“FACE IT TIGER THIS YOUR SHOT! FACE IT TIGER IT’S ALL YOU GOT!”
Gwen Stacy, your friendly neighborhood Spider-Woman, would probably prefer to just be the drummer for the Mary Janes, but after learning a lesson about power and responsibility, is now on the run from her cop father as she tries to atone for her mistake.
Writer: Jason Latour
Artist: Robbi Rodriguez
Color Artist: Rico Renzi
Letterer & Production: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Cover Artist: Robbi Rodriguez
Variant Cover Artists: Greg Land, Jay Leisten, & Morry Hollowell
Associate Editor: Ellie Pyle
Editor: Nick Lowe
The Story: Previously in Spider-Woman-Gwen Stacy was bitten by a spider and suited up as Spider-Woman. After being tired of being bullied, Peter Parker chose to become special like her, experimenting on himself and becoming the Lizard. This resulted in his dying in Gwen’s arms. Thanks in no small part to the tirades of J. Jonah Jameson, Spider-Woman is wanted by the police, who are being led by her father, George Stacy. When the Kingpin’s lawyer, Matt Murdock, hires a Rhino-esque man named Aleksi to assassinate Gwen’s dad, she now has to protect his life at the risk of her music career, her secret, and her freedom.
Thoughts: WOW! I LOVED this issue. I was intrigued when I heard the concept and definitely in when I saw the preview art and I am happy to say the issue did not disappoint.
This issue is loud and in your face from the get go and doesn’t feel like it lets up with its rock and roll attitude. The art by Rodriguez has such an energy and life to it that I loved taking in every panel. His art is stylized and kinetic, making it a perfect fit for this issue. I’m not familiar with Rodriguez’s work, but I will definitely be on the look out for it from now on.
Latour has the unenvious job of establishing this new Gwen Stacy with an origin story and telling a complete tale all in one issue. When Spider-Man first appeared over 50 years ago, it was in a short story that didn’t fill a full issue. When Bendis revamped the character for the 21st century, he turned that 11 page story into a six issue epic. Latour jumps right in with Gwen drumming for the Mary Janes and then gives us a quick flashback consisting of 8 panels summing up Gwen’s origin. He gives us all we need to know-Gwen gets bit, becomes a celeb, sticks up for a bullied Peter Parker who then turns himself into the Lizard and winds up tragically dying because of it, causing good old Jonah to go on his perennial crusade against webheads.
Bouncing back to the present, we get all these great character beats with Gwen. We see her remorse over Peter and that her life seems aimless at the moment, or at least that’s what her father thinks. Whether her guilt for Peter is just her empathy for a fellow human being that she knew or if they had something deeper, as in the 616 universe, we don’t know. I’d like to think they had some kind of relationship beyond her just defending him once at school. Gwen and her dad seem close and you can see her shame when her dad berates her alter ego when he sees Spider-Woman on the tv. When Gwen confronts a scared, trigger happy cop, I liked the touch of her knowing the proper police codes to use on the radio. Hopefully, this doesn’t endanger her secret any further in the future, providing she has one after Spider-Verse ends. 
I appreciated the themes of power and responsibility still being a motivator for the character. Despite feeling guilt and loss, this Spidey can crack wise as well, an important trait for any Wall Crawler. With the roles reversed, does that mean May and Ben Parker are alive in this reality? Will the loss of their nephew they were supposed to protect cause one of them to turn down a dark path toward villainy? Or would they somehow become another source of wisdom and advice for Gwen to turn to? Obviously, she and her father are going to have a lot to work out after this issue. I am fascinated to see how Captain Stacy would reconcile the love for his daughter with his responsibility to uphold the law. It would make an interesting dynamic for an ongoing series (hint, hint Marvel).
For having a presence since page 1 and fronting a band, this Mary Jane remains an enigma. Perhaps paying homage to her first appearances in Amazing Spider-Man, MJ’s face is blocked in quite a few panels at the start. We get a vague shot of her looking down, but that’s really it. When we do get to see her face, it is partially obscured by face paint, still denying us a full vision. The whole band actually shares the look, reminiscent of Spidey’s eye goggles. Spider-Woman herself has a mask that looks like the outline of her eyes was spray painted on, an inversion of the Mary Janes. I liked the look for all of them, and love her costume as a whole, as impractical as the hood would seem for someone as nimble as her.
The Kingpin makes his second Edge of Spider-Verse appearance, although this one is in name only. I was shocked to see Matt Murdock, Daredevil in the 616 universe, working for him. I enjoyed this new take on the Rhino and had to wonder if maybe he shared a skin condition with the Distinguished Competition’s Killer Croc. The bump on his head that was starting to look like a rhino’s horn after his fight with Spidey was a cute touch.
I could probably go on and on about this issue, but I think I’ll settle for just looking at it again. I really enjoyed the first issue with Spider-Man Noir, to the point where I’d love to see another mini series, but for Spider-Woman I’d love to see Marvel do a regular series with this creative team. There’s a lot of potential to mine in this version of the character and I hope it isn’t cut short by this crossover and that we see this Gwen Stacy for some time to come. I know there are people out there that don’t “get” the popularity of the original Gwen, citing her as boring and two dimensional, but I’ve found both the Ultimate and Spider-Woman versions to have a lot to offer. This issue is an easy recommend.
My Grade: A+
Javi’s Huh?: Does the Rhino, prior to getting pounded on by Gwen, have a Klingon forehead ridge?
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@15No female character should stay dead or be killed off to give a male character manpain. And the only reason she was killed off in the 616 was plain old sexism.
So no female should ever die in a comic book? Would you say no guy should die for a woman, ie. Peter Parker dying for Gwen?
I don’t see it as sexist at all. Comics would be boring if characters remained stagnant. Killing off Gwen Stacy was a monumental event and should be seen as such.
Not sure if Aleksi should be referred to as Rhino because clearly he’s not dressed like a Rhino and this is an alternate universe where perhaps Rhino doesn’t exist.
Previously in Spider-Woman
Am I the only one who thought he was missing something, as in a Spider-Woman number 1? If this was meant to serve as a flashback, I think it was misleading.
This issue was amazing I want this as its own alternate title.
@14 I don’t know whether to laugh or to rock out to this. I will do both now.
I think saying this Gwen is an amalgam of 616 and Ultimate is pretty accurate, and the fact that it’s an AU is why I didn’t really have a fuss with Gwen being so different. She’s got to be different to begin with to properly fill out the role of an AU Spidey in her universe.
I wonder what Robbi Rodriguez’ next Marvel work will be? He seems more prone to work where he can experiment than traditional superhero faire, but I imagine that would be perfect for Marvel Now!
@Big John: Also, Gwen wasn’t “abrasive” or “foul-mouthed”. Did you actually read the issue? She was snarky and made quips, but that’s standard for any Spider-Hero. Unless you are saying that woman being Snarky is “abrasive”.
@Big John: It’s an alternate universe and this Gwen Stacy had a different life and different experiences.
@Danbbqman: It seems you don’t understand the concept of an alternate universe. Gwen isn’t “Out of character”, it’s not the same Gwen Stacy. This Gwen Stacy is one who became a super hero, logic would dictate that she wouldn’t be exactly the same as 616 Gwen.
And you are also wrong in saying Gwen “should stay dead”. No female character should stay dead or be killed off to give a male character manpain. And the only reason she was killed off in the 616 was plain old sexism.
Hell, part of the reason Gwen Stacy as Spider-Woman is so popular is because it takes a female character that was fridged and turns her into the hero of the story. here she didn’t die for the development of some male character, here she is the hero.
So you are wrong, this issue fully deserved an A+, because it was an exceptional issue and Spider-Gwen should have her own ongoing.
Time to rock out guys!!!! THE MARY JANES ARE HERE!!!!
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xo1AO8WHUlM&w=560&h=315%5D
I get people might be excited for this series, but I wonder if people aren’t playing this up too much.
