Comics What killed Gwen?

[iloveclones]

^ You did NOT just ask that blasphemer

 

[Venom 1988]

Call the lynch mob

 

[Dragon]

Or just let Spidey snag him with a webline...

 

[Jick]

Even so, in Death in the Family, when Peter is talking to Goblin, he says:
"That day you murdered her in the bridge, I thought everything was going to die".
I believe that Peter could have "killed" Gwen when he tried to pull her, but it was also left ambiguous.
Writers have to come to a consensus whether Peter did it or didn't. It might get confusing, at times.

 

[Dragon]

I think in the letter's pages of ASM #126 or #127, when a fan writes in about the events of ASM #121/122, the editor states that it was the the sudden shock of the webbing that made her neck snap that killed her.

I realize that the webbing itself has an elasticity factor, but given the right circumstances, an unconcious human falling at the right angle could still suffer a broken neck in spite of an elastic webline...

Sounds a little like the "Magic bullet" theory..t:

If anything, an unconscious person would fair better in the given situation, because their body is naturally limp, not resistant to the forces due to fear.

I'll put it this way, is it more likely that a webline caused a fatal injury or the glider? A realworld comparison would be the number of bungee cord fatalies versus being hit by a jet ski. Need further evidence? Look at the following issue- the glider hits and carries the Goblin for several feet, causing a "fatal" chest wound. Gwen very clearly took a harder hit than Osborn, and likely suffered head trauma.

It isn't as if the writers don't miss things, and lets remember that we have Gerry Conway to thank for Spidey's spider sense not working when attacked by a "friend". So Left-Field thinking certainly wasn't beyond him. The only reason for the "snap" was to present the irony of Peter's actions being something that would hurt Gwen. When as I'd mentioned, Peter has a more serious implication in her death by his inaction of not being truthful with her.

As for the editorial choice regarding Gwen's death, it wasn't SHE who became two-dimensional after her father's death, but the writing. The real problem was Stan leaving the title. He clearly had a chosen direction for Peter and Gwen up to ASM#100. But Gerry Conway, only being 19 when he took over Spidey wasn't as equipped to handle a relationship as an old married man like Stan. Even with Peter and MJ, Conway left the title after the "chase" ended.

As I've said before, Gwen's death was a missed opportunity, since she had much stronger story potential than MJ ever did.

 

[Reikowolf]

One of the great beauties of the character of spider-man is how human he trully is. Many hero origins are about a good person who gains powers and decides to use those powers for good. Even a character like Batman was a good person before tragedy struck his family.

Peter's first thought when he gains his gifts is the thoughts that run through most teenage minds, why not flaunt it?

Whether the death of Gwen was accidental or not, its been made somewhat clear throughout the series that the ambiguity of what caused her death heavily implies that Peter may in fact have killed her.

The now infamous 'SNAP' that has been in some prints and taken out of others is the biggest clue to this.

Its a shame that Spider-Man has very much become the whipping boy for loss in comic books, but I think its this loss and guilt that makes him so relatable and human, the fact that he has these flaws and still continues to do what he does.

 

[Dragon]

In terms of the physical events Gwen's death, there's simply no argument for Peter "killing" her. The Goblin killed her. Period.

It's like someone shoving a person into oncoming traffic; The person who shoved them is the killer, not the driver who couldn't stop his car in time.

 

[moraldeficiency]

yeah no matter what pete didn't kill anyone, at worst he failed to save her.

 

[Reikowolf]

In terms of the physical events Gwen's death, there's simply no argument for Peter "killing" her. The Goblin killed her. Period.

It's like someone shoving a person into oncoming traffic; The person who shoved them is the killer, not the driver who couldn't stop his car in time.

There's no denying that the Goblin is ultimately responsible for her death but what I'm getting at is the very human emotions that Peter goes through.

Not only does he fail to save her but he has to deal with the possibility that he in fact may have killed her. Granted, he did not cause the situation and she may have died from the fall regardless, but its not something that a person simply brushes off.

 

[Dragon]

There's no denying that the Goblin is ultimately responsible for her death but what I'm getting at is the very human emotions that Peter goes through.

Not only does he fail to save her but he has to deal with the possibility that he in fact may have killed her. Granted, he did not cause the situation and she may have died from the fall regardless, but its not something that a person simply brushes off.

Peter has always felt guilt over her death, but not because of his actions. The very next issue explains clearly Peter's feelings. That it was simply his being Spider-Man that ended Gwen's life by placing her in harm's way. Not how he fired a webline. The only way Peter would have culpability in the actual event of Gwen's death was if he:

1. Knew firing a webline might endanger her; Which he couldn't.
2. Had other options; Which he didn't.

And like I said, this question of whiplash and so forth removes focus of Peter's real failing in this situation.

 

[Spider-ManHero12]

yeah no matter what pete didn't kill anyone, at worst he failed to save her.

Yup, very true.

 

[Ugfugly]

Hm, a differing explanation from what I'd heard. I thought it was because Gwen was going nowhere as a character, so they killed her off. Peter loved her but couldnt marry her, becuase he couldnt risk her knowing his ID since she hated Spider-Man.

Not trusting a potential wife is very different from not being ready for marriage.

I've seen Stan Lee mention in other interviews that he was on vacation when Gwen was killed off. He actually wanted her to marry Peter but others did not hence them doing it in his absence.
I'll have to check my sources on this

 

[MrShifty]

Really, there is no real answer.
They made it like that specifically to keep the reader guessing and it is one of the reasons it is one of the most known comic stories ever.
It never really happened so they can pretty much say anything could have happened.

 

[Spidey0]

There was a Civil War comic, and Spidey mentioned that the webline did indeed snap her neck. I can't remember which one it was but it was a Civil War tie-in.

 

[reallyoldspideyfan]

Hello,

When I was a teen reading it for the first time, there was no doubt to me that Gwen was dead BEFORE Peter got there. At the time, before internet and writer "confirmations", the snap, to me, was the snap of the webbing stretching to its limit. I never thought the snap was Gwen's neck.

Obviously, the writer said that is what he wanted so I guess that is what happened.

For me, the GG killed her already.

That is what should have happened.

Much better idea than having Gwen sleep w/ Osborne (yeah, her character profile says she would sleep with a creepy, old guy enough to her father).

Yeah.

DN

 

[Farren]

It was the webbing. As mentioned above it was answered in the letters page. I've always taken that as fact.