Peter Parker/Spider-Man and his supporting cast have appeared outside of the comics a number of times over the years. Some characters, like Gwen Stacy,aren't always brought along for the ride. This is because various adaptations have chosen to focus on different characters in Peter's life.This often leaves fans wondering, "who is Gwen Stacy?"
GivenGwen Stacy's unforgettable death at the hands ofSpider-Man's greatest enemy, she hasn't been adapted outside of the comics as often as Peter Parker's other love interest— Mary Jane. Recent multiversal versions of Gwen Stacy have reignited her popularity, which has led to a few more animated and live-action appearances.
RELATED: Spider-Man: All Of Peter Parker's Canon Girlfriends (In Chronological Order)
Updated on February 28, 2022 by Scoot Allan:While the character of Gwen Stacy spent years out of the picture following her iconic death inAmazing Spider-Man#121,a new version of the character has returned to the center stage from an alternate reality. She first became lovingly known by fans as Spider-Gwen before she took on the name of Ghost Spider in the mainstream Marvel reality, and she has started to appear frequently in movies and TV series – some of which we wanted to highlight today with a couple of new appearances.
12 Ghost-Spider Appeared In Disney Jr.'s Marvel's Spidey and His Amazing Friends (2021- )
Disney Jr. launched a new team-up series in 2021 calledSpidey and his Amazing Friends, whichteamed popular Marvel characters up with Spider-Man. Gwen Stacy appeared as Ghost-Spider in the series, voiced by Lily Sanfelippo.
Ghost-Spider's costume was simplified andadapted with web wings under her armsto allowher to glide, while her unmasked appearance was similar to herMarvel Rising design, which borrowed the pink highlights from the unrelated character Gwenpool.
11 Ghost-Spider Appeared Alongside Spider-Man In Marvel Super Hero Adventures (2017-2020)
Spider-Man and his alliesstar inDisney Junior'sMarvel Super Hero Adventures, which began airing in 2017 with kid-friendly stories that teamed the wall-crawler with various heroes in the Marvel Universe, including an alternate reality Gwen Stacy/Ghost-Spider (voiced by Emily Tennant).
Ghost-Spider only appeared in costume in the series, which never explored her character much beyond her various adventures with Spider-Man as they took on classic villains from his rogues' gallery, like Doctor Octopus and The Rhino.
10 A Multiversal Version Of Gwen Stacy Only Appeared Once In "Spider-Man: The Animated Series (1994-1998)"
Gwen Stacydidn't initially appear inthe hit '90s adaptationSpider-Man: The Animated Series, which focused on love interests like Mary Jane Watson and Felicia Hardy/Black Catinstead. However, an alternate reality version of Gwen Stacy later appeared in the season's two-part final, "Spider Wars."
This version (voiced by Mary Kay Bergman) was unique. She'd survived past her death in the comic timeline andgottenengaged toher Peter Parker, who'd created a powerful Spider-Armor before he was recruited to save the multiverse from Spider-Carnage.
9 Bryce Dallas Howard Threatened Peter Parker's Relationship As Gwen Stacy In Spider-Man 3 (2007)
Bryce Dallas Howard starred as the first live-action Gwen Stacy in Sam Raimi's2007 continuationSpider-Man,which introduced the character as a college classmate of Peter Parker's. However, like in the comics, her late arrival in the film's continuity changed the dynamic of their relationship.
RELATED:Spider-Gwen: 10 Ways She Is A Better Websligner Than Peter Parker
In the film, Peter and Gwengo on one date that endsbadly. And whileGwen does gothrough a dangerous, life-threatening situation, Spider-Man is able to save her. Consequently, she was quickly forgotten and robbed ofa proper debut on the big screen.
8 Ghost-Spider Joined The Multiversal Web-Warriors In Ultimate Spider-Man vs. The Sinister Six (2012-2017)
DisneyXD aired theUltimate Spider-Man animated series, which took on the new title ofUltimate Spider-Man vs. The Sinister Sixfor the fourth and final season. The series introduced an alternate version of Gwen Stacy/Spider-Gwen (voiced by Dove Cameron).
This version of the character hailed from Miles Morales/Kid Arachnid's home reality. She used technology to replicate Miles Morales' powersand became her reality's protector after Miles stayed in Spider-Man's home reality.
