Having just read the last few pages, I have to say that this debate is about as amusing as watching a bobtail cat chase its own behind. Had I known the Spidey forums were this fractious I'd have joined in long ago.
Well, that's a strange reason.
There isn't any possibility that the producers chose Gwen Stacy as Peter's love interest without planning to ultimately play out her death, just as in the classic comic book story.
Actually, there very much IS the possibility they did, and only introduced Gwen to differentiate itself from the Raimi trilogy. But, I'm pretty sure that's not the case. I very much think that they will kill Gwen, though I'm not sure what this has to do with my beliefs on the subject.
There simply is no more powerful tale of tragedy and loss than the death of Gwen Stacy in the entire medium.
To Spider-Man fans. And not even all of them apparently. Personally the death didn't really bring any emotions from me when I read it. Wait, that's not true, I was impressed that the writer dared to go there. It was inspiring that a writer would stick to his creative imagination, and tell the story he wanted to tell, and never back down from it.
Not to follow through on the characters' arc so would be to betray the source material completely, as well as to squander the dramatic possibilities afforded by it.
Some of the arguments in favor of gratuitously violating Spider-Man's iconic history by having Gwen survive strike me as ridiculous.
The only gratuitous violation here is the one that YOU wish to be inflicted upon the classic, ORIGINAL story of Gwen Stacy's death, and STRIPPING it of it's TRUE relevance and meaning just so you can get your fanboy jollies off on it.
She is a fictional character, not a real person, so wanting to see the story play out on screen is not "disgusting," nor are the people in favor of it immoral or bloodthirsty as some have implied in this thread.
By this logic you shouldn't even be here arguing about this at all. None of us should. It's just all fiction, right? What's the point of arguing or discussing this at all?
Think of all of the fictional stories that portray deaths and other horrible tragedies in the course of presenting an emotionally-satisfying (read: entertaining) story.
Nope. Never been "entertained" by a character death, unless it's an evil villain.
Are Shakespeare's great tragedies disgusting because they show murders and suicides on stage? Many classic films and novels have death and its consequences central to their plots. Are they disgusting as well, or is it only Gwen Stacy's murder that arouses such a response? Those who still don't understand how such themes can be entertaining to an audience should research the term "catharsis" as it relates to drama and other art forms.
Those are all original stories, not copies of far better and more relevent classical stories. That's what's truly disgusting here, the stifling of creative integrity and imagination, the EXACT SAME creative imagination and integrity that gave BIRTH to the Death Of Gwen Stacy IN THE FIRST PLACE. But you don't care about that. All you care about is getting your fanboy validation for seeing it onscreen. All you want is more of the same. If people like YOU had been in charge of Marvel comics at that time, we never would've even gotten that classic and original story. And I get far more catharsis from beautiful deserved happy endings.
Gwen's death, seen in the context of the ongoing continuity, was the logical culmination of a long-running story. Norman Osborn's psychotic alter-ego had discovered Peter's secret identity long before. From that point onward, the Goblin represented a looming threat to everyone Parker loved or even knew personally. When Osborn finally kidnapped Gwen, it was the realization of Peter's worst fear: That his being Spider-Man would endanger those he loved the most. Her death was the tragically realistic outcome of Peter's decision to shoulder the great responsibility that his Uncle Ben spoke of. And his guilt in the aftermath echoed in a horrible way the guilt he felt after Ben Parker's death.
Hardly. The logical conclusion would've been for Goblin to kidnap and kill Aunt May. Not only would it be more tragic, mirroring Uncle Ben, and his failure to save his parental figures, it would also actually make sense, considering that May, Peter's MOTHER FIGURE, would be FAR MORE IMPORTANT, than a blonde girl he's been dating for under a year (in comic time, of course).
That is powerful stuff. It is tragedy, and it elevated Spider-Man's story above the empty and sometimes childish level so many comics operated on at that time.
And so we reach the crux of the problem here. Thinking that any kind of joy, or hope, or optimism, or lack of death makes something "childish" or "empty." That's just a sad and depressing thing to hear from some people. Even more sad is the fact that it's coming from the TRULY childish people. If death is what it takes for you to validate yourself and your place in life, and make you feel "mature" then that's your damage, but don't try and drag down other people's souls by infecting them with this trash thought-process.
. LOL
