8 Mysteries Even Spider-Man Couldn't Solve

5. What Really Killed Gwen - The Night Gwen Stacy Died

Spider-Man Hobgoblin
Marvel Comics

The specifics behind the death of Gwen Stacy was a mystery that Spider-Man couldn't give a definitive answer on for decades.

Of course, 1973's does-exactly-as-it-says-on-the-tin The Night Gwen Stacy Died is one of the most famous stories in Spider-Man lore. From Gerry Conway and Gil Kane - complete with legendary cover art from John Romita Sr. - this tale played out across just two issues and concluded with the tragic demise of Gwen.

For years, it was never known exactly what action caused the death of Peter Parker's first love.

Kidnapped by the Green Goblin and thrown off a bridge - depending on which books you're reading, said bridge varies between The George Washington Bridge and The Brooklyn Bridge - Spidey manages to fire off some webbing to help catch his falling beau. By the time the Wall-crawler gets to Gwen's body, she's dead... with the question being whether it was the shock of the fall that killed her, or whether Spider-Man's webbing had caused Stacy to fatally break her neck.

Even after then-Marvel Editor Roy Thomas stated Gwen's death was caused by the whiplash impact of Peter's web, that was conflicted in the comics by Green Goblin proclaiming it was the shock to her heart caused from the fall that was behind Gwen's demise.

Since then, there has been no set answer to this tragic question, with stories like 1994's Marvels miniseries claiming the fall caused Gwen's death, but then tales like Civil War stating it was indeed a broken neck that did Gwen in.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.