''Spider-Gwen'' (also titled ''Ghost-Spider'') is an ongoing

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

series published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

that began February 2015. The series revolves around Gwen Stacy of Earth-65, an alternate universe version of Gwen Stacy that debuted in ''Edge of Spider-Verse'' #2 as part of the 2014–2015 Spider-Man storyline "

Spider-Verse "Spider-Verse" is a 2014– 15 comic book storyline published by Marvel Comics. It features multiple alternative versions of Spider-Man that had appeared in various media, all under attack by Morlun and his family, the Inheritors. The event ...

". ''Spider-Gwen'' explores a universe where Gwen Stacy was bitten by the radioactive spider instead of

Peter Parker Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August ...

, leading her to a career as the

Spider-Woman Spider-Woman is the code name of several fictional characters in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first and original version is Jessica Drew (later impersonated by Veranke), the second version is Julia Carpenter, and the third vers ...

of her world.

Publication history

A spider-powered Gwen Stacy was first envisioned by longtime Spider-Man writer

Dan Slott Dan Slott (born July 3, 1967) is an American comic book writer, known for his work on Marvel Comics books such as ''The Amazing Spider-Man'', as well as ''She-Hulk'', ''Silver Surfer'', '' The Superior Spider-Man'', '' Tony Stark: Iron Man'', ''Th ...

for the 2014–15 "

" storyline. However, his initial concept was very different from what was published, which was mainly the work of ''Spider-Gwen'' creators

Jason Latour David Jason Latour (born 1977) is an American comic book artist and writer known for his work for Image, Dark Horse, Marvel and DC comics on titles such as ''Wolverine'', '' Winter Soldier'', '' Southern Bastards'' and ''Spider-Gwen''. Early ...

and Robbi Rodriguez. In October,

Nick Lowe Nicholas Drain Lowe (born 24 March 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in power pop and New wave music, new wave,New York Comic-Con 2014 that the fan-favorite Spider-Gwen who was introduced in "Spider-Verse" would be getting her own series after much demand. The first volume ended after the fifth issue with the character carrying over into the second volume of ''Spider-Verse'' as part of the "

Secret Wars ''Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars'', commonly known as ''Secret Wars'' for short, is a twelve-issue American comic book crossover limited series published from May 1984 to April 1985 by Marvel Comics. The series was written by Jim Shooter, with ...

" storyline.''Spider-Gwen'' #5. Marvel Comics. After the conclusion of that storyline, a second volume by the same creative team began with issue #1 as a part of Marvel's

All-New, All-Different Marvel All-New, All-Different Marvel (ANADM) is a 2015–2019 branding for Marvel Comics' entire main line of comics. Taking place after the crossover storyline " Secret Wars", it details the new Marvel Universe, with nearly 60–65 titles relaunched w ...

imprint. Following the departure of Latour and Rodriguez, Marvel launched a new series titled ''Spider-Gwen: Ghost-Spider'', written by

Seanan McGuire Seanan McGuire (pronounced SHAWN-in; born January 5, 1978 in Martinez, California) is an American author and filker. McGuire is known for her urban fantasy novels. She uses the pseudonym Mira Grant to write science fiction/ horror and the pseudon ...

with pencils by Rosi Kämpe, and later

Takeshi Miyazawa Takeshi Miyazawa (born April 19, 1978) is a comic book artist who was born in Canada and attended Queen's University in Ontario to study art. His art style incorporates a manga sensibility. Bibliography Incomplete comic book checklist: *'' Empowe ...

. After 10 issues, the series was relaunched as simply ''Ghost-Spider'', which ended after an additional 10 issues. Under this creative team, stories featured Gwen Stacy traveling back and forth between her home dimension, in which her identity was publicly known, and Earth-616, in which she attends college. In 2022, a new limited series titled ''Spider-Gwen: Gwen-Verse'' by

Tim Seeley Tim Seeley is an American comic book artist and writer known for his work on books such as '' Grayson'', '' Nightwing'', '' G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'', ''G.I. Joe vs. Transformers'' and '' New Exiles''. He is also the co-creator of the ...

and Jodi Nishijima was published, featuring Stacy traveling through time alongside alternative versions of herself (modeled after other Marvel heroes) to correct a disruption in the timeline.

