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!!Gwendolyne "Gwen" Stacy
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screenshot_2020_06_18_at_121314_pm_0.png]]
%%!!!'''Notable Aliases:'''
!!! '''First Appearance:''' ''[[ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManLeeAndDitko The Amazing Spider-Man]] #31'' (December 1965)
Gwen Stacy is a fictional Marvel Comics character created by Creator/StanLee and Creator/SteveDitko. She is best known as one of ComicBook/SpiderMan's most prominent love interests, second only to Mary Jane Watson. First appearing in 1965 in ''Amazing Spider-Man'' #31, Gwen was introduced as one of Peter Parker's new college classmates along with Harry Osborn. A love square soon developed between the three of them and MJ, but over time, Peter and Harry exclusively dated Gwen and MJ respectively, which segues into the first of two things that Gwen is most famous for.
In ''Amazing Spider-Man'' #121, Gwen, who didn't know her boyfriend was Spider-Man, was kidnapped by his nemesis [[ComicBook/NormanOsborn Green Goblin]] and taken to the Brooklyn Bridge. Spider-Man came to rescue her, and in the ensuing conflict Green Goblin knocked an unconscious Gwen off the bridge. Spidey desperately tried to snag her with his webs, and caught her before she hit the water... only for the whiplash to snap her spine, killing Gwen and leading to one of the most infamous panels in comic book history.
To this day, ''ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied'' remains one of the most shocking stories in all of comics, especially considering that at the time it was published (1973), the idea of permanently killing off a love interest was unheard of. Gwen's death shook the entire industry to its core, marking the definitive end to the innocence of UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks and paving the way for darker, more experimental material.
It's worth noting that, astonishingly, Gwen has actually managed to remain dead since 1973, an astounding feat for a major comic book character. That's not to say she hasn't been around in any capacity. Just a few years after she died, a clone of Gwen, created by the Jackal (Gwen's StalkerWithATestTube) and lacking any memory her death, appeared to shake things up. The clone was sent packing pretty quick, but this marked the first of several Gwen-clones to be created for lack of a true resurrection. The most notable of these was the one appearing in ''ComicBook/DeadNoMoreTheCloneConspiracy'', which features a corporation headed by the Jackal that had figured out how to "resurrect" people by creating clones of them with all of their memories up to their deaths. Peter Parker was forced to confront a version of Gwen who remembered dying and also now knew he was Spider-Man. Neither of them got much time to angst, though, since the Gwen-clone and multiple others ended up dying at the end of the storyline.
Elsewhere, Gwen has popped up alive in multiple alternate universes, including the second thing she's most famous for: ComicBook/SpiderGwen. First appearing in ''Edge of ComicBook/SpiderVerse'' #2, this character hails from Earth-65, and is a version of Gwen Stacy who was bitten by the radioactive spider instead of Peter Parker, her best friend who she later inadvertently causes the death of. The character gained instant popularity, spawning several ongoing series and becoming an instant mainstay in ''Spider-Man'' media outside the comics, making her [[WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan2012 television debut]] a mere two years after her creation, and her [[WesternAnimation/SpiderManIntoTheSpiderVerse feature film]] debut just two years after that. The character would even start regularly fighting crime in Earth-616 (the main Marvel Universe), firmly establishing herself alongside Peter Parker and [[Characters/MarvelComicsMilesMorales Miles Morales]] as the trifecta of Spider-Heroes.
In 2020, a five-issue miniseries called ''Gwen Stacy'', starring the self-titled lady, began publication, showing Gwen's life before she met Peter Parker. However since the second issue nothing more has been released.
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!!Gwen Stacy has appeared in the following works:
[[AC:Notable Comic Book Appearances (Earth-616 Continuity)]]
* ''[[ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManLeeAndDitko The Amazing Spider-Man]]''
* ''ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied''
* ''ComicBook/SpiderManBlue''
* ''ComicBook/SinsPast''
* ''ComicBook/DeadNoMoreTheCloneConspiracy'' (as a clone)
* ''Gwen Stacy'' (2020)
[[AC:In Alternate Universes]]
* ''[[ComicBook/WhatIf What If Gwen Stacy Had Lived?]]''
* ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan''
* ''ComicBook/HouseOfM''
* ''ComicBook/MarvelFairyTales''
* ''ComicBook/SpiderGwen''
* ''ComicBook/SpiderManLifeStory''
[[AC:Notable Media Appearances]]
* ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries'' (1998), voiced by Creator/MaryKayBergman
* ''[[Literature/MaryJaneANovel Mary Jane 2]]'' (2004)
* ''Film/SpiderMan3'' (2007), played by Creator/BryceDallasHoward
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'' (2008-2009), voiced by Creator/LaceyChabert
* ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderManSeries'' (2012-2014), played by Creator/EmmaStone
** ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan'' (2012)
** ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan2'' (2014)
* ''VideoGame/TheAmazingSpiderMan'' (2012 video game), voiced by Creator/KariWahlgren
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!!Gwen Stacy provides examples of the following tropes:
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[[folder:#-L]]
* SeventiesHair: Long straight locks with a fringe (which has become her iconic look).
* AdaptationalLateAppearance: She was famously Spider-Man's LoveInterest before Mary Jane Watson. In the ''Film/SpiderManTrilogy'', Gwen (and her father) wasn't introduced until [[Film/SpiderMan3 the third film]], well into Peter and MJ's relationship.
* AdaptationPersonalityChange: Inevitable given that her original character and personality constantly shifted, radically across issues. But none of her more recent adaptations, whether in ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan, WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan, Film/TheAmazingSpiderManSeries, ComicBook/SpiderGwen'', has anything really in common with the character in the original stories.
* AffectionateNickname: During their relationship and when she was alive, Peter and her friends called her Gwendy. After her death, it's always Gwen.
* AllianceOfAlternates: ''ComicBook/SpiderGwenGwenverse'' teams ComicBook/SpiderGwen up with different versions of Gwen Stacy, such as a Gwen wearing [[ComicBook/IronMan a suit of mechanical armor]], a Gwen with [[ComicBook/CaptainAmerica the Super Solider Serum]], a Gwen with [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor an enchanted uru-hammer]], etc. Essentially, it's the Marvel Universe... [[JustForFun/RecycledInSpace AS GWEN STACY!]]
* AlphaBitch: Gwen Stacy is rather magnificent during ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManLeeAndDitko, as [[Film/MeanGirls the Regina George of ESU]]. Liz Allan was this during Peter's high school period, but she mellows out as she develops a crush on Pete.
* AlternateCompanyEquivalent: To ComicBook/LanaLang from ''Franchise/{{Superman}}''. They were both the main hero's FirstLove and had a BettyAndVeronica dynamic with another, more famous love interest (Mary Jane, ComicBook/LoisLane) that the hero ''did'' end up with. The major difference, of course, is that Peter's romance with Gwen ended when she died, while Clark simply drifted apart from Lana.
* AlternateUniverseReedRichardsIsAwesome: Even before ''Spider-Gwen'', this was in play, as evidenced by the ''Age of Apocalypse'' version (where she's Thor's bodyguard) and Ultimate Gwen (who for a time was fused with Carnage). Likewise, Creator/EmmaStone's version of the character was considered the best parts of the highly divisive ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderManSeries''.
* AmbiguousSituation: Was Gwen already dead when the Goblin threw her off the bridge, or just unconscious? And even if she was alive when he threw her, was it "the shock of the fall" that killed her, or the whiplash from Spider-Man's webline catching her? Though the writers originally stated it to be the latter, there's contextual evidence pointing to both, and Marvel has gone back-and-forth on the matter since the story's release.
* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: MJ still saw her as this, even after she died. As she remarks to Peter during their marriage, in ''The Spectacular Spider-Man'' Annual 8:
-->'''MJ:''' When Gwen was alive, I knew I never had a chance with you. [[UptownGirl After all, she was smart, educated, a lady]] -- And what was I? A cheap date. Emphasis on cheap.\\
'''Peter:''' Don't say that, MJ.\\
'''MJ:''' [[MadonnaWhoreComplex If Gwen Stacy was a beauty queen, then I was a pin-up girl.]]
* BettyAndVeronica: Gwen and Mary Jane simultaneously play this straight and invert it. On the one hand, Gwen was always sweet and down-to-earth whereas MJ was exciting and charismatic. On the other hand, Gwen came from a wealthy upbringing in contrast to MJ who grew up in a poor family, was Peter's literal GirlNextDoor, and was preferred by his Aunt May.
* BlondeBrunetteRedhead: She was the blonde Cto Betty Brant's brunette and Mary Jane Watson's redhead.
* ChastityCouple: During the time she and Peter were together they never had sex.
* ComicBookFantasyCasting: Gwen Stacy's original appearance on Creator/SteveDitko's page was based on Creator/VeronicaLake. After her character evolution, later writers modeled her design on blonde actresses in Creator/AlfredHitchcock films especially Kim Novak in ''Film/{{Vertigo}}'' (who as Madeleine wears a similar beige coat akin to what she wore in her final comic).
* CompositeCharacter:
** She has a habit of having parts of her characterization (namely being somewhat serious and melancholy at least near the end when she was crying all the time) given to Mary Jane. Hilariously, this began in 1970, during the third season of ''WesternAnimation/SpiderMan1967'' where MJ is made Captain George Stacy's niece. [[DontExplainTheJoke The joke]] is that this cartoon was released when she was still alive in the comics, proving that MJ has been upstaging and usurping Gwen from the start.
** Of course, turnaround is fair play. Her most famous appearances, ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'' and ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderManSeries'', have her characters based on Mary Jane (Ultimate MJ in the case of Spectacular). Emma Stone's character in the Marc Webb films, as a warm, funny confidant and partner for Peter who knows his double life and accepts both is entirely MJ and completely the opposite to Gwen in the original (who reacted with horror and shock at the idea of Peter being Spider-Man).
