Spider-Man's Girlfriend Turning Webslinger in Marvel's Spider-Gwen

[StewShearerOld]

Spider-Man's Girlfriend Turning Webslinger in Marvel's Spider-Gwen

Marvel has announced a new alternate reality series following the adventures of a Spider-powered Gwen Stacy.

<a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/the-big-picture/9127-The-Amazing-Spider-Man-The-Gwen-Stacy-Paradox>Gwen Stacy is easily one of the most famous characters in the long and complicated story of <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/tag/view/spider%20man>Spider-Man. As important as she is however, her role has still always been that of a side character. She was Spider-Man's girlfriend. Then she was Spider-Man's dead girlfriend. I probably don't need to explain how limiting it has to be when your sole purpose in a story is to make your boyfriend sad.

Perhaps hoping to give Ms. Stacy a chance to stretch her legs a little, Marvel has announced that it will be launching a new alternate universe book in February 2015 where it was Gwen bitten by the radioactive arachnid that spawned Spider-Man rather than Peter Parker. The new book will be dubbed Spider-Gwen and feature writing from Joe Latour and art from Robbi Rodriguez. Rico Renzi will be serving as the series' colorist.

This, of course, won't be the first appearance of this spider-powered version of Gwen. Her Spider-Woman persona first appeared in issue 2 of the ongoing <a href=http://marvel.wikia.com/Edge_of_Spider-Verse_Vol_1_2>Edge of the Spider-Verse series <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/the-big-picture/7075-Marvel-Mess>Marvel has been publishing in the lead up to the Spider-Verse event Marvel will be debuting next month. The company decided to invest in Spider-Gwen after the fan response to the re-imagined heroine exceeded all expectations.

"It's a rare character that gets the public outcry that Spider-Gwen got," said Marvel senior editor Nick Lowe. "From the sell-out of Gwen's first appearance to the groundswell on Twitter we're excited to bring more Spider-Gwen into the world with the creators who started it all!"

While we'll, of course, have to wait and see if Spider-Gwen winds up being any good, this news has me pretty stoked on several levels. For one, I'm always happy to see bigger publishers like Marvel and DC invest in new female heroes. Beyond that though, some of the things Marvel's promising sound really cool. Latour, for instance, has already announced plans to twist Daredevil, a long-time ally of Spider-Man into one of Gwen's villains. The push and pull between Gwen and her father, an officer of the NYPD, should also provide some nice fodder for conflict. What do you guys think? Will you be picking up Spider-Gwen next February? Or is this one web you plan on escaping?


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[Jacked Assassin]

Is this just Marvel messing with Fox & Sony? "Lets kill off every character that they rely then turn the main focus to everyone they killed off!" Which sounds pretty damn funny if it causes Fox & Sony to scramble just to find new ways to hold onto movie rights.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Is this just Marvel messing with Fox & Sony? "Lets kill off every character that they rely then turn the main focus to everyone they killed off!" Which sounds pretty damn funny if it causes Fox & Sony to scramble just to find new ways to hold onto movie rights.

I think this is just Marvel really, really wanting to reboot their universe but compromising instead with some bullshit alternate reality/what if scenario.

 

[Callate]

I think I'll wait to hear if it's, you know, good.

I'm weird like that.

 

[Zontar]

Alright, but can we get Peter and MJ back together in the 616? The fans have been demanding it for years, most of the good writers who have worked on the comic want it to happen, hell even Stan the Man was openly against it. And Joe is gone, there is literally nothing stopping them from righting the wrong that was One Day More.

 

[direkiller]

Is this just Marvel messing with Fox & Sony? "Lets kill off every character that they rely then turn the main focus to everyone they killed off!" Which sounds pretty damn funny if it causes Fox & Sony to scramble just to find new ways to hold onto movie rights.

doubt it, most people who watch the movies don't know or care about the comics.

If you mention say Apocalypse to the average person who has seen all the x-men movies most of them would have no idea who you are talking about.

Hell I think most of them would be put off by how powerful Magneto and Gene Gray are in the comics.

 

[Trishbot]

Alright, but can we get Peter and MJ back together in the 616? The fans have been demanding it for years, most of the good writers who have worked on the comic want it to happen, hell even Stan the Man was openly against it. And Joe is gone, there is literally nothing stopping them from righting the wrong that was One Day More.

It'll happen... maybe once the people who grew up reading MJ and Peter as kids wind up in charge running things.

 

[Kenjitsuka]

"The new book will be dubbed Spider-Gwen "
Ughhhhh, just that title does NOT bode very well imho...

 

[ZZoMBiE13]

I was hoping this would happen. I picked up the Spider-Gwen issue of Edge of Spider-Verse and it looked like it had a lot of potential. I was hoping we'd get to see more of the character.

Kudos Marvel.

 

[Phasmal]

This looks cool.

I keep seeing new comics that I want to check out, but I also get that weird `where-to-start` hesitation. Maybe I'll pick this one up if I have more money when it comes out.

I've seen some art of this and I think it looks good.

 

[PiercedMonk]

Is this just Marvel messing with Fox & Sony? "Lets kill off every character that they rely then turn the main focus to everyone they killed off!" Which sounds pretty damn funny if it causes Fox & Sony to scramble just to find new ways to hold onto movie rights.

I think this is just Marvel really, really wanting to reboot their universe but compromising instead with some bullshit alternate reality/what if scenario.

In this specific case it's a character that was created specifically for a story-arc involving every alternate universe Spider-Man ever getting a lot of interest before her debut -- cool costume, interesting concept, really good preview pages -- and a lot of praise following a really strong, fun first appearance getting a solo series.