Story

Before ''Spider-Gwen''

Before the beginning of ''Spider-Gwen'', high school student Gwen Stacy was bitten by a radioactive spider. This granted her all of the quintessential Spider-Man powers, and Stacy began her career as Spider-Woman. In her regular life, she begins a relationship with Peter Parker, forms a friend group with Parker, and ostracizes new student Harry Osborn, who is later revealed to have had a crush on her. Meanwhile, Peter becomes infatuated with Spider-Woman without knowing that she is Stacy. The bullied Peter's suffering worsens, and eventually, he creates a formula that turns him into a lizard mutant. On

prom A promenade dance, commonly called a prom, is a dance party for high school students. It may be offered in semi-formal black tie or informal suit for boys, and evening gowns for girls. This event is typically held near the end of the school y ...

night, after he is being bullied yet again, he injects himself with the formula and transforms, going psycho. Gwen Stacy dons her Spider-Woman costume and fights Peter, defeating and accidentally killing him. Peter regresses to his human form in Gwen's arms, telling her he just wanted to "be special" like her and prompting her to realize what she has done. She runs from the scene, creating the public misconception that Spider-Woman has murdered Peter Parker and is a menace to society and setting up the ''Spider-Gwen'' series.

Volume 0

Before the

event that introduced Spider-Gwen, Stacy's father George Stacy was ordered as captain of the NYPD to hunt down and detain Spider-Woman, considered a public menace. Captain Stacy—unaware of Spider-Gwen's secret identity—is more than happy to do so. Upon hearing about this, the Kingpin, one of New York's most prominent crime bosses, decides to ally himself with Spider-Gwen—for reasons unexplained—and apparently has his lawyer

Matt Murdock Daredevil is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Daredevil was created by Literary editor, writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett, with an unspecified amount of input from Jack Kirby. The c ...

( Daredevil on Earth-616, the main Marvel universe) send the assassin Aleksei Sytsevich to kill Captain Stacy. Gwen arrives and saves her father, who corners her at gunpoint. To avoid getting shot, she reveals to her father that she is Spider-Woman. After the Spider-Verse event, Gwen goes back to her ordinary life of bumming around by day and Spider-Woman-ing by night. Her father passes the Spider-Woman investigation on to Detective

Frank Castle The Punisher (Francis "Frank" Castle, born Castiglione) is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru. The Punisher ma ...

. Suddenly, the villainous Vulture appears, secretly working for the Kingpin, and causes trouble for Gwen (Spider-Ham appears for a short time as a hallucination because of an attack). Gwen defeats the Vulture and in the end, he is put away, Murdock continuing to influence him from behind bars. Frank Castle increases his efforts against Spider-Woman, becoming more and more ruthless. Castle eventually makes the connection with Spider-Woman's identity and enlists the help of

Kraven the Hunter Kraven the Hunter (Sergei Kravinoff; Russian: Сергей Кравинов) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Debuting in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' issue #15 (August 1964) as an adversary ...

to perform a siege on the Stacy house. Castle and Kraven brutally beat down Gwen after she gets her father to safety. The volume concludes when Gwen decides to take a stand against Castle and not run any longer, blindsiding him as he unmasks her while trying to get away.

Volume 1

Gwen is unsure of how secure her secret identity is as she hides from her father and awaits the recollection of Frank Castle. Her problems are put to the side when a Lizard appears on the streets, seemingly having taken something similar to Peter Parker's formula. The dog of Spider-Gwen's "arch-nemesis", the Bodega Bandit, is eaten by the Lizard. Tracking the Lizard into the sewer, Spider-Woman encounters a pack of Lizard-Men. Earth 65's Captain America, Samantha Wilson, shows up to capture the Lizards and Spider-Gwen as well. Gwen battles CA while avoiding the Lizards. Gwen saves CA from the Lizards and they part ways on good terms. After a quick chat with Jessica Drew of Earth-616, Gwen and the Mary Janes go on a camping trip where Harry Osborn makes a surprise appearance. He explains his connection with S.H.I.E.L.D. and his motive to go after Spider-Woman. He appears nights later in a green mechanical suit accompanied by an army of orange robots to kill Spider-Woman. After an issue-long battle, Harry sets off an explosion to even the playing field. As Gwen lies on the floor, Harry drinks a vial of the Lizard formula and unmasks her to his surprise. After an issue break from the fight, involving a story line of George Stacy conversing with Matt Murdock, Gwen resumes her fight with a now-mutated Harry Osborn with the assistance of Captain America. Gwen eventually convinces Harry that he is in the wrong and allows him to run from S.H.I.E.L.D. Gwen reconciles with her father in the end and he quits his job.

