The Night Gwen Stacy Died
Encyclopedia
"The Night Gwen Stacy Died" is a story arc
of the Marvel Comics
comic book
series The Amazing Spider-Man
#121-122 (June–July 1973), that became a watershed event in the life of the superhero
Spider-Man
, one of popular culture
's most enduring and recognizable fictional characters. The two-issue story, written by Gerry Conway
, with pencil art by Gil Kane
and inking
by John Romita Sr. and Tony Mortellaro, features Spider-Man's fight against his archnemesis, the Green Goblin
, who has abducted his girlfriend Gwen Stacy
, who is killed during the battle.
Prior to this arc, Norman Osborn
had been the Green Goblin, but due to amnesia
suspended his identity as the supervillain and forgot that Spider-Man and Peter Parker are the same person. Also, Harry Osborn
, Parker's best friend and Norman's son, became addicted to drugs and was sequestered in the Osborn home for detoxification. Norman Osborn's parental grief, combined with financial pressure, triggers a breakdown resulting in Norman Osborn remembering his Goblin identity and again targeting Spider-Man and his loved ones for misery.
The Green Goblin abducts Parker's girlfriend, Gwen Stacy
, and lures Spider-Man to a tower of either the Brooklyn Bridge
(as depicted in the art) or the George Washington Bridge
(as given in the text). The Goblin and Spider-Man clash, and the Goblin hurls Stacy off the bridge. Spider-Man shoots a web strand at her legs and catches her. As he pulls her up, he thinks he has saved her. However, he quickly realizes she is dead. Unsure whether the whiplash
from her sudden stop broke her neck or if the Goblin had broken it previously, he blames himself for her death. A note on the letters page of The Amazing Spider-Man #125 states: "It saddens us to say that the whiplash effect she underwent when Spidey's webbing stopped her so suddenly was, in fact, what killed her."
The Green Goblin escapes, and Spider-Man cries over Stacy's corpse and swears revenge. The following issue, Spider-Man tracks the Green Goblin to a warehouse and beats him but cannot bring himself to kill him. The Goblin uses the opportunity to send his glider to impale Spider-Man behind. Warned by his spider-sense, Spider-Man dodges, and the glider instead impales the Green Goblin and seemingly kills him. Later, a devastated Parker, back at home, encounters an equally shocked and saddened Mary Jane Watson
, who has lost her close friend Stacy, and the two attempt to comfort each other in the wake of their loss.
. They killed Gwen because they did not know what to do with her anymore. Gwen and Peter had grown so close that they were bound to get married, but nobody at Marvel wanted a married Spider-Man: it would have drastically aged him and would have made plotting difficult. At the time, he was still a college student in his late teens. Furthermore, a breakup would have appeared unrealistic.
In the comic book collection The 100 Greatest Marvels of All Time: #9-6 (Amazing Spider-Man #121 was the #6 comic), Conway explained that Gwen and Peter were a "perfect couple", but taking that relationship to the next level (i.e. marriage or at least Peter revealing his secret identity to her) would "betray everything that Spider-Man was about", i.e. personal tragedy and anguish as root of Peter's life as Spider-Man. Killing Gwen Stacy was a perfect opportunity to kill two birds with one stone: breaking up the "unfitting" relationship and reinforcing the element of personal tragedy which was, in his opinion, the essence of Spider-Man.
According to the book Stan Lee's Amazing Marvel Universe, Roy Thomas and John Romita were said to have decided to kill off Gwen Stacey after deciding she would be the perfect decision to shock readers. The two started off thinking that they would kill off any major character, but decided it should be a woman. At the time, Mary Jane was only one of Peter's friends and Aunt May's death wouldn't come as too much of a surprise due to "frequent heart attacks". Lee himself agreed because he was "busy packing for a trip" and "just wanted them out of his office", and when he returned he began asking why they killed Gwen.
. The Pulse
#4 (Sept. 2004) also states the bridge to be the George Washington Bridge.
