History ComicBook / TheNightGwenStacyDied

* DeathGlare: Kane's art draws Peter in Issue #122 as he's tracking down Norman into a fixed stare of hatred with sunken cold eyes. It's genuinely upsetting to see on Peter's sweet boyish face, an expression that even Frank Castle (soon to be created few issues later) would have worries about.

* StuffedIntoTheFridge: Gwen Stacy barely has a few lines of dialogue, is killed for reasons she never understood at the time (since she didn't know about Peter's double life [[spoiler:and both [[ComicBook/JMSSpiderMan her being the mother of Norman's illegitimate children]] and [[ComicBook/TheCloneConspiracy her being awake for her last few moments are retcons]]]]), and her death largely serves the CharacterDevelopment of Norman, Harry, Peter, and especially Mary Jane.

* StuffedIntoTheFridge: Gwen Stacy barely has a few lines of dialogue, is killed for reasons she never understood (since she didn't know about Peter's double life), and her death largely serves the CharacterDevelopment of Norman, Harry, Peter, and especially Mary Jane.

* WhatIf: ''What If'' #24 deals with what would happen if Spider-Man successfully managed to save Gwen Stacy during the comic. In it, Spider-Man reveals his identity to and marries Gwen Stacy, only to have the ceremony be interrupted by the police trying to arrest him due to J. Jonah Jameson learning his secret identity thanks to the Green Goblin.

* ILetGwenStacyDie: [[TropeNamers Obviously.]]

** Spidey is known for his [[YouFightLikeACow constant wisecracking]] during fights. In this story, he doesn't make any jokes while fighting with the Goblin ''because he's murderously angry''.
** While looking for Norman, Peter finds Harry in his room tripping on a drug overdose. Harry ''begs'' Peter to stay but Peter's so focused on {{Revenge}} on Norman he disregards his best friend when he needs him the most. It's heavily implied Peter abandoning Harry during this scene contributed to Harry becoming the second Green Goblin.
* PleaseDontLeaveMe: Harry says this when Peter abandons him while he's tripping on an overdose. Peter is so mad with grief and rage, as well as disgusted with Harry's dependency that he leaves.

* StuffedIntoTheFridge: Gwen Stacy barely has few lines of dialogue, and is killed for reasons she never understood (since she didn't know about Peter's double life) and her death largely serves the CharacterDevelopment of Norman, Harry, Peter, and especially Mary Jane.

* UnbuiltTrope: This is the one comic that started the entire [[StuffedIntoTheFridge Woman In Refrigerators]] trend, predating the TropeNamer by a good two decades. The motivations for it behind-the-scenes were identical to the general trope, using the girl's death to add to the hero's {{Angst}} and provide him something to feel badly about. But it stands apart from the countless later examples in two important ways. Unlike other examples, Gwen's death had meaningful consequences to Spider-Man's character and mythos, and Conway and later writers treated the death as Spider-Man's ShockingDefeatLegacy, inspiring him to be a better and more heroic character and elevating Gwen to respectfully become TheLostLenore even as MJ became his SecondLove. The trope it inspired is ILetGwenStacyDie and not "''Dropped From A Bridge''" for a reason.

The story was adapted into a NoBudget 1992 fan film called ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Green_Goblin%27s_Last_Stand The Green Goblin's Last Stand]]''. The film initially saw little attention, but became further recognized towards the turn of the century, peaking when the film's creator made a "making of" documentary on its production in 2002. Both the original film and documentary were well-received at small film festivals, even garnering some praise from Creator/StanLee. On the official side of things, the story line has never seen a full adaptation into television or film, though the iconic death itself has been referenced in both the Sam Raimi trilogy (''Film/SpiderMan1'', which had Mary Jane thrown off the bridge, but she survives, while Norman Osborn ends up impaling himself on his own glider) and Webb Marc duology (''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan2'', which does kill Gwen Stacy off, though ''Harry'' Osborn is the one to do the deed, and he's incarcerated instead of being killed), as well as episodes of ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries'' (titled "Turning Point", the tagline on the magazine cover) and ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan''.

An iconic storyline in Creator/MarvelComics' ''[[Comicbook/SpiderMan The Amazing Spider-Man]]'' series, spanning issues #121-122 (June-July, 1973). It was written by Creator/GerryConway, penciled by Gil Kane, and inked by John Romita & Tony Mortellaro. The two issues have two separate titles: ''The Night Gwen Stacy Died'', (#121) and ''The Green Goblin's Last Stand'' (#122) but it's known by the title of the first issue, which is famous for killing off Spider-Man's girlfriend Gwen Stacy.

