History Quotes / TheNightGwenStacyDied

-> "Now, when it comes to the Gerry Conway scripted "The Night Gwen Stacy Died/The Green Goblin's Last Stand", most fans are bound to talk about the impact the deaths of Gwen Stacy and Norman Osborn had on superhero comic books in general. Unsurprisingly so, as it is indeed, a tale [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny ballsy for its time]]. It was unheard of to kill off the titular superhero's love interest and the arch-nemesis in a single story. I would, however, like to talk about a less discussed aspect of the tale which appeals to me the most. Which is saying a lot as the entire story is well crafted and perfectly executed. I am talking about the "Epilogue" scene between Peter and Mary Jane in ASM #122. [[SmallRoleBigImpact It is but one page but oh, what a page it is]]. The range of emotion captured through the artwork of Gil Kane and strong inking of John Romita Sr. is moving, to say the least. But what touches me the most is [[RayOfHopeEnding how the moment between MJ and Peter plays the element of much needed hope]] [[DownerEnding in an otherwise downer of a story]]. The inclusion of this one page really subverts the entire tone of the arc, which could otherwise be viewed as rather sexist...I sincerely feel "The Night Gwen Stacy Died" [[{{Misblamed}} is not]] any run-of-the-mill "[[StuffedIntoTheFridge Women in Refrigerators]]" tale...One of the reasons I find this story superior to even the finest of WiR stories like Creator/AlanMoore's ''ComicBook/TheKillingJoke'' is because it actively sets out to serve as a tool for the development of a male and female character's emotional arc. Here, Gwen's tragedy serves to strengthen Peter and Mary Jane's relationship, as opposed to Barbara Gordon's tragedy used as an exploitative tool to explore the Batman and Joker's relationship...Not only does Gwen's death force Peter and Mary Jane to grow up and prime them for a mature relationship, but it also expands the significance of not one, but two female characters. Let's face it, [[DesignatedLoveInterest Gwen Stacy was a pretty irrelevant character when it came to the bigger comic landscape]]. [[ILetGwenStacyDie Her shocking death however, changed all of that]]! Suddenly, she became iconic...It was a great loss which gave birth to the career of my favorite webslinging superhero, and it was a great loss which gave birth to my favorite love story in not only comics, but also in all of fiction. The wonderful and hope filled love story of Peter and MJ, borne out of the fateful night Gwen Stacy died."

-> "Since they couldn’t marry Peter and Gwen, they say it was ‘inescapable’ -- Gwen had to die. Not only is this [[AssPull a glaring and desperate attempt to absolve themselves]] of creative responsibility in the eyes of fans, it brings up an even more disturbing question: Was the writing staff so unable to think of any other potential avenues for the character’s fate? [[MundaneSolution Couldn’t Gwen simply have left town, met someone else, gotten a job?]] Since [[StuffedIntoTheFridge when is a brutal demise the only alternative for a female character besides marriage]]? The [[UnfortunateImplications misogynistic implications]] of this thinking are staggering."

-> ''I'm really proud of my work on that issue -- and the work of Gil Kane and John Romita. We had no idea that story would end up having the legacy it's had, but even at the time I was conscious of wanting to drive home what I believed was the core theme of Marvel's approach to superhero storytelling: that being a superhero doesn't make you immune to tragedy...Unfortunately, [[SelfDeprecation Gwen's death also inspired some terrible stories]], including the "[[StuffedIntoTheFridge girl-in-a-refrigerator]]" trope women in comics [[ValuesDissonance rightfully decry]]. I'd like to think that our approach to Gwen's death wasn't a cheap shot to create sympathy for our male hero, especially because [[TropesAreTools I tried to use that tragedy more as a motivation]] for [[CharacterDevelopment the emotional growth]] of the woman who would become the most significant female in Peter Parker's life, ComicBook/MaryJaneWatson...It's astonishing to me that forty-five years later readers are still responding powerfully to that story. Astonishing and gratifying. As for ComicBook/SpiderGwen... I love her, she's a terrific addition to the Spider-Verse.''

