"I've swung my way through different New Yorks... different Manhattans. Lately this one hasn't felt quite like home. Which makes me wonder what I'm holding onto, other than Dad... that makes me want so badly to stay."
—Ghost-Spider (Gwen Stacy)
Spider-Gwen: Smash is a 2023 comic book limited series from Marvel Comics, written by Melissa Flores with art by Enid Balám and Elisabetta D'Amico, and colours by Fer Sifuentes-Sujo.
Gwen Stacy—aka Ghost-Spider—has reached a turning point in her life, no longer feeling like she belongs in her home dimension of Earth-65 after having spent so long travelling the Multiverse and being exiled to Earth-616. When the Mary Janes—one of the few things keeping Gwen anchored to Earth-65—are invited to be the opener for the Uncut Gems, a new rock band headlined by the photokinetic mutant Dazzler, Em Jay Watson gives Gwen the ultimatum of no superhero shenanigans. Unfortunately, the Uncut Gems' manager Natasha Romanoff reveals an ulterior motive: Dazzler is being stalked by the mad scientist Doctor Bruce Banner, and she wants Ghost-Spider to be her bodyguard. With Doctor Banner's undercover agents on the attack, Gwen must find a way to thwart his schemes before he can get his hands on Dazzler... and before her fracturing friendship with Em Jay unleashes Carnage.
The series debuted on December 13, 2023 and was concluded with "Something Sinister", a coda in Giant-Sized Spider-Gwen that—due to a scheduling error—was released one week before the final issue of Smash came out.
Spider-Gwen: Smash provides examples of:
- Alternate Identity Amnesia: As a result of Bruce Banner's experiments and brainwashing Rick Jones has no memory of his actions while he's Hulked out.
- Ambiguous Syntax: Em Jay tells Gwen that all she wants to know is if Gwen can choose them the way they chose her in a way that leaves it ambiguous as to whether she's talking about the Mary Janes or herself and her symbiote.
- Bad Influencer: Pink Velvet is a social media influencer who tries to become a supervillain by livestreaming her attempt to kill Mary Jane Watson. After Ghost-Spider webs her up for the police, she posts a video complaining that Ghost-Spider broke her nails and almost killed her, calling on her fans to cancel the Mary Janes, and saying that she's considering suing Gwen Stacy.
- Big Bad:
- Doctor Bruce Banner is a government scientist researching the mutagenic effects of gamma radiation. Obsessed with Alison Blaire and wanting to have her all to himself, he stalks her during her performances, and abducts and brainwashes her best friend Megan Gwynn (aka Pixie) and her sister Lois Brown (aka Mortis) in order to isolate her. He surreptitiously turns Rick Jones into a Hulk and brainwashes him into abducting attempting to abduct her. When Ghost-Spider meddles in his plans, he has Pixie abduct Mary Jane as a distraction while the Hulk abducts Alison, and reawakens the dormant Carnage symbiote within Em Jay in an attempt to turn her into one of his minions.
- The coda in Giant-Sized Spider-Gwen reveals that Doctor Banner's research was funded by Orlando Octavius, son of the late Doctor Otto Octavius, who attempts to abduct Mary Jane in order to recruit her and the Carnage symbiote into a Sinister supervillain team he's setting up.
- Big Good: Natasha Romanoff is revealed to be the head of a top secret peacekeeping agency recruiting and training teenaged superheroes. She is aware of the Multiverse and the role her own counterparts usually play across it, and has has been keeping an eye on Gwen for some time—resolving the issue with the Storm twins without Gwen even being aware of it.
- Bittersweet Ending: Closing out Gwen Stacy's time on Earth-65, the coda in Giant-Sized Spider-Gwen ends with Gwen saving Mary Jane from being abducted by Orlando Octavius and Mary Jane finally telling Gwen that she loves her... just before they part ways, Mary Jane to join Natasha's squad of super-spies, and Gwen to permanently relocate to Earth-616.
- Bodyguarding a Badass: Natasha Romanoff reveals that the only reason she hired the Mary Janes to open for the Uncut Gems was so that she could force Gwen Stacy to bodyguard Alison Blaire, a superhero in her own right, to Mary Jane's extreme frustration—Gwen having promised her not to get involved in any superheroics.
