Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required. To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number. Browse a selection of best-selling comics and graphic novels featuring Wolverine. Browse all digital comics Spider-Man: The Death of Gwen Stacy Sixteen stories for the journey See moreGraphic No edition (April 1999) 0.5 x 6.5 x 10 inches Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,878,596 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) in Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > Publishers > Marvel in Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > Graphic Novels > Superheroes in Books > Literature & Fiction > Contemporary 5 star65%4 star29%1 star6%See all verified purchase reviewsTop Customer ReviewsFor Fans Only|Once again, somebody Spider-Man loves diesTouching and Tearful Most Recent Customer ReviewsSearch Customer Reviews
Decades after its release on March 13 1973, The Amazing Spider-Man #121 by Gerry Conway, Gil Kane, John Romita and Tony Mortellaro remains one of the most affecting, heartbreaking superhero comics to see publication. What starts off as a traditional superhero versus supervillain battle over the fate of the hero’s love interest takes a tragic turn when Gwen Stacy dies despite the hero’s best efforts to save her — and in that moment, superhero comics grew up in a major way. Gwen Stacy wasn’t the first shocking comic book death, as Lightning Lad of the Legion of Super-Heroes died ten years earlier in 1963’s Adventure Comics #304. Lightning Lad, however, was alive and back in the Legion by the end of the year, and Gwen Stacy’s death still stands, and continues to have an effect on modern Spider-Man comics. The story is groundbreaking in the sense that, while the Green Goblin is the one to throw her from the George Washington Bridge, it’s the whiplash from Spider-Man’s attempt to save her that ultimately kills Gwen.
In one of the all time great pieces of lettering by Artie Simek, a small “SNAP!” is placed just by Gwen’s neck, and often goes overlooked; overshadowed by the flashier “SWIK!” effect of the web attaching to her leg. Gwen’s death raised the stakes for Spider-Man comics forever, and after the deaths of his Uncle Ben, and Gwen’s father Captain George Stacy, counted as his biggest failure to date. Those three deaths all represent something different to Spider-Man, but Gwen’s death shows how the best of intentions still might not be enough. The thought that Peter could have saved Gwen, had he done something different, helps define the character to this day. In hindsight, Gwen Stacy’s death is undeniably an example of the “Women in Refrigerators” trope — a term coined by Gail Simone to describe women killed off in order to give their male love interests a persona; motivation to fight the villain. The trope takes its name from a particularly egregious example, when the DC Comics villain Major Force killed Kyle Rayner’s girlfriend Alex, and stuffed her remains inside their refrigerator.
When Sony rebooted the Spider-Man films with The Amazing Spider-Man series in 2012, Gwen Stacy was brought to life on screen by Emma Stone, and many fans hoped that she wouldn’t suffer the same fate as her comic book counterpart. While Stone’s portrayal of Gwen was one of the highlights of a mediocre series, Sony opted to somewhat adapt “The Night Gwen Stacy Died” in 2014’s Amazing Spider-Man 2, replacing Norman Osborn with his son Harry, and removing Peter’s direct culpability in the actual death. Though Gwen Stacy is still dead in the main Marvel Universe continuity, the publisher has found a way to simultaneously honor the importance of that event and circumvent it. Gwen Stacy received a new lease on life in 2014 courtesy of Jason Latour, Robbi Rodriguez and Rico Renzi, as the alternate-dimension character Spider-Gwen. While initially only intended to be a one-off character as part of the Spider-Verse event, the Spider-Gwen team built such a rich and vibrant world in one issue, and created such an instantly iconic costume, that the character had to return to meet popular demand.
