Marvel is Turning Spider-Man’s Original Love Into a Lethal Threat

One of the most fourth-wall-breaking characters of all time has just unmasked a beloved Marvel icon as Spider-Man's next big problem.

Gwenpool #2 (by Cavan Scott, Stefano Nesi, Matt Milla, and VC's Ariana Maher) picks up right where the last issue left off, with the titular hero and her allies staring down the recently unmasked assassin known as Dark Gwenpool. While it doesn't come as any serious surprise that this terrifying new villain is a version of Gwen Stacy, the specific version she happens to be is genuinely shocking. Rather than being another twisted clone or Multiversal variant, the Gwen behind the Dark Gwenpool mask is actually the Gwen Stacy of the primary Marvel Universe, and she has come back with a newfound hatred for not just Spider-Man, but Peter Parker, too.

Gwenpool #2

• Written by CAVAN SCOTT
• Art by STEFANO NESI
• Colors by MATT MILLA
• Letters by VC's ARIANA MAHER
• Design by KAT WALKINGTON
• Main cover art by CHAD HARDIN & EDGAR DELGADO
• Variant covers by GODTAIL, GURIHIRU, JOSHUA CASSARA & MATTHEW WILSON, LEIRIX, and GERALD PAREL

Introduced all the way back in 1965's Amazing Spider-Man #31 by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, Gwen Stacy was a classmate of Peter Parker, Flash Thompson, and Harry Osborn. She was also Peter's first serious romantic interest, with their relationship coming to define both characters in ways that are still indelible to the wider Spider-Man mythos. Tragically, Gwen lost her life during a confrontation between Spider-Man and the Green Goblin in a moment that has become one of the most infamous scenes in Marvel history.

While Gwen lost her life less than a decade after she made her Marvel Comics debut, that was far from the end of her story. Gwen's death was a catalyst for Mary Jane Watson's character to begin shedding the party girl lifestyle she had been enveloped in, as well as the catalyst for MJ's romance with Peter Parker. This is one of the only heartwarming aspects of Gwen's post-mortem legacy, largely thanks to the machinations of characters such as Harry Osborn and the Jackal, whose respective clones of Gwen Stacy have been at the heart of multiple harrowing storylines.

The Gwen Stacy of the reality known as "The Real World" made her Marvel Comics debut in the pages of 2015's Deadpool's Secret Wars #2 by Cullen Bunn and Matteo Lolli. After growing up in a reality where superheroes and villains only exist in works of fiction, Gwen and her brother Teddy were somehow transported to the primary Marvel Universe. There, Gwen discovered the ability to interact directly with the comic book medium in which she now exists, giving her an impossible edge over nearly any competition. In the time since then, Gwen has embarked upon numerous career paths ranging from hired goon to antihero, all while cementing herself in a very unique place within the overarching Marvel mythos.

Gwenpool #2 will be available June 18 from Marvel Comics.

Source: Marvel Comics