- The Bus Came Back:
- Rick Jones—previously mentioned to be a conspiracy theorist podcaster—appears as the Uncut Gems' guitarist, though when he's a no-show Natasha Romanoff replaces him with Mary Jane.
- Lila Cheney—who first appeared as a solo musician in Edge of Spider-Verse (Vol. 2) #2—appears as a member of the Uncut Gems and member of Natasha's secret superhero squad.
- In the third issue, Bruce Banner revitalizes Mary Jane Watson's Carnage symbiote, last seen in Ghost-Spider's King in Black tie-in.
- In the coda in Giant-Sized Spider-Gwen, Mysterio makes a comeback—having last seen being terrified out of his mind by Betty Brant in Spider-Gwen (Vol. 2). He tries to help Orlando Octavius abduct Mary Jane and the Carnage symbiote, but bails when a thoroughly unintimidated Carnage smashes his helmet.
- The Cameo: The Earth-65 incarnation of Andi Benton makes an unnamed cameo in the first issue, wearing a crop-top with Earth-616 Venom's head on it.
- Combat Tentacles: Orlando Octavius inherited a set of cybernetic tentacles from his late father Otto, though he says he made some upgrades to them when attacking Gwen and Em Jay.
- Continuity Nod: When recruiting Gwen, Natasha Romanoff reveals she dealt with Sue and Johnny Storm—who'd blackmailed Gwen into exiling herself from Earth-65 at the end of Ghost-Spider (2019)—behind the scenes, retroactively explaining why there was no mention of the Storm twins in Spider-Gwen: Gwenverse or Spider-Gwen: Shadow Clones.
- Distracted by the Sexy: When Em Jay blows up at Gwen for missing her timing during a rehearsal in "Something Sinister", Betty snidely suggests it was due to Gwen being distracted by Em Jay's Overly-Long Tongue in her Carnage form.
- Entitled to Have You:
- Dr. Bruce Banner is obsessed with rock star Alison Blaire, stalking her and going out of his way to isolate her from her friends by brainwashing Megan Gwynn and Rick Jones into becoming his supervillain minions, and sending them to attack her bandmates.
- With her jealousy and resentment dialled up to eleven by the Carnage symbiote, Em Jay feels this way about Gwen Stacy while under its control, attacking the Dazzler for having "stolen" Gwen from her.
- In a non-romantic sense, Orlando Octavius is this towards Mary Jane Watson in Giant-Sized Spider-Gwen, claiming that the Carnage symbiote is his property due to it having been revitalized by Bruce Banner's gamma ray tech, which Octavius funded.
- Hand Blast: Mortis (Lois Brown) is Dazzler (Alison Blaire)'s long-lost sister, and has similar light manipulation powers—though hers are red in colour and more offensively-oriented, being powerful enough to badly injure Carnage.
- Jealous Romantic Witness: In the third issue, Glory Grant breaks up with Em Jay over frustration at feeling less like her girlfriend and more like a Third Wheel between her and Gwen.
- The Jekyll Is a Jerk: Bruce Banner, in a desperate bid to beat the heroes, exposes himself to gamma rays, which backfires on him when the Hulk that he turns into ends up being benevolent and only angry at Banner.
- Lecherous Licking: In both #4 and Giant-Sized Spider-Gwen's coda, Carnage licks Gwen's face with the symbiote's Overly-Long Tongue while all-but spelling out that Em Jay is in love with her.
- Light 'em Up: Dazzler (Alison Blaire) is a mutant with the ability to convert sound to light—ranging from sparkles to Hard Light constructs. Her sister Mortis (Lois Brown) has similar powers, but uses them offensively.
- Love Confession: As in Spider-Gwen: Ghost-Spider #5, Em Jay vents her feelings for Gwen Stacy into the lyrics of her songs... though Gwen, as usual, doesn't pick up on it. In Giant-Sized Spider-Gwen, Em Jay finally tells Gwen that she loves her... just before she joins Natasha's superhero squad to learn how to control the Carnage symbiote. Despite Em Jay promising to talk things through with Gwen the next time they meet, the Mary Janes were all that tying Gwen to Earth-65, setting up Gwen permanently relocating to Earth-616.
- Love Triangle: Mary Jane Watson is dating Glory Grant but in love with Gwen Stacy, who is oblivious to her feelings. Glory, fed up with Em Jay using her as a substitute for Gwen, breaks up with her in the third issue.
