The Death of Gwen Stacy – and the Silver Age

Amazing Spider-Man #121 (1973), aka “The Night Gwen Stacy Died,” written by Gerry Conway & penciled by Gil Kane, is what it says—it’s the night Gwen Stacy dies. It’s also remembered as a flashpoint signalling the transition from the Silver Age of Comics into the Bronze Age. 1/12

As we’ve discussed in this space before, the Silver Age had competing currents, churning out fantastical romps as well as innovative stories with considerable psychological depth. But it was also underpinned by a fundamental spirit of optimism, as a time of growth & change. 2/12

Scholar Ramzi Fawaz describes the Bronze Age thusly: “[I]n the early ‘70s relevance became a popular buzzword denoting a shift… from oblique narrative metaphors for social problems toward direct representations of racism and sexism, political corruption, and urban blight.” 3/12

“The Night Gwen Stacy Died” reflects changes already afoot, building directly on a plot point from Amazing Spider-Man #96-98 (1971), in which Peter’s roommate Harry Osborn overdoses on pills. It was published without the Comics Code seal & influenced a revision of the Code. 4/12

It also builds on the psychological complexity introduced in the early issues of Spider-Man, playing on Peter’s defining guilt, aggravated by financial insecurity and a desire for a fulfilling love life that is routinely thwarted by his duties as Spider-Man. 5/12

But there’s also a striking contrast between “The Night Gwen Stacy Died” and what’s remembered as the climax of Steve Ditko & Stan Lee’s Spider-Man run—Amazing Spider-Man #33 (1965), in which Spidey despairs before lifting some impossibly heavy rubble to save Aunt May. 6/12

In the Silver Age, heroes often experienced doubt and angst. But they always found ways to surmount villains and their own insecurities, as in Fantastic Four #51 (1966), where the Thing’s despondency becomes a catalyst for underscoring his fundamental goodness. 7/12

But in “The Night Gwen Stacy Died,” Spider-Man emphatically fails. The story hinges on the reader accepting an injection of reality into an otherwise fantastical space. Harry Osborn’s drug use is clinically described and Peter is coming down with the flu. 8/12

In addition, perhaps because of his flu, or overconfidence, or lack of skill (subsequent stories and fan theories have proposed many interpretations), Spidey is partly responