Nothing says Spider-Man lore like Peter Parker, but what role does Gwen Stacy play in his adventures as Marvel’s favourite web-slinger?
Marvel Comics is notorious for its multiple characters who serve the same purpose. The late great Stan Lee used to say Spider-Man was one of his favourite creations. So, it’s not surprising that Spider-Man gained himself allies. One of those allies is Gwen Stacy.
Gwen has appeared in various mediums over the years. She has gone from strength to strength over time though she once got killed off. Starting as a supporting character of Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man, Gwen has gained her own fan following. Her most famous persona is Spider-Gwen, a female Spider-Man.
Note: The information in this article comes from sources on Gwendolyne Stacy. This article does not include Gwen’s role in video games.
FULL NAME: Gwendolyne Maxine Stacy
NICKNAME(S): Gwen
ALIAS(ES):
- Spider-Woman
- Spider-Gwen
- Gwenom
- White Widow
- Ghost-Spider
COMIC BOOK FRANCHISE: Marvel
CREATOR(S): Stan Lee and Steve Ditko (original character),
FIRST APPEARANCE: The Amazing Spider-Man #31 (December 1965)
ALLIES:
- Miles Morales/Spider-Man
- Jessica Drew/Spider-Woman
- Cindy Moon/Silk
- Samantha Wilson/Captain America
- Peter Parker/Spider-Man
POWERS/ABILITIES:
- Superhuman strength
- Speed
- Durability
- Agility
- Ability to cling to most surfaces
- Use of interdimensional travel
- Healing factor
- Precognitive Spider-Sense
- Uses web shooters to shoot strong spider-web strings from wrists
FAMILY:
- George Stacy (father)
FRIEND(S):
- Mary-Jane Watson
TEAM(S): None
BIOGRAPHY – The Amazing Spider-Man Story Arc – Gwen Stacy
While studying at Empire State University, Gwen Stacy met Spider-Man’s civilian persona, Peter Parker. To make Parker jealous, she dated Flash Thompson and Harry Osborn. Gwen dated Peter after his breakup with Mary Jane Watson.
Gwen was also the daughter of New York Police Captain George Stacy. When she and Peter dated, Captain Stacy supported his daughter’s relationship—however, Gwen’s relationship with Peter strains when George is killed by falling debris. Gwen blames Spider-Man for her dad’s death and leaves to deal with the pain.
Gwen’s demise came when the Green Goblin kidnapped her. He murdered her by taking her to the George Washington Bridge and throwing her off. This occurred in The Amazing Spider-Man issue #121 and was deemed controversial by fans. However, Gwen’s murder was a crucial part of the Silver Age. Before her death, Superheroes always saved civilians.
PAST APPEARANCES IN LIVE-ACTION FILMS
Gwen has appeared in live-action films, but only as a civilian character and never as her heroic alter-ego. In 2007’s Spider-Man 3, Gwen was played by Bryce Dallas Howard. Stacy was Peter’s lab partner and friend. Unfortunately, they were never romantic in this version of the story. Her love interest in this film was Eddie Brock, who became Venom’s villain.
After the cancellation of Spider-Man 4, the story became The Amazing Spider-Man. In the film and its sequel, Gwen is played by Emma Stone. Late in the first film, Gwen’s father, George Stacy, is killed during an altercation with Lizard. In the second film, Gwen dies during Spider-Man’s fight with a deranged Harry Osborn. She falls from a clock tower, almost mirroring her death in the early comics. A mournful Peter hangs up his cowl until he goes up against Rhino.
RECENT APPEARANCES – ANIMATED
Gwen’s first animated appearance came in the series Ultimate Spider-Man in the show’s fourth season. The female web-slinger comes into play when Miles Morales suddenly vanishes. Voiced by Disney Channel star Dove Cameron, Gwen teams up with May Parker, becoming Spider-Woman. However, Gwen doesn’t have powers like her comic book counterpart in this series.
In 2017’s Spider-Man, Laura Bailey takes on the role of Spider-Gwen. During the
2018 was a big year for the character on the small screen. Once again voiced by Dove Cameron, Gwen played a significant role in the first part of the Marvel Rising franchise. Marvel Rising highlights the adventures of under-used female heroes. One of those was Gwen. In Marvel Rising: Initiation, Gwen is Ghost-Spider, a hunted vigilante blamed for the death of her Inhuman best friend, Kevin. She later receives information from S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Daisy Johnson.
On the big screen, Spider-Woman made her first big-screen appearance, voiced by Hailee Steinfeld in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. In the film, Gwen serves as her dimension’s Spider hero. After saving her father, but not being able to save her friend, Peter Parker, Gwen gives up on friendship. Her costume appears similar to her comic book counterpart. However, her civilian appearance has an eyebrow piercing and one side of her blonde hair shaved.
DIFFERENT VERSIONS
Other than Spider-Gwen and Spider-Woman, Gwen has used different aliases during her time as a hero. Here’s a look at a few other aliases she’s used.
Gwenom
Gwenom was created by Dr Elsa Brock (a gender-bent version of Eddie Brock) when the scientist created a Venom symbiote to help cure Harry Osborn, who’d become Lizard. However, Gwen had to give up her powers and was forced to inject Harry with the serum. The symbiote attached itself to Wolverine before connecting to Gwen and forming Gwenom.