The art of The Amazing Spider-Man #121, however, depicts the Brooklyn Bridge
. Some reprints of the issue have had the text amended and now state the bridge to be the Brooklyn Bridge rather than the George Washington Bridge. In a television interview for the Travel Channel
's Marvel Superheroes Guide to New York City (2004), Stan Lee
said that the artist for the issue had drawn the Brooklyn Bridge, but that he (as editor
) mistakenly labeled it the George Washington Bridge.
Further confusing the issue, Mary Jane Watson
was thrown off the Queensboro Bridge
in both Ultimate Spider-Man
#25 and the 2002 Spider-Man movie
, while in Spider-Man: The Animated Series
, Mary Jane is thrown off the George Washington Bridge.
The original comic features a "snap" sound effect next to Gwen Stacy's head in the panel in which Spider-Man's webbing catches her. In The Amazing Spider-Man #125 (Oct. 1973), Marvel Comics editor Roy Thomas
wrote in the letters column that "it saddens us to have to say that the whiplash
effect she underwent when Spidey's webbing stopped her so suddenly was, in fact, what killed her. In short, it was impossible for Peter to save her. He couldn't have swung down in time; the action he did take resulted in her death; if he had done nothing, she still would certainly have perished. There was no way out."
In the History Channel
special Spider-Man Tech, Stan Lee suggests that her neck may have indeed been snapped.
Physicist and comic collector James Kakalios
, in his book The Physics of Superheroes
, states that in the real world, the whiplash effect would have killed her.
For some time, however, fans speculated that the shock of the fall itself caused Gwen Stacy's death, due to the Green Goblin telling Spider-Man in The Amazing Spider-Man
#121, "Romantic idiot! She was dead before your webbing reached her! A fall from that height would kill anyone — before they struck the ground!"
In a non-canonical parallel universe
story in What If?
#24, Spider-Man saves her by jumping down to catch her before she hits the water, subsequently using his body to cushion her from the impact, although he still needs to give her CPR after they reach dry land.
In a later storyline, the Green Goblin once again replays the scenario, this time with Spider-Man's wife Mary Jane Watson-Parker
. As with Gwen, Mary Jane plummets toward her death (this time from the recoil from her gun when she shoots at the Green Goblin). Learning from his previous error, Spider-Man uses multiple weblines and catches every major joint, saving Mary Jane from suffering the same whiplash effect that killed Gwen. (Marvel Knights Spider-Man
#12.)
During the Civil War
, both Iron Man
and Captain America
quoted Gwen as argument. Iron Man argued that if Spider-Man had received proper training as registered heroes were given, he would have saved her. Captain America responded that she died because the Goblin knew Spider-Man's identity, and the Superhuman Registration Act forbids secret identities.
storyline, Peter managed to save Gwen by jumping after her rather than catching her with a web-line (in the same way he saved Mary Jane in the film
), allowing him to cushion her from the impact as they hit the water and subsequently give her CPR. In the aftermath of this rescue, he proposed to Gwen after revealing his secret identity to her, and, in a subsequent confrontation with the Green Goblin, Norman Osborn finally fought off his evil side when Harry moved to protect him regardless of what he'd become. However, their life was not destined to be a happy one; to ensure his victory, the Goblin had sent J. Jonah Jameson
proof of Spider-Man's real identity, which Jonah had subsequently published and used to acquire a warrant for Peter's arrest, thus forcing Peter to escape from the police mere moments after his wedding to Gwen. As the issue ended, Gwen departed with Joe "Robbie" Robertson, who promised Gwen that they would do whatever they could to help Peter.
, Gwen died in a completely different way which happened a few issues after she found out Peter's secret identity, which never happened in mainstream continuity. Walking home after a talk with MJ
, she realized she had forgotten her key so she tried to open the door to the cellar (Peter's lab) but that was locked too. She heard rustling in the bushes so she turned around and was grabbed by small tentacles coming from Ultimate Carnage who killed her the way it killed its other victims: stabbed them in the stomach and absorbed their fluids. The last thing Gwen saw before being turned into a mummy-like corpse was Carnage taking the form of a more solid Peter (actually Peter's father
due to Dr. Connors
mixing his and Peter's DNA with elements of the Venom suit
, which was used with Richard Parker's DNA.)
