Summary
Gwen Stacy first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #31, just three issues after Peter Parker graduated from high school. She was caught in a love triangle with Peter and Mary Jane before officially dating Peter years later. Even though Gwen was tragically killed in the famous story "Turning Point," many versions of Gwen have appeared across various Spider-Man comic book titles — both as clones and as multiversal variants.
The clones were a constant source of stress for Peter and his loved ones, but Gwen's variants aren't all bad. Since her debut in 1965, interesting, well-written, and often superpowered versions of Gwen Stacy have debuted in dozens of titles across Marvel Comics.
Updated on July 24th, 2023 by Mayra García: Gwen Stacy went from being Spider-Man's first love interest to becoming a superhero herself. Thanks to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse she's incredibly popular. In recent years, Gwen has starred in her own comics, such as Spider-Gwen: Gwenverse and Spider-Gwen: Shadow Clones, both full of alternate versions of this hero. This list was updated to include more Gwens from these storylines.
17 Gwen-Kraven The Hunter
After leading a superhero team full of Gwen-Vengers, Ghost-Spider is back into the multiversal chaos with Spider-Gwen: Shadow Clones, which pits her against the Gwen version of the Sinister Six. One of the members of this team is Gwen-Kraven, a mix of Gwen Stacy and Kraven the Hunter. Thanks to the upcoming film and his appearance in the PS5 video game, Kraven will become more popular than ever. Surely Gwen-Kraven will also be a reason. Her incredibly cool fashion sense has some fans eager to see more of her in the following issues of Shadow Clones.
16 Earth-58163's Gwen
After the Scarlet Witch warped all reality in House of M, the standard Marvel 616 universe was temporarily replaced by an alternate one, Earth-58163. In this alternate reality, Wanda Maximoff created the life she'd always wanted with her children resurrected. Nearly every Marvel character was altered in some way. The X-Men didn't exist, Mary Jane Watson became a famous actor, and Peter Parker became a pro wrestler. The Gwen Stacy of House of M married Peter, and they had a child named Richie. The two acquired wealth from Peter's fame and provided lavish homes for their parents. Despite this reality being a facade, Gwen lived a happy life in House of M.
15 Earth-7736's Gwen Stacy
What If? Vol. 1 #24 reimagines the infamous moment in which Gwen Stacy falls off the Brooklyn Bridge, but this time, Spider-Man leaps to save her rather than shooting a web. Thanks to that one difference, Spidey is able to save Gwen's life. The following story details the aftermath of the "Turning Point" storyline if had Gwen lived. Peter revealed his identity to Gwen and proposed to her. Norman Osborn, surviving the encounter as well, released Spider-Man's identity to the world. J. Jonah Jameson crashed Peter and Gwen's wedding with police officers, forcing Peter to flee. The issue concluded with Robbie Robertson promising to help reunite the married couple.
14 Gwen Jones AKA Captain Marvel
Spider-Gwen: Gwenverse introduced Gwen Jones, a powerful but short-lived version of Gwen Stacy. Jones, who serves as Captain Marvel on her Earth, is a reference to Rick Jones. She's the main user of the Nega Bands, and she's linked to Mar-Vell. In fact, her suit is obviously inspired by the '70s version of this hero. While all the other Gwens in Gwenverse get to understand each other, Gwen Jones sacrifices herself and implodes, becoming the catalyst of Gwen's Earth destruction. This act separates her from other versions because it shows how powerful she truly is, but it also speaks volumes about Gwen's guilt about her role in other people's lives.
13 Ultimate Gwen
Clone conspiracies seem to follow Gwen Stacy wherever she may appear, even in alternate universes. Ultimate Spider-Man, created by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley, allowed the creatives at Marvel Comics to reinvent classic Spidey stories — including the Clone Saga. Ultimate Gwen's life parallels her 616's counterpart in many ways: her father Captain Stacy died, and Gwen herself was killed. Gwen would return on several occasions thanks to the abilities of symbiotes and clones. Eventually, the real Gwen Stacy was revived and offered advice and wisdom to the new Ultimate Spider-Man, Miles Morales.
12 Nightbird
Written by Jason Aaron and illustrated by Ed McGuinness, the new "Heroes Reborn" storyline explored an alternate world where the classic Avengers team never existed. This branch in continuity led to the creation of new superheroes, including Gwen Stacy's Nightbird.
This universe's version of Gwen was a lot like DC's Batgirl. After the death of her father, George Stacy, Gwen was trained by a superhero called Nighthawk and became his sidekick. As Nightbird, Gwen was an expert martial artist who used various gadgets to battle alternate versions of the Jackal and the Goblin. Ultimately, Gwen was exposed to Goblin Gas, causing her to turn on her mentor.
11 Green Goblin-Gwen
On Earth-3109, Harry Osborn was bitten by the radioactive spider instead of Peter. Gwen designed a glider and became a version of the Green Goblin who fought crime alongside Harry's Spider-Man. The two proved to be quite the dynamic duo until Harry and Gwen's father were killed when the Sandman attacked. Gwen slowly became entrenched in her Goblin persona, abandoning her friends and her life as Gwen Stacy. The "Goblin-Gwen" first appeared in Spider-Gwen: Ghost-Spider #1. She encountered the Spider-Gwen of Earth-65 during the events of Spider-Geddon and helped develop a device that would send her back to her home universe.
