The death of Gwen Stacy in Amazing Spider-Man #121 is one of the most important moments in Spider-Man’s run. Some even venture to say Gwen’s death ended the Silver Age of comics. Others have never forgiven Peter Parker for failing to realize that though webs can stop a person’s fall, whiplash can still kill a beloved character. Gwen Stacy would never return to Marvel’s main continuity (except as clone in the original Clone Saga and in the current Clone Conspiracy).
Origin
In 2014, Marvel began the Spider-People crossover event Spider-Verse, in which many versions of Spider-Man from many different universes. One of these Spider-People was a version of Gwen Stacy (universe 65) who had been bitten by a radioactive spider and became Spider-Woman (Spider-Gwen on the cover of her comics). Her Peter Parker (universe 65), enthusiastic about Gwen’s spider-derived powers, accidentally turned himself into The Lizard, lost his sanity, and rampaged their high school’s prom. Peter died during the battle fighting against Gwen; the world thought that Spider-Woman had murdered Peter Parker. Unlike Spider-Man, Gwen has revealed her identity to her father, Police Chief Stacy, who has since helped his daughter fight crime. Spider-Gwen is mainly a street level hero, fighting criminals such as The Lizard (Kurt Connors), Green Goblin, a Donald Trump inspired MODOK, her universe’s Punisher and Daredevil.
Powers
Spider-Gwen has all the powers of the Amazing Spider-Man, including wall-crawling, spider-sense, and the proportionate speed and strength of a spider. Having been lost in the Spider-Women crossover event, her abilities are now temporarily activated by a special device that supplies doses of radioactive isotopes to her body. Though it has not been explicitly stated, I believe that she will eventually regain her former powers.
Currently
After losing her powers, Spider-Gwen has recently been considering quitting the super-hero life to live a normal life. Her father has since turned himself in to the police for aiding Spider-Woman, but Gwen has made a deal with her universe’s Matt Murdock (Kingpin/Daredevil) to represent her father in return for her services as Spider-Woman. She still has a few ‘spider-power doses’ left, but I am optimistic that she will regain her powers. Somehow, she and Miles Morales will have a crossover romance in the coming months.
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