Summary
Gwen Stacy is without a doubt one of the most iconic characters in theSpider-Manfranchise. Introduced in 1965 and inspired by Stan Lee’s wife Joan, she was the first romantic interest of Peter Parker in the comics, even before Mary Jane Watson. However, the character’s original story was cut short by an untimely demise at the hands of the Green Goblin.
Thankfully, that wasn’t the end of Gwen Stacy’s character. She’s been revived and reimagined countless times. Sometimes she’s a prospective love interests to Peter and Harry Osborn, but she has even donned a spider-suit herself to become her own hero worthy of adoration. These eight versions of Gwen Stacy from both the comics and other media are by far the best interpretations of the character.
First Appearance
The Amazing Spider-Man#142 (1974)
One of the most integral characters to Gwen Stacy’s publication history is Miles Warren, a scientist who falls in love with Gwen Stacy and, after her murder at the hands of the Green Goblin, becomes obsessed with cloning her.As part of the “Clone Saga” in Marvel Comics, numerous clones of Gwen Stacy surfaced, including one named Joyce Delaney who was kidnapped by the High Evolutionary.
However, although Joyce looks identical to Gwen Stacy, she’s actually a fusion of Gwen with another one of Warren’s students, which is where her name comes from. This Gwen, all things considered, actually gets to live a (somewhat) normal life, marrying a clone of Warren. However, she is sadly murdered by another Gwen Stacy clone, Abby-L, the Jackal’s first clone experiment.
Spider-Gwen: Ghost-Spider#1 (2018)
Gwen Stacy’s history with the Green Goblinhas been eventful, starting when Norman Osborn killed her Earth-616 variant. However, in the adventures of Spider-Gwen, a Gwen Stacy variant from Earth-3109 comes from a universe where Harry Osborn becomes Spider-Man instead of Peter Parker. Designing her own Green Goblin gear, 3109’s Gwen Stacy is a sidekick of Harry’s.
However, Gwen Goblin wasn’t so heroic for long. After a battle with Sandman resulted in the deaths of both Harry and Gwen’s father, George Stacy, the “Goblin” persona took over and wreaked havoc until she was stopped by Spider-Gwen. Gwen Goblin takes the cake for the smartest Gwen Stacy, given her advanced intellect compared to the other variants, who are already pretty intelligent on their own.
“Survival of the Fittest,” season 1, episode 1 (2008)
The Spectacular Spider-Manpremiered in 2008, becoming one of the most beloved television adaptations of the comics. Its version of Gwen Stacy, voiced by Lacey Chabert, debuts in the first episode as a close friend of Peter Parker and Harry Osborn. At first, she is ignorant of Peter’s double life as Spider-Man, often chastizing Peter for disappearing during times of trouble.
While this version of Gwen Stacy doesn’t get killed by the Green Goblin, her romance with Peter is still a tragic one. She and Harry Osborn are initially together despite Gwen’s feelings for Peter, even after learning his identity as Spider-Man. However, once Harry recovers from becoming the Goblin, Gwen opts to stay with him in order to keep him from maddening further, breaking Peter’s heart.
Heroes Reborn#5 (2021)
The “Heroes Reborn” story arc from 2021 featured an alternate look at many Marvel heroes' journeys, which included an unexpected path for Gwen Stacy of Earth-21798.After the death of her father, Gwen trains with the hero Nighthawk and becomes a vigilante, Nightbird. She faces off against the Jackal, who, in this universe, was actually Flash Thompson, another character obsessed with Gwen.
However, during a confrontation with the Goblin, Gwen is poisoned by his gas, resulting in her turning on Nighthawk. She’s only saved after encountering several other Gwen variants across the multiverse, including Spider-Gwen and Captain Marvel, during the “Gwenverse” story arc from 2022.
Guns, katanas, explosives, fourth wall breaking
Howard the Duck#1 (2015)
It’s surprising that one of the most famous iterations of Gwen Stacy is the one that’s a cross between the iconic Spider-Man love-interest and Deadpool. After debuting in a variant cover forDeadpool’s Secret Secret Wars, the popular design of Gwenpool resulted in the character’s official debut inHoward the Duck,as a superhero who’s even more aware of the 4th wall than Wade Wilson.
Though she began as a joke character, Gwenpool has an interesting story as a girl from the real world who is sucked into a Marvel Comic. Her stories elicit laughter from readers, while also finding honest narratives out of meta humor and playing with tropes. Plus, she’s gained a lot of respect asthe first openly aromantic and asexual superheroin Marvel Comics.
The Amazing Spider-Man#31 (1965)
Gwen Stacy is one of the most iconic, and integral, characters in the Marvel universe. She’s the high school sweetheart of Peter Parker, whose romance was a driving force in Spider-Man’s earliest adventures. However, tragedy strikes when her father is (seemingly) killed by Spider-Man, and after discovering Peter’s identity, Gwen herself is killed by the Green Goblin.
Gwen Stacy’s death was a pivotal moment in comic book history, establishing that superheroes weren’t always winners. However, future storylines complicated Gwen’s story by reviving her via cloning, and in one storyline (“Sins Past”) revealing that Gwen had an illicit affair with Norman Osborn and had children with him. Thankfully, most fans just tend to remember her tragic role in Peter Parker’s story.
Genius intellect
The Amazing Spider-Man(2012)
There are lots of mixed feelings about Marc Webb’sAmazing Spider-Manfilms, but one thing everyone agrees on ishow marvelous Emma Stone is as Gwen Stacy. One of the few things these films capture about the character is how her romance is unrelated to Peter’s identity as Spider-Man, but is complicated when Gwen’s father makes Peter promise to stay away from her as he dies.
As many fans could expect fromThe Amazing Spider-Man 2, Peter’s inability to stay away from Gwen ultimately reminds him why Uncle Ben said “With great power, comes great responsibility.” Gwen is killed by the Green Goblin (in this film, it’s Peter’s childhood friend Harry) and Peter is unable to save her. It’s no wonder the third film didn’t get greenlit after they lost their best character.
Spider physiology, Spider-Sense, super-strength, super-speed, healing factor, bioelectricity
Edge of Spider-Verse#2 (2014)
Modern interpretations of Gwen Stacy are more than love interests or plot devices for Peter Parker. Introduced in the “Spider-Verse” saga, Spider-Gwen has reinvented the character for a new generation, after she’s bitten by a radioactive spider and fights crime, mistakenly killing Peter Parker after her best friend turned himself into the Lizard out of jealousy.
She’s even been perfectly representedon-screen in Sony’sSpider-Versefilms, with Hailee Steinfeld lending her voice to Earth-65’s punky, awkward Gwen. After fleeing her own universe as a fugitive in both the films and comics, Spider-Gwen hops between realities, joining different variations of Spider-Armies and even becoming romantically involved with Miles Morales.