* DaddysGirl: She's beloved to her police chief father George Stacy, whom she similarly adores.
* DamselInDistress: In the early days, she would serve this role. Then it was notoriously subverted in the 1973 ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderMan1963'' story ''ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied'', in which archvillain the Green Goblin kidnaps her, Spidey goes to rescue her... and she dies, turning Gwen Stacy into '''the''' [[ILetGwenStacyDie Gwen Stacy]].
* DeadAlternateCounterpart: Versions of Gwen from {{Alternate Universe}}s have appeared years after her death, most notably the ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'' series and the eponymous ''ComicBook/SpiderGwen''.
* ADeadlyAffair: She had an affair with Norman Osborn, Peter's worst nemesis. She regretted it, gave birth to twins, and planned on raising the twins with Peter. It was this that caused the Green Goblin to snap and kill her.
* DefrostingIceQueen: She was initially cold towards Peter. Gradually, however, a romance develops because Gwen, a science major, seems to appreciate Peter's intellectual personality. Their relationship begins almost immediately after Peter stops going out with Mary Jane, whom he starts seeing as shallow and self-absorbed.
* DependingOnTheWriter: Most obvious than other characters since she never really had a set personality to start with:
** Her characterization in the original ''[[ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManLeeAndDitko The Amazing Spider-Man]]'' years was as a Liz Allan {{Expy}} for Peter now that he came to college, repeating the same beats such as outwardly participating with Harry and Flash in hazing and bullying Peter in college but inwardly finding him mysterious and sexy, mostly because Peter's the first guy who doesn't give her the time of his day. She was also a beauty queen UptownGirl type and implied to have been a serial dater.
** In the Lee-Romita years, they softened her considerably (just like they also softened up Harry and Flash to make Peter's social circle feel less hostile). They also kept changing Gwen's appearance and character over their run, making her a more elegant and nice ideal girl, implying that she is also Peter's fellow science student and shares an interest (though never to genius levels as later writers attempt it). Her appearance also changed, most notably later issues had Lee and Romita copying Mary Jane's hair style for her albeit with a blonde palette to make her as popular as her rival. Likewise, Gwen as Peter's FirstLove loved him but ''hated'' Spider-Man, blaming him for her father's death which they saw as giving her a tragic arc that mirrored Peter's loss of Uncle Ben.
** Creator/GerryConway (the first writer to take over from Lee) simply decided to drop her off a bridge and made her into a PosthumousCharacter who characters periodically remember in an ideal light until JMS came up with ''ComicBook/SinsPast'' which can be understood as an over-correction of the recent tendency. Her most recent AlternateUniverse renditions (Spider-Gwen and Ultimate Gwen) are more or less InNameOnly original creations. Conway, on seeing Creator/EmmaStone's performance in ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderManSeries'', noted that it was a CompositeCharacter with Gwen's name and background but with comics!MJ's personality (in that she's warm, light-hearted, and snarks back to Peter and is okay with both Peter and Spider-Man).
** At various times, Gwen was a popular AlphaBitch, an academic popular girl, a TeenGenius who knows more about science than Peter, a Goth, or an elegant young woman who despite being popular is secretly a wallflower and is drawn to Peter over Harry Osborn and Flash Thompson.
** The major one is her exact cause of death. In the original comic, Green Goblin explicitly said that she died because he dropped her and that a fall from that height would have killed anyone. However, Romita and Conway, as a way to create ambiguity and also to make it convincing and realistic, added the famous sound effect of a snap when Peter webbed her body to stop her descent suddenly. In both cases, the intent was to provide realism into a superhero encounter to really sell her CharacterDeath as a real one.
* DesecratingTheDead: Her corpse was one of the many exhumed by Kindred to psychologically torture Peter.
* [[invoked]]DieForOurShip: A rare non-fan example. Gerry Conway, who wrote "The Night Gwen Stacy Died", was very vocal that he thought the character was annoying and uninteresting compared to Mary Jane. John Romita Sr. suggested killing off a long-term supporting character (he pitched Aunt May first), but Conway chose Gwen as it would allow him to move things along to get Peter with the girl he wanted him to be with all along while in his view, allowing Gwen a role and status that made her into an all-time famous comics icon while satisfying Gwen-Peter shippers to regard Mary Jane as simply Peter's rebound girl and runner-up when in Conway's view, Gwen was Peter's FalseSoulmate.
* DiesDifferentlyInAdaptation: In the classic ''ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied'', Gwen was tossed off a bridge by ComicBook/NormanOsborn and Peter botched his attempt to save her, snapping her neck. However...
** ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'' had Gwen meet her end by ComicBook/{{Carnage}} draining her to a husk -- but there, she ultimately came BackFromTheDead, unlike her Earth-616 and ''Amazing'' selves. Speaking of the latter...
** ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan2'' mostly had Gwen die the same way, but the location was changed to a clocktower and her killer was Harry instead of Norman.
* DudeMagnet: When she was alive, she had dated many boys in high school and beat them all with a stick, and in college has Harry Osborn and Flash Thompson wrapped around her finger. The reason why she eyed Peter was because he was the first one who simply didn't fall over her like everyone else. Posthumously, Gwen was revealed to have attracted the eyes of her pervert teacher Prof. Miles Warren.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Gwen Stacy starts out as a cold AlphaBitch. She also lacks her signature Alice band, which didn't debut until issue #42.
* EveryoneLovesBlondes: Blonde, beautiful, and is desired by many men (seriously, see DudeMagnet above).
* FalseSoulmate: Gwen Stacy was Peter's first real relationship, [[FirstLove the first girl he fell in love with]], and both Lee and Romita Sr. thought initially that she and Peter would be the OfficialCouple. But readers never liked the relationship since they her as a bland character and didn't care for the fact that she liked Peter but hated Spider-Man, wrongfully blaming him for her father's death. Even Creator/StanLee admitted that he saw Gwen as uninteresting. The writer Creator/GerryConway saw Gwen as a false soulmate but felt it would be interesting to add drama for her to die in a [[ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied famous storyline]] that in his view allowed him to satisfy both groups. Gwen fans could see her as Peter's {{The|LostLenore}} while those who didn't care for her could happily start rooting for Peter to get with his real soulmate, ComicBook/MaryJaneWatson.
* FanDisservice: The love scene flashback between her and Norman Osborn. Especially when he morphs into the Green Goblin right in the middle of the act.
* FirstLove: DependingOnTheWriter. Peter dated Betty before her, but Gwen is his first serious relationship and many often see her as the girl Peter might have given up Spider-Man for and settle down for good, though none of that was hinted in the pages itself[[note]]Stan Lee and Romita Sr. also hinted that they might have had Peter and Gwen marry, though Lee later admitted that he changed his mind about that and shrugged when he heard Conway's pitch to kill her off since even he realized that he hadn't done enough to make Gwen an interesting character[[/note]].
* GirlNextDoor: Played with. As portrayed in the comics, Gwen came from an upper-class background, her first boyfriend, Harry, was the son of a millionaire and in her first appearance she was introduced as a high-school beauty queen. However, as she became the Betty to Mary Jane's Veronica, she moved into this category and many fans remember her with this status after her death, even if MJ was the literal girl next door handpicked by Aunt May as the right girl for her Peter, although after Peter and Gwen started dating, she supported them too.
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Her hair's always been a shade of blonde (from platinum to bright yellow), and while she was initially portrayed as a haughty ice queen, she's ultimately remembered and beloved for her sweetness and loving heart.
* HappilyAdopted: Averted. She was hoping to raise her twins with Peter, knowing that he'll be a good adoptive father to them and better than Norman. This motivation gets her killed by Norman Osborn.
* HatesMySecretIdentity: She likes Peter Parker but hates Spider-Man.
* HeroOfAnotherStory: ''Giant-Size Gwen Stacy'' looks at an adventure Gwen had before she even met Peter concerning the circumstances of George Stacy's forced retirement from the police, which includes her dealing with a criminal conspiracy involving the Crime-Master, the Kingpin and the Green Goblin, as well as having a brief encounter with the X-Men (Marvel Girl, Beast and Iceman, to be specific).
* HystericalWoman: Peter openly calls her this in narration during ''Amazing Spider-Man'' #87 where he blurts out he's Spider-Man, which some of his friends see as being evidence of him being crazy (which Peter later runs with) but Gwen actually believes it and her reaction is so over-the-top that Peter swears off telling her his secret ever again. Mary Jane also trolls her for her over-the-top reaction, which becomes even more hilarious if you factor in the ''Parallel Lives'' retcon that she knew Peter was always Spider-Man and that she's rubbing it in to her rival about how she can't deal with their mutual crush's double life):
-->'''MJ:''' [[DeadpanSnarker Wow Gwendy]], [[SarcasmMode you sure can pick 'em.]] He's either a [[HeroWithBadPublicity masked menace]] or a [[HeroicBSOD psycho case]], [[LovesMyAlterEgo take your pick!]]\\
'''Gwen:''' ''[tears in her eyes]'' [[BigShutUp Shut Up!]] No matter what he is -- what he's done -- [[IRejectYourReality don't you dare talk about him like that!]]\\
'''MJ:''' [[WithFriendsLikeThese Okay, Tigress! He's all yours!]]
* IconicOutfit: Her dying outfit (green overcoat, black shirt, purple skirt, black headband) remains her most easily recognizable outfit.
* IconicSequelCharacter: Due to being referenced often in flashbacks and AdaptationDisplacement, it may come as a shock to some fans to find out that she was Spidey's third love interest (behind Liz Allan and [[DemotedToExtra Betty Brant]]). Likewise, Peter's best friend and eventual enemy Harry Osborn made his debut in the same issue Gwen did, ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #31.
* ILetGwenStacyDie: She's the TropeNamer for a reason, having died infamously on Spider-Man's watch, something continues to haunt him and their surviving friends.