If Marvel wanted to reboot their entire line, Marvel would. However, there's no way a Marvel reboot would have someone other than Peter Parker as Spider-Man right off the hop. Marvel's always played around with alternate versions of their stories, and this is just more of that.

 

[The_Darkness]

Alright, but can we get Peter and MJ back together in the 616? The fans have been demanding it for years, most of the good writers who have worked on the comic want it to happen, hell even Stan the Man was openly against it. And Joe is gone, there is literally nothing stopping them from righting the wrong that was One Day More.

Pretty sure they intend to do it (Dan Slott is definitely keeping MJ on as a main character, and Peter is Peter again rather an Ock-Peter), but if they just flick a switch to undo OMD... I can see that being a lame plot. I suspect it's something that they want to undo carefully.

 

[Erttheking]

Is there any chance she can get that uniform with the kickass hoody that's been kicking around the internet? That'd be sweet.

 

[Jupiter065]

The writer is Jason Latour, not Joe.
Kinda wish it was Tom Defalco, I loved his Spider-Girl (a.k.a. Mayday Parker) run.
A lot of similarities to that title, born of a one-off "what if" story that was made into a regular series due to vocal fan demand. Lets see if Spider-Gwen can match Spider-Girl's ~130 issue run!

 

[Something Amyss]

Spider-Gwen is a horrible name, nickname or otherwise.

Which sounds pretty damn funny if it causes Fox & Sony to scramble just to find new ways to hold onto movie rights.

Except it won't, so that's not really an issue here.

With Fox and the X-Men, especially.

Plus, keep in mind this is the company that made Thor a chick, Captain America black, and the new Ms Marvel a Muslim, so I doubt it's done specifically to screw with Fox and Sony. Change is the status quo. As is reverting to the status quo if something isn't popular (or sometimes, even if it is).

doubt it, most people who watch the movies don't know or care about the comics.

Bingo!

To that end, the comics have been frequently changed to better cash in on the success of the movies (though they almost always change back).

 

[Toadfish1]

Now I'm just sad that we won't see Emma Stone playing her. As great as those movies were, I still think they would have been amazing if they just decided that Gwen Stacy was the one bitten by the spider and Peter Parker was jut her support.

 

[CrazyBlaze]

I think I'll wait to hear if it's, you know, good.

I'm weird like that.

The good news. The issue of Edge of Spider Verse where this is coming from was really good and its the same artist and writer. The Bad News I have no idea how good they will be on a monthly series.

This looks cool.

I keep seeing new comics that I want to check out, but I also get that weird `where-to-start` hesitation. Maybe I'll pick this one up if I have more money when it comes out.

I've seen some art of this and I think it looks good.

This one should be easy. Its the basic Spider Man story but with Gwen instead of Peter. The only thing you might want to read is Edge Of Spiderverse #2. Its the second of a four part series that showcases various different Spidermen in the Multiverse. Each is standalone so you don't really have to worry.

 

[Casual Shinji]

That actually sounds super cool! Even the name 'Spider-Gwen' has a delightfully silly charm to it. Eventhough I'm sure that's just a working title. I mean, how would she expect to keep up her secret identity if her name is in her superhero title? Maybe she'll just call herself Webby.

The fact that you have an established character who never had superpowers have superpowers, makes for a very interesting prospect. Like an alternative universe where Jimmy Olsen is Superman.

Not that I'm at all familiar with the actual comics, but things like this make me somehow giddy nonetheless.

 

[CrazyBlaze]

That actually sounds super cool! Even the name 'Spider-Gwen' has a delightfully silly charm to it. Eventhough I'm sure that's just a working title. I mean, how would she expect to keep up her secret identity if her name is in her superhero title? Maybe she'll just call herself Webby.

The fact that you have an established character who never had superpowers have superpowers, makes for a very interesting prospect. Like an alternative universe where Jimmy Olsen is Superman.

Not that I'm at all familiar with the actual comics, but things like this make me somehow giddy nonetheless.

I think she was going with Spider Woman (maybe Girl) in her One shot. But seeing as we are already getting a Spider Woman series I can see Marvel wanting to use a different name to avoid confusion. Of course it could just be making it really clear that this is Gwen and not Peter as the Spider (insert descriptive).

 

[PiercedMonk]

That actually sounds super cool! Even the name 'Spider-Gwen' has a delightfully silly charm to it. Eventhough I'm sure that's just a working title. I mean, how would she expect to keep up her secret identity if her name is in her superhero title? Maybe she'll just call herself Webby.

The fact that you have an established character who never had superpowers have superpowers, makes for a very interesting prospect. Like an alternative universe where Jimmy Olsen is Superman.

Not that I'm at all familiar with the actual comics, but things like this make me somehow giddy nonetheless.

I think she was going with Spider Woman (maybe Girl) in her One shot. But seeing as we are already getting a Spider Woman series I can see Marvel wanting to use a different name to avoid confusion. Of course it could just be making it really clear that this is Gwen and not Peter as the Spider (insert descriptive).

She's Spider-Woman in the EDGE OF THE SPIDER-VERSE issue, but as you say, Marvel already has SPIDER-WOMAN title coming out soon. Of course, they could have just tossed an adjective in the title, as Marvel is frequently wont to do, but I think the fact that a lot of the press and fans who were excited from the character were already calling her Spider-Gwen probably tipped the scales.

It is an odd title, but if they maintain the tone from the EDGE OF THE SPIDER-VERSE issue, I think it's appropriate.