Gwen Stacy (Spider-Verse)

Gwen Stacy, also known by her alias Spider-Woman, is a fictional character appearing the ''Spider-Verse'' film franchise. She has her origins rooted in the original Gwen Stacy comic book character, created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Later, Jason Latour and Robbi Rodriguez created an alternate universe version of Gwen Stacy, who undertakes the Spider-Woman superhero moniker and is colloquially known as Spider-Gwen.

A film adaptation of that alternate Gwen Stacy, the ''Spider-Verse'' film character is voiced by Hailee Steinfeld and first appears in '' Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse'' (2018). Steinfeld reprised her role the sequel '' Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse'' (2023), and is scheduled to further portray the character in the upcoming '' Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse'' (2024) and ''Spider-Woman'' ().

The character has been generally received positively by audiences and critics alike, who consider her as helping transform the Gwen Stacy character into having a more prominent role in Spider-Man lore. Her expanded role in ''Across'' was particularly commended, with much discussion about her arc in the film being a queer coded allegory for the transgender experience. Those who asserted this interpretation praised Gwen as a positive media portrayal of a trans allegory, even if the character is not depicted as trans.

Appearances

''Into the Spider-Verse''

Gwen is introduced as a teenager in '' Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse'', explaining that she has been Spider-Woman for two years. She also mentions that she failed to save her universe's Peter Parker, who was her best friend, blaming herself for his death.

She explains that during battle with Doctor Octopus, she was pulled in another dimension. Her "spider-sense" led her to Brooklyn Visions Academy, where she would meet Miles, who is unaware of her identity as Spider-Woman. She introduces herself under the alias "Wanda" (mistaken by Miles as "Gwanda"). When first speaking to her, Miles is depicted as obviously anxious. Their meeting is awkward and Miles, not having a handle on his powers yet, gets his hand stuck in Gwen's hair, resulting in her distinctive undercut later in the film. At one point Gwen webs up Miles and Peter B. Parker, taking the briefcase they had stolen from Alchemax.

Gwen, along with the other Spider-people (Peter, Spider-Ham, Spider-Man Noir, and Peni Parker), are seen returning to their respective dimensions. Right before the credits of ''Into the Spider-Verse'', a flash featuring the color scheme of Gwen's dimension is seen, with her voice also heard calling to Miles.

''Across the Spider-Verse''

Set over a year after the events of ''Into the Spider-Verse'', the sequel offers Gwen more screentime and delves more in-depth into her backstory. The film's opening is centered on Gwen, with its narrative crosscut with visuals of her drumming intensely for her band, the Mary Janes. The narrative element of the opening focuses on her backstory and struggling relationship with her father, police captain George Stacy. It is revealed that after performing scientific experiments on himself, Earth-65's Peter Parker turns into the supervillain known as the Lizard. As the Lizard, Peter attacks a high school dance to enact revenge on his bullies. Gwen, as Spider-Woman, battles him but is unaware she is battling her friend. As a result of the battle, Peter suffers lethal injuries and before dying, transforms back into his human form. Upon realizing she inadvertently killed her best friend, Gwen is devastated. Her father arrives on the scene and devotes himself to leading the manhunt to capture her.

Wrongly accused of murdering Peter, Gwen becomes a fugitive while continuing to fight villains as Spider-Woman; she is seen fighting an interdimensional Italian Renaissance-themed version version of the Vulture. During the fight, she meets Miguel O'Hara (known as Spider-Man 2099) and another Spider-Woman, Jess Drew. The latter is based on the Jessica Drew from Spider-Woman comics lore; in ''Across the Spider-Verse'', she serves as Gwen's mentor and urges to include her in the Spider-Society, despite Miguel's initial push back. At the end of their battle with the Vulture, Gwen is again confronted by her father and in this moment, reveals her identity to him. He remains committed to arresting Spider-Woman, which greatly hurts her emotionally. She chooses to leave her home universe, traveling with Jess and Miguel and joining the Spider-Society.

Gwen later travels to Earth-1610, to reconnect with Miles, visiting him in his room and stumbling upon his sketchbook which includes much artwork of her. Recognizing his attraction for her, she mentions that in every other universe, a version of Gwen falls in love with Spider-Man, cautioning that it ultimately ends in the death of those Gwens. She also serves as a sort-of guide for Miles, discussing the wider Spider-Verse with him. Later, Gwen meets Miles' parents who get a sense of Miles' feelings for her.