* InNameOnly: While her personality was admittedly always inconsistent, none of the adaptions have ever come to close to being accurate. The original Gwen was an example of a HystericalWoman who started out [[DefrostingTheIceQueen unlikeable before warming up to Peter]], while later proving to be a PoliticallyIncorrectHero by supporting a corrupt authoritarian DA candidate just because she hates Spider-Man. All adaptions of the character remove these elements, often making her a CompositeCharacter with Mary Jane to not only make her more likeable, but to make her the sort of character Peter would more believably fall in love with. Spider-Gwen in particular is the exact opposite of the original Gwen, being based more on how adaptions portrayed her such as the version from ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan''.
* KilledOffForReal: She remains one of the few significant comic book characters who died and stayed dead (unless you count the clone with her memories from ''ComicBook/DeadNoMoreTheCloneConspiracy''). This is likely because [[ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied the story of her death]] is so iconic.
* LadyInRed: Famously wears a revealing red [[WalkingSwimsuitScene bikini]] in the Savage Land saga. In the entirety of the story.
* LikesClarkKentHatesSuperman: Despite initially liking Spider-Man, she soon came to hate him after her father died saving a child from falling rubble during one of Spidey's fights with Doc Ock.
* LikeParentLikeSpouse: Potential Spouse in this case (and actual one in AU versions). But she had a close relationship with her father George Stacy, a principled responsible man who wants to stop crime and risks his life in service while her boyfriend has similar qualities (and unknown to her is also a crime fighter who risks his life to fight crime). Captain George Stacy for his part always approved of Peter and [[spoiler:in his deathbed admitted that he knew he was Spider-Man and told him he had no problems with him dating his daughter]].
* LittleBlackDress: She once wore a skimpy black dress in the hopes of getting Peter to be her Valentine. [[spoiler:She succeeds]].
* LostInImitation: Her iconic death scene via falling off a bridge from ''ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied'' gets adapted a lot — ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries'', ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan2012'', [[Film/SpiderMan1 the first live-action movie]] — and they always replace Gwen with Mary Jane and let her live. The child-friendly cartoon series actually came the closest to adapting the tragedy by having Mary Jane fall into a dimensional time and space rift (alive but in an AndIMustScream state of floating through a no-man's-land outside reality and definitely believed dead by Peter, with an arc about grieving her loss). When the ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan2'' FINALLY gets the right girl, and [[KilledOffForReal kills her off for real]], they have to replace the iconic setting with a clock tower because people have already seen the familiar set up with Mary Jane too many times. They also replace Norman with Harry.
* TheLostLenore: Some writers like to use her this way for Spider-Man, even though he actually got over her death fairly soon in the 1970s.
** Jeph Loeb's ''ComicBook/SpiderManBlue'' is perhaps the most blatant example.
** Inverted in ''ComicBook/SpiderGwen'' where it's '''Peter Parker''' who becomes Gwen's Lost Lenore.
* LovableAlphaBitch: In the original Creator/SteveDitko era, she was basically [[Film/MeanGirls the Regina George]] of ESU.[[note]]Her animated version in ''The Spectacular Spider-Man'' is voiced by Creator/LaceyChabert aka Gretchen Wieners herself[[/note]]
* LoveFatherLoveSon: She used to date Harry Osborn. Then, she had an affair with his father Norman Osborn, with whom she secretly had a pair of twins.
* LoveTriangle: She was apart of one with Peter and Mary Jane, as Peter had some feelings (mostly shallow ones) for Mary Jane. She seemed to have won, though her death sadly came soon after.
* LovingAShadow: In Creator/TomBeland's one-shot "Web of Romance", Peter actually reflects this about his feelings for Gwen and how it compares to his relationship with Mary Jane (who's always been insecure about being a replacement for Gwen). Peter notes that with Gwen he was always tense, nervous, because of how emotional she was, was never entirely relaxed, and that he was never able to be honest and open with her in the way he is with Mary Jane, and that his feelings for his wife are greater than it was for Gwen. The ''Literature/SpiderManSinisterSixTrilogy'' features Peter musing at one point that his relationship with Gwen couldn't have worked out because she wanted peace and he acknowledges that he seeks crusades, even if he still regrets her death.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:M-Z]]
* MeetTheInLaws: Gwen had a very frosty relationship with Aunt May (unlike Mary Jane who saw her as a ParentalSubstitute and always remained close and in-touch with her). Most notably, when Peter had a disappearance and May was worried about where she was, Gwen lashed out at her with [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech a speech]] calling her out for being a smothering mother that so badly affected May that she actually spent weeks away from Peter without talking to her and was considered to have "disappeared". Gwen did feel guilty about doing this, and May and Peter accommodated her, but things were never warm between them.
* MisfitLabRat: Back in the 60s she was originally written as a DefrostingIceQueen AcademicAlphaBitch, but some modern takes (like ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'' and ''ComicBook/SpiderGwen'') make her more of a punk outcast. That said, her skills at science tend to vary DependingOnTheWriter.
* MorePopularReplacement: ComicBook/SpiderGwen to the original Gwen Stacy. While most people accept that the original was a very important character due to her death, many don't like her inconsistent characterization over the years from a high maintenance woman to a pure ingénue. In contrast, many enjoy this version of Gwen for having more of a consistent characterization as an excitable tomboy drummer who is still shaken over her greatest failure, on top of being a Spider-person herself. As a result of this, most current adaptations featuring Gwen Stacy tend to lean towards the personality of this version of the character as opposed to her original incarnation.
* MsFanservice: Gwen is a very beautiful blonde-haired woman who wears outfits (particularly skirts with thigh-high socks and boots as well as dresses) that highlight her very voluptuous body, buxom breasts, [[ImpossibleHourglassFigure hourglass figure]], and long, toned legs. The trilogy in The Savage Land has her wearing a red bikini for the entirety of three issues, showing far more skin than even Mary Jane did until her marriage to Peter and the era of her being a cheesecake.
* MySecretPregnancy: She was retconned into having had one of these courtesy of Norman Osborn -- the man who later killed her -- during the ''ComicBook/SinsPast'' storyline. When Gwen learned she was pregnant, she decided to raise the children with Peter, so Norman killed her and raised them himself. This was eventually retconned in ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderMan2018'', 15 years after that story was first published, when it was revealed that [[spoiler:both of Gwen and Norman's kids were imperfect clones, and Mary Jane was hypnotized to believe that Gwen told her about her affair with Norman, which never actually occurred]] as part of the larger ArcWelding narrative going on.
* NeckSnap: There is a text that reads "Snap" when Spider-Man catches Gwen as she falls, which is revealed to be Gwen's neck breaking due to the whiplash of Spider-Man catching her. This was later confirmed by WordOfGod.
-->'''Roy Thomas:''' It saddens us to have to say that the Whiplash effect she underwent when Spidey's webbing stopped her so suddenly was, in fact, what killed her. In short, it was impossible for Peter to save her. He couldn't have swung down in time; the action he did take resulted in her death; if he had done nothing, she still would certainly have perished. There was no way out.
* NeverGotToSayGoodbye: She died before Peter could tell her that he's Spider-Man and sharing more of his life with her.
* NeverSpeakIllOfTheDead: One way to ''really'' piss Peter off is to besmirch her name. [[spoiler:''ComicBook/SinsPast'' by JMS was a story that intended to correct her posthumous adulation by painting Gwen as someone who cheated on Peter with an older man, and Peter's reaction on learning of this was one of rage and disbelief though he ultimately did get over it, especially since MJ, Gwen's close friend who never once brought this up even if it was to her advantage, still loved and missed Gwen.]] Of course in other stories, such as "Web of Romance", Peter is okay being critical of Gwen such as her dependency and the stress she put him during their relationship.
* NerdsAreSexy: She was a science geek (DependingOnTheWriter) while still looking like an absolute bombshell (DependingOnTheArtist).
* NeverGotToSayGoodbye: One reason why her death was so poignant for Peter was that she died before knowing he was Spider-Man, before knowing the true cause of her father's death. Peter also admits to MJ in ''ComicBook/SinsPast'' [[spoiler:that he and Gwen never had sex during their relationship together]] and of course if Peter had plans to propose to her, he never told her either.
* NiceGirl: Despite an initial haughty characterization and later variations, she's ultimately remembered as a sweet girl. This has more or less become her default characterization in most adaptations.
* NostalgiaFilter: Not only among fans and writers, but many characters InUniverse latch on to Gwen's memory as a representative of a more innocent time.
** ''ComicBook/SpiderManBlue'' is entirely about Peter recording his memories about how the college days with Gwen was a innocent happy era. Harry Osborn in "Best of Enemies" also voices regret about Gwen's death and his father killing her, noting how he feels that their entire generation (himself, Peter, MJ, Flash) all lost something with her.
** Mary Jane [[NostalgiaAintLikeItUsedToBe herself punctures holes with this nostalgia at one point]] pointing out that none of them were actually innocent or that those years were so golden. Peter was Spider-Man and was tearing himself up lying to everyone about his double life, Harry was a drug addict son of a barely-repressed supervillain, MJ was a product of a broken home and runaway trying desperately to hide her real self from her people, Flash fought in Vietnam and came back a veteran (sliding time scale later moved this back and forth), and even Gwen's final years were marked with the death of her father, and her grief over being orphaned.
* NotTheFallThatKillsYou: Subverted - Gwen either died of the whiplash or from shock. The Green Goblin states that a fall from that height would have killed anyone.
* TheOneThatGotAway: On account of her death, many fans and later writers grew up thinking of her as this. Some AU versions often show her and Peter as living the dream life, though others such as ''House of M'' hint at a very troubled relationship (with an implication that a married Peter was cheating on her with MJ).
* PietaPlagiarism: Peter is (in)famously seen cradling her lifeless body in the climactic scene of ''ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied''.
* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: Believe it or not, Gwen once threw her support behind Sam Bullitt, a man running for DA -- who also had a history of supporting white supremacy, just simply because he was against Spidey. This was in addition to the fact that her father, the reason she supported him (she blamed Spidey for George's death), was ''against'' the man.
* PrettySpryForADeadGuy: It's teased that she's actually alive a couple of times, only for it to be revealed it's a clone or something each time. Interestingly, the First Clone Saga was suggested by Creator/StanLee (after the fan reaction and backlash over Gwen's death) as a possible backdoor to bring her back just in case Conway's plan to have Peter move on with Mary Jane didn't take with readers. Once it became clear it did, he made the revived Gwen into a clone.
* ProgressivelyPrettier: In her early appearances, as drawn by Steve Ditko, she had highly, angular eyebrows, pinned-up hair, a [[PerpetualFrowner constant haughty expression]], and fairly modest clothing; her features were sharp and angular and although she could occasionally pull off a nice pout, the fact that lots of characters [[InformedAttractiveness called her pretty]] was the only hint to the fact that she actually was so. But when John Romita Sr. took over the drawing, Gwen was softened, her features became more angelic, she let her hair down, gaining her iconic bangs and headband, and she dressed in much sexier clothes.
* ProudBeauty: Gwen actually started out this way, as she got angry at Peter Parker for daring not to be attracted to her, and reflected that "I've never met a boy like him! He didn't even give me a glance!" Fortunately, she got better. ComicBook/MaryJaneWatson and ComicBook/BlackCat [[HeadTurningBeauty play]] [[ShamelessFanserviceGirl this]] [[MsFanservice role]] more straight due to the former being a FanserviceModel and the latter being a SexyCatPerson[=/=]ClassyCatBurglar with a form-fitting SpyCatsuit.
* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: In ''Amazing Spider-Man'' #91-92, after her father's death, Gwen, in grief and anger, serves as a volunteer to Sam Bullitt, an authoritarian candidate for the position of DA who wants a "law and order" campaign, solely so he would go after Spider-Man. This despite him having, as Robbie Robertson points out, a past history of being supported by hate groups. Despite the fact that George Stacy detested Bullitt, Gwen works for Sam and willingly supports and gets behind his "law and order" campaign.
* PosthumousCharacter: Since her death happened in ''Amazing Spider-Man'' #122 of a long comics series and is one of the most constantly revisited and alluded to moments in the comics, a good number of later readers encounter her as a posthumous character. Jeph Loeb's ''Spider-Man: Blue'' is quite common, even if it has little to do with her original characterization.
* {{Retcon}}:
** The infamous ''ComicBook/SinsPast'' story establishes that Norman Osborn and Gwen Stacy had a son and daughter, Gabriel Stacy and Sarah Stacy. ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderMan2018'' undoes this by revealing that [[spoiler:the "kids" are clones and Osborn never had the affair, while Mary Jane was hypnotized to believe in it as part of her therapy sessions with a disguised Mysterio]].
** A minor one that changes a character's entire motivations in ''ComicBook/DeadNoMoreTheCloneConspiracy''. [[spoiler:''ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied'' is changed to reveal that, before the Goblin knocked her over, Gwen had woken up and heard the supervillain call Spider-Man "Peter". She automatically hates both because of what happened to her father. In ''Clone Conspiracy'' #4, however, when Peter finally confronts Gwen (or rather, ''another'' clone with her last memories), she does say that she forgives him and, in a tie-in, admits that she's still in love with Peter, but feels betrayed by him being Spider-Man, though she understands why he does what he does.]]
* RichSuitorPoorSuitor: The rich to MJ's poor. She's the only girl Peter has dated to come from a higher social class than him, his previous love interests Betty and Liz were from the same background with Betty choosing to work rather than go to school, while Mary Jane was also from Queens like Peter and was ambitious about moving up.
* SexForSolace: When she had her one-night stand with Norman, her father had recently died, her boyfriend Peter [[TheMasqueradeWillKillYourDatingLife had become distant]], and her friend Harry had overdosed on LSD. ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderMan2018'' retconned this by revealing that [[spoiler:the affair never actually happened and ended up being an elaborate hoax designed to mess with Peter's head]].
* SlidingScaleOfBeauty: Level III(World-Class).
* SparedByTheAdaptation: For someone who's best known for being one of the first love interests killed in super-hero history, Gwen always seems to survive outside of the comics (as seen in the ''Film/SpiderManTrilogy'', ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries'' or ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan''). The one exception was [[spoiler:''Film/TheAmazingSpiderManSeries'' and it was considered highly unpopular in that film]]. This is probably because the nature of superhero film trilogies which generally don't allow for ComicBookTime removes much of the original reason and context for her fridging.
* SpoiledSweet: She comes from a wealthy upbringing in contrast to Peter's status as a WorkingClassHero. Despite this, she is portrayed as a good-hearted individual and is fondly remembered by her friends long after her death.
* StacysMom: For a time in ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManJMichaelStraczynski'', where the ''ComicBook/SinsPast'' storyline was taken as a legitimate event in Spider-Man's history, ComicBook/NormanOsborn was this for her. Fits with LoveFatherLoveSon, as she also dated Harry Osborn for a time. '' ComicBook/SinsPast'' was ultimately revealed to be an elaborate ruse by a Harry Osborn A.I. in ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderMan2018'', using hocus pocus from Mysterio and clones to deceive Spider-Man into thinking Norman and Gwen had a relationship.
* SurprisePregnancy: She discovered she's pregnant from her affair with Norman Osborn and gives birth to twins 4 months early.
* SurprisinglySuddenDeath: Gwen was drugged by Osborn and was still unconscious when he dropped her off the bridge. No last words, no deathbed exchanges (unlike the case of her father's death, Captain George Stacy), no PartingWordsRegret or any literary foreshadowing about her death, which is one reason why it was a huge shock to readers.
* TheyKilledKenny: All her clones, created by the Jackal, always end up killed. Even Joyce Delaney (her first clone) who, after many years, started finally a new life... ended up killed by another Gwen's clone, Abby-L, in ''ComicBook/SpiderIsland''.
* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: She is treated this way in retrospect both in the Spider-Man continuity and by the editors. Before her death, her relationship with Peter was a little rocky owing to the latter blaming Spider-Man for her father's death, burdening Peter with guilt and regret. She had actually separated from Peter and gone to London (which revived during the ''ComicBook/SinsPast'' story) and she and Peter came off as a non-functional couple. Of course, as a PosthumousCharacter, she's earned the sarcastic nickname "St. Gwen."
* TroubledButCute: She fell for Norman Osborn and had an affair with him because she felt there was another side to him that was broken and troubled and she felt sorry for him.
* TrueLoveIsBoring: This is one of the reasons Gwen Stacy was killed. Nobody at Marvel was ready for a married Spider-Man yet, though in the case of Gwen, her being boring was also a reason (since MJ isn't, it's a lot harder to keep her out of Spider-Man's life).
* {{Tsundere}}: Her original characterization flips between being concerned and lovestruck over Peter to hating his guts for a minor transgression like him not responding to Harry Osborn's jokes.
* TwoFirstNames: Gwen and Stacy are both common given names.
* UnwittingPawn: Gwen Stacy to Sam Bullitt. The latter uses her to support his political campaign and venture, even if her father disliked him for his politics.
* UptownGirl: What the character actually is. While Peter is a poor kid from Queens trying to help his Aunt May pay the bills and make rent, she's a well-to-do high society girl whose father, a retired NYPD captain, hangs around media tycoon J. Jonah Jameson and industrialist Norman Osborn. All adaptations tend to ignore this aspect of the character, though a few such as ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' films acknowledge it in little ways by showing Gwen's family living a very nice and clearly expensive apartment.
* VitriolicBestBuds: She and MJ gradually transitioned into this once the latter realized that she and Peter were serious. They remained friendly with MJ mock-teasing and flirting as a way to josh Gwen. ''ComicBook/SinsPast'' revealed how close their friendship was as does ''Spider-Man: Blue''. Notably, MJ never once gives Peter heat over still mourning his first love even during their marriage, making it clear that she loved and misses Gwen as much as he does.
* WetBlanketWife: As Peter's girlfriend Gwen was this when she was alive. Her relationship with Peter was strained by the fact that she loved Peter but hated Spider-Man. Peter loved her but constantly had to lie to her since the minute he told her the truth he would lose her. Indeed, one attempt to confess his identity to his friends which Peter later passed as a prank confirmed these views since Gwen became hysterical at the idea of Peter as a superhero. The one situation that could have helped them out, namely the fact that her father George Stacy approved of Peter and Spider-Man and was his SecretKeeper, was lost when George Stacy died in an accident and Gwen blamed Spider-Man for the death of her beloved father, and Peter's guilt felt worse than ever. As such, readers got annoyed by Gwen for her whiny nature, her irrational fear and grief-stricken rage at Spider-Man, and for the fact that whenever Peter contemplated a future he just felt incredibly guilty. Then she died and Peter lost her, felt guilty for one big major failure rather than every day while he was with her, and moved on to his real love interest.
* WomanlinessAsPathos: Gwen Stacy is a constant source of angst and turmoil for Peter, resulting in the circumstances her death being retreaded several times throughout publication, as well as many stories that resulted directly from her death or the events immediately leading up to them. For example, The Clone Saga started when StalkerWithACrush Miles Warren cloned both her and Peter Parker as revenge for Peter letting the object of his affection die. The story ''ComicBook/SinsPast'' revealed more details about her past, including that [[spoiler:she cheated on him with his archenemy ComicBook/NormanOsborn and bore two children.]]
* WomanScorned: She was initially upset that Peter gave her the cold shoulder upon their first meeting (which he did because he was worried about Aunt May's illness). Furious, she dates both Flash Thompson and Harry Osborn.
