This is a weird one.
It’s weird in that it seems to be a medium-obvious spoiler for an upcoming film. But the reason it’s a “spoiler” is because it may allude to a decades-old story…Especially for anyone who likes Spider-Man. Which, presumably would be the target demographic for anyone who would, y’know…See a Spider-Man film.
You’ve been warned. Read on at your own risk…
Still here? Okay, here goes…
A new publicity shot from the film was released recently, in which Andrew Garfield’s Spidey and Emma Stone’s Gwen Stacy are doing what they do. Namely: hanging out. Ha! Web humor.
But what caught the eye of many fans is the outfit Emma’s decked out in for the still:
Longtime fans of the print version of Spider-Man (and Bronze-Age Spidey in particular) will recognize that aqua jacket / purple mini / high-boots getup from 100 paces away. It’s the same one Gwen Stacy was wearing in Amazing Spider-Man #121 (June, 1973).
And issue #121 is notable in that it’s Gwen’s last canon appearance that wasn’t a flashback or a reboot. Because…
Well, shit. Here’s hoping you didn’t get too attached to Emma’s Gwen, ‘cuz it seems she may be doomed.
If this winds up being true, on the one hand, it isn’t really that surprising. The new Spidey reboot made no bones about the fact that it was taking the character in a grittier direction. On the other, killing off a major character is something comic book movies tend to shy away from, even if comic books themselves usually don’t.
While I’m admittedly more a fan of the Raimi / Maguire interpretation of the character (abysmal third showing notwithstanding), I have to give Webb / Garfield and company something like credit for skewing as close to the source material as it seems they are, here. Either way, killing or not killing Gwen is a brave choice that’s going to ruffle some feathers. If they do, the casual moviegoer who didn’t see it coming is going to be pretty salty about it. And if they don’t, the comic book fans will be pissed; since in the Spideyverse, Gwen’s whole gig is as the martyr living on borrowed time.
Should be interesting to see which way it goes, true believers.