The film also introduces Spider-Punk (Hobart "Hobie" Brown), based on the comics character of the same name. It is established that Gwen and Hobie are part of a band together, as well as the former having left "a lot of stuff" at the latter's house. Miles suspects that Hobie and Gwen have a more-than-platonic relationship, though Hobie's voice actor Daniel Kaluuya stated in an interview that "I think wen and Hobiehave a genuine friendship, but how deep that goes is between he two" Kaluuya also elaborated that Hobie was a member of the Spider-Society in part to support Gwen.

The Spider-Society has theories about canon events and anomalies, which Jess and Miguel share with Gwen, who accepts them as facts. Miguel and the Spider-Society assert that Miles is the original anomaly and that his father, who will become a police captain as well, must die as a "canon event" that all Spider-heroes must experience. Miles, set on saving his father escapes from Miguel and the Spider-Society. Seeing Gwen as a liability, Miguel expels Gwen from the Spider-Society, with him and Jess knowing Gwen will possibly be arrested upon her return to her home universe.

Upon returning to her home dimension, she reconnects with her father, who tells her he has resigned from his position as captain and will no longer pursue her arrest. She then assembles allies to go help Miles.

''Beyond the Spider-Verse''

Lord and Miller have confirmed that Gwen will meet variants of herself in ''Beyond the Spider-Verse'', calling it "plot integral" to the film.

''Spider-Woman''

In November 2018, a ''Spider-Verse'' spinoff featuring a female-led cast was announced alongside the sequel for ''Into the Spider-Verse''. Gwen, as well as Jess Drew and Cindy Moon, were later confirmed to be the characters of focus in the spinoff. In May 2023, producer Avi Arad confirmed that the film would be titled ''Spider-Woman'', and follow Gwen Stacy / Spider-Woman as the main character.

Conception and development

Background as a comics character

Gwen was based on the character of the same name who debuted in 2014, in the second issue of the ''Edge of Spider-Verse'' comic title. Each issue of the title had a different creative team, with Gwen's issue being helmed by Jason Latour and Robbi Rodriguez. Part of the larger "Spider-Verse" storyline, the issue portrayed an alternate universe version of Gwen Stacy, who was killed in Marvel Comics' main universe continuity, known as Earth-616. The alternate universe in which Gwen becomes Spider-Woman is designated as Earth-65. Readers of the character's comics commonly refer to her as Spider-Gwen, though the character is officially known as Ghost-Spider.

Instead of an origin story, the Latour and Rodriguez opted to explore the character's history in a two-page " Previously" spread. In it, Gwen was established as a teen drummer who was bitten by a radioactive spider, before taking on the Spider-Woman persona to indulge in an adrenalin buzz. Peter Parker, meanwhile, is Gwen's best friend in this continuity. She defends Peter from bullies, but he creates a serum that transforms him into the Lizard, wishing to be "special" like her. Not realizing Peter is the Lizard, she accidentally kills him in battle.

As the "Spider-Verse" storyline proved popular, demand for a title centered on Earth-65's Gwen Stacy was high, leading to the ''Spider-Gwen'' comic series beginning in February 2015.

Adaptation in film

Shortly prior to the launch of ''Spider-Gwen'', the November 2014 hack of Sony Pictures–the studio owning the film rights to Spider-Man characters–revealed emails among Sony executives discussing a planned animated Spider-Man comedy film to be written by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. At CinemaCon in April 2015, Sony Pictures chair Tom Rothman announced the animated film's release date as being set for July 20, 2018. Before Gwen's appearance in the ''Spider-Verse'' films, the character was adapted in the animated television series ''Ultimate Spider-Man'', making her screen debut in 2016.

Spider-Gwen was originally set to appear in the film as a love interest of Miles Morales', but this idea was scrapped as her character transitioned into having a more platonic relationship with Miles in the film, as well as having a more prominent role as a hero. A co-producer on ''Into the Spider-Verse'', Christina Steinberg was noted by '' Vanity Fair'' as responsible for this development, with Lord being quoted stating, "I will say that teinbergkept us honest. As five boys making a movie, it was really good to have another filmmaker there going, 'I don't think you guys want to do it like this.'"

