Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man Tragedy Is Deeper Than You Think

Gwen Stacy’s death in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was arguably the film’s biggest tragedy, and with a little more examination, it actually becomes a lot worse. Throughout both films in The Amazing Spider-Man reboots, Gwen was Peter Parker’s primary love interest, rather than the famous MJ. Played wonderfully by Emma Stone, she became a fan-favorite love interest, making her death a painful watch, but the tragedy also runs a lot deeper.

In both films, Gwen was not just a love interest but an important character in her own right. She helped to defeat the villain in both instances, lending her incredible intellect to Spider-Man when he required assistance. Peter and Gwen were smitten with each other, and the chemistry between Garfield and Stone was palpable. Her death resulted in a deep mourning period for Peter at the end of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, being overwhelmed by her loss as well as feeling shame for not being able to save her.

The tragedy was intensified as Peter gave up Spider-Man for a time after her death. Peter, so far, had championed the famous mantra that with great power, comes great responsibility, yet he shrank away from his character-defining hero duties. Even in The Amazing Spider-Man when his character was defamed as a dangerous vigilante, he continued to fight because he thought it was the right thing to do. When Gwen died, Peter succumbed to the darkness within him. He gave up being Spider-Man for reportedly months, despite Peter’s strong sense of morality to do what was within his power to help. His guilt over feeling responsible for two deaths (Gwen, and previously his Uncle Ben) in such a short space of time completely clouded him, and ultimately led him to a decision that went against his strong moral compass. This possibly had a domino effect of more people being injured or losing their life because Spider-Man wasn’t around to save them. When he did return as Spider-Man, he elected for a more brutal approach, refraining from pulling his punches as confirmed in Spider-Man: No Way Home.

This tragedy ran even deeper because Gwen Stacy was based on Spider-Man mastermind Stan Lee’s wife, Joan. She was the muse behind the character (as well as being credited as inspiring the creation of the Fantastic Four, at a time when he actually wanted to quit comics, playing a big role in Stan Lee’s Marvel story) and he made the character in her image. Gwen’s intelligence, determination and charisma were all drawn from Joan. This only served to make Gwen’s character even more important, with her death now symbolizing the deeper tragedy of a complete loss of hope whilst further making the subsequent tragedies brought on from the character’s death even more impactful.

Gwen’s death in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 alone was a heartbreaking blow to audiences, but how it obliterated Peter’s strong sense of morality makes it even worse. His undeterred morality and fearless boyhood naivety were the driving force behind the hero Spider-Man, and represented everything that he stood for. Despite Gwen’s death being spoiled in the trailer for the film, this, paired with the knowledge that Stan Lee’s wife, Joan, was the inspiration behind Gwen makes the affair more heart-wrenching than ever before.

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