[[/folder]]
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[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screenshot_2020_06_18_at_121314_pm_0.png]]
%%!!!'''Notable Aliases:'''
!!! '''First Appearance:''' ''[[ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManLeeAndDitko The Amazing Spider-Man]] #31'' (December 1965)
Gwen Stacy is a fictional Marvel Comics character created by Creator/StanLee and Creator/SteveDitko. She is best known as one of ComicBook/SpiderMan's most prominent love interests, second only to Mary Jane Watson. First appearing in 1965 in ''Amazing Spider-Man'' #31, Gwen was introduced as one of Peter Parker's new college classmates along with Harry Osborn. A love square soon developed between the three of them and MJ, but over time, Peter and Harry exclusively dated Gwen and MJ respectively, which segues into the first of two things that Gwen is most famous for.
In ''Amazing Spider-Man'' #121, Gwen, who didn't know her boyfriend was Spider-Man, was kidnapped by his nemesis [[ComicBook/NormanOsborn Green Goblin]] and taken to the Brooklyn Bridge. Spider-Man came to rescue her, and in the ensuing conflict Green Goblin knocked an unconscious Gwen off the bridge. Spidey desperately tried to snag her with his webs, and caught her before she hit the water... only for the whiplash to snap her spine, killing Gwen and leading to one of the most infamous panels in comic book history.
To this day, ''ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied'' remains one of the most shocking stories in all of comics, especially considering that at the time it was published (1973), the idea of permanently killing off a love interest was unheard of. Gwen's death shook the entire industry to its core, marking the definitive end to the innocence of UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks and paving the way for darker, more experimental material.
It's worth noting that, astonishingly, Gwen has actually managed to remain dead since 1973, an astounding feat for a major comic book character. That's not to say she hasn't been around in any capacity. Just a few years after she died, a clone of Gwen, created by the Jackal (Gwen's StalkerWithATestTube) and lacking any memory her death, appeared to shake things up. The clone was sent packing pretty quick, but this marked the first of several Gwen-clones to be created for lack of a true resurrection. The most notable of these was the one appearing in ''ComicBook/DeadNoMoreTheCloneConspiracy'', which features a corporation headed by the Jackal that had figured out how to "resurrect" people by creating clones of them with all of their memories up to their deaths. Peter Parker was forced to confront a version of Gwen who remembered dying and also now knew he was Spider-Man. Neither of them got much time to angst, though, since the Gwen-clone and multiple others ended up dying at the end of the storyline.
Elsewhere, Gwen has popped up alive in multiple alternate universes, including the second thing she's most famous for: ComicBook/SpiderGwen. First appearing in ''Edge of ComicBook/SpiderVerse'' #2, this character hails from Earth-65, and is a version of Gwen Stacy who was bitten by the radioactive spider instead of Peter Parker, her best friend who she later inadvertently causes the death of. The character gained instant popularity, spawning several ongoing series and becoming an instant mainstay in ''Spider-Man'' media outside the comics, making her [[WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan2012 television debut]] a mere two years after her creation, and her [[WesternAnimation/SpiderManIntoTheSpiderVerse feature film]] debut just two years after that. The character would even start regularly fighting crime in Earth-616 (the main Marvel Universe), firmly establishing herself alongside Peter Parker and [[Characters/MarvelComicsMilesMorales Miles Morales]] as the trifecta of Spider-Heroes.
In 2020, a five-issue miniseries called ''Gwen Stacy'', starring the self-titled lady, began publication, showing Gwen's life before she met Peter Parker. However since the second issue nothing more has been released.
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!!Gwen Stacy has appeared in the following works:
[[AC:Notable Comic Book Appearances (Earth-616 Continuity)]]
* ''[[ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManLeeAndDitko The Amazing Spider-Man]]''
* ''ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied''
* ''ComicBook/SpiderManBlue''
* ''ComicBook/SinsPast''
* ''ComicBook/DeadNoMoreTheCloneConspiracy'' (as a clone)
* ''Gwen Stacy'' (2020)
[[AC:In Alternate Universes]]
* ''[[ComicBook/WhatIf What If Gwen Stacy Had Lived?]]''
* ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan''
* ''ComicBook/HouseOfM''
* ''ComicBook/MarvelFairyTales''
* ''ComicBook/SpiderGwen''
* ''ComicBook/SpiderManLifeStory''
[[AC:Notable Media Appearances]]
* ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries'' (1998), voiced by Creator/MaryKayBergman
* ''[[Literature/MaryJaneANovel Mary Jane 2]]'' (2004)
* ''Film/SpiderMan3'' (2007), played by Creator/BryceDallasHoward
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'' (2008-2009), voiced by Creator/LaceyChabert
* ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderManSeries'' (2012-2014), played by Creator/EmmaStone
** ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan'' (2012)
** ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan2'' (2014)
* ''VideoGame/TheAmazingSpiderMan'' (2012 video game), voiced by Creator/KariWahlgren
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!!Gwen Stacy provides examples of the following tropes:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:#-L]]
* SeventiesHair: Long straight locks with a fringe (which has become her iconic look).
* AdaptationalLateAppearance: She was famously Spider-Man's LoveInterest before Mary Jane Watson. In the ''Film/SpiderManTrilogy'', Gwen (and her father) wasn't introduced until [[Film/SpiderMan3 the third film]], well into Peter and MJ's relationship.
* AdaptationPersonalityChange: Inevitable given that her original character and personality constantly shifted, radically across issues. But none of her more recent adaptations, whether in ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan, WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan, Film/TheAmazingSpiderManSeries, ComicBook/SpiderGwen'', has anything really in common with the character in the original stories.
* AffectionateNickname: During their relationship and when she was alive, Peter and her friends called her Gwendy. After her death, it's always Gwen.
* AllianceOfAlternates: ''ComicBook/SpiderGwenGwenverse'' teams ComicBook/SpiderGwen up with different versions of Gwen Stacy, such as a Gwen wearing [[ComicBook/IronMan a suit of mechanical armor]], a Gwen with [[ComicBook/CaptainAmerica the Super Solider Serum]], a Gwen with [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor an enchanted uru-hammer]], etc. Essentially, it's the Marvel Universe... [[JustForFun/RecycledInSpace AS GWEN STACY!]]
* AlphaBitch: Gwen Stacy is rather magnificent during ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManLeeAndDitko, as [[Film/MeanGirls the Regina George of ESU]]. Liz Allan was this during Peter's high school period, but she mellows out as she develops a crush on Pete.
* AlternateCompanyEquivalent: To ComicBook/LanaLang from ''Franchise/{{Superman}}''. They were both the main hero's FirstLove and had a BettyAndVeronica dynamic with another, more famous love interest (Mary Jane, ComicBook/LoisLane) that the hero ''did'' end up with. The major difference, of course, is that Peter's romance with Gwen ended when she died, while Clark simply drifted apart from Lana.
* AlternateUniverseReedRichardsIsAwesome: Even before ''Spider-Gwen'', this was in play, as evidenced by the ''Age of Apocalypse'' version (where she's Thor's bodyguard) and Ultimate Gwen (who for a time was fused with Carnage). Likewise, Creator/EmmaStone's version of the character was considered the best parts of the highly divisive ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderManSeries''.
* AmbiguousSituation: Was Gwen already dead when the Goblin threw her off the bridge, or just unconscious? And even if she was alive when he threw her, was it "the shock of the fall" that killed her, or the whiplash from Spider-Man's webline catching her? Though the writers originally stated it to be the latter, there's contextual evidence pointing to both, and Marvel has gone back-and-forth on the matter since the story's release.
* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: MJ still saw her as this, even after she died. As she remarks to Peter during their marriage, in ''The Spectacular Spider-Man'' Annual 8:
-->'''MJ:''' When Gwen was alive, I knew I never had a chance with you. [[UptownGirl After all, she was smart, educated, a lady]] -- And what was I? A cheap date. Emphasis on cheap.\\
'''Peter:''' Don't say that, MJ.\\
'''MJ:''' [[MadonnaWhoreComplex If Gwen Stacy was a beauty queen, then I was a pin-up girl.]]
* BettyAndVeronica: Gwen and Mary Jane simultaneously play this straight and invert it. On the one hand, Gwen was always sweet and down-to-earth whereas MJ was exciting and charismatic. On the other hand, Gwen came from a wealthy upbringing in contrast to MJ who grew up in a poor family, was Peter's literal GirlNextDoor, and was preferred by his Aunt May.
* BlondeBrunetteRedhead: She was the blonde Cto Betty Brant's brunette and Mary Jane Watson's redhead.
* ChastityCouple: During the time she and Peter were together they never had sex.
* ComicBookFantasyCasting: Gwen Stacy's original appearance on Creator/SteveDitko's page was based on Creator/VeronicaLake. After her character evolution, later writers modeled her design on blonde actresses in Creator/AlfredHitchcock films especially Kim Novak in ''Film/{{Vertigo}}'' (who as Madeleine wears a similar beige coat akin to what she wore in her final comic).
* CompositeCharacter:
** She has a habit of having parts of her characterization (namely being somewhat serious and melancholy at least near the end when she was crying all the time) given to Mary Jane. Hilariously, this began in 1970, during the third season of ''WesternAnimation/SpiderMan1967'' where MJ is made Captain George Stacy's niece. [[DontExplainTheJoke The joke]] is that this cartoon was released when she was still alive in the comics, proving that MJ has been upstaging and usurping Gwen from the start.
** Of course, turnaround is fair play. Her most famous appearances, ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'' and ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderManSeries'', have her characters based on Mary Jane (Ultimate MJ in the case of Spectacular). Emma Stone's character in the Marc Webb films, as a warm, funny confidant and partner for Peter who knows his double life and accepts both is entirely MJ and completely the opposite to Gwen in the original (who reacted with horror and shock at the idea of Peter being Spider-Man).
