The Big Picture
One of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’s greatest strengths is the character of Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld), also known as Spider-Gwen. No longer just a supporting character in Miles Morales’ (Shameik Moore) story, Gwen is a full-fledged protagonist in Across the Spider-Verse, giving us two compelling coming-of-age stories that are inextricably linked. Not only did giving Gwen more to do lead to a deeper and more complex narrative, but it also makes an extremely strong argument for something most of us have thought since Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse: Spider-Gwen is more than deserving of her own movie.
Spider-Gwen Is a Compelling Character on Her Own
Gwen was already a strong character in Into the Spider-Verse. She was effortlessly cool and competent, serving as a foil for the less confident Miles. Steinfeld’s performance sold Gwen’s tragic history even though we only saw fleeting glimpses of it. Across the Spider-Verse expands on that backstory, digging into Gwen’s suffering and devastating isolation. Even more than the other Spider-People, Gwen has no support system — her Police Captain father George Stacy (Shea Whigham) is hunting her like a criminal, her best friend is the one Spider-Man she’s not supposed to talk to, and even among the other Spiders, she doesn’t quite fit in. She doesn’t have anybody like Miles’ parents, Peter B. Parker’s (Jake Johnson) family, or even the loyalty that Miguel O’Hara (Oscar Isaac) gets from his Spider Society. Watching her overcome that by reconnecting with her father and building her own gang of Spider-People is incredibly satisfying. Her side of the story is just as compelling as Miles’, showing that Gwen is more than capable of carrying a movie on her shoulders.
The most compelling aspect of her character, however, is how she inverts the typical Spider-Man narrative. The original Gwen Stacy is famous for being one of the few comic book characters to have died and not been resurrected in the mainline comic continuity (a group that mostly consists of parental figures crucial to the heroes’ motivation, like Uncle Ben and Thomas and Martha Wayne). She is one of the most famous dead girlfriends in comics history, and the Spider-Gwen story has her swap places with one of the most famous superheroes in the world.
That’s part of what makes her fit so perfectly into the Spider-Verse films, which spend most of their time deconstructing and then reconstructing the idea of what it means to be Spider-Man. Anyone can wear the mask, even a Gwen Stacy. But even outside that context, she’s a fascinating source of meta-textual commentary on Spider-Man’s mythology. How does the world react to a Spider-Woman instead of a Spider-Man? How does Gwen’s perspective (especially a Gwen aware of what happens to other Gwens across the multiverse) differ from Peter’s? It’s questions like these that would permeate a Spider-Gwen solo movie, making it the perfect extension of the themes of the Spider-Verse movies while still standing on its own.
Marvel Comics Are Full of Spider-Gwen Stories
While Gwen herself is undoubtedly compelling, you might worry that Earth-65 doesn’t have enough meat on its bones to stand on its own. Fortunately, there’s a wealth of material for a hypothetical Spider-Gwen film to draw from. Since her creation in 2015, Gwen has had a remarkably consistent string of solo series in publication, as well as showing up in events like Spider-Verse and team-up books like Web Warriors. There are a lot of stories to adapt and remix, so a standalone Spider-Gwen film wouldn’t have to reinvent the wheel when it came to fleshing out her world.
For instance, some of the earliest Spider-Gwen stories feature her fighting a villainous version of Daredevil’s Matt Murdock, who on Earth-65 is both a member of the Hand and the Kingpin’s right-hand lawyer. There’s also an Earth-65 version of Frank Castle (the Punisher), a corrupt cop who eventually goes rogue after taking George Stacy’s place at the head of the task force hunting Spider-Gwen. These two elements alone could make for a compelling film, with Gwen being torn between evading Castle’s hunt while trying to take down Murdock’s crime syndicate. The trick is that Sony Pictures Animation may not have the ability to use those characters in their movies. But even in that case, there are characters that Sony has the right to use that would also work. For example, after Peter Parker’s death, Earth-65’s Harry Osborn tries to get revenge for his friend’s death, becoming both the Green Goblin and later the Lizard. And like most Spider-People, Gwen eventually bonds with her universe’s version of the Venom symbiote and must overcome its influence. Any of these villains would be great on their own or in tandem with one another.
As for a supporting cast, some of Gwen’s closest comic book allies have already appeared in the Spider-Verse films. There’s already George Stacy, who by the end of Across the Spider-Verse is ready to support his daughter, possibly even serving as her “man in the chair.” Then there’s the Mary Janes, who didn’t get much to do in Across the Spider-Verse but could easily be expanded on with the space a solo outing affords. They’re among Gwen’s closest friends on Earth-65 in the comics, and they — especially MJ (Nicole Delaney) — have significant roles to play in later Spider-Gwen stories. There’s plenty of material for a Spider-Gwen movie to work with and build off the foundation laid by the Spider-Verse films.
‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’s Earth-65 Is Stunning
But perhaps the simplest argument for giving Gwen a solo movie is simply how good Gwen’s world of Earth-65 looks in Across the Spider-Verse. Gwen’s world is gorgeously impressionistic, its colors and backgrounds warping based on the emotionality of the scene. When Gwen hugs her father, the colors bleed out across the walls of their apartment like a splash of watercolors. When she finally reveals her identity to him after being backed into a corner, the background fades away and abstracts into colors that reflect Gwen’s vulnerable emotional state before it all comes crashing down in violent dark columns when Captain Stacy decides to try and arrest his daughter. The entire world is shaped by the emotions of the people who live in it, which makes it a treat to watch even in a movie as visually stunning as Across the Spider-Verse. Any movie that means we get to see more of that beautiful and evocative animation needs to be greenlit immediately.
While there’s no official confirmation that a Spider-Gwen movie is in the cards, comments made by producers on the Spider-Verse films indicate that something like it may be on the way. Back when Into the Spider-Verse came out, Deadline announced that a Spider-Woman spin-off likely centered on Gwen and several other Spider-Women was in the works, and comments from producers Amy Pascal and Avi Arad reported by Variety seem to indicate that that’s still the plan. While this project doesn’t sound like a solo film, it’s still a step in the right direction. Across the Spider-Verse let Gwen share the spotlight. The next step is to give her one of her own.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is available to stream on Netflix in the U.S.
Watch on Netflix
Miles Morales catapults across the Multiverse, where he encounters a team of Spider-People charged with protecting its very existence. When the heroes clash on how to handle a new threat, Miles must redefine what it means to be a hero.
Release Date June 2, 2023
Director Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson
Cast Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Oscar Isaac, Jake Johnson
Main Genre Superhero
Genres Animation, Superhero, Action, Adventure
Studio Sony Pictures Animation, Marvel Entertainment, Arad Productions
Writers Dave Callaham, Phil Lord, Chris Miller
