Marvel Comics Hits New Low, Confirms Gwen Stacy To Be Revived As Earth-616 Gwenpool In New Mini From ‘Star Wars: The High Republic’ Series Writer Cavan Scott
Just when it seemed like Marvel Comics’ abusive treatment of Spider-Man couldn’t get any worse, the publisher has confirmed that not only will they actually be digging up the corpse of Gwen Stacy for cheap shock value, but that they will be doing so specifically in service of turning her into the canon, Earth-616 version of Gwenpool.
For those unfamiliar with the overall concept of the Marvel meme character, the idea of ‘Gwenpool’ first came into existence in 2015 courtesy of noted X-Men line artist Chris Bachalo.
In light of the then-recent explosion of popularity surrounding the original Spider-Gwen (who was introduced the year prior in Edge of Spider-Verse Vol. 1 #2), the publisher commissioned a series of ‘Gwen Variant’ covers for their Summer releases, each of which would depict a similarly-styled mash-up of the wall-crawler’s first love and a given book’s main character.
As part of this series, Bachalo was assigned to produce such a cover for Deadpool’s Secret Secret Wars Vol. 1 #2, for which he ultimately conceived a teenaged, female, version of the Merc With A Mouth, his signature red-and-black color scheme traded for a more Gwen-esque pink-and-white style.
Despite her origin as essentially a ‘visual one-off’, Marvel soon found themselves lucky enough to have been twice struck by blonde-haired lightning, with Gwenpool quickly developed a massive following based on nothing more than her design.
Seeking to seize on her popularity, Marvel Comics soon moved to introduce her as a proper character, eventually doing so in Howard The Duck Vol. 6 #1. However, due to various editorial mandates restricting the use of both Gwen Stacy and Deadpool, series writer Christopher Hastings (of Dr. McNinja fame) had to ‘fudge the details’ when it came to her actual identity.
As a result, rather than being related to either character, she is instead established as the completely independent Gwendolyn ‘Gwen’ Poole, a young woman from our actual, real-world universe who randomly found herself warped to the Marvel Universe and now attempts to use her ‘meta knowledge’ of comic book media to eke out a life on Earth-616.
Sadly, absolutely no sense of similar ‘fan service’ or ‘fun’ seems to have gone into creating the upcoming ‘mainline’ version of Gwenpool. Rather, it seems her creation is being motivated by nothing more than a spite towards the many Spider-fans who have vocally criticized the publisher’s nearly 20-year long disrespecting of his character.
Roughly a week after they released a teaser image depicting an unknown figure standing above Gwen’s freshly-dug-up grave, Marvel has now revealed that the young woman will be making her return to the land of the living as a Weapon-X-style assassin, replete with her own set of retractable ‘wrist claws’.
“Gwen Stacy returns as the darker, deadlier, and even more unhinged GWENPOOL, and who better to help Spidey navigate this soul-crushing revelation than the medium-shattering, attention-seeking Marvel Comics superfan that is the original Gwenpool!” wrote Marvel in an official press release. “It’s a wild team-up as the pair race to solve this unhinged mystery before it’s too late–because Gwendolye Poole knows better than anyone that there’s definitely not enough page time for two Gwenpools!”
“Everyone’s favorite reality-twister’s life is changing.” they added. “A grittier doppelganger is bringing her own brand of hyper-violent justice to a battle-strewn NYC! Who is this dark Gwenpool? And what does she want with the Amazing Spider-Man? Kate Bishop and Jeff the Land Shark guest-star in a comic series that will shock you to your core!”
Notably, whether by choice or because no self-respecting comic creator would deign to touch such an eye-rolling concept, the upcoming Gwenpool miniseries will not be penned by any of the publisher’s current ‘superhero’ writers, but instead by Cavan Scott, the author behind their Star Wars line’s core The High Republic series.
Meanwhile, in his Marvel Comics debut, providing art on the series will be recent Batman Vol. 3 artist Stefano Nesi.
“What an absolute honor!” beamed Scott in response to the news. “To tear both Gwenpool AND Spider-Man’s worlds apart? Yes please! Gwen Stacy is back from the grave and deadlier than ever. Weapon-X style abilities? Check. A line in killer put-downs? You’ve got it. This is NOT the Gwen you remember. But just who is behind her miraculous resurrection? And what has happened to the original Gwenpool’s usually careful existence? Add Kate Bishop and Jeff the Land Shark to the mix and you have the Marvel series of my dreams!”
“I couldn’t ask for a better partner than Stefano Nesi on art!” he added. “Mega-violence has never been so much fun, each frenzied attack brought to dark, brooding life by Matt Milla’s blistering colors. Monsters, mayhem and murder await as Spider-Man and Kate learn that nothing—or no one—is sacred!”
All in all, readers can witness Marvel Comics’ creative integrity disintegrate even further when the first of the five issue Gwenpool Vol. 1 miniseries hits shelves on May 14th.
More About:Comic Book News
Read this Next
