Featuring the following heroine!

Gwen Stacy

First appearance: Amazing Spider-Man 31

Died in: Amazing Spider-Man 121.

Reborn in: A Gwen Stacy clone showed up in Amazing Spider-Man 144, providing the germ for The Clone Thing that almost shut the Spider books down two decades later.

Favorite quote: Toss up between "Peter Parker is the only boy I've met who hasn't given me a tumble!" (Amazing Spider-Man 31) and "Flash, do me a favor. Stop breathing on me!" (Amazing Spider-Man 44)

Most memorable quote from a 12-year-old's perspective: "For a boy who's always missing when there's any trouble, it's strange how hostile you can be to a man who's been in combat!" (Amazing Spider-Man 72; after Peter Parker snubs combat veteran Flash Thompson). Steve O'Hearn tells me this particular slam had him wincing in sympathy for days, especially the "boy" versus "man" part.

Team affiliation: Gwen helped organize and participated in several demonstrations. (Hey, that takes a team effort!)























Powers: Gwen had the power to charm, and she used it liberally.

Favorite Storyline: I had such trouble with this one I finally gave up. Gwen was such an integral part of Spiderman that I never noticed "storylines", per se. Like Aunt May, she was always there. That's one reason her death was such a shock to fans at the time.

Least Favorite Storyline: Not her murder in Amazing Spider-Man 121, nor even the revelation of the existence of a Gwen Stacy clone in Amazing Spider-Man 144. What I really hate is that so many people don't remember what Gwen Stacy was like before she became martyred for the sake of a storyline. Gwen could out dance and out dress Mary Jane Watson. She was no slouch in the brains department. She was politically active. She was witty, even sarcastic. To watch this anemic, passive version of Gwen that shows up in flashbacks is painful.

Oh, one more thing: Here's a couple of panels from Amazing Spider-Man 50. This is how Stan Lee thought 20-year-olds talked to each other in the sixties. (Stan may be the Man, but he needed to get out more...)