Mature Darcy needs a new intern, and she's determined to keep things professional this time. Thanks to Gwen, it doesn't quite work out how she planned. (Darcy/Gwen)

Fanart

TSAM

Vids

Art Gallery

  • #spidergwen Glitter and glue on canvas by Frank Trevino

  • A version of the "We Can Do It!" poster by Rob Retiano (2017). "Twhip" is an onomatopoeia used for web-slinging in the comics.

Archives & Fannish Links

Resources

References

  1. ^ 10 Most Shocking Comic Book Deaths. Den of Geeks!. Published 12/27/2012. (Accessed February 28, 2015).
  2. ^ Review: Marvel’s SPIDER-GWEN #1 By Eric Diaz for Nerdist.com. Published February 25, 2015. (Accessed February 28, 2015)
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