Spider-Gwen flips the script so that Gwen Stacy gets the powers and becomes Spider-Woman, and Peter Parker is the one to die. “The Night Gwen Stacy Died” remains an all-time classic Spider-Man comic, and the fact that it holds up today is a testament to its legendary creators. That Gwen was reinvented for the 21st century is a testament to the core strength of the character, and her importance to the Spider-Man mythos as a whole. Subscribe to ComicsAlliance onA lot of us came into The Amazing Spider-Man reboot with a refreshed hope that the perceived errors of the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy would not be repeated. Although still altering the original Spider-Man mythos more than a bit, The Amazing Spider-Man movie stayed true enough to the comic book source material to satisfy plenty of Spidey’s die-hard fans, while still managing to bring in over 700 million worldwide, and making actor Andrew Garfield (Spider-Man) a household name, overnight. With Amazing Spider-Man 2 already in development, the questions of the characters’ fates looms large in fans’ minds – and one of the franchise stars has some designs of her own to share.
One of the most observable in ASM was to the fate of Spider-Man’s girlfriend Gwen Stacy. When the news broke that the cute but nerdy Gwen Stacy would be taking the place of sultry Mary Jane Watson as Peter Parker’s love interest, fans were more than pleased, but immediately expected to hear a Funeral March soon after. Now it appears Gwen’s indispensable death at the hands of her lover has not been altered, but simply delayed. In a recent sit-down with Interview magazine, Gwen Stacy actress Emma Stone touched upon what her cherished comicbook counterpart’s pivotal death means, and how she feels the critical event should happen in upcoming squeals: “Essentially the argument is that Spider-Man kills her by accident, so the person she loves is the person who kills her, which is the most horrifying thing. Apparently people unsubscribed to the comic book when that happened because they were just so flipped-out over it. But, of course, I want to stay true to that.”
Emma Stone as the ill-fated Gwen Stacy with co-star Andrew Garfield For those who are only casual readers of the Spider-Man comics: Spider-Man’s classmate-turned-girlfriend Gwen met her tragic end in a 1970s Amazing Spider-Man story arc, “The Night Gwen Stacy Died”. Following a seemly routine confrontation with his archenemies Norman Osborn (AKA The Green Goblin), Spider-Man is shocked to find out that the Goblin has kidnapped his girlfriend Gwen and is holding her captive at the George Washington Bridge. Spidey arrives just in time to witness the Goblin mercilessly hurl the frightened Gwen off the top of the bridge. Acting on instinct, Spider-Man quickly wraps his web around Gwen’s ankles apparently saving her – only to find out that due to his lack of proper bungee support, he has inadvertently snapped his beloved’s neck. After Gwen’s death, Spider-Man hunts the Green Goblin down and beats him within an inch of his life – but can’t bring himself to kill his enemy.
The Goblin uses this moment of mercy to turn the tables by attempting to impale Spider-Man with his glider – but alerted by his Spider sense, Spider-Man dodges the charging gilder, which skewers Osborne instead, apparently ending the dark reign of The Green Goblin. Gwen’s death was also the catalyst for the romantic relationship between Peter and Mary Jane Watson to grow in the comics. As both were close friends of Gwen, they found comfort from the tragic loss within each other’s arms, and the two eventually progressed to become more than friends. Gwen Stacy’s death as seen in ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ #121 (click to enlarge) So here’s the truth about “The Night Gwen Stacy Died”: Gwen died simply because no one knew what else to do with her. The decision was made conjointly by Marvel staff writer Gerry Conway, artist John Romita Sr., and Editor Roy Thomas when they found that with Peter and Gwen getting out of high school and slowly reaching adulthood, their deep relationship was reaching its inevitable conclusion;
At the time, Marvel was beat-fist adamant that they did not want Spider-Man to get hitched, as they felt it would have drastically aged the character and would have made previously-planned plotlines difficult to initiate. To add to the problem, the team felt a messy breakup would have appeared too unrealistic for the two – thus Gwen’s execution papers were signed. Gwen’s death was somewhat breezed upon in the first installment of Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy when The Goblin lures Spider-Man to the top of the Queensboro Bridge by kidnapping Mary Jane (instead of Gwen) and a Tramway car full of children. The Goblin drops both Mary Jane and the kids forcing Spider-Man to choose which one he will save – but a quick thinking Spidey is able to save them both. (A moment we deliciously twisted into this comedic Spider-Man movie mashup.) It’s always awesome to see actors not only acquainting themselves with the original comic book source material, but actively wanting to remain true to it.