In December 2017, the film's first teaser was released, officially unveiling its title as '' Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse''. Sony later released the film's official trailer on June 6, 2018, which included Gwen at the end, confirming Hailee Steinfeld was cast as Spider-Woman / Gwen Stacy. Steinfeld had already been linked to the film, but her role in the project was previously unknown. Following this, Gwen further appeared in the film's marketing material including TV spots.
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Gwen's return in a potential sequel was indicated, according to ''Polygon'' via the flash of her dimension's color scheme at the end of the first film. Development for the sequel was announced in November 2018, prior to the first film's release, and its release date was originally confirmed for April 2022. This was ultimately pushed back to June 2, 2023. Though not being given a full script during the sequel's production, Steinfeld shared she recorded voice lines for it over a period of four years beginning shortly after ''Into''s release. For ''Across'', the character's role was expanded to the point many outlets considered her a "second lead" or "full-fledged protagonist" in her own right. Indeed, the beginning and end of the films are narrated by Gwen, with much of the film presented from her perspective. For scenes involving Gwen and her father, Steinfeld was able to record in the same room with the latter's voice actor, Shea Whigham. Steinfeld specifically asked to record in the same room as her co-stars, not having done so for ''Into the Spider-Verse'' but hearing that Miles' voice actor Shameik Moore had. Being able to record with Whigham, Moore, and Issa Rae (voice of Jess Drew), Steinfeld commented "There's nothing like that real-time banter and human interaction, and bless our sound department, but a little overlap never hurt anybody too bad. So it was really special to have the authenticity of a real-life conversation." Lord and Miller also noted the process Steinfeld employed during production, stating she would offer detailed lists of edits and improvements she could make to line recordings.

Characterization and design

Visual design

''Spider-Verse''s Gwen deliberately draws much inspiration from the comics. Production designer on ''Into'' and director on ''Across'' Justin K. Thompson was "adamant that Gwen had to reflect the Robbi Rodriguez art style from the comic," stating that he wanted her to be "the most capable of all the Spider-People", adding that "there's a power and sophistication and poise in her." ''Into the Spider-Verse''s art director wrote elaborated on Gwen being "like a ghost when she's in her costume," stating "she does react to light, but much less so than other characters do. She maintains an almost white silhouette with black accents."

In ''Into the Spider-Verse'', she is depicted with a slim build, a piercing near her eyebrow, and short blonde hair, "chopped to the side after Miles accidentally got his hand stuck on it because he could not control his powers." Her costume implements "elements of femininity" as its black portion "is designed to look like a dress." Her visual design borrows elements from her comics appearances. Having a distinct color palette from established Spider-Man schemes, the black, white, purple, and neon blue costume she wears originates from her comics design, created by Latour, Rodriguez, and colorist Rico Renzi. Gwen's outfit is also hooded and features her wearing a white mask. For her appearance in the film, character designer Shiyoon Kim stated that the animation team's goal "was to make Gwen stand out from the visual archetypes associated with female characters in animation." Kim elaborated that Gwen "is not just a pretty blonde girl with your typical thin princess body. We wanted her to look like a ballet dancer — tall, muscular, and powerful." Kim also stated that a sculpt was done based on sketches by Andrea Blasich, with visual development artist Omar Smith creating the final design.

Gwen's home dimension of Earth-65 is featured in ''Across the Spider-Verse''. Described by the filmmakers as a "mood ring" reflecting Gwen's emotions, the world's colors and transitions are "not literal", with its details dependent on Gwen's feelings. Carlos Aguilar of the ''New York Times'' wrote that "for example, if wenfeels angry, the screen turns red and the atmosphere hotter. And when confusion overtakes her, the world becomes fragmented." Thompson cited ''Cinderella'', the 1950 Disney film, as serving as a reference in this regard. The visual effect results in "watercolor-like hues that drip and morph in reaction to Gwen." Gwen's world in the film is inspired by elements of Rodriguez's artwork and Renzi's colors from the original ''Spider-Gwen'' run.

Story elements

Portrayed as mature for her age in ''Into'', Gwen is "very competent in hand to hand combat, very agile, and smart", Gwen also serves as a mentor of sorts to Miles. While the film scrapped making Gwen solely a love interest of Miles, the film does include a romantic tension between the two; this dynamic is pulled from the comics, which features the two in an inter-dimensional relationship, occasionally crossing dimensions to see each other. Though plot points about Gwen and Miles' romantic relationship were ultimately cut from ''Into'', they were included in the film's sequel, '' Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse''. Scenes developing this relationship were inspired by the ''Sitting in a Tree'' crossover storyline featuring Miles and Gwen. The sequel's filmmakers were also conscious of Gwen's arc paralleling Miles', with her "serving as a mirror at times" for him.