Volume 2

Volume 3

Volume 4

Volume 5

Characters

* Gwen Stacy / Spider-Woman / Spider-Gwen / Ghost-Spider – A variation of Gwen Stacy that was bitten by the radioactive spider that turned Peter Parker into Spider-Man. Following Spider-Verse, Gwen continues dealing with the aftermath of Peter's death after his attack as the Lizard, feeling guilt for Peter's death whilst being branded by the public as his murderer. *

George Stacy George Stacy is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, usually in stories depicting the superhero Spider-Man. He is Gwen Stacy's father and a former police captain from the New York City Police Departm ...

– The Captain of the

NYPD The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...

who is Gwen's father. Following Peter's death, George is made head of the task force to arrest Spider-Woman. However, after Spider-Woman saved him from the Rhino and revealed herself to be none other than Gwen, George tries to help and protect her however possible.''Edge of Spider-Verse'' #2

Villains

* A.I.M. - A criminal organization. ** M.O.D.A.A.K. – Short for Mental Organism Designed As America's King, M.O.D.A.A.K. is a variation of

MODOK MODOK (also written as M.O.D.O.K.; an acronym for Mental/Mobile/Mechanized Organism Designed Only for Killing) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first MODOK is George Tarleton, a former e ...

created by A.I.M.''Spider-Gwen Annual'' #1 Latour based this character's appearance and tone on American then-U.S. Presidential candidate

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

. * The Bodega Bandit – The Bodega Bandit is a petty criminal who was stopped many times by Spider-Woman. He had a dog named Bandito who was later eaten by a Lizard. Spider-Woman made it up to him by giving him a hamster named Pine Cone.''Spider-Gwen'' #1 *

– The Captain of the NYPD's Special Crimes Task Force who succeeds George Stacy as head of the investigation into Spider-Woman, due to George being relieved of duty by Mayor Jameson. Castle is shown to be a cold and brutal individual, with nihilistic tendencies and a one track mind when it comes to dispensing justice. * Doctorangutan – An intelligent orangutan.''Spider-Gwen'' (vol. 2) #10 * The Hand - A ninja organization. ** Matt Murdock / Kingpin – In this reality, Matt Murdock is Wilson Fisk's lawyer who was trained by Stick and later the Hand, serving as the Kingpin of Crime. The cause of his blindness is the same as his Earth-616 counterpart. ** The Rhino – In this reality, Aleksei Sytsevich is a mercenary with gray skin and blue hair who the Kingpin once hired to kill George Stacy. He later became the Rhino upon joining the Hand. After the Rhino beat up George Stacy, Spider-Woman wanted revenge only to find that Captain Frank Castle had beaten her to it when he killed the Rhino. * The Koala Kommander – The masked

koala The koala or, inaccurately, koala bear (''Phascolarctos cinereus''), is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae and its closest living relatives are the w ...

-weaponizing menace of New York. In hindsight, this character exercised poor judgment in creating living weapons. *

– A hunter enlisted by Frank Castle. * Peter Parker / The Lizard – Peter's life largely mirrors that of his Earth-616 counterpart but he is never bitten by the spider. He was best friends with Gwen Stacy, and was regularly tormented by bullies. As a result of the latter, Peter had begun to develop an inferiority complex and an obsession with Spider-Woman after her emergence, wanting to become "special" like her. He eventually injected himself with a serum that would turn him into the Lizard, and would come into conflict with Spider-Woman. During their fight, Peter fatally suffers under the physical strain of both Spider-Woman's attacks and the serum, resulting in his death and Spider-Woman gaining criminal status, as she was blamed for killing him. Peter's death serves as the main catalyst for much of the challenges Gwen faces over the course of the comic books. * Harry Osborn / The Green Goblin / The Lizard – In this reality, Harry watched his best friend Peter Parker get beaten to death by Spider-Woman. His intense feeling of guilt drives him to join and subsequently betray S.H.I.E.L.D. on his quest to kill Spider-Woman. During the "Radioactive" story arc in the comics, Harry comes back into Gwen's life, and later battles Spider-Woman with a super suit and glider. After Harry injects himself with the Lizard formula, he discovers Spider-Woman is Gwen Stacy and is consumed by anger. Finally, he escapes and is now on the run from S.H.I.E.L.D. * Wilson Fisk – A mobster who was arrested by George Stacy years ago and is still in prison, but apparently still runs his criminal empire with his lawyer, Matt Murdock, serving as his proxy as the Kingpin. Murdock is ultimately revealed to be the real Kingpin, with Fisk serving as his patsy. * S.I.L.K. – A terrorist organization that splintered from S.H.I.E.L.D.''Spider-Women Alpha'' #1 ** Cindy Moon – The billionaire head of S.I.L.K.. Cindy's life largely mirrors that of her Earth-616 counterpart, up until the point where a spider that almost bit her was instead killed by a newspaper. At some point, S.H.I.E.L.D. recruited Cindy and she had begun researching spiders. Cindy cured fellow agent Jesse Drew of radiation poisoning, and both later decided to rebel against S.H.I.E.L.D.. In a fight with Captain America, one of the spiders Cindy developed got loose and escaped into the wild, where it would make its way to Gwen Stacy. ** Jesse Drew – A former S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent and the Earth-65 version of Jessica Drew / Spider-Woman that sided with Cindy Moon after she cured him of his radiation poisoning. As a member of S.I.L.K., Jesse Drew operates as Agent 77. **