-->-- '''Arnold T. Blumberg''' "Comic Book Market Place", one year after the story's publication, anticipating the common criticism about WomenInRefrigerators in recent years.

-> ''I never imagined you could actually kill Gwen. [[DieForOurShip You have more intelligence then I gave you credit for]]. I fervently hope Gwen doesn't make a miraculous recovery in #122 (or in any subsequent issues). I also hope [[{{Wangst}] Peter doesn't mourn her too long]]...how long can he grieve over [[DesignatedLoveInterest a person whose brain was constructed]] [[TakeThatScrappy entirely out of old Pepsi bottles]] and whose personality had the exact color, consistency, and flavor of a loaf of Wonder Bread?''

-> "Of course the Peter and Gwen relationship came to a tragically abrupt end when she was thrown off a bridge and killed by the Green Goblin ([[AmbiguousSituation or was it Peter’s webbing that snapped her neck]]? [[FlipFlopOfGod Damn it, why won’t anyone ever CONFIRM this?]]). And that’s the genesis of this very somber, [[BittersweetEnding bittersweet moment]], [[CharacterDevelopment where MJ graduates from part-time romantic accessory to a shoulder to cry on]] and an actual friend to Peter. Up until this moment, you never really got the impression that Peter [[DesignatedLoveInterest was friends with any of the women he dated]] -- even Gwen...Now we’re obviously a number of issues removed before Peter and MJ actually become truly romantically linked –- his girlfriend just DIED 20 pages earlier! But the groundwork is laid here for Peter and MJ to ultimately engage in some kind of mature relationship. We never truly know what is said between Peter and MJ in this scene –- I’m going to speculate that it was a whole lot of silence. But judging by how the two interacted going forward, it was clear that [[YouAreNotAlone MJ stayed and comforted Peter through all of it]]...MJ went from “face it tiger, you hit the jackpot” bravado, to stoic, matriarchal comforter. It’s the strongest I’ve ever seen a woman, not named Aunt May, act around Peter. And that’s what made their inevitable courtship, break-up, reunion and marriage all the more rewarding –- the fact that readers saw on this one page, the power and strength and character like MJ brought to the series."
-->-- '''Mark Ginocchio''', "Reading Experience: Peter and Mary Jane Grow Up", December 12, 2011, '[[http://www.chasingamazingblog.com/2011/12/12/reading-experience-peter-and-mary-jane-grow-up/ Chasing Amazing Blog]]'

-> "Of course the Peter and Gwen relationship came to a tragically abrupt end when she was thrown off a bridge and killed by the Green Goblin ([[AmbiguousSituation or was it Peter’s webbing that snapped her neck]]? [[FlipFlopOfGod Damn it, why won’t anyone ever CONFIRM this?]]). And that’s the genesis of this very somber, [[BittersweetEnding bittersweet moment]], [[CharacterDevelopment where MJ graduates from part-time romantic accessory to a shoulder to cry on]] and an actual friend to Peter. Up until this moment, you never really got the impression that Peter [[DesignatedLoveInterest was friends with any of the women he dated]] -- even Gwen...Now we’re obviously a number of issues removed before Peter and MJ actually become truly romantically linked –- his girlfriend just DIED 20 pages earlier! But the groundwork is laid here for [[TrueLoveAutoCorrect Peter and MJ to ultimately engage in some kind of mature relationship]]. We never truly know what is said between Peter and MJ in this scene –- I’m going to speculate that it was a whole lot of silence. But judging by how the two interacted going forward, it was clear that [[YouAreNotAlone MJ stayed and comforted Peter through all of it]]...MJ went from “face it tiger, you hit the jackpot” bravado, to stoic, matriarchal comforter. It’s the strongest I’ve ever seen a woman, not named Aunt May, act around Peter. And that’s what made their inevitable courtship, break-up, reunion and marriage all the more rewarding –- the fact that readers saw on this one page, the power and strength and character like MJ brought to the series."