In Ultimate Spider-Man #128 Gwen Stacy was reintroduced to the series. Carnage had recreated her body and her memories and essentially cloned her. After a battle with Venom, Carnage left Gwen to join with Eddie Brock. Since this battle, Gwen Stacy has been completely rid of the Carnage symbiote and is now living with Peter Parker.
Story arc
A story arc is an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, boardgames, video games, and in some cases, films. On a television program, for example, the story would unfold over many episodes. In television, the use of the story...
of the Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series The Amazing Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, featuring the adventures of the fictional superhero Spider-Man. Being the mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a monthly periodical and was published continuously until it was...
#121-122 (June–July 1973), that became a watershed event in the life of the superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
, one of popular culture
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
's most enduring and recognizable fictional characters. The two-issue story, written by Gerry Conway
Gerry Conway
Gerard F. "Gerry" Conway is an American writer of comic books and television shows. He is known for co-creating the Marvel Comics vigilante The Punisher and scripting the death of the character Gwen Stacy during his long run on The Amazing Spider-Man...
, with pencil art by Gil Kane
Gil Kane
Eli Katz who worked under the name Gil Kane and in one instance Scott Edward, was a comic book artist whose career spanned the 1940s to 1990s and every major comics company and character.Kane co-created the modern-day versions of the superheroes Green Lantern and the Atom for DC Comics, and...
and inking
Inker
The inker is one of the two line artists in a traditional comic book or graphic novel. After a pencilled drawing is given to the inker, the inker uses black ink to produce refined outlines over the pencil lines...
by John Romita Sr. and Tony Mortellaro, features Spider-Man's fight against his archnemesis, the Green Goblin
Green Goblin
The Green Goblin is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #14 ....
, who has abducted his girlfriend Gwen Stacy
Gwen Stacy
Gwendolyn "Gwen" Stacy appears as a supporting character in Marvel Comics' Spider-Man series. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, she first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #31 ....
, who is killed during the battle.
Plot
Green Goblin
The Green Goblin is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #14 ....
had been the Green Goblin, but due to amnesia
Amnesia
Amnesia is a condition in which one's memory is lost. The causes of amnesia have traditionally been divided into categories. Memory appears to be stored in several parts of the limbic system of the brain, and any condition that interferes with the function of this system can cause amnesia...
suspended his identity as the supervillain and forgot that Spider-Man and Peter Parker are the same person. Also, Harry Osborn
Harry Osborn
Harry Osborn is a fictional character, a supporting character of Spider-Man in the . In addition to being Peter Parker's best friend, Harry was the second Green Goblin and is the son of Norman Osborn...
, Parker's best friend and Norman's son, became addicted to drugs and was sequestered in the Osborn home for detoxification. Norman Osborn's parental grief, combined with financial pressure, triggers a breakdown resulting in Norman Osborn remembering his Goblin identity and again targeting Spider-Man and his loved ones for misery.
The Green Goblin abducts Parker's girlfriend, Gwen Stacy
Gwen Stacy
Gwendolyn "Gwen" Stacy appears as a supporting character in Marvel Comics' Spider-Man series. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, she first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #31 ....
, and lures Spider-Man to a tower of either the Brooklyn Bridge
Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. Completed in 1883, it connects the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River...
(as depicted in the art) or the George Washington Bridge
George Washington Bridge
The George Washington Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Hudson River, connecting the Washington Heights neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City to Fort Lee, Bergen County, New Jersey. Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 1/9 cross the river via the bridge. U.S...
