The final installment of Gwenpool arrived this week, and it feels far too soon — even after more than two years, 25 issues, and multiple specials. In many ways it’s a series that no one ever expected to exist, even after the first issue was solicited. What began as a gag for alternate covers grew into a story that has roamed across much of Marvel Comics and developed a devoted fanbase.
Videos by ComicBook.com
If you’re unfamiliar with Gwenpool, here’s the basics: Gwen Poole, a person from our “real world,” came to the Marvel universe and adopted a portmanteau of two popular characters (Deadpool and Gwen Stacy) in order to survive. She started her career as a mercenary before becoming a sidekick and finally a superhero. Along the way, she has made a variety of friends and discovered she has reality-warping abilities that allow her to toy with the form of her own comics. Like Deadpool, Gwenpool regularly breaks the fourth wall, but that has become a feature of her character rather than a gag.
Now Gwenpool is drawing to a close. While there’s no guarantee she won’t reappear in future series of Howard the Duck or Deadpool, it’s time to say goodbye for now. We are going to miss the series a lot, and here’s why.
Gwenpool Defied All Expectations
Gwenpool began life on the cover of Deadpool’s Secret Wars #2 as part of a cover initiative in which Spider-Man love interest Gwen Stacy was reiminaged as various Marvel characters. Gwenpool was initially drawn by Chris Bachalo with no plans for her to ever move beyond that cover. However, after fans began to cosplay and draft art of the character based on her sole appearance, it was decided that there might be further opportunities for her to appear in comics. Christopher Hastings was approached to write the character in a one-shot special and several backup stories in Howard the Duck. From there her popularity became even more evident, and an ongoing series was ordered.
It is one of the oddest real-life origins in all of Marvel Comics history, constructing a fully formed character from a small gag. Many fans who failed to read the series immediately dismissed Gwenpool in forums and on podcasts. It’s difficult to blame them either given this origin. Yet Gwenpool managed to defy all expectations and continually turn heads as readers and critics encountered its stories. What appeared to be a sales grab from the outside was revealed to be a great concept on the page.
Gwenpool provides a real lesson in not judging books by their covers, even when a book is based on a cover. Hastings and his collaborators took a design combining wildly disparate characters and transformed it into something original. The results speak for themselves in all 25 issues of the series. Every new adventure, character, and twist added layers to the comic and have made it one of the best ongoing series at Marvel Comics. From the lowest of expectations emerged something truly special. That alone makes Gwenpool a very special series and Gwenpool a very special character.
Gwenpool Was Exceedingly Clever
There have been plenty of examples of characters breaking the fourth wall at Marvel Comics over the years. Deadpool does it constantly, but many of the best stories featuring Loki and She-Hulk feature direct appeals to the reader as well. When Gwenpool began, this feature of the series didn’t appear particularly unique. However, it was much better executed than in many other examples. Gwen’s knowledge of Marvel Comics was her primary superpower, allowing her to predict where a story might go and play on outside knowledge in order to survive and occasionally win the day. Slips about secret identities and nods to the importance of someone like Miles Morales established an identity for the series that combined charm with cleverness. This wasn’t the full extent of where Gwenpool would takes its self-aware storyline though.
After being returned to the “real world”, Gwen soon became aware that she didn’t simply exist in the stories of Marvel, but that she existed in the form of comics. This has led to the most exciting storylines of the series as Gwenpool has discovered a very unique set of superpowers. She manipulates time and space by looking ahead pages, moving between panels, and a variety of other clever methods. That sort of ability might seem insanely powerful and the series has addressed this issue directly. The storytelling plays on Gwenpool’s self-awareness through exceedingly clever visuals as well as a story that can be gut-wrenching at time. Gwen understands the cancellation cycle and the existence of this week’s finale has played a key role in recent storylines.
Gwenpool Captured Our Hearts
All of the cleverness in the world doesn’t make for a great story though. The real joy of reading Gwenpool has always been its good nature and immense heart. While the earliest backup features showed Gwenpool to be a borderline sociopath disengaged with a fictional reality, the character quickly came to care for those around her in her own series. Gwenpool has specifically tested the tension between Gwen’s understanding of Marvel as a “story world” and her continued dedication to it anyway. She has become the sort of character who elevates those around her instead of devolving into madcap antics due to the unreality of it all.
Friendships with Batroc the Leaper and a wide-array of weirdos (including a suburban Doombot) have become meaningful. This makes the ending of Gwenpool all the more tragic as many characters will never be seen again, and others will revert to their old ways, all of which Gwenpool understands. Gwen has become a reader surrogate, revealing the value of superhero comics through her own belief and dedication to the stories. She cares for the characters, and that makes them matter enough to be worth defending. Her heart has only grown since her first appearance, and it has captured plenty of others along the way.
Gwenpool might be leaving the Marvel universe for now, but she won’t be forgotten. Over the course of this series, she has evolved as a character just as the series has grown into its own special place. With each new issue, Gwen became more likable and her interactions with superhero comics more interesting. Even after we read Gwenpool #25, there will be a lot of value in revisiting this series. We can only hope that Marvel Comics decides to revisit Gwenpool as well someday.