- No Place for Me There: After stopping Pink Velvet from killing Mary Jane, Gwen tells her father that she feels out-of-place in Earth-65 after her multiversal adventures. Her father consoles her, saying he doesn't blame her given that their home dimension has continued to take and take from her while giving little-to-nothing back. The only thing anchoring her to Earth-65 is the Mary Janes, which break up in Giant-Sized Spider-Gwen, leaving Gwen with nothing tying her to Earth-65.
- "Not So Different" Remark: In the third issue, Bruce Banner comments to Mary Jane that they're not so different, saying that both of them desire to be loved by someone who's completely oblivious to their feelings (Alison Blaire for him, Gwen Stacy for her), and that he's all-too familiar with the rage and frustration that engenders. Unfortunately for Em Jay, his promise to help her involves unleashing her inner beast, the Carnage symbiote.Doctor Banner: You get it, don't you? I know you do. I see how you look at the Ghost-Spider. I see the rage at being ignored. The longing to be loved. It spoke to me. Don't worry, Em Jay. I'm here to help you. I promise. We'll help each other.
- Paper Tiger: Mysterio makes a comeback working for Orlando Octavius, attempting to help him capture Em Jay Watson so that he can add her to his roster of supervillains. While he talks tough, when Carnage smashes his helmet he realizes he's bitten off more than he can chew and has a panic attack, begging for his life.
- Power Incontinence: In the coda in Giant-Sized Spider-Gwen, the Carnage symbiote takes over Em Jay and rampages whenever she gets angry, and considering her Hair-Trigger Temper this becomes a recurring problem that costs the Mary Janes several gigs. Em Jay ultimately decides to join Natasha's superhero squad to learn to tame her temper and the symbiote before they kill someone.
- Sequel Hook: The coda in Giant-Sized Spider-Gwen ends with Orlando Octavius telling Mystero and Mortis that he's planning on putting together a "Sinister" supervillain team to take on Ghost-Spider and her allies—though unbeknownst to him Ghost-Spider is planning on permanently leaving Earth-65.
- Shipper on Deck: In the coda in Giant-Sized Spider-Gwen, Betty Brant wryly suggests that the reason Gwen's timing is off on her drumming is due to her being distracted by the sight of Em Jay's long, massive... tongue. Glory Grant is less than amused.
- Superpowered Evil Side:
- Having been experimented on by Bruce Banner, Rick Jones frequently blacks out and transforms into the Hulk, who acts as one of Dr. Banner's minions.
- In the third issue, Bruce Banner abducts Mary Jane Watson and reawakens the dormant Carnage symbiote, which takes over her every time she gets angry.
- In Giant-Sized Spider-Gwen, Mysterio conjures illusions of Gwen's Venom form and Mary Jane's fully-transformed Carnage form from King in Black in an attempt to prey on their fears of losing total control of their symbiotes. Em Jay is less than impressed and simply smashes his helmet, causing him to panic.
- Teen Superspy: Natasha Romanoff heads a team of teenaged superheroes including Dazzler (Alison Blaire) and Lila Cheney, who act as undercover operatives in a Black Widow-esque organization with enough reach to be aware of goings-on in the Multiverse. She wants to recruit Gwen Stacy—if only to serve as Dazzler's bodyguard—and recruits Mary Jane Watson and the Carnage symbiote. Pixie (Megan Gwynn) and Mortis (Lois Brown) are former members, but were abducted by Doctor Banner and turned to villainy.
- Turned Off By The Jerkass: Glory Grant breaks up with Mary Jane Watson after realizing that she's just a Replacement Goldfish for Gwen Stacy.
- Unwanted Rescue: When Gwen saves her from being assassinated by influencer-turned-would-be supervillain Pink Velvet, Em Jay complains about her trashing the set.
- Wall Pin of Love: In Giant-Size Spider-Gwen, Gwen—Oblivious to Love as always—demands for Carnage to tell her why Em Jay is so cantankerous towards her. In response, Carnage pins her against the wall of an apartment and licks her cheek, asking if she really wants to know the answer. It's interrupted by Mortis snarkily saying she's enjoying the view and asking if they're friends, enemies, or something in-between and more complicated.
"Thank you for being my friend. I love you, Gwen."
—Em Jay Watson