(as given in the text). The Goblin and Spider-Man clash, and the Goblin hurls Stacy off the bridge. Spider-Man shoots a web strand at her legs and catches her. As he pulls her up, he thinks he has saved her. However, he quickly realizes she is dead. Unsure whether the whiplash
Whiplash (medicine)
Whiplash is a non-medical term describing a range of injuries to the neck caused by or related to a sudden distortion of the neck associated with extension. The term "whiplash" is a colloquialism...
from her sudden stop broke her neck or if the Goblin had broken it previously, he blames himself for her death. A note on the letters page of The Amazing Spider-Man #125 states: "It saddens us to say that the whiplash effect she underwent when Spidey's webbing stopped her so suddenly was, in fact, what killed her."
The Green Goblin escapes, and Spider-Man cries over Stacy's corpse and swears revenge. The following issue, Spider-Man tracks the Green Goblin to a warehouse and beats him but cannot bring himself to kill him. The Goblin uses the opportunity to send his glider to impale Spider-Man behind. Warned by his spider-sense, Spider-Man dodges, and the glider instead impales the Green Goblin and seemingly kills him. Later, a devastated Parker, back at home, encounters an equally shocked and saddened Mary Jane Watson
Mary Jane Watson
Mary Jane Watson, often shortened to MJ, is a fictional supporting character appearing, originally, in Marvel comic books and, later, in multiple spin-offs and dramatizations of the Spider-Man titles as the best friend, love interest, and one-time wife of Peter Parker, the alter ego of Spider-Man...
, who has lost her close friend Stacy, and the two attempt to comfort each other in the wake of their loss.
Significance
- The death of Gwen Stacy shocked the American comic book community. Previously, it had been unthinkable to kill off such an important character - the girlfriend of the main character and a character with a large fanbase. This story arc is considered one of the markers of the end of the Silver Age of Comic BooksSilver Age of Comic BooksThe Silver Age of Comic Books was a period of artistic advancement and commercial success in mainstream American comic books, predominantly those in the superhero genre. Following the Golden Age of Comic Books and an interregnum in the early to mid-1950s, the Silver Age is considered to cover the...
, and the beginning of the darker, grittier Bronze AgeBronze Age of Comic BooksThe Bronze Age of Comic Books is an informal name for a period in the history of mainstream American comic books usually said to run from 1970 to 1985. It follows the Silver Age of Comic Books....
.
- Gwen Stacy's death is listed on the website Women in RefrigeratorsWomen in RefrigeratorsWomen in Refrigerators is a website that was created in 1999 by a group of comic book fans. The website features a list of female comic book characters that had been injured, killed, or depowered as a plot device within various superhero comic books...
as an example of a trend in superheroSuperheroA superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
comics whereby female characters tend to physically suffer more than their male counterparts in the service of those male counterparts' emotional storylines.
- The frequent tendency for the wives and girlfriends of male superheroes to meet grim fates was referred to as "The Gwen Stacy Syndrome" by the Comics Buyer's GuideComics Buyer's GuideComics Buyer's Guide , established in 1971, is the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry...
.
- A fan poll conducted by Marvel ComicsMarvel ComicsMarvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
for their series The 100 Greatest Marvels of All Time voted The Amazing Spider-ManThe Amazing Spider-ManThe Amazing Spider-Man is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, featuring the adventures of the fictional superhero Spider-Man. Being the mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a monthly periodical and was published continuously until it was...
(vol. 1) #121 and 122 to be the 6th and 19th greatest, respectively.
Behind the scenes
The decision to kill Gwen Stacy was made jointly by Gerry Conway, John Romita Sr. and editor Roy ThomasRoy Thomas
Roy William Thomas, Jr. is an American comic book writer and editor, and Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly best known for introducing the pulp magazine hero Conan the Barbarian to American comics, with a series that added to the storyline of Robert E...
. They killed Gwen because they did not know what to do with her anymore. Gwen and Peter had grown so close that they were bound to get married, but nobody at Marvel wanted a married Spider-Man: it would have drastically aged him and would have made plotting difficult. At the time, he was still a college student in his late teens. Furthermore, a breakup would have appeared unrealistic.