The way you hear it, Gwen’s presence is like he second coming. Hell, her costume alone seemed to have people citing that Gwen should return and the book will be awesome.
I just wonder if some of this is just wanting it to be better than it is. Not that it isn’t bad, just that it’s not the quintessential game changer she’s described to be.
@11 – is being a crooked, money grubbing schemer out of character for a lawyer? Just kidding. You’re right, one has to have an open mind. These are fictional characters. This was just not my cup of tea.
@10: It might be out of character for 616 Gwen, but as you said that is not what we are dealing with. In this very issue Matt Murdock is working for the Kingpin and telling Rhino to kill Captain Stacy. This Matt Murdock is out of character for 616, but the cool thing about alternate universes is that you can change a few things and see how different they wind up.
@8 – I agree with you. It was a competent issue, but I don’t know if it is an A+. To get that grade it has to be exceptional, like this month’s issue of Daredevil.
I know this is an alternate universe, but Gwen is out of character and should stay dead. They killed her for a reason!
Don’t get me wrong there were some good things in this comic – I give it a B.
@8: Two words: “Alternate Universe.”
Am I the only one who hated this issue? I mean, respect to Javi and those of you who loved it, but this character just felt NOTHING like Gwen Stacy to me. She was way to foul-mouthed, abrasive, and punked-out (Having wrote that, I guess this could be considered a combination of Ditko-Gwen and Ultimate Gwen). Yeah, I just. . .sorry guys. The suit was cool. The issue was technically competent, but this was just not Gwen Stacy to me
All of these sound a lot more interesting than ASM itself!
@1: I agree about the hood, it seems really impractical.
I find myself worried about the characters they might kill off, particularly this version of Gwen Stacey. Partially this is because she’s died enough already and I’d like to see her get a break (I want to see how she reacts to Peter as Spidey), and partially because it’s such an interesting take on her. To create a character this interesting just to kill her off would be almost sacrilege!
The other character I worry about them killing is Spider-Girl, because they seem hell bent on removing any indication that Pete and MJ were ever married in any alternate reality or whatever. Just leave that ONE thread, for God’s sake!!!
If you want to know how the song sounds:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xo1AO8WHUlM#t=54
Good issue. Latour took what sounded like a silly concept and actually made it very interesting and enjoyable. I like the way these two Edge Of Spider-Verse issues have felt like backdoor pilot’s for new ongoing series. Both Noir and Spider-Woman have had set ups for future stories, and it shows that some thought has gone into these issues, as opposed to them just being written as one-and-done tie in’s.
The art was pretty good too. Spider-Woman’s costume is well designed, and the other characters look good too. I wasn’t too keen on Gwen’s face when she was out of costume though, her eye’s looked kind of creepy at times.
This issue was really good. Nice pacing to get it all done in one issue. I like the character already and I am ready to see her in spiderverse. I also like the costume. The purple webbed lining inside her hoodie makes her face almost glow when the hood is up. Cool effect.
Great review Javi, and agree on pretty much everything you stated in the review. Some of my own thoughts:
– I wonder, with how Peter and Matt ended up in the Gwen’s Spider-Woman universe, if several male 616 superheroes are actually villains in it? Though Aleskei is still Rhino, if a little more misguided then villainous, so it would be interesting to see how much of Gwen’s Rogues Gallery would be classic Spidey villains as themselves and whether some of them would be heroes inverted into villains.
– UK Spider-Man showing up was a surprise. Maybe SpOck isn’t the only one building an army?
– I would think that with Peter as Spider-Woman’s “Gwen Stacy” that he’d also share the role of being the purported “love of her life,” but the true dynamic of their relationship would definitely be something I’d want explored at least a little bit in a Spider-Woman ongoing. Maybe we’ll get more when she meets the alternate Peter Parkers, or 616 Peter?
– I wonder if Mary-Jane knew Peter in this universe?
– Is the hoodie really necessary? I mean, she has to take it off to also take off her mask and I can imagine it falling down a lot. I guess it does get a lot of points for style.