10 Most Devastating Comic Book Endings
6. The Night Gwen Stacy Died
It was the issue that transformed comics forever. Death had occurred in the lives of superheroes previously, after all where would Batman, Superman, or Spider-Man be without the loss of the Waynes, Krypton, or Uncle Ben? But never before had death been so immediate, sudden, or inflicted on so popular a character.
The story has become the stuff of legend. Recalling Spider-Man's secret identity, the Green Goblin kidnaps the wall-crawler's longtime girlfriend Gwen Stacy and confronts him on the Brooklyn Bridge.
During the ensuing battle, Goblin tosses Gwen off the bridge. In a desperate bid to save her, Spider-Man shoots his web to her ankle, catching her just in time. Goblin escapes as Peter quickly pulled up his limp girlfriend, only realizing she is dead when he has her safe in his arms.
This was a complete shock to both Peter and the audience, who never expected the writers to kill off the then love of Spider-Man's life. The collective grief was only compounded by the revelation that her cause of death was a broken neck from the whiplash of being caught by his webbing.
The next issue saw Spider-Man confronting and beating Green Goblin, only for his nemesis to accidentally kill himself with his own Goblin Glider. The story ark concluded with Peter and Mary Jane, Gwen's best friend, collapsing into each other as they tried in vain to comfort one another.