* DaddysGirl: She's beloved to her police chief father George Stacy, whom she similarly adores.
* DamselInDistress: In the early days, she would serve this role. Then it was notoriously subverted in the 1973 ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderMan1963'' story ''ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied'', in which archvillain the Green Goblin kidnaps her, Spidey goes to rescue her... and she dies, turning Gwen Stacy into '''the''' [[ILetGwenStacyDie Gwen Stacy]].
* DeadAlternateCounterpart: Versions of Gwen from {{Alternate Universe}}s have appeared years after her death, most notably the ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'' series and the eponymous ''ComicBook/SpiderGwen''.
* ADeadlyAffair: She had an affair with Norman Osborn, Peter's worst nemesis. She regretted it, gave birth to twins, and planned on raising the twins with Peter. It was this that caused the Green Goblin to snap and kill her.
* DefrostingIceQueen: She was initially cold towards Peter. Gradually, however, a romance develops because Gwen, a science major, seems to appreciate Peter's intellectual personality. Their relationship begins almost immediately after Peter stops going out with Mary Jane, whom he starts seeing as shallow and self-absorbed.
* DependingOnTheWriter: Most obvious than other characters since she never really had a set personality to start with:
** Her characterization in the original ''[[ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManLeeAndDitko The Amazing Spider-Man]]'' years was as a Liz Allan {{Expy}} for Peter now that he came to college, repeating the same beats such as outwardly participating with Harry and Flash in hazing and bullying Peter in college but inwardly finding him mysterious and sexy, mostly because Peter's the first guy who doesn't give her the time of his day. She was also a beauty queen UptownGirl type and implied to have been a serial dater.
** In the Lee-Romita years, they softened her considerably (just like they also softened up Harry and Flash to make Peter's social circle feel less hostile). They also kept changing Gwen's appearance and character over their run, making her a more elegant and nice ideal girl, implying that she is also Peter's fellow science student and shares an interest (though never to genius levels as later writers attempt it). Her appearance also changed, most notably later issues had Lee and Romita copying Mary Jane's hair style for her albeit with a blonde palette to make her as popular as her rival. Likewise, Gwen as Peter's FirstLove loved him but ''hated'' Spider-Man, blaming him for her father's death which they saw as giving her a tragic arc that mirrored Peter's loss of Uncle Ben.
** Creator/GerryConway (the first writer to take over from Lee) simply decided to drop her off a bridge and made her into a PosthumousCharacter who characters periodically remember in an ideal light until JMS came up with ''ComicBook/SinsPast'' which can be understood as an over-correction of the recent tendency. Her most recent AlternateUniverse renditions (Spider-Gwen and Ultimate Gwen) are more or less InNameOnly original creations. Conway, on seeing Creator/EmmaStone's performance in ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderManSeries'', noted that it was a CompositeCharacter with Gwen's name and background but with comics!MJ's personality (in that she's warm, light-hearted, and snarks back to Peter and is okay with both Peter and Spider-Man).
** At various times, Gwen was a popular AlphaBitch, an academic popular girl, a TeenGenius who knows more about science than Peter, a Goth, or an elegant young woman who despite being popular is secretly a wallflower and is drawn to Peter over Harry Osborn and Flash Thompson.
** The major one is her exact cause of death. In the original comic, Green Goblin explicitly said that she died because he dropped her and that a fall from that height would have killed anyone. However, Romita and Conway, as a way to create ambiguity and also to make it convincing and realistic, added the famous sound effect of a snap when Peter webbed her body to stop her descent suddenly. In both cases, the intent was to provide realism into a superhero encounter to really sell her CharacterDeath as a real one.
* DesecratingTheDead: Her corpse was one of the many exhumed by Kindred to psychologically torture Peter.
* [[invoked]]DieForOurShip: A rare non-fan example. Gerry Conway, who wrote "The Night Gwen Stacy Died", was very vocal that he thought the character was annoying and uninteresting compared to Mary Jane. John Romita Sr. suggested killing off a long-term supporting character (he pitched Aunt May first), but Conway chose Gwen as it would allow him to move things along to get Peter with the girl he wanted him to be with all along while in his view, allowing Gwen a role and status that made her into an all-time famous comics icon while satisfying Gwen-Peter shippers to regard Mary Jane as simply Peter's rebound girl and runner-up when in Conway's view, Gwen was Peter's FalseSoulmate.
* DiesDifferentlyInAdaptation: In the classic ''ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied'', Gwen was tossed off a bridge by ComicBook/NormanOsborn and Peter botched his attempt to save her, snapping her neck. However...
** ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'' had Gwen meet her end by ComicBook/{{Carnage}} draining her to a husk -- but there, she ultimately came BackFromTheDead, unlike her Earth-616 and ''Amazing'' selves. Speaking of the latter...
** ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan2'' mostly had Gwen die the same way, but the location was changed to a clocktower and her killer was Harry instead of Norman.
* DudeMagnet: When she was alive, she had dated many boys in high school and beat them all with a stick, and in college has Harry Osborn and Flash Thompson wrapped around her finger. The reason why she eyed Peter was because he was the first one who simply didn't fall over her like everyone else. Posthumously, Gwen was revealed to have attracted the eyes of her pervert teacher Prof. Miles Warren.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Gwen Stacy starts out as a cold AlphaBitch. She also lacks her signature Alice band, which didn't debut until issue #42.
* EveryoneLovesBlondes: Blonde, beautiful, and is desired by many men (seriously, see DudeMagnet above).
* FalseSoulmate: Gwen Stacy was Peter's first real relationship, [[FirstLove the first girl he fell in love with]], and both Lee and Romita Sr. thought initially that she and Peter would be the OfficialCouple. But readers never liked the relationship since they her as a bland character and didn't care for the fact that she liked Peter but hated Spider-Man, wrongfully blaming him for her father's death. Even Creator/StanLee admitted that he saw Gwen as uninteresting. The writer Creator/GerryConway saw Gwen as a false soulmate but felt it would be interesting to add drama for her to die in a [[ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied famous storyline]] that in his view allowed him to satisfy both groups. Gwen fans could see her as Peter's {{The|LostLenore}} while those who didn't care for her could happily start rooting for Peter to get with his real soulmate, ComicBook/MaryJaneWatson.
* FanDisservice: The love scene flashback between her and Norman Osborn. Especially when he morphs into the Green Goblin right in the middle of the act.
* FirstLove: DependingOnTheWriter. Peter dated Betty before her, but Gwen is his first serious relationship and many often see her as the girl Peter might have given up Spider-Man for and settle down for good, though none of that was hinted in the pages itself[[note]]Stan Lee and Romita Sr. also hinted that they might have had Peter and Gwen marry, though Lee later admitted that he changed his mind about that and shrugged when he heard Conway's pitch to kill her off since even he realized that he hadn't done enough to make Gwen an interesting character[[/note]].
* GirlNextDoor: Played with. As portrayed in the comics, Gwen came from an upper-class background, her first boyfriend, Harry, was the son of a millionaire and in her first appearance she was introduced as a high-school beauty queen. However, as she became the Betty to Mary Jane's Veronica, she moved into this category and many fans remember her with this status after her death, even if MJ was the literal girl next door handpicked by Aunt May as the right girl for her Peter, although after Peter and Gwen started dating, she supported them too.
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Her hair's always been a shade of blonde (from platinum to bright yellow), and while she was initially portrayed as a haughty ice queen, she's ultimately remembered and beloved for her sweetness and loving heart.
* HappilyAdopted: Averted. She was hoping to raise her twins with Peter, knowing that he'll be a good adoptive father to them and better than Norman. This motivation gets her killed by Norman Osborn.
* HatesMySecretIdentity: She likes Peter Parker but hates Spider-Man.
* HeroOfAnotherStory: ''Giant-Size Gwen Stacy'' looks at an adventure Gwen had before she even met Peter concerning the circumstances of George Stacy's forced retirement from the police, which includes her dealing with a criminal conspiracy involving the Crime-Master, the Kingpin and the Green Goblin, as well as having a brief encounter with the X-Men (Marvel Girl, Beast and Iceman, to be specific).
* HystericalWoman: Peter openly calls her this in narration during ''Amazing Spider-Man'' #87 where he blurts out he's Spider-Man, which some of his friends see as being evidence of him being crazy (which Peter later runs with) but Gwen actually believes it and her reaction is so over-the-top that Peter swears off telling her his secret ever again. Mary Jane also trolls her for her over-the-top reaction, which becomes even more hilarious if you factor in the ''Parallel Lives'' retcon that she knew Peter was always Spider-Man and that she's rubbing it in to her rival about how she can't deal with their mutual crush's double life):
-->'''MJ:''' [[DeadpanSnarker Wow Gwendy]], [[SarcasmMode you sure can pick 'em.]] He's either a [[HeroWithBadPublicity masked menace]] or a [[HeroicBSOD psycho case]], [[LovesMyAlterEgo take your pick!]]\\
'''Gwen:''' ''[tears in her eyes]'' [[BigShutUp Shut Up!]] No matter what he is -- what he's done -- [[IRejectYourReality don't you dare talk about him like that!]]\\
'''MJ:''' [[WithFriendsLikeThese Okay, Tigress! He's all yours!]]
* IconicOutfit: Her dying outfit (green overcoat, black shirt, purple skirt, black headband) remains her most easily recognizable outfit.
* IconicSequelCharacter: Due to being referenced often in flashbacks and AdaptationDisplacement, it may come as a shock to some fans to find out that she was Spidey's third love interest (behind Liz Allan and [[DemotedToExtra Betty Brant]]). Likewise, Peter's best friend and eventual enemy Harry Osborn made his debut in the same issue Gwen did, ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #31.
* ILetGwenStacyDie: She's the TropeNamer for a reason, having died infamously on Spider-Man's watch, something continues to haunt him and their surviving friends.