7 Ghost Spider Joined An Animated Team Of Secret Warriors In The Marvel Rising (2018 - ) Movie Specials
A new series of animated specials that highlighted new waves of young heroes debuted in 2018 under theMarvel Rising banner, which featured Daisy Johnson/Quake as she organized a team thatwould become known as the Secret Warriors. (This teamwould eventually include Gwen Stacy/Ghost-Spider).
The character's storyline followed Spider-Gwen's comic origins, although it was blended into the main Marvel universe continuity forMarvel Rising, which also saw Dove Cameron reprise her role as Gwen fromUltimate Spider-Man.
6 Lacey ChabertVoiced A Fairly Comic Accurate Version Of Gwen Stacy In The Spectacular Spider-Man (2008-2009)
Gwen Stacy (voiced by Lacey Chabert) was reimagined as a long-time high school friend of Peter Parker and Harry Osborn in KidsWb'sThe Spectacular Spider-Mananimated series. Itmodernized and adapted some of the earliest comic storylines that created a dedicated cult following after the series' short two seasons.
This version of Gwen appeared before the modern powered version andfocused on her relationship with Peter (and Harry), although it was never fully realized due to the series cancelation, leaving fans wanting more from the best non-powered animatedadaptation of the character.
5 Marvel's Spider-Man (2017 - ) Explored Gwen Stacy's Connection To Dr. Miles Warren/The Jackal
The most recent animated series debuted in 2017 asMarvel's Spider-Man, and included Gwen Stacy (voiced by Laura Bailey) as one of the brilliant students of the reimagined Horizon High, alongside other popular characters like Miles Morales and Anya Corazon/Spider-Girl, all of whom would soon team up with Spider-Man as costumed superheroes.
RELATED:
The series merged Gwen with her alternate reality Spider-Gwen character and reimagined her relationship with The Jackal, who became her uncle instead of a twisted admirer.Marvel's Spider-Man isthe only adaptation that attempted to explore their long comic history in any form.
4 Emma Stone Reprised Her Role To Adapt Her Iconic Death In The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
2014's The Amazing Spider-Man 2 saw Emma Stone reprise the role of Gwen Stacy. The film showed her stained relationship with Peter Parker as she faced the difficult decisionto leave for school abroad.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 did feature a take on the legendary death of Gwen Stacy storyline following a battle between Spider-Man and the transformed Harry Osborn/Green Goblin (Dane DeHaan). Fans are hoping to see Emma Stone return as a Spider-Gwen version of the character in the upcoming Spider-Man 3 multiversal MCU sequel.
3 The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) Featured Emma Stone As The Brilliant Gwen Stacy
Emma Stone starred as Gwen Stacy in 2012'sThe Amazing Spider-Man, which was the second cinematic franchise to explore the wall-crawler, although the first to feature Gwen as the main romantic interest of Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield).
The movie focused on their developing relationship and the revelation of his secret costumed alter-ego, as well as his relationship withher father, Captain George Stacy (Denis Leary), who hunted the masked vigilante. Gwen was introduced as a scientific rival of Peter's before they started dating, and she also worked at Oscorp.
2 Spider-Gwen Made Hir Big Screen Animated Debut In Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse (2019)
The multiversal Spider-Gwen version of the character (voiced by Hailee Steinfeld) made her cinematic debut in 2019'sSpider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, which focused on Miles Morales' transformation into his reality's Spider-Man following the death of Peter Parker.
Spider-Gwen (along with other multiversal characters like Peter B. Parker, Peni Parker, Spider-Ham, and Spider-Man Noir) teamed with Miles to stop Kingpin's multiverse-ending threat. Into The Spider-Versefeatured a unique take on Spider-Gwen's costume and appearance, which teased her comic origins and successfully set upher character for future appearances in upcoming animated sequels.
1 Spider-Gwen Will Return For The Highly-Anticipated Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse Part One (2023)
Fans were surprised by the first trailer forSpider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Part One),which featured the return of Miles Morales and Spider-Gwen following their first meeting inSpider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
Spider-Gwen's costume has received minor alterations since her last appearance on the big screen, and her hair was also modified to include the pink highlights that have appeared inMarvel Rising and other series. The biggest change to the character is her reality-hopping wrist device worn by other Web-Warriors in the comics and animated series.
NEXT:
