It’s Time We Appreciated the Gwen Stacy That No One Ever Talks About


Gwen Stacy is having a moment, and rightly so. Ghost-Spider (or Spider-Gwen, depending on your preference) is the moment, actually, thanks to her astoundingly successful Marvel Comics run and her increased presence in Sony’s new animated masterpiece Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Before Hailee Steinfeld donned the mask, Emma Stone brought Gwen to vivacious life alongside Andrew Garfield in The Amazing Spider-Man. Stone’s version was likely the most well-known to audiences prior to Steinfeld, and one beloved by the Spider-Man fanbase. Yet neither actress can claim the honor of introducing Gwen Stacy to live action. That originator is a giant of a talent, a maestro in front of and behind the screen. In short: remember when Bryce Dallas Howard played Gwen in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3?

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Gwen’s presence in Raimi’s final Spider-Man installment seems mostly forgotten in the face of Tobey Maguire dancing memes. Sadly, Howard’s Gwen had things against her from the start. Not only was Gwen introduced in a movie so universally derided that even its director calls it “awful,” most of what little screentime’s afforded to Gwen involves a love triangle that’s half-hearted at best and unnecessary at worst. Some critical re-examination of Spider-Man 3 might be worth the effort after sixteen years, but let’s put that on the back burner. Instead, let’s talk about Gwen Stacy via the queen of modern television directors, Bryce Dallas Howard.

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How Sam Raimi’s ‘Spider-Man 3’ Uses Gwen Stacy

Gwen Stacy (Bryce Dallas Howard) and Eddie Brock (Topher Grace) having a chat in Spider-Man 3
Image via Sony

Everyone knows Peter Parker (Maguire) and Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) are endgame. It’s comic book legacy, and Raimi’s films made no bones about to whom Peter’s heart belonged. Spider-Man saw him quietly pining for the girl next door; Spider-Man 2 brought the lovebirds together. With that established reasoning and two films chronicling their blossoming romance, it’s clear no attempt at a love triangle will last long, right?

Spider-Man 3 sees the power couple riding the wave of a blissful romance toward marriage. However, as befalls most superheroes’ love lives, Peter’s masked heroism leads to a temporary break-up. Gwen Stacy’s narrative role in this turmoil, alas, is mostly as a walking plot device. Gwen is an obstacle intended to manifest dramatic tension between Peter and MJ before they reconcile. This meager attempt at a love triangle boils down to some misunderstood situations and the Venom symbiote wreaking havoc, but seeing Gwen introduced late in the game and shunted to the side is a shame. Even though her comic book legacy is irrevocably tied to Peter, Gwen has always had more to give beyond the stock love interest or executing one-third of a tired trope. Thankfully, some comics understood the assignment; Spider-Man 3 screenwriters Raimi, his brother Ivan Raimi, and Alvin Sargent missed the memo.

Don’t get me wrong — at least Howard’s Gwen doesn’t die like her comics counterpart. Or have twins with Norman Osbourne (shudder). But shouldn’t Gwen Stacy’s introduction to the mainstream blockbuster world have more, well, bite? Across the Spider-Verse aside, Spider-Man 3 is a striking contrast to The Amazing Spider-Man films where Gwen fulfills her love interest duties without losing her status as Peter’s intellectual equal. Why not allow Howard’s Gwen to remain a good friend to Peter instead of retroactively incorporating their romantic sparks? Instead, we have Peter, controlled by Venom, using Gwen to make MJ jealous and therefore hurting two women at once. Shame on you, young man!

Bryce Dallas Howard Is the Best Part of ‘Spider-Man 3′

Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) and Gwen Stacy (Bryce Dallas Howard) share an upside down kiss in Spider-Man 3
Image via Sony

All that said, Gwen Stacy’s story in Spider-Man 3 isn’t a total wash by any means. Now a blockbuster actress and an astonishing director, Howard joined Spidey’s colorful world a few years after her two-time partnership with M. Night Shyamalan and outings with directors like Kenneth Branagh and Lars von Trier. She was a known name in her own right, and to no one’s surprise following stellar performances like in The Village, Howard’s performance is fantastic. Gwen is truly lovely; there isn’t a duplicitous or cruel bone in her body. Howard imbues Gwen with such a genuine sweetness. She’s wide-eyed but confident, she nails questions in science class, and she’s a grateful champion for Spider-Man after he rescues her from falling to her death. Her tentative excitement during her date with Peter is the most adorable shy puppy energy, and her apology to Mary Jane is heartbreaking. Howard’s Gwen sparkles and easily could have soared, which makes how ruefully little she’s utilized even sadder.

Before taking the role, Howard was a massive fan of Raimi’s first two Spider-Man films. She researched her way through decades of comics and felt a responsibility to appropriately honor Gwen’s enduring legacy. Speaking to IGN about Gwen and Peter’s tragic romance, Howard said, “I have so much reverence for their relationship, just as a fan.”

Howard was also committed to not letting the script reduce Gwen to, in her words, “some kind of man-stealing tart. […] I tried to establish that Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy were friends from school and she was part of their circle and MJ just misinterprets some of Gwen’s actions.” Thankfully, despite its flaws, Spider-Man 3 avoids portraying Gwen as that noxious stereotype. Yet the reason Gwen feels like a fully fleshed individual is due to Howard’s delicate, earnest performance.

Spider-Verse? Nah, It’s Time for Gwen Stacy-Verse

Bryce Dallas Howard as Gwen Stacy in Spider-Man 3
Image via Sony

With many of Raimi’s actors reprising their roles for Spider-Man: No Way Home and the multiplicity of multiverses going around in Across the Spider-Verse, Howard would happily return as Gwen. If No Way Home can have three Peters and Across the Spider-Verse hundreds of Spider-People (over 250, to be exact), why not multiple Gwen Stacys? It would be a delightful Easter Egg and a gentle correction of an oversight in one. Every version of the character has more to give than just being a love interest, after all.

Read More About ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’



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