-->'''Spider-Man:''' Mister, are we living in the same universe? You killed my woman, Goblin, and you're raging about a '''blasted bargain-basement toy'''?

-->'''Spider-Man''': Maybe you've forgotten...but you killed Gwen Stacy! She didn't just die -- you '''killed''' her.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: If you go by the explanation that Peter's webs snapped Gwen Stacy then yes Peter broke her. Even if you don't, Peter not telling Gwen his identity and his friends about the danger Norman Osborn posed to them, and likewise allowing Norman to worm his way back after a bout of EasyAmnesia ultimately counted for nothing since the Goblin spat on his mercy.

* DaylightHorror: Green Goblin kills Gwen on a bright blue morning with clear skies and in public view.\

The year was 1973. For ten years, Spider-Man had been one of Marvel's most popular characters. The patterns of Peter Parker's life were pretty well established. He attended Empire State University, fought creeps like [[MadScientist Doc Ock]], [[ReptilesAreAbhorrent the Lizard]], [[HuntingTheMostDangerousGame Kraven the Hunter]], {{M|asterOfIllusion}}ysterio, and [[AxCrazy the Green Goblin]], made money by selling pictures of himself in action to ''The Daily Bugle'' and its cantankerous publisher J. Jonah Jameson, and was deeply in love with Gwen Stacy. For the most part, superheroics had been a game to Parker. The closest he'd personally come to dying was pinned down under a ton of machinery in Doctor Octopus' lair, and he nearly always came out on top in the end. Tragedy had struck when Gwen's father (a retired police captain) died while he was fighting a battle, but that was written as a HeroicSacrifice after he was revealed to have [[DeathBySecretIdentity found out Peter's secret identity]] in 1970. It would be his secret identity being exposed again that would set into motion another series of tragic events. The [[ComicBook/NormanOsborn Green Goblin]] managed to stalk Spider-Man (whose spider-sense had been numbed) and discover that his greatest foe [[note]]although this is Gobby in the '60s we're talking about. ''Only'' foe works too[[/note]] was no older than 19 or 20. He successfully captured Parker and in his arrogance revealed his identity as ComicBook/NormanOsborn, the father of Peter's college classmate (and future roommate) Harry. Taking advantage of Osborn's inability to shut up, Spidey eventually broke free of his restraints and battled the Goblin. During the fight, an accident induced LaserGuidedAmnesia in Osborn, making him forget that he'd ever been the Green Goblin. Peter thought that he'd seen the last of the Goblin, until AmnesiacDissonance caught up with Osborn and he started remembering his former identity in short spurts. The second time this happened, it resulted in the also famous storyline ''The Goblin Returns,'' which challenged UsefulNotes/TheComicsCode Authority's guidelines on portraying [[DrugsAreBad drug use]].

* DaylightHorror: Green Goblin kills Gwen on a bright blue morning with clear skies and in public view. This effect is ruined in ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderManSeries'' where Emma Stone's Gwen is killed at night in a dank clock tower, though they were probably misled by the title.

* [[DroppedABridgeOnHim Dropped Her Off a Bridge]]: As noted above, Gwen spends most of her final story unconscious before being dropped off a bridge.

* KilledOffForReal: Gwen. She remains one of the few significant comic book characters who died and stayed dead (aside from temporarily returning for ''ComicBook/DeadNoMoreTheCloneConspiracy''). Originally the plan with Osborn as well; they eventually brought him back, but it took 23 years - an immense passage of time in comics.

-->'''Spider-Man''': "Maybe you've forgotten...but you killed Gwen Stacy! She didn't just die -- you '''killed''' her."

The editors decided that the Goblin could not go unpunished for this, [[LaserGuidedKarma and so he died in the next issue]], [[HoistByHisOwnPetard impaled by his own glider]]. From this point onward, Spider-Man's world (along with the [[UsefulNotes/TheBronzeAgeOfComicBooks comic book industry in general) had become [[CerebusSyndrome considerably darker]], forever haunted by the uncertainty of what had actually killed Gwen. Had the Goblin already killed her, or had Peter Parker killed the woman he loved with his webline? [[note]]The initial answer to the question was yes, Peter had inadvertently killed Gwen himself by causing her neck to break via whiplash, hence the "snap" sound effect in initial printings. How much this is stuck to whenever the event is referenced in later comics [[DependingOnTheWriter depends on the writer]].[[/note]]

