9 Worst Things That Ever Happened To Gwen Stacy

2. Being Overlooked By The Masses

Gwen Stacy Sad
Marvel Comics

While the death of Gwen Stacy is viewed by even the most casual of comic book fans as being one of the most iconic and shocking moments in the history of comics, a lot of people tend to overlook Gwen as a character.

In a mainstream sense, when people think of Peter Parker's one true love they instantly think of Mary Jane Watson. And while MJ is a phenomenal character in her own right, and her relationship with Peter has been a true highlight of Marvel Comics at times, that has often resulted in Gwen becoming a footnote in Spidey's history - a footnote that ended up leading to comic books using girlfriends and wives as mere plot points whose deaths could spur on our macho, macho heroes.

She was essentially the first ever comic book woman to be stuck in the fridge.

When it comes down to it, Gwen Stacy, not Mary Jane Watson, is Peter Parker's real 'one true' - the two people who really were made for each other.

While stories like House of M and Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's stunning, heartbreaking Spider-Man: Blue clearly back that proclamation up, recent years have seen Gwen become far more than just Peter's perfect partner.

These days, Gwen Stacy is on the crest of a wave of newfound popularity thanks to the ludicrously successful appearances of Spider-Gwen in the comic book world and on the big screen in the glorious Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse - and there also has to be some praise for Sony Pictures pushing forward with Emma Stone's Gwen Stacy as such an important part of the (admittedly disappointing) Amazing Spider-Man franchise opposite Andrew Garfield's Web-head.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

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.