12 Years Ago Today, Marvel Resurrected a Dead Character In the Best Way Possible

It was 12 years ago that Marvel Comics resurrected a long-dead character, and the company did it in the best possible way. When Spider-Man debuted in Marvel Comics, Peter Parker was a bookworm with no friends who was bullied at school. After gaining his powers, he gained more confidence, and this carried over to Peter’s personal life. Soon, he met Gwen Stacy, and the two began dating. Gwen became the most important person in Peter’s life, even as he never revealed his identity to her. However, her time in Marvel Comics came to an end in The Amazing Spider-Man #121 by Gerry Conway and Gil Kane, when Green Goblin abducted her and threw her from the Brooklyn Bridge, which led to her death.

Like Uncle Ben, Gwen Stacy had remained dead, and there is no way she should ever come back to life. However, Marvel found a way to resurrect Gwen Stacy in a better way in Edge of Spider-Verse #2 by Jason Latour and Robbi Rodriguez, when Marvel introduced the Gwen from Earth-65, the hero now known as Ghost-Spider. That issue went on sale on September 17, 2014.

Marvel Resurrected Gwen Stacy But As An Alternate Version

Marvel had teased bringing Gwen Stacy back before. However, almost every time that Gwen showed up in the past, she was a clone. Jackal created her to torment Spider-Man, whom he blamed for her death. Just like Uncle Ben, Marvel never should have brought her back, so the clone moments were left as just a way to mess with Peter Parker’s mind. “The Night Gwen Stacy Died” is considered the moment that ended the Silver Age in Marvel Comics. That said, Gwen ended up as a beloved character, and the multiverse was a perfect way to bring the character back without ruining the moment she died.

Edge of Spider-Verse was a five-issue miniseries that introduced readers to the different alternate-universe Spider-People leading up to the actual Spider-Verse crossover event. The first issue was about Spider-Man Noir, although he debuted in Marvel Comics six years earlier. In the fifth issue, Peni Parker made her Marvel debut as SP//dr. The third and fourth issues were different because they introduced Spider-People who died, the first being The Spider-Man (Aaron Aikman) and the next being one of the scariest versions, Patton Parnel. However, the second issue introduced the most important of them all.

On Earth-65, Gwen Stacy was the person bitten by the radioactive spider, which made her the hero. Peter Parker still dated Gwen, but when she convinced him to fight back, he used his scientific knowledge to experiment on himself and became the Lizard. He died fighting Gwen, and this haunted her. This series focused on her origin and her current life as a superhero and a musician in a band called The Mary Janes (with Glory Grant, Em Jay Watson, and Betty Brant). It also showed how she revealed her identity to her father and was chosen to fight in the upcoming Spider-Verse event.

While she was Spider-Woman in this issue, she was soon known as Spider-Gwen and is now going by the name Ghost-Spider. Not only that, but she now operates on Earth-616, working alongside Miles Morales, Silk, and others, as a partner and ally to the mainline Spider-Man. It brought back Gwen Stacy without ever dismissing what her death meant in the Marvel Universe.

The Real Gwen Stacy Was Also Brought Back for One Important Moment

There was one time that the real Gwen Stacy returned, and it only lasted for one issue. The good news is that this also didn’t take away from her death and its importance. The issue was The Amazing Spider-Man #10 (2022) by Zeb Wells and Nick Dragotta. This happened during the site-wide crossover event “A.X.E.: Judgment Day,” where a Celestial called the Progenitor came to Earth to pass judgment on everyone on the planet. This included Peter Parker.

The issue saw Spider-Man calling Iron Man and asking about the Progenitor, and learning that he could possibly see a dead person return to quietly stare at him, judging him. That ghostly person was Gwen Stacy. He wasn’t the only one, as J. Jonah Jameson was having a breakdown and apologizing to everyone he ever hurt. It included Aunt May, who had Uncle Ben standing behind her. It included Peter Parker, who was haunted by Gwen, as he apologized to anyone he ever hurt. In the end, he finally broke down to Gwen and said he was doing everything he was, including forgiving Norman Osborn, because he still loved Gwen.

The Progenitor then judged Peter and said he found him worthy. He also gave Spider-Man a gift. He brought Gwen Stacy back to life for just a moment. Gwen said she was gone for a long time and she missed Peter. Peter said he missed her too, and then Gwen said she had to leave, before finishing by saying, “He just wanted to give us a moment to see that beautiful heart of yours open.” The Earth-616 version of Gwen Stacy should never return to life, but this was a perfect quick cameo for Spider-Man’s first love.