The editors decided that the Goblin could not go unpunished for this, [[LaserGuidedKarma and so he died in the next issue]], [[HoistByHisOwnPetard impaled by his own glider]]. From this point onward, Spider-Man's world had become [[CerebusSyndrome considerably darker]], forever haunted by the uncertainty of what had actually killed Gwen. Had the Goblin already killed her, or had Peter Parker killed the woman he loved with his webline? [[note]]The initial answer to the question was yes, Peter had inadvertently killed Gwen himself by causing her neck to break via whiplash, hence the "snap" sound effect in initial printings. How much this is stuck to whenever the event is referenced in later comics [[DependingOnTheWriter depends on the writer]].[[/note]]

* AuthorAvatar: Gerry Conway puts his own real-life opinions about Gwen (namely that she was a bland character who was more interesting dead than alive) right into the Goblin's mouth, when he calls her a "paltry useless female who never did anything more than occupy space", as a way to trigger Spider-Man (as the AudienceSurrogate) to vent his guilt at the author stand-in and allow catharsis.

The story was adapted into a NoBudget 1992 fan film called ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Green_Goblin%27s_Last_Stand The Green Goblin's Last Stand]]''. The film initially saw little attention, but became further recognized towards the turn of the century, peaking when the film's creator made a "making of" documentary on its production in 2002. Both the original film and documentary were well-received at small film festivals, even garnering some praise from Creator/StanLee. On the official side of things, the story line has never seen a full adaptation into television or film, though the iconic death itself has been referenced in both the Sam Raimi trilogy (''Film/SpiderMan1'', which had Mary Jane thrown off the bridge, but she survives) and Webb Marc duology (''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan2'', which does kill Gwen Stacy off, though ''Harry'' Osborn is the one to do the deed), as well as episodes of ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries'' (titled "Turning Point" the tagline on the magazine cover) and ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan''.

* UnstoppableRage[=/=]ShutUpHannibal: The Goblin's response to the SkewedPriorities example above, where he calls Gwen "a simpering, pointless girl who never did more than occupy space" pushes Spidey into one.

-->'''Spider-man:''' I thought seeing the Goblin die would make me feel better about Gwen. Instead, it just makes me feel empty...washed out...and maybe a little bit more alone.

* WhatIf: What if #24 deals with what would happen if Spider-Man successfully managed to save Gwen Stacy during the comic. In it, Spider-Man reveals his identity to and marries Gwen Stacy, only to have the ceremony be interrupted by the police trying to arrest him due to J. Jonah Jameson learning his secret identity thanks to the Green Goblin.

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Spidey is known for his [[YouFightLikeACow constant wisecracking]] during fights. In this story, he doesn't make any jokes while fighting with the Goblin ''because he's murderously angry''.

The story was adapted into a NoBudget 1992 fan film called ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Green_Goblin%27s_Last_Stand The Green Goblin's Last Stand]]''. The film initially saw little attention, but became further recognized towards the turn of the century, peeking when the film's creator made a "making of" documentary on its production in 2002. Both the original film and documentary were well-received at small film festivals, even garnering some praise from Creator/StanLee. On the official side of things, the story line has never seen a full adaptation into television or film, though the iconic death itself has been referenced in both the Sam Raimi trilogy (''Film/SpiderMan1'', which had Mary Jane thrown off the bridge, but she survives) and Webb Marc duology (''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan2'', which does kill Gwen Stacy off, though ''Harry'' Osborn is the one to do the deed), as well as episodes of ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries'' (titled "Turning Point" the tagline on the magazine cover) and ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan''.

* KilledOffForReal: Gwen. She remains one of the few significant comic book characters who died and stayed dead. Originally the plan with Osborn as well; they eventually brought him back, but it took 23 years - an immense passage of time in comics.

* NonIndicativeTitle: It's called "The Night Gwen Stacy Died" but the confrontation between Spider-Man and the Green Goblin happens in daytime and in the morning.

* NotTheFallThatKillsYou: Subverted - Gwen either died of the whiplash or from shock. The Green Goblin states that a fall from that heigh would have killed anyone.

* YouAreNotAlone: In the epilogue, Peter tells Mary Jane that she doesn't need to commiserate with him. She considers doing this, but ultimately refuses, effectively invoking this trope.

* SurprisinglySuddenDeath: Gwen Stacy dies without any last words, without consciousness even, without any awareness that Peter and Spider-Man are one and the same. [[spoiler:At least until ''ComicBook/DeadNoMoreTheCloneConspiracy'' retconned that Gwen regained conscience enough to overhear Osborn call Peter by his real name.]]

* SurprisinglySuddenDeath: Gwen Stacy dies without any last words, without consciousness even, without any awareness that Peter and Spider-Man are one and the same.