Lord and Miller sought to include a mentor for Gwen in ''Across the Spider-Verse'', leading to the inclusion of Jess Drew (also known as Spider-Woman). Her arc in the sequel is seen by its filmmakers as mirroring that of Miles', with director Joaquim Dos Santos stating, "wenalready was a character that played everything really, really close to her chest. She has to learn sort of the opposite end of what Miles is going through, uch asdoing things not only to protect herself, but this other family that she's taken in." Her being a fugitive from the law in the ''Spider-Verse'' films is also an element drawn from the comics.

Filmic analysis

Gwen's development from ''Into'' to ''Across'' has been analyzed by film writers. Rory Piñata of MovieWeb wrote that upon the end of the film, when she reconnects with her father, "her dark, pastel shadows melt into his golden rays," signifying for the first time for the viewers that they are following Gwen as the main character of the film.

Writing for ''Collider'', Gregory Mysogland wrote on the contrasting elements of Gwen's appearances at the beginning and ending of ''Across''. Mysogland wrote that "unrelenting and loud music plays over all the disparate images f Gwen's drumming uniting the painful emotions they provoke in Gwen, and consequently, the viewer,' while also commenting that the film's rapid editing and vibrating camerawork during this sequence creates "disorienting effect" for the viewer, immersing them in Gwen's "feelings of frustration, anxiety, and heartbreak." Mysogland contrasted this with the end of the film, in which Gwen resolves to help Miles, "encouraged by her reconciliation with her father." The shots of her leading a team of Spider-People "are accompanied by a classically heroic score, which, while enthusiastic, is nowhere near as loud or aggressive as the opening drum playing." Mysogland added that the scene's calmer editing and direction when compared to the opening help to convey that "Gwen has conquered at least some of her emotional challenges and has a clear, positive path forward."

Allegory for trans identity

Much has been written about Gwen potentially being trans, particularly after her appearance in ''Across the Spider-Verse''. The film does not outright confirm Gwen is trans, nor has its creators spoken on Gwen's identity in this regard. However, audiences and media writers interpreted Gwen's arc in the sequel as an allegory for trans identity, with some even suggesting Gwen may be trans or subtextually coded as such. One such subtext includes Gwen's line that her parents "only know half of who I am", which she shares with Miles.

The film does however include explicit references to trans culture, namely a shot of Gwen's bedroom wall, on which a transgender flag with text reading "Protect Trans Kids" was hung up. Some fans also suggested Gwen's father is briefly seen with a trans pin on his police uniform. However, others believe the colors on this may be incidental, due to the color filter used during the scene. Indeed, the film's color palette often features Gwen "draped" in the colors of the transgender flag: pink, blue, and white. Some have cited that these colors were already used by the comics version of Spider-Woman Gwen Stacy, and thus were not necessarily proof that the movie version is trans. Alex Abad-Santos of '' Vox'' wrote that "these colors are especially pronounced when Gwen is in her own world, where the artistic conceit is that the colors around her reflect her feelings." One key scene featuring Gwen discussing her secret identity as Spider-Woman to her father features the colors prominently, leading to Amelia Hansford of ''PinkNews'' writing that "Gwen and the environment around her are practically drenched in the trans Pride colors during the sequence, with many seeing the scene itself as a metaphor for coming out: In the film, Gwen is forced to hide her identity from judgemental eyes in a world where Spider-Woman is misunderstood and despised by society."

CNN's Leah Asmelash cited comics writer and longtime fan Zoe Tunnell as stating the hinting of Gwen as trans was "as subtle as a brick" and "the people telling this story presented wen'sin a way that was clearly intended to resonate and support with many of our lives, both thematically and symbolically using the pride color palette." Isaiah Colbert of ''Kotaku'' wrote that "some ''Spider-Verse'' viewers feel that her character arc, which includes a painful coming-out of sorts to her father, functions as a trans allegory. And the visual motifs that the film employs during this pivotal scene only serve to drive home that interpretation." Abad-Santos added that "In ''Across the Spider-Verse'', one of the core ideas is that anyone can be a version of Spider-Man. This helps to further the LGBTQ allegory." Gavia Baker-Whitelaw, writing for ''The Daily Dot'', called "the subtext behind Gwen's arc ..glaringly obvious," opining that "it's both unfair and wrongheaded to dismiss a trans-coded interpretation just because it's based on things like color palette and metaphor."