Otto Octavius Doctor Octopus (Dr. Otto Gunther Octavius), also known as Doc Ock for short, is a fictional Character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko and firs ...

– A scientist that works for S.I.L.K. **

Project Green A project is any undertaking, carried out individually or collaboratively and possibly involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a particular goal. An alternative view sees a project managerially as a sequence of even ...

– In this reality, the Super-Adaptoid was known as Project Green. * Adrian Toomes / the Vulture – An ex-Oscorp employee who targeted police officers. This version secretes a green cloud of gas wherever he goes.

Other characters

Ben Grimm Benjamin Jacob Grimm, also known as The Thing, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is a founding member of the Fantastic Four. The Thing was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and ...

– In this reality, Ben Grimm is a police officer for the NYPD. * Ben Parker – The uncle of Peter Parker who is still alive in this reality and is a neighbor of the Stacy family. Though Ben largely behaves no differently than his counterpart on Earth-616, he is arguably among the most deeply affected by Peter's death aside from Gwen, and therefore harbors a great deal of anger and resentment especially in regards to Spider-Woman. * Samantha Wilson / Captain America – In this reality, Captain America is a female pilot who went through Project Rebirth after Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes, and Isaiah Bradley were badly injured by Nazi double agents.''Spider-Gwen'' (vol. 2) #1 ** Sam 13 / Falcon – In this reality, Falcon is a male clone of Captain America, who has a robotic bird companion named Redwing.''Spider-Gwen'' (vol. 2) #2 * Felicia Hardy – In this reality, Felicia Hardy was a musician who planned revenge on Matt Murdock for killing her

father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...

after he stole some of the Kingpin's money. *

Foggy Nelson Franklin Percy "Foggy" Nelson is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character has been depicted as part of the supporting cast of Daredevil (Matt Murdock); Foggy is Matt's best friend and, for m ...

– Foggy Nelson is a District Attorney. *

Isaiah Bradley Isaiah Bradley is one of the superheroes to hold the title of Captain America, appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is an early product of the United States' Super Soldier program (codenamed Project: Rebirth ...

– He was one of the candidates for Project Rebirth until he was injured by Nazi double agents. * J. Jonah Jameson – The Mayor of New York City. Not unlike his Earth-616 counterpart, Jameson is one of Spider-Woman's harshest critics, and his smear campaign of her gained much pedigree following Peter Parker's death. * James Barnes – He was one of the candidates for Project Rebirth until he was injured by Nazi double agents. After retiring later on, James Barnes had a medical center named after him. *

Jean DeWolff Jean DeWolff is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is a New York City police detective, and a supporting character in stories featuring the superhero Spider-Man. Introduced in ''Marvel Team-Up'' ...

– A detective in the NYPD's Special Crimes Task Force, she is a close friend of George Stacy and is partnered up with Frank Castle. * The Mary Janes – A rock band formed by Gwen and three close friends, in which Gwen herself plays the drums. **

Mary Jane Watson Mary Jane "MJ" Watson is a Character (arts), fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and John Romita Sr., and made her first appearance in ''The Amazing Spider-Man' ...

