9 Worst Things That Ever Happened To Gwen Stacy

Somehow Gwen dying isn't even the worst thing to happen to her.

by Andrew Pollard
Gwen Stacy Sad
Marvel Comics / John Romita Sr

Gwen Stacy is one of the most important characters in the history of comic books.

While some may dismiss Gwen as merely a supporting player in the larger story of Spider-Man, she's far more than that. This is a character who was (and alt-world is?) pivotal in the comics industry, with Gwen being involved in several huge comic book moments and likewise being a major influence on the comic book business overall.

Created by the legendary duo of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, Gwendolyne Maxine Stacy made her official bow in December 1965's The Amazing Spider-Man #31. At times depicted as a free spirited party girl, at others a super-smart genius, Gwen went on to become a prominent part of the Spider-Man comics over the next several years.

Of course, that "prominent part of" element was brutally brought to an end in 1973 when Gwen was killed off.

That moment in itself is such a key point in comic book history, but that, believe it or not, was not the only horrendous thing to have happened to Gwen.

If you thought death was bad, that’s sadly just the tip of the iceberg for the brilliant, but tragically doomed Gwen Stacy.

9. Being Omitted From FOX's Spider-Man Cartoon

Gwen Stacy Sad
Marvel

FOX's Spider-Man: The Animated Series of the 1990s is seen as one of the greatest superhero shows of all-time, with the series beloved for the sheer number of characters and stories that it pulled directly from the comics.

While that animated offering featured pretty much any and all villains tied to Spidey's rogues' gallery, there were also fellow heroes turning up in the form of Daredevil, The Punisher, Iron Man, Captain America, and so many more.

On the love interest front, Peter Parker found himself involved with Mary Jane Watson, Felicia Hardy, and Debra Whitman at various times, but the one person conspicuous by their absence was Gwen Stacy.

For fans of ol' Web-head, the five seasons and 65 episodes of Spider-Man were sorely lacking on the Gwen front. It felt like a borderline insult to Gwen to have such a detailed, deep Spidey show and not include the character in any way bar a brief appearance from the Earth-31198 version of Gwendolyne Stacy.

Having had the chance to interview Spider-Man supervising producer Bob Richardson earlier this year, Bob explained:

"I think we wanted to concentrate on Mary Jane as Peter’s love life and avoid the whole Gwen Stacy death issue in Spidey’s fight with Green Goblin. Also, it was always a little wacky, from a story point of view, what Gwen actually died from: the shock of the fall; Spidey’s webbing breaking her fall and her neck and so on."
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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 day job, 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. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.