In the comic book collection The 100 Greatest Marvels of All Time: #9-6 (Amazing Spider-Man #121 was the #6 comic), Conway explained that Gwen and Peter were a "perfect couple", but taking that relationship to the next level (i.e. marriage or at least Peter revealing his secret identity to her) would "betray everything that Spider-Man was about", i.e. personal tragedy and anguish as root of Peter's life as Spider-Man. Killing Gwen Stacy was a perfect opportunity to kill two birds with one stone: breaking up the "unfitting" relationship and reinforcing the element of personal tragedy which was, in his opinion, the essence of Spider-Man.
According to the book Stan Lee's Amazing Marvel Universe, Roy Thomas and John Romita were said to have decided to kill off Gwen Stacey after deciding she would be the perfect decision to shock readers. The two started off thinking that they would kill off any major character, but decided it should be a woman. At the time, Mary Jane was only one of Peter's friends and Aunt May's death wouldn't come as too much of a surprise due to "frequent heart attacks". Lee himself agreed because he was "busy packing for a trip" and "just wanted them out of his office", and when he returned he began asking why they killed Gwen.
Bridge
The bridge in the original issue of Amazing Spider-Man #121 was stated in the text to be the George Washington BridgeGeorge Washington Bridge
The George Washington Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Hudson River, connecting the Washington Heights neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City to Fort Lee, Bergen County, New Jersey. Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 1/9 cross the river via the bridge. U.S...
. The Pulse
The Pulse (comics)
The Pulse is a comic book series published by Marvel Comics, written by Brian Michael Bendis, about the people who work on "The Pulse", a weekly section in the fictional Daily Bugle newspaper, focusing on superheroes....
#4 (Sept. 2004) also states the bridge to be the George Washington Bridge.
The art of The Amazing Spider-Man #121, however, depicts the Brooklyn Bridge
Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. Completed in 1883, it connects the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River...
. Some reprints of the issue have had the text amended and now state the bridge to be the Brooklyn Bridge rather than the George Washington Bridge. In a television interview for the Travel Channel
Travel Channel
The Travel Channel is a satellite and cable television channel that is headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland, US. It features documentaries and how-to shows related to travel and leisure around the United States and throughout the world. Programming has included shows in African animal safaris,...
's Marvel Superheroes Guide to New York City (2004), Stan Lee
Stan Lee
Stan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....
said that the artist for the issue had drawn the Brooklyn Bridge, but that he (as editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
) mistakenly labeled it the George Washington Bridge.
Further confusing the issue, Mary Jane Watson
Mary Jane Watson
Mary Jane Watson, often shortened to MJ, is a fictional supporting character appearing, originally, in Marvel comic books and, later, in multiple spin-offs and dramatizations of the Spider-Man titles as the best friend, love interest, and one-time wife of Peter Parker, the alter ego of Spider-Man...
was thrown off the Queensboro Bridge
Queensboro Bridge
The Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, also known as the 59th Street Bridge – because its Manhattan end is located between 59th and 60th Streets – or simply the Queensboro Bridge, is a cantilever bridge over the East River in New York City that was completed in 1909...
in both Ultimate Spider-Man
Ultimate Spider-Man
Ultimate Spider-Man was a superhero comic book series that was published by Marvel Comics from 2000 to 2009. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running Spider-Man comic book franchise as part of its Ultimate Marvel imprint...
#25 and the 2002 Spider-Man movie
Spider-Man (film)
Spider-Man is a 2002 American superhero film, the first in the Spider-Man film series based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. It was directed by Sam Raimi and written by David Koepp...
, while in Spider-Man: The Animated Series
Spider-Man (1994 TV series)
Spider-Man, also known as Spider-Man: The Animated Series, is an American animated series starring the Marvel Comics superhero, Spider-Man. The show ran on Fox Kids from November 19, 1994, to January 31, 1998. The producer/story editor was John Semper, Jr. and production company was Marvel Films...
