Stan Lee – the face of Marvel comics – has been behind the creation of many characters in the world of Marvel. From Iron Man to Hulk to Scarlet Witch to many others, Lee co-created many iconic superheroes, including one Spider-Man. Another character he co-created along with Steve Ditko is Gwen Stacy. But there is one aspect of Stacy’s character that Lee absolutely hated.
Gwen Stacy’s character was one of Stan Lee’s favorite. He wanted her character to become Peter Parker’s main love interest, not MJ. Even though he was the one behind the creation of all these characters, when he took a step back from writing comic stories, other comic artists and writers took it upon themselves to move the story forward. And that is when one of them did something completely against Stan Lee’s idea for his creations.
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What Stan Lee Hated About Gwen Stacy
In The Amazing Spider-Man #121-122 (1973) by Gerry Conway and Gil Kane did the unthinkable. After Green Goblin figured out Spider-Man’s identity, he kidnapped Gwen Stacy to bait Peter Parker. He wanted to kill Spider-Man, and in doing that, threw Gwen down to her death. Though Peter was able to block her fall, his webbing led to Gwen breaking her neck in the process, dying.
In an interview with The Comics Journal in 1978, Stan Lee recounted,
“I hate it when people change the origins and the various little institutions and schticks that I’ve given these characters and stories…I hated it when Conway killed Gwen Stacy in Spider-Man. I hated it.”
Stan Lee was completely opposed to this idea of killing Gwen, who was one of his favorite characters. But it was Gerry Conway who decided to kill off Gwen, and Lee absolutely hated it. His hands were tied, unable to do anything about this decision, and Gwen Stacy’s death became one of the most important parts of Spider-Man’s story.
How Gwen Stacy’s Death Changed Spider-Man’s Storyline
Gwen Stacy’s death became a pivotal part of Spider-Man’s story. It started the Bronze Age of Comics, leading to more complex storylines. Peter Parker’s character also took a darker turn after his beloved was killed in his arms. Instead of his quirky and sweet personality, the friendly neighborhood hero becomes more of a loner, who is haunted by the death of Gwen.
He became more defensive and protective of his friends and family. The character that was supposed to become happy-ending for Peter Parker became the reason behind his loner self, whose self began to chip away with every passing day. Andrew Garfield, who played the iteration of Peter Parker in The Amazing Spider-Man movies, had to see his beloved Gwen Stacy, played by Emma Stone, falling to her death in the second movie. Her death in the arms of Peter still remains a haunting memory in the minds of many fans, not just Stan Lee.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is available for streaming on Disney+.