10 Gwen Rogers AKA Captain America
Inspired by Samantha Wilson and Steve Rogers, Gwen took it upon herself to become a hero. She perfected the Super Soldier Serum in her Earth, renamed herself Gwen Rogers, and became Captain America. When it comes to her connection to Gwen, she represents the heroine's deep sense of justice. Besides the fact that she's as kind and generous as almost any other Captain America in the multiverse, Gwen Rogers stands out from other variants because she provides a meta-narrative to Gwen-verse. Since she's a die-hard comic fan, she spends the whole storyline making references to Marvel Comics that readers simply loved.
9 Earth-617's Gwen Stacy
While Spider-Gwen jumped from one reality to the next in her solo comic book series, she landed in a universe that was exactly the same as Earth-616, the main Marvel timeline. Spider-Gwen's presence altered the trajectory of this world's history, creating Earth-617.
Earth-617's Gwen was inspired by the heroic nature of Spider-Gwen. After Spider-Gwen returned to her home universe, she bonded with her universe's Venom symbiote to become Spider-Woman. After learning that many Gwen Stacys across the multiverse died at the hands of the Green Goblin, she ventured to other Earths and recruited Gwens who had become Spider-Women as well.
8 Earth-616's Gwen Stacy
Although the original Gwen Stacy was introduced in Amazing Spider-Man #31, her romantic interest in Peter wasn't overly explored until John Romita took over art duties from Steve Ditko. Romita came from a background in romance comics, and he sure knew how to plot love triangles. The relationships of Gwen, Peter, and Mary Jane felt like Archie Comics with superpowers. Ultimately, Peter dated Gwen until she was tragically killed in Amazing Spider-Man #121. Even though Gwen was Peter's first love, she was a severely underdeveloped character compared to Mary Jane, and writers have retroactively added more to her mythos since her death.
7 Life Story's Gwen Stacy
Spider-Man: Life Story presented a version of the Marvel Universe that aged naturally. For example, Peter was bitten by the spider in 1962 and passed away in 2019 as an old man. The Gwen Stacy of this universe married him and worked for Miles Warren, who secretly created clones of the couple.
The real Gwen Stacy was killed in an explosion, and the clone of Gwen left with the clone of Peter to start a new life. Years later, Gwen's clone assumed the identity of Helen Carroll and worked as J. Jonah Jameson's therapist in prison. She helped Jonah overcome his hatred for Spider-Man. Helen gifted Peter a memoir written by Jonah that acted as an apology to Spider-Man.
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4 Sandgwen
Shadow Clones #2 introduced Sandgwen, a mix of Flint Marko and Gwen Stacy that wants to take Earth-65's Gwen down. Although she debuted as a villain, Sandgwen became one of Ghost-Spider's best allies after she was released from her mind control. Since then, Sandgwen has shown to be a great team member. On one hand, she's incredibly loyal to Gwen (even when she asks her not to), but additionally, she's incredibly smart. Although she's clearly shy (which seems to come from both Sandman and Gwen), she's quick on her feet and often finds ways to escape trouble during battle.
3 Gwenpool
Who could have guessed that a character with the combined traits of Gwen Stacy and Deadpool could become such a hit? Gwenpool originally appeared on a variant cover for Deadpool's Secret Wars #2. The character's design became popular among fans, so Marvel introduced her as an official character in Howard the Duck Vol. 6 #1. Gwenpool existed in a universe where all the Marvel heroes and villains were fictional. After she was transported into Marvel's 616 universe, Gwenpool retained meta-knowledge of the world around her. Even though she disregarded everything as fake when she first arrived, Gwenpool has since become more heroic, joining the West Coast Avengers.
2 Thorgwen
Also known as Gwendolyn Janus or the Goddess of Thunder, Thorgwen is a perfect mix between Thor Odinson and Gwen Stacy. Since she is Gwen's ego made into a person, Thorgwen can be a bit much. Since she's aware of her power, she comes across as arrogant. However, this is just a terrible first impression.
In reality, Thorgwen is just like the original God of Thunder. She's naive about the modern world, but she's kind and loyal to "her sisters," as she refers to the Gwen-Vengers. Besides, she's hilarious. Since she understands very little about technology, her comments show that she understands nothing about their adventures beyond the fact that she needs to punch some stuff.
1 Spider-Gwen/Ghost-Spider
Spider-Woman, otherwise known as Spider-Gwen, first appeared in Edge of Spider-Verse, a miniseries connected to the larger Spider-Verse event. The success of the character led to her own ongoing solo series. Spider-Gwen shared a very similar origin to the one she described in Into the Spider-Verse: Gwen was the one bitten by the radioactive spider and Peter instead became a version of the Lizard.
She shares many traits with the 616 Peter Parker, including her heroism and dedication to others. She's proven herself a worthy Spider-Person on many occasions, including when she helped other Spider-People escape from the Inheritors during Spider-Geddon.