Hi, everyone! Welcome to this week’s Comic Character Spotlight. Today, we’ll be highlighting a prominent figure in Marvel’s Spider-Man Universe — Gwen Stacy.
Initially appearing in the comic series “The Amazing Spider-Man” (1965), Peter Parker and Gwen met as students at Empire State University. However, Peter’s Aunt May’s troubling health concerns dissuaded Peter from pursuit of a serious romance with Gwen. Although Gwen dated both Flash Thompson and Harry Osborn prior to starting her relationship with Peter, they finally started to build their romance following the end of the latter’s relationship with his previous love interest, Mary Jane.
Gwen’s father, New York Police Department (NYPD) Captain George Stacy, served as an interesting point of contention in Peter and Gwen’s relationship. This was not, in fact, due to typical fatherly disapproval as implied by “The Amazing Spider-Man” (2012) film. Rather, Captain Stacy’s death at the hands of falling debris from a battle between Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus led Gwen to question their bond and seek her own space. However, her deep feelings for Peter led her to return to him.
Gwen Stacy was first brought to life on screen in the third original “Spider-Man” movie (2007). She is portrayed by Bryce Dallas Howard and introduced as a fellow classmate to Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker at Columbia University. Although she acts as a supporting character in the movie, she appears in what is arguably one of the most memorable scenes: Peter, donning his Spider-Man costume, publicly kisses Gwen despite being in a “committed” relationship with Mary Jane. However, their shared kiss fails to elevate Gwen to the role of the official love interest in the trilogy as the story concludes with Peter and Mary Jane working through their turbulent relationship.
Five years later saw the re-debut of Gwen in the live action realm, as Emma Stone portrays her in “The Amazing Spider-Man” (2012) film duology. Here, Gwen is situated as the primary love interest of Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield). In lieu of attending Columbia University, they are high school students with a similar affinity for science. Interestingly, rather than existing solely as the damsel in distress, as Mary Jane represented in the original Spiderman trilogy, Gwen Stacy acts as an integral part of the conflict resolution throughout the climax of the movie. When she risks her life to stay behind in a lab and see through the completion of the cure necessary to defeat the Lizard, she demonstrates that she and Peter are a team.
Although there are numerous mixed opinions surrounding the quality of “The Amazing Spider-Man” film duology, I do think it has its merits, including a witty portrayal of Spider-Man and one of the best on-screen romances in a superhero movie. The chemistry between Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone leads to a believable love story, with a surprisingly selfless decision from this iteration of Peter Parker to move to London to stay close to Gwen as she is accepted into Oxford University. This culminates in the heart-wrenching conclusion of the second movie when Peter fails to save her from a fall to her death. If their compelling romance was absent from the storyline, this scene would have undoubtedly missed the emotional beats it hits.
Ultimately, Gwen Stacy is an engaging character who goes beyond simply fulfilling the role of the obligatory love interest with her intelligence, courage and strength. She stands out in both the comics and “The Amazing Spider-Man” duology — largely due to Emma Stone’s solid portrayal — despite not necessarily being a hero herself.
And yes, while a different version of Gwen becomes Spider-Woman in a different universe, I believe that version deserves a Comic Character Spotlight of her own.