Gwen had no control over her newfound ability at first. But, after discovering her dad got beaten up in prison by Rhino, she learns how to control the beast.
Ghost-Spider
In the Marvel: Rising franchise, no one knows Gwen has powers. The police and the media call her Ghost-Spider. While Gwen embraces this name, the media think she’s a killer when her best friend is murdered, and she finds the body. She spends much of the time trying to evade other heroes until Ms Marvel and Squirrel Girl uncover her.
Gwen learns Daisy Johnson knows who she is after seeing her flinch around her dad, Captain George Stacy, who wants her arrested for Kevin’s death.
Gwenpool
A mashup of Gwen Stacy and Deadpool, Gwenpool is Gwen Poole, a mercenary like Deadpool, but shares her appearance with Gwen Stacy. Her suit mirrors Gwen’s civilian appearance.
RECEPTION
As Spider-Woman, Gwen Stacy has become a favourite among fans and reviews. Comics Alliance writer Andrew Wheeler felt the character should remain dead and buried. However, after seeing what she would look like as Spider-Woman, he wanted her back within Spider-Man lore.
Bill Rosemann, the creative director of Marvel Games, states that Gwen Stacy was one of the most incredible modern superhero designs.
IGN writer Jesse Schedeen wrote while reviewing the first issue of the Super-Gwen comic series that Gwen Stacy wasn’t the female version of Peter Parker. He also stated she wasn’t like other female Spider characters, Jessica Drew, Julia Carpenter, Mayday Parker or Anya Corazon. However, Schedeen added that Stacy had her own brand of humour.
Comic Book Resources writer Doug Zawisza says Gwen may be conflicted, but she is humourous and determined. He also adds Gwen comes across as an average human being with human, family, and superhero problems.
Moreover, the character has gained attention from a different feminist perspective. The Daily Dot’s Aja Romano praised the fresh take on the Gwen Stacy character and compared it to the original character saying her revival was a godsend and sending a message that female characters shouldn’t be
PORTRAYALS Of Gwen Stacy
Over the years, Gwen has been in both live-action and animated form, played by various actresses. Here’s a final debrief on those who have played the character.
Dove Cameron – Ultimate Spider-Man vs. The Sinister Six and Marvel Rising
Disney Channel star Dove Cameron has provided the voice of Gwen on two separate occasions. The first was in Ultimate Spider-Man vs. The Sinister Six, during a storyline where Mile Morales goes missing.
The second is in the character’s most recent appearance on television in Marvel: Rising. Gwen goes under the moniker Ghost-Spider and gets framed for the murder of her Inhuman best friend.
FUN FACT: Dove Cameron was cast in a guest role on Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D during the show’s fifth season. Fans speculated who she was playing. Some suggested she was playing Gwen Stacy, as she and the character are both
Laura Bailey – Spider-Man animated series
Gwen Stacy appears in the 2017 animated series, Spider-Man under the guise of Spider-Gwen, voiced by actress Laura Bailey. In this version, Gwen doesn’t wear a mask to hide who she is as a hero. Instead, she was exposed to her evil uncle’s chemicals.
Hailee Steinfeld – Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Dove Cameron’s Barely Legal co-star, Hailee Steinfield, provides the voice of Gwen Stacy/Spider-Woman in the animated box office hit, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
In the film, Gwen has been a hero for two years. However, she denounces friendships after being unable to save her friend, Peter Parker, from becoming The Lizard.
She poses as a student at Miles’s school and witnesses Miles’s Spidey Senses after an incident with Morales’s powers, which causes the right side of her head to shave in the process.
Bryce Dallas Howard – Spider-Man 3 – Non-Powered Gwen Stacy
In 2006, Bryce Dallas Howard secured the role of Gwen Stacy. At the time, she had no idea the character was a superhero. A natural redhead, Howard dyed her hair blonde instead of wearing a wig.
The film depicts Stacy as a close friend of Peter Parker and his lab partner. This film does not have Gwen as a love interest to Parker but does have her as the love interest of Eddie Brock, who becomes the villain Venom.
#1: Howard did some of her stunts in the film but discovered she was pregnant with her first child.
#2: During promotion for the home release of Jurassic World: The Fallen Kingdom, Howard was told that her Spider-Man 3 character was a superhero, something she found cool.
#3: If Spider-Man 4 had gotten made, Gwen would have been killed off similarly to her original comic depiction.
Emma Stone – The Amazing Spider-Man and its sequel – Gwen Stacy
In 2012, Emma Stone portrayed college student Gwen Stacy opposite Andrew Garfield’s Peter Parker. In the first film, she ends up dating Peter with her dad discovering Parker’s super identity. Unfortunately, the final battle resulted in Captain Stacy’s death.
During the climax of the second film, Gwen is kidnapped by a deranged Harry Osborn and falls to her death from a clock tower. Gwen’s death prompts Peter to relinquish his Spider-Man alter ego until he remembers her graduation speech. He
Let’s say Gwen’s death mirrors her early comic book counterpart in The Amazing Spider-Man comic series. Therefore, if a third film were made, Peter would deal with Gwen’s death.