Critical and audience reception

In the book ''The Superhero Multiverse: Readapting Comic Book Icons in Twenty-First-Century Film and Popular Media'', James C. Taylor called Gwen's inclusion in ''Into the Spider-Verse'' "particularly significant", "in regard to opening up the Spider-Man franchise to female characters." Taylor added that Gwen's characterization in the film "resists" a marginalization of superheroines, writing "although her role is largely a supporting one in a male character's narrative she refuses to play the part of love interest, deflecting Morales' romantic advances."

Gwen's expanded role in the sequel was praised by film critics. Germain Lussier of ''Gizmodo'' wrote that "One thing is very clear from the very first scene. This is not simply a Miles Morales movie. It's a Gwen Stacy movie too," and added that the film would prompt viewers to become a fan of Gwen's if they were not already. ''Collider''s Caleb Fesmire called Gwen one of the sequel's "greatest strengths" and opined that the film giving her more of a role helped argue in favor of Gwen deserving a stand-alone film of her own. Fesmire added that "Gwen was already a strong character in ''Into the Spider-Verse''," calling her "effortlessly cool and competent, serving as a foil for the less confident Miles," while providing praise for Steinfeld's performance. Fesmire also praised the visual design of Earth-65, writing that "perhaps the simplest argument for giving Gwen a solo movie is simply how good Gwen's world, Earth-65, looks in ''Across the Spider-Verse''," calling it "gorgeously impressionistic."

Jess' mentorship of Gwen in ''Across the Spider-Verse'' was also praised by Caitlin Chappell of ''Comic Book Resources'' (''CBR''), who wrote that "while audiences do not see much of Gwen's mentorship under Jess, the impact she has on Gwen is outstanding. Gwen has learned a few tricks from Jess, but what truly stands out is Gwen's knowledge of the Spider-Verse." Daniel Chin of '' The Ringer'' provided praise for a scene featuring Gwen and Miles in ''Across the Spider-Verse'', writing that them "spending time atop the Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower, gazing on an inverted New York City skyline as they hang upside down together, make some of the most lasting impressions n the film"

Response to trans allegory interpretations

Audience response to interpretations of Gwen as trans or of her story as an allegory for trans identity was positive, according to writers and media outlets covering the film. Hansford wrote that "Whether Gwen Stacy is trans, an ally or simply a metaphor for the trans experience, many fans have praised the inclusion of a trans-coded superhero overcoming adversity in a world hellbent on suppressing her." Asmelash, Colbert, and ''IGN''s Alex Stedman all cited one fan who wrote "Trans (and even cis) fans have every right to say Gwen Stacy is trans, even if the movies never outright confirm it. You can't deny that it's been hinted at. The fact is— if she can make somebody feel represented, who are you to tell them they're wrong?" Avery Kaplan of '' Popverse'' wrote that even if Gwen is cis, she can still be relatable for trans viewers, referring to a scene "in which wen and Milesexpress how deeply they empathize with one another in spite of the seemingly different nature of their respective circumstances. The unqualified empathy between the two leading characters in spite of their disparate origins – they're literally from different dimensions – embodies one of the key themes of the ''Spider-Verse'' concept."

Though fan and media response did include positive reactions to this interpretation, some viewers pushed back on the idea. Baker-Whitelaw wrote that "as more viewers began to discuss this interpretation on social media, it provoked a variety of reactions—both with predictable transphobic backlash and in a more complicated debate about whether queer/trans subtext is a cop-out compared to 'real' representation." Tunnell was cited as having received hateful responses and death threats, to which she stated "the fact that people are so rabid and hateful about the sheer concept of a character being trans, or even just a strong trans ally, shows why support and solidarity with trans folks is more important now than ever."

Additionally, several theaters in Muslim-majority countries in the Middle East abruptly pulled their scheduled screenings of the film, set for release in the region on June 22, 2023. Though no official or explicit bans of the film's release were issued, many speculated that film failed to pass regional censorship requirements was due to its brief visual references to the transgender flag.

See also

* List of Spider-Man films cast members
* ''Spider-Gwen''

Notes

References

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