* InNameOnly: While her personality was admittedly always inconsistent, none of the adaptions have ever come to close to being accurate. The original Gwen was an example of a HystericalWoman who started out [[DefrostingTheIceQueen unlikeable before warming up to Peter]], while later proving to be a PoliticallyIncorrectHero by supporting a corrupt authoritarian DA candidate just because she hates Spider-Man. All adaptions of the character remove these elements, often making her a CompositeCharacter with Mary Jane to not only make her more likeable, but to make her the sort of character Peter would more believably fall in love with. Spider-Gwen in particular is the exact opposite of the original Gwen, being based more on how adaptions portrayed her such as the version from ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan''.
* KilledOffForReal: She remains one of the few significant comic book characters who died and stayed dead (unless you count the clone with her memories from ''ComicBook/DeadNoMoreTheCloneConspiracy''). This is likely because [[ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied the story of her death]] is so iconic.
* LadyInRed: Famously wears a revealing red [[WalkingSwimsuitScene bikini]] in the Savage Land saga. In the entirety of the story.
* LikesClarkKentHatesSuperman: Despite initially liking Spider-Man, she soon came to hate him after her father died saving a child from falling rubble during one of Spidey's fights with Doc Ock.
* LikeParentLikeSpouse: Potential Spouse in this case (and actual one in AU versions). But she had a close relationship with her father George Stacy, a principled responsible man who wants to stop crime and risks his life in service while her boyfriend has similar qualities (and unknown to her is also a crime fighter who risks his life to fight crime). Captain George Stacy for his part always approved of Peter and [[spoiler:in his deathbed admitted that he knew he was Spider-Man and told him he had no problems with him dating his daughter]].
* LittleBlackDress: She once wore a skimpy black dress in the hopes of getting Peter to be her Valentine. [[spoiler:She succeeds]].
* LostInImitation: Her iconic death scene via falling off a bridge from ''ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied'' gets adapted a lot — ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries'', ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan2012'', [[Film/SpiderMan1 the first live-action movie]] — and they always replace Gwen with Mary Jane and let her live. The child-friendly cartoon series actually came the closest to adapting the tragedy by having Mary Jane fall into a dimensional time and space rift (alive but in an AndIMustScream state of floating through a no-man's-land outside reality and definitely believed dead by Peter, with an arc about grieving her loss). When the ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan2'' FINALLY gets the right girl, and [[KilledOffForReal kills her off for real]], they have to replace the iconic setting with a clock tower because people have already seen the familiar set up with Mary Jane too many times. They also replace Norman with Harry.
* TheLostLenore: Some writers like to use her this way for Spider-Man, even though he actually got over her death fairly soon in the 1970s.
** Jeph Loeb's ''ComicBook/SpiderManBlue'' is perhaps the most blatant example.
** Inverted in ''ComicBook/SpiderGwen'' where it's '''Peter Parker''' who becomes Gwen's Lost Lenore.
* LovableAlphaBitch: In the original Creator/SteveDitko era, she was basically [[Film/MeanGirls the Regina George]] of ESU.[[note]]Her animated version in ''The Spectacular Spider-Man'' is voiced by Creator/LaceyChabert aka Gretchen Wieners herself[[/note]]
* LoveFatherLoveSon: She used to date Harry Osborn. Then, she had an affair with his father Norman Osborn, with whom she secretly had a pair of twins.
* LoveTriangle: She was apart of one with Peter and Mary Jane, as Peter had some feelings (mostly shallow ones) for Mary Jane. She seemed to have won, though her death sadly came soon after.
* LovingAShadow: In Creator/TomBeland's one-shot "Web of Romance", Peter actually reflects this about his feelings for Gwen and how it compares to his relationship with Mary Jane (who's always been insecure about being a replacement for Gwen). Peter notes that with Gwen he was always tense, nervous, because of how emotional she was, was never entirely relaxed, and that he was never able to be honest and open with her in the way he is with Mary Jane, and that his feelings for his wife are greater than it was for Gwen. The ''Literature/SpiderManSinisterSixTrilogy'' features Peter musing at one point that his relationship with Gwen couldn't have worked out because she wanted peace and he acknowledges that he seeks crusades, even if he still regrets her death.
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[[folder:M-Z]]
* MeetTheInLaws: Gwen had a very frosty relationship with Aunt May (unlike Mary Jane who saw her as a ParentalSubstitute and always remained close and in-touch with her). Most notably, when Peter had a disappearance and May was worried about where she was, Gwen lashed out at her with [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech a speech]] calling her out for being a smothering mother that so badly affected May that she actually spent weeks away from Peter without talking to her and was considered to have "disappeared". Gwen did feel guilty about doing this, and May and Peter accommodated her, but things were never warm between them.
* MisfitLabRat: Back in the 60s she was originally written as a DefrostingIceQueen AcademicAlphaBitch, but some modern takes (like ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'' and ''ComicBook/SpiderGwen'') make her more of a punk outcast. That said, her skills at science tend to vary DependingOnTheWriter.
* MorePopularReplacement: ComicBook/SpiderGwen to the original Gwen Stacy. While most people accept that the original was a very important character due to her death, many don't like her inconsistent characterization over the years from a high maintenance woman to a pure ingénue. In contrast, many enjoy this version of Gwen for having more of a consistent characterization as an excitable tomboy drummer who is still shaken over her greatest failure, on top of being a Spider-person herself. As a result of this, most current adaptations featuring Gwen Stacy tend to lean towards the personality of this version of the character as opposed to her original incarnation.
* MsFanservice: Gwen is a very beautiful blonde-haired woman who wears outfits (particularly skirts with thigh-high socks and boots as well as dresses) that highlight her very voluptuous body, buxom breasts, [[ImpossibleHourglassFigure hourglass figure]], and long, toned legs. The trilogy in The Savage Land has her wearing a red bikini for the entirety of three issues, showing far more skin than even Mary Jane did until her marriage to Peter and the era of her being a cheesecake.
* MySecretPregnancy: She was retconned into having had one of these courtesy of Norman Osborn -- the man who later killed her -- during the ''ComicBook/SinsPast'' storyline. When Gwen learned she was pregnant, she decided to raise the children with Peter, so Norman killed her and raised them himself. This was eventually retconned in ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderMan2018'', 15 years after that story was first published, when it was revealed that [[spoiler:both of Gwen and Norman's kids were imperfect clones, and Mary Jane was hypnotized to believe that Gwen told her about her affair with Norman, which never actually occurred]] as part of the larger ArcWelding narrative going on.
* NeckSnap: There is a text that reads "Snap" when Spider-Man catches Gwen as she falls, which is revealed to be Gwen's neck breaking due to the whiplash of Spider-Man catching her. This was later confirmed by WordOfGod.
-->'''Roy Thomas:''' It saddens us to have to say that the Whiplash effect she underwent when Spidey's webbing stopped her so suddenly was, in fact, what killed her. In short, it was impossible for Peter to save her. He couldn't have swung down in time; the action he did take resulted in her death; if he had done nothing, she still would certainly have perished. There was no way out.
* NeverGotToSayGoodbye: She died before Peter could tell her that he's Spider-Man and sharing more of his life with her.
* NeverSpeakIllOfTheDead: One way to ''really'' piss Peter off is to besmirch her name. [[spoiler:''ComicBook/SinsPast'' by JMS was a story that intended to correct her posthumous adulation by painting Gwen as someone who cheated on Peter with an older man, and Peter's reaction on learning of this was one of rage and disbelief though he ultimately did get over it, especially since MJ, Gwen's close friend who never once brought this up even if it was to her advantage, still loved and missed Gwen.]] Of course in other stories, such as "Web of Romance", Peter is okay being critical of Gwen such as her dependency and the stress she put him during their relationship.
* NerdsAreSexy: She was a science geek (DependingOnTheWriter) while still looking like an absolute bombshell (DependingOnTheArtist).
* NeverGotToSayGoodbye: One reason why her death was so poignant for Peter was that she died before knowing he was Spider-Man, before knowing the true cause of her father's death. Peter also admits to MJ in ''ComicBook/SinsPast'' [[spoiler:that he and Gwen never had sex during their relationship together]] and of course if Peter had plans to propose to her, he never told her either.
* NiceGirl: Despite an initial haughty characterization and later variations, she's ultimately remembered as a sweet girl. This has more or less become her default characterization in most adaptations.
* NostalgiaFilter: Not only among fans and writers, but many characters InUniverse latch on to Gwen's memory as a representative of a more innocent time.
** ''ComicBook/SpiderManBlue'' is entirely about Peter recording his memories about how the college days with Gwen was a innocent happy era. Harry Osborn in "Best of Enemies" also voices regret about Gwen's death and his father killing her, noting how he feels that their entire generation (himself, Peter, MJ, Flash) all lost something with her.
** Mary Jane [[NostalgiaAintLikeItUsedToBe herself punctures holes with this nostalgia at one point]] pointing out that none of them were actually innocent or that those years were so golden. Peter was Spider-Man and was tearing himself up lying to everyone about his double life, Harry was a drug addict son of a barely-repressed supervillain, MJ was a product of a broken home and runaway trying desperately to hide her real self from her people, Flash fought in Vietnam and came back a veteran (sliding time scale later moved this back and forth), and even Gwen's final years were marked with the death of her father, and her grief over being orphaned.
* NotTheFallThatKillsYou: Subverted - Gwen either died of the whiplash or from shock. The Green Goblin states that a fall from that height would have killed anyone.
* TheOneThatGotAway: On account of her death, many fans and later writers grew up thinking of her as this. Some AU versions often show her and Peter as living the dream life, though others such as ''House of M'' hint at a very troubled relationship (with an implication that a married Peter was cheating on her with MJ).
* PietaPlagiarism: Peter is (in)famously seen cradling her lifeless body in the climactic scene of ''ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied''.
* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: Believe it or not, Gwen once threw her support behind Sam Bullitt, a man running for DA -- who also had a history of supporting white supremacy, just simply because he was against Spidey. This was in addition to the fact that her father, the reason she supported him (she blamed Spidey for George's death), was ''against'' the man.
* PrettySpryForADeadGuy: It's teased that she's actually alive a couple of times, only for it to be revealed it's a clone or something each time. Interestingly, the First Clone Saga was suggested by Creator/StanLee (after the fan reaction and backlash over Gwen's death) as a possible backdoor to bring her back just in case Conway's plan to have Peter move on with Mary Jane didn't take with readers. Once it became clear it did, he made the revived Gwen into a clone.
* ProgressivelyPrettier: In her early appearances, as drawn by Steve Ditko, she had highly, angular eyebrows, pinned-up hair, a [[PerpetualFrowner constant haughty expression]], and fairly modest clothing; her features were sharp and angular and although she could occasionally pull off a nice pout, the fact that lots of characters [[InformedAttractiveness called her pretty]] was the only hint to the fact that she actually was so. But when John Romita Sr. took over the drawing, Gwen was softened, her features became more angelic, she let her hair down, gaining her iconic bangs and headband, and she dressed in much sexier clothes.
* ProudBeauty: Gwen actually started out this way, as she got angry at Peter Parker for daring not to be attracted to her, and reflected that "I've never met a boy like him! He didn't even give me a glance!" Fortunately, she got better. ComicBook/MaryJaneWatson and ComicBook/BlackCat [[HeadTurningBeauty play]] [[ShamelessFanserviceGirl this]] [[MsFanservice role]] more straight due to the former being a FanserviceModel and the latter being a SexyCatPerson[=/=]ClassyCatBurglar with a form-fitting SpyCatsuit.
* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: In ''Amazing Spider-Man'' #91-92, after her father's death, Gwen, in grief and anger, serves as a volunteer to Sam Bullitt, an authoritarian candidate for the position of DA who wants a "law and order" campaign, solely so he would go after Spider-Man. This despite him having, as Robbie Robertson points out, a past history of being supported by hate groups. Despite the fact that George Stacy detested Bullitt, Gwen works for Sam and willingly supports and gets behind his "law and order" campaign.
* PosthumousCharacter: Since her death happened in ''Amazing Spider-Man'' #122 of a long comics series and is one of the most constantly revisited and alluded to moments in the comics, a good number of later readers encounter her as a posthumous character. Jeph Loeb's ''Spider-Man: Blue'' is quite common, even if it has little to do with her original characterization.
* {{Retcon}}:
** The infamous ''ComicBook/SinsPast'' story establishes that Norman Osborn and Gwen Stacy had a son and daughter, Gabriel Stacy and Sarah Stacy. ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderMan2018'' undoes this by revealing that [[spoiler:the "kids" are clones and Osborn never had the affair, while Mary Jane was hypnotized to believe in it as part of her therapy sessions with a disguised Mysterio]].
** A minor one that changes a character's entire motivations in ''ComicBook/DeadNoMoreTheCloneConspiracy''. [[spoiler:''ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied'' is changed to reveal that, before the Goblin knocked her over, Gwen had woken up and heard the supervillain call Spider-Man "Peter". She automatically hates both because of what happened to her father. In ''Clone Conspiracy'' #4, however, when Peter finally confronts Gwen (or rather, ''another'' clone with her last memories), she does say that she forgives him and, in a tie-in, admits that she's still in love with Peter, but feels betrayed by him being Spider-Man, though she understands why he does what he does.]]
* RichSuitorPoorSuitor: The rich to MJ's poor. She's the only girl Peter has dated to come from a higher social class than him, his previous love interests Betty and Liz were from the same background with Betty choosing to work rather than go to school, while Mary Jane was also from Queens like Peter and was ambitious about moving up.
* SexForSolace: When she had her one-night stand with Norman, her father had recently died, her boyfriend Peter [[TheMasqueradeWillKillYourDatingLife had become distant]], and her friend Harry had overdosed on LSD. ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderMan2018'' retconned this by revealing that [[spoiler:the affair never actually happened and ended up being an elaborate hoax designed to mess with Peter's head]].
* SlidingScaleOfBeauty: Level III(World-Class).
* SparedByTheAdaptation: For someone who's best known for being one of the first love interests killed in super-hero history, Gwen always seems to survive outside of the comics (as seen in the ''Film/SpiderManTrilogy'', ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries'' or ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan''). The one exception was [[spoiler:''Film/TheAmazingSpiderManSeries'' and it was considered highly unpopular in that film]]. This is probably because the nature of superhero film trilogies which generally don't allow for ComicBookTime removes much of the original reason and context for her fridging.
* SpoiledSweet: She comes from a wealthy upbringing in contrast to Peter's status as a WorkingClassHero. Despite this, she is portrayed as a good-hearted individual and is fondly remembered by her friends long after her death.
* StacysMom: For a time in ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManJMichaelStraczynski'', where the ''ComicBook/SinsPast'' storyline was taken as a legitimate event in Spider-Man's history, ComicBook/NormanOsborn was this for her. Fits with LoveFatherLoveSon, as she also dated Harry Osborn for a time. '' ComicBook/SinsPast'' was ultimately revealed to be an elaborate ruse by a Harry Osborn A.I. in ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderMan2018'', using hocus pocus from Mysterio and clones to deceive Spider-Man into thinking Norman and Gwen had a relationship.
* SurprisePregnancy: She discovered she's pregnant from her affair with Norman Osborn and gives birth to twins 4 months early.
* SurprisinglySuddenDeath: Gwen was drugged by Osborn and was still unconscious when he dropped her off the bridge. No last words, no deathbed exchanges (unlike the case of her father's death, Captain George Stacy), no PartingWordsRegret or any literary foreshadowing about her death, which is one reason why it was a huge shock to readers.
* TheyKilledKenny: All her clones, created by the Jackal, always end up killed. Even Joyce Delaney (her first clone) who, after many years, started finally a new life... ended up killed by another Gwen's clone, Abby-L, in ''ComicBook/SpiderIsland''.
* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: She is treated this way in retrospect both in the Spider-Man continuity and by the editors. Before her death, her relationship with Peter was a little rocky owing to the latter blaming Spider-Man for her father's death, burdening Peter with guilt and regret. She had actually separated from Peter and gone to London (which revived during the ''ComicBook/SinsPast'' story) and she and Peter came off as a non-functional couple. Of course, as a PosthumousCharacter, she's earned the sarcastic nickname "St. Gwen."
* TroubledButCute: She fell for Norman Osborn and had an affair with him because she felt there was another side to him that was broken and troubled and she felt sorry for him.
* TrueLoveIsBoring: This is one of the reasons Gwen Stacy was killed. Nobody at Marvel was ready for a married Spider-Man yet, though in the case of Gwen, her being boring was also a reason (since MJ isn't, it's a lot harder to keep her out of Spider-Man's life).
* {{Tsundere}}: Her original characterization flips between being concerned and lovestruck over Peter to hating his guts for a minor transgression like him not responding to Harry Osborn's jokes.
* TwoFirstNames: Gwen and Stacy are both common given names.
* UnwittingPawn: Gwen Stacy to Sam Bullitt. The latter uses her to support his political campaign and venture, even if her father disliked him for his politics.
* UptownGirl: What the character actually is. While Peter is a poor kid from Queens trying to help his Aunt May pay the bills and make rent, she's a well-to-do high society girl whose father, a retired NYPD captain, hangs around media tycoon J. Jonah Jameson and industrialist Norman Osborn. All adaptations tend to ignore this aspect of the character, though a few such as ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' films acknowledge it in little ways by showing Gwen's family living a very nice and clearly expensive apartment.
* VitriolicBestBuds: She and MJ gradually transitioned into this once the latter realized that she and Peter were serious. They remained friendly with MJ mock-teasing and flirting as a way to josh Gwen. ''ComicBook/SinsPast'' revealed how close their friendship was as does ''Spider-Man: Blue''. Notably, MJ never once gives Peter heat over still mourning his first love even during their marriage, making it clear that she loved and misses Gwen as much as he does.
* WetBlanketWife: As Peter's girlfriend Gwen was this when she was alive. Her relationship with Peter was strained by the fact that she loved Peter but hated Spider-Man. Peter loved her but constantly had to lie to her since the minute he told her the truth he would lose her. Indeed, one attempt to confess his identity to his friends which Peter later passed as a prank confirmed these views since Gwen became hysterical at the idea of Peter as a superhero. The one situation that could have helped them out, namely the fact that her father George Stacy approved of Peter and Spider-Man and was his SecretKeeper, was lost when George Stacy died in an accident and Gwen blamed Spider-Man for the death of her beloved father, and Peter's guilt felt worse than ever. As such, readers got annoyed by Gwen for her whiny nature, her irrational fear and grief-stricken rage at Spider-Man, and for the fact that whenever Peter contemplated a future he just felt incredibly guilty. Then she died and Peter lost her, felt guilty for one big major failure rather than every day while he was with her, and moved on to his real love interest.
* WomanlinessAsPathos: Gwen Stacy is a constant source of angst and turmoil for Peter, resulting in the circumstances her death being retreaded several times throughout publication, as well as many stories that resulted directly from her death or the events immediately leading up to them. For example, The Clone Saga started when StalkerWithACrush Miles Warren cloned both her and Peter Parker as revenge for Peter letting the object of his affection die. The story ''ComicBook/SinsPast'' revealed more details about her past, including that [[spoiler:she cheated on him with his archenemy ComicBook/NormanOsborn and bore two children.]]
* WomanScorned: She was initially upset that Peter gave her the cold shoulder upon their first meeting (which he did because he was worried about Aunt May's illness). Furious, she dates both Flash Thompson and Harry Osborn.
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