, Mary Jane is thrown off the George Washington Bridge.
Cause of death
Roy Thomas
Roy William Thomas, Jr. is an American comic book writer and editor, and Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly best known for introducing the pulp magazine hero Conan the Barbarian to American comics, with a series that added to the storyline of Robert E...
wrote in the letters column that "it saddens us to have to say that the whiplash
Whiplash (medicine)
Whiplash is a non-medical term describing a range of injuries to the neck caused by or related to a sudden distortion of the neck associated with extension. The term "whiplash" is a colloquialism...
effect she underwent when Spidey's webbing stopped her so suddenly was, in fact, what killed her. In short, it was impossible for Peter to save her. He couldn't have swung down in time; the action he did take resulted in her death; if he had done nothing, she still would certainly have perished. There was no way out."
In the History Channel
The History Channel
History, formerly known as The History Channel, is an American-based international satellite and cable TV channel that broadcasts a variety of reality shows and documentary programs including those of fictional and non-fictional historical content, together with speculation about the future.-...
special Spider-Man Tech, Stan Lee suggests that her neck may have indeed been snapped.
Physicist and comic collector James Kakalios
James Kakalios
James Kakalios is a physics professor at the University of Minnesota. Known within the scientific community for his work with amorphous semiconductors, granular materials, and 1/f noise, he is known to the general public as the author of the book The Physics of Superheroes, which considers comic...
, in his book The Physics of Superheroes
The Physics of Superheroes
'The Physics of Superheroes' is a popular science book by physics professor and long-time comic-book fan James Kakalios. First published in 2005, it explores the basic laws of physics. Kakalios does not set out to show where the world of superheroes contradicts modern science, granting the heroes...
, states that in the real world, the whiplash effect would have killed her.
For some time, however, fans speculated that the shock of the fall itself caused Gwen Stacy's death, due to the Green Goblin telling Spider-Man in The Amazing Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, featuring the adventures of the fictional superhero Spider-Man. Being the mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a monthly periodical and was published continuously until it was...
#121, "Romantic idiot! She was dead before your webbing reached her! A fall from that height would kill anyone — before they struck the ground!"
In a non-canonical parallel universe
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
story in What If?
What If (comics)
What If, sometimes rendered as What If...?, is the title of several comic book series published by Marvel Comics, exploring "the road not traveled" by its various characters...
#24, Spider-Man saves her by jumping down to catch her before she hits the water, subsequently using his body to cushion her from the impact, although he still needs to give her CPR after they reach dry land.
Replays
Several subsequent issues have echoed Gwen's death when others fell from great heights during Spider-Man's battles. On most occasions, he saves them by jumping after them and working with their momentum, rather than trying to stop them with his webbing (as he did in the What If? where he saves Gwen).In a later storyline, the Green Goblin once again replays the scenario, this time with Spider-Man's wife Mary Jane Watson-Parker
Mary Jane Watson
Mary Jane Watson, often shortened to MJ, is a fictional supporting character appearing, originally, in Marvel comic books and, later, in multiple spin-offs and dramatizations of the Spider-Man titles as the best friend, love interest, and one-time wife of Peter Parker, the alter ego of Spider-Man...
. As with Gwen, Mary Jane plummets toward her death (this time from the recoil from her gun when she shoots at the Green Goblin). Learning from his previous error, Spider-Man uses multiple weblines and catches every major joint, saving Mary Jane from suffering the same whiplash effect that killed Gwen. (Marvel Knights Spider-Man
The Sensational Spider-Man (vol. 2)
Sensational Spider-Man is the name of a comic book series starring Spider-Man and published monthly by Marvel Comics for 41 issues between 2004 and 2007...
#12.)
During the Civil War
Civil War (comics)
Civil War is a 2006-2007 Marvel Comics crossover storyline built around a self-titled seven-issue limited series written by Mark Millar and penciled by Steve McNiven, which ran through various other titles published by Marvel at the time...
