Stan Lee Hated One Of Spider-Man's Most Important Marvel Moments
The problem with building something as dense and long-running as the Marvel comic book universe is some decisions get made that may not sit right with you. That even includes the late, great, and former head of this groundbreaking world, Stan "The Man" Lee. He created some of the most important characters in popular culture, made every Marvel Cinematic Universe cameo (from his worst to best) a treat to see, and was fond of some of the mega events that took up Marvel Comics. But he still had an issue with some, including the brutal death of Spider-Man's first love, Gwen Stacy, devised by writer Gerry Conway.
Gwen is killed in "The Amazing Spider-Man" #121 after the Green Goblin throws her off a bridge and Spider-Man swings in just a little too late to save her. For Lee, the character's exit hit hard; he revealed as much in a 1978 interview at James Madison University (via The Comics Journal) when he admitted his disappointment with Gwen's death.
The Marvel boss was gracious about encountering this issue, acknowledging that writers should be free to work independently from tales he started. "If they all try to follow my style, the stories might get a little bit tiresome after a while." That being said, it turned out that Gwen's passing was more challenging than other major events. "But from a personal point of view, of course, I hated it on television when they changed the origins of two characters. I hated it when Conway killed Gwen Stacy in Spider-Man. I hated it."
The death of Gwen Stacy changed comics forever
It's been over 60 years since Gwen took the tumble Stan Lee wished never happened, but even after all this time, the truth of Gwen Stacy and her death left a mark in comic books still felt even today. The event changed our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man forever, sending him into much darker stories that had the webslinger wracked with guilt. Even long after her death, studies were undertaken into the science behind Gwen Stacy's death and whether there was a way to save her. It also became a crucial point in the big-screen adaptations of Spider-Man starring Andrew Garfield, so much so that he eventually finds some resolve when fighting alongside Tom Holland's iteration in "Spider-Man: No Way Home."
However, while the original Gwen never truly returns (regardless of how many times she's cloned), alternate versions of the character have continued to fill the various pages of Marvel comics. The most notable iteration is Spider-Gwen, who is bitten by the radioactive spider instead of Peter. That character is a key figure in the Spider-Verse films, voiced by Hailee Steinfeld. Stan's original favorite might have met an early grave, but other iterations of Gwen have ensured that her name lives on, albeit as a better, butt-kicking version than was initially intended.