Spider-Man: 10 Things About Spider-Gwen Only Comic Fans Know

Spider-Gwen has become a major part of the Spider-Man universe in the last ten years, with a major role in Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse and a possible live-action movie on the horizon. But comic book fans know that Gwen Stacy’s legacy goes back much farther and is integral to the lore of Marvel Comics.

Spider-Gwen’s comic book history is complicated, but some of her comic book iterations may provide clues to her big-screen future in the MCU and elsewhere.

10 The Original Gwen Stacy

Though many comic book fans may think of Gwen Stacy as a recent or modern character, she’s actually one of the most central figures in Spider-Man lore going back to the beginning. The original version of Gwen Stacy first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #31 in December 1965, co-created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko.

She was Peter Parker’s love interest for much of his early comic book history after the two met in their first year of college. In many ways, she seemed like Spider-Man’s version of the legendary Lois Lane.

9 Shocking Death

All of that changed in The Amazing Spider-Man #121. The 1973 story “The Night Gwen Stacy Died” changed everything for Spider-Man. Spider-Man arch-villain the Green Goblin kidnapped Gwen and then threw her off the top of the Brooklyn Bridge. Spider-Man catches her with a web-line, but the whiplash of the sudden stop breaks her neck.

Her death was completely unexpected and cast a shadow over Peter Parker’s life for years to come. For Gwen Stacy in the comics, it was the end of the line, or so it seemed.

8 Unexpected Return

Gwen Stacy’s legacy was never too far from the Spider-Man comics, even decades later, but as an actual character, her story seemed over. In 2014, that all changed with Edge of Spider-Verse #2. Written by Jason Latour and drawn by Robbi Rodriguez, this comic introduced a new version of Gwen Stacy from the alternate reality of Earth-65.

In this reality, Gwen was bitten by the radioactive spider instead of Peter Parker, and she gained all the powers of Spider-Man, or as she became, Spider-Woman.

7 She Almost Appeared Sooner

Writer Dan Slott had envisioned Gwen Stacy as Spider-Woman before Spider-Gwen’s introduction. He proposed the concept of the character to appear in his “Spider-Verse” storyline in 2014, but editor Nick Lowe asked writer Jason Latour to run with the idea, leading to a different direction.

Slott’s interpretation would have given her a costume based on the clothes she wore the night she died. Marvel wanted to preserve the mystery of her identity, which led to Rodriguez’s iconic design, one of the best Marvel Comics superhero costumes of all time.

6 The Web Warriors

The Spider-Verse concept blew open the doors on the Spider-Man character and the possibilities of having infinite variations of him. Gwen Stacy quickly became part of the Web Warriors, an interdimensional team of Spider-People who traveled from one alternate reality to another to defend them against threats.

These were realities without a Spider-Man of their own in many cases. The team was mainly composed of Spider-Gwen, Spider-Ham, Spider-Man Noir, Spider-Man UK, and Anya Corazon, a version of Spider-Girl.

5 Fighting Daredevil

Given that Gwen Stacy was from an alternate universe, the comics could turn some familiar heroes and villains upside down. One of the biggest was making Matt Murdock, Daredevil, into the Kingpin of Earth-65.

This evil version of the Man Without Fear becomes instrumental in Gwen’s life after she temporarily loses her powers. She tries to get them back with his help, but being the Kingpin, he turns on her. Matt Murdock is a fan favorite, but it’s one of the few times comics fans hated Daredevil.

4 Secret Wars

The infinite alternate realities of the Marvel multiverse converged in the massive 2015 storyline Secret Wars. Like the current Heroes Reborn event, this story revisited a classic crossover from the 1980s with a modern twist.

All reality coalesced on Battleworld, bringing Spider-Gwen together with Peter Parker, the Ultimate Comics Spider-Man Miles Morales, and other Spider-People. The storyline begins after the Beyonders attempt to destroy the entire Multiverse, leading to a cataclysmic showdown.

3 Crossing Over Into Regular Continuity

After Secret Wars, Gwen Stacy eventually finds herself permanently on Earth-616. She crosses over into the main Marvel continuity after a series of events leaves her stranded without the ability to travel between dimensions. Unable to go back to Earth-65, she becomes a student at Empire State College, where Peter Parker is an instructor.

Eventually, she repairs her dimensional device and can travel back home. She goes back and forth between worlds, fighting to protect both from various threats.

2 Infinite Spider-Women

Gwen Stacy is colloquially known as Spider-Gwen or sometimes the Ghost-Spider, but she’s properly known as Spider-Woman. She is just one version of Spider-Woman in both Earth-616 and various other alternate realities.

Some of the most prominent include the original Jessica Drew and the second version of the character, Julia Carpenter. Many other Spider-Women and Spider-Girls populate the multiverse, including Lady Spider from Earth-803 and Annie Parker from the Renew Your Vows alternate future.

1 The Mary Janes

Gwen Stacy has become a much more dimensional character, in every sense, with her resurrection in the comics. The Earth-65 version is also a musician playing drums in a band called The Mary Janes.

Mary Jane Watson, Spider-Man’s greatest love interest, sings and plays lead guitar. The Mary Janes also included Betty Brant, who initially named them Murder Face, and Felicia Hardy, who is better known as the Black Cat. The rock band was also briefly featured in Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse.

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