– The lead singer and lead guitarist of Gwen's band, The Mary Janes. ** Betty Brant – The Bass player of The Mary Janes who is Gwen Stacy's roommate. **

Glory Grant Gloriana Grant, more commonly known as Glory Grant, is a Marvel Comics supporting character of Spider-Man. She is introduced in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #140 (January 1975) as a neighbor of Peter Parker. Peter then helps her secure a position as ...

– Member of The Mary Janes. *

May Parker Maybelle "May" Parker-Jameson (née Reilly), commonly known as Aunt May, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Spider-Man. Making her first full appeara ...

– The aunt of Peter Parker who is a neighbor of the Stacy family. *

Norman Osborn Norman Osborn is a fictional character, fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character, created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #14 (July ...

– In this reality, Norman is still the CEO of Oscorp, but appears to be far more benign and benevolent than his counterpart on Earth-616. He is shown to care deeply for Harry, and begs for Spider-Woman's help in curing him of the Lizard serum. *

Peggy Carter Margaret Elizabeth Carter is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is usually depicted as a supporting character in books featuring Captain America. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirb ...

– In this reality, Peggy Carter is an operative for the Strategic Scientific Reserve who oversaw Project Rebirth. In a later life, Peggy Carter became the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. *

Randy Robertson Randy Robertson is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is a supporting character in Marvel's Spider-Man series and is depicted as the son of Robbie Robertson. Publication history Randy first appe ...

– In this reality, Randy Robertson is a rock and roll reporter. * Steve Rogers – He was one of the candidates for Project Rebirth until he was injured by Nazi double-agents. In a later life, he illustrated the "Captain America" comics. * The Yancy Street Gang – The Yancy Street Gang are shown to root for Spider-Woman. ** Hobie Brown – Member of the Yancy Street Gang.

Reception

''Spider-Gwen'' has received positive reviews from critics.

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

said "Spider-Gwen's new comic gets off to a solid start thanks to a hip tone, strong characterization, and vibrant artwork."

Comic Book Resources ''Comic Book Resources'', also known by the initialism CBR, is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book–related news and discussion. History Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1995 as a development of the Kingdom Co ...

said that the first issue was "fun, familiar, energetic and invigorating, the art is engaging and the character has nothing but potential to offer. "Spider-Gwen" #1 is more than just a comic with something for everyone; it's a comic with everything for everyone." ''Spider-Gwen'' #1 was the third-best selling comic of February 2015, selling over 300,000 copies.

Collected editions

Spider-Gwen

''Spider-Gwen: Ghost-Spider''

{, class="wikitable" width="100%" , - !# ! Title ! Material collected ! Pages ! Publication date ! ISBN , - , 1 , ''Spider-Gwen: Ghost-Spider Vol. 1 - Spider-Geddon'' , ''Spider-Gwen: Ghost-Spider'' #1-4, ''Spider-Geddon: Ghost-Spider Video Comic'' #1 , 112 , , {{nowrap, {{ISBNT, 978-1302914769 , - , 2 , ''Spider-Gwen: Ghost-Spider Vol. 2 - The Impossible Year'' , ''Spider-Gwen: Ghost-Spider'' #5-10 , 136 , Sept 17, 2019 , 978-1302914776 , -

''Ghost-Spider''

{, class="wikitable" width="100%" , - !# ! Title ! Material collected ! Pages ! Publication date ! ISBN , - , 1 , ''Ghost-Spider Vol. 1 - Dog Days Are Over'' , ''Ghost-Spider'' #1-5 , 112 , Feb 18, 2020 , {{nowrap, {{ISBNT, 978-1302920128 , - , 2 , ''Ghost-Spider Vol. 2 - Party People'' , ''Ghost-Spider'' #6-10 , 112 , Jan 5, 2021 , {{nowrap, {{ISBNT, 978-1302924706 , -

''Spider-Gwen: Gwenverse''

{, class="wikitable" width="100%" , - !# ! Title ! Material collected ! Pages ! Publication date ! ISBN , - , 1 , ''Spider-Gwen: Gwenverse'' , ''Spider-Gwen: Gwenverse'' #1-5 , 128 , Nov 22, 2022 , {{nowrap, {{ISBNT, 978-1302934651 , -

References

{{reflist

External links

{{Portal, United States, Comics
Earth-65
on the Marvel Comics Database *{{gcdb series, id=86879, title=Spider-Gwen {{Spider-Man publications {{Spider-Woman {{Marvel Multiverse 2015 comics debuts Comics about women Spider-Woman