Call it the Gwenaissance. 50 years after Peter Parker’s girlfriend, Gwen Stacy, died at the hands of the Green Goblin, Marvel Comics has announced that new versions of the character are set to appear in upcoming Spider-Man comics. First, the new Ultimate Gwen Stacy will debut in Jonathan Hickman and Marco Checchetto’s Ultimate Spider-Man #4 in April. Then Gwen — or yet another Gwen clone created by the Jackal — will appear in Greg Weisman and Humberto Ramos’ Spectacular Spider-Men #3 in May. But the most shocking reveal happened in Wednesday’s Web of Spider-Man #1, setting up a story that will unfold in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man in June.
Marvel already announced Norman Osborn’s return as the Green Goblin in the landmark 50th issue of Zeb Wells’ current comic run on Amazing Spider-Man, and recent issues teased the return of the Sinister Six. The Six — Doctor Octopus, Sandman, Mysterio, Electro, Vulture, and Kraven the Hunter — regroup just as the Green Goblin targets the villains in Amazing Spider-Man #51 and #52, written by Wells with art by Ed McGuinness.
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Only that Goblin isn’t Norman Osborn, who has been operating as the heroic Gold Goblin ever since his sins were cleansed by the Sin-Eater. In an announcement coinciding with the release of Web of Spider-Man #1, Marvel teased that “a new goblin, born from the sins of Norman Osborn, rises to take out the Sinister Six.”
The anthology one-shot features the story “Spider-Society,” by writer Alex Segura and artist Salvador Larroca, which picks up where February’s Edge of Spider-Verse #1 left off: with Miguel O’Hara, a.k.a. Spider-Man 2099, called on by Madame Web to form a team of unexpected Spider-Totems to defend the Web of Life and Destiny against a mysterious threat. But before Miguel could choose which Spider-Heroes to recruit, he was attacked by a trio of silhouetted supervillains — Doctor Octopus, Kraven, and the Green Goblin — who warned they were forming an army.
Web of Spider-Man unmasks the female goblin as the Gwen Stacy of another universe who decided to become the Green Goblin. “I wanted this. I wanted to be the Green Goblin,” Gwen tells Miguel. “It was Gwen Stacy’s destiny!” Before Gwen Goblin can reveal her master plan, she’s attacked by Aña Corazón, a.k.a. Araña, and escapes with a captured Miguel.
That story will continue in Edge of Spider-Verse #4 (above left), on stands May 1, while the next chapter in the Spider-Man-Green Goblin saga will take place in Amazing Spider-Man #50 (above right) on May 22. It all leads to the return of the Sinister Six and the rise of the new Goblin in Amazing Spider-Man #51 and #52 this June.
Web of Spider-Man (2024) #1 is on sale now from Marvel Comics.
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