, both Iron Man
Iron Man
Iron Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #39 .A billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer,...
and Captain America
Captain America
Captain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...
quoted Gwen as argument. Iron Man argued that if Spider-Man had received proper training as registered heroes were given, he would have saved her. Captain America responded that she died because the Goblin knew Spider-Man's identity, and the Superhuman Registration Act forbids secret identities.
What If?
In a What If...?What If (comics)
What If, sometimes rendered as What If...?, is the title of several comic book series published by Marvel Comics, exploring "the road not traveled" by its various characters...
storyline, Peter managed to save Gwen by jumping after her rather than catching her with a web-line (in the same way he saved Mary Jane in the film
Spider-Man (film)
Spider-Man is a 2002 American superhero film, the first in the Spider-Man film series based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. It was directed by Sam Raimi and written by David Koepp...
), allowing him to cushion her from the impact as they hit the water and subsequently give her CPR. In the aftermath of this rescue, he proposed to Gwen after revealing his secret identity to her, and, in a subsequent confrontation with the Green Goblin, Norman Osborn finally fought off his evil side when Harry moved to protect him regardless of what he'd become. However, their life was not destined to be a happy one; to ensure his victory, the Goblin had sent J. Jonah Jameson
J. Jonah Jameson
John Jonah Jameson Junior is a supporting character of Spider-Man in the .Jameson is usually the publisher or editor-in-chief of the Daily Bugle, a fictional New York newspaper and now serves as the mayor of New York City...
proof of Spider-Man's real identity, which Jonah had subsequently published and used to acquire a warrant for Peter's arrest, thus forcing Peter to escape from the police mere moments after his wedding to Gwen. As the issue ended, Gwen departed with Joe "Robbie" Robertson, who promised Gwen that they would do whatever they could to help Peter.
Ultimate Gwen Stacy's death
In Ultimate Spider-ManUltimate Spider-Man
Ultimate Spider-Man was a superhero comic book series that was published by Marvel Comics from 2000 to 2009. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running Spider-Man comic book franchise as part of its Ultimate Marvel imprint...
, Gwen died in a completely different way which happened a few issues after she found out Peter's secret identity, which never happened in mainstream continuity. Walking home after a talk with MJ
Mary Jane Watson
Mary Jane Watson, often shortened to MJ, is a fictional supporting character appearing, originally, in Marvel comic books and, later, in multiple spin-offs and dramatizations of the Spider-Man titles as the best friend, love interest, and one-time wife of Peter Parker, the alter ego of Spider-Man...
, she realized she had forgotten her key so she tried to open the door to the cellar (Peter's lab) but that was locked too. She heard rustling in the bushes so she turned around and was grabbed by small tentacles coming from Ultimate Carnage who killed her the way it killed its other victims: stabbed them in the stomach and absorbed their fluids. The last thing Gwen saw before being turned into a mummy-like corpse was Carnage taking the form of a more solid Peter (actually Peter's father
Richard and Mary Parker
Richard and Mary Parker are fictional characters of Marvel Comics. They were the parents of Peter Parker, the boy who one day would become Spider-Man. They will appear in the 2012 reboot of the Spider-Man film franchise...
due to Dr. Connors
Lizard (comics)
The Lizard is a fictional character, a supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe and enemy of Spider-Man. The Lizard first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #6 , and was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko...
mixing his and Peter's DNA with elements of the Venom suit
Venom (comics)
Eddie Brock is a fictional character created by David Michelinie and Todd McFarlane. A comic book supervillain, Brock's earliest appearance is a cameo in Web of Spider-Man #18 before making his first full appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #299 as Venom...
, which was used with Richard Parker's DNA.)
In Ultimate Spider-Man #128 Gwen Stacy was reintroduced to the series. Carnage had recreated her body and her memories and essentially cloned her. After a battle with Venom, Carnage left Gwen to join with Eddie Brock. Since this battle, Gwen Stacy has been completely rid of the Carnage symbiote and is now living with Peter Parker.