This one seems like it could get a lot of mileage in terms of shame now that the Amazing Spider-Man 2 is lighting up box offices worldwide. One of the most famous storylines in Spidey's canon is - spoilers! - the death of his girlfriend, Gwen Stacy, at the hands of the nefarious Green Goblin. Marvel, in their infinite wisdom, and amidst a bunch of other weird changes and retcons they made to Peter Parker's history, decided to mess about with that classic, tragic tale with 2005's Sins Past. Look at it this way: you see Amazing Spider-Man 2 with a friend, who loved Emma Stone's portrayal of Gwen and was genuinely shocked when she was killed off in the film. They might ask if the same fate befalls Gwen in the comics? You bite your tongue, because you don't want to admit that it was later revealed that, before she died, young Ms Stacy had found the time to father twins with Norman Osborn, the Green Goblin's alter ago. Nobody wants to admit comics can be that stupid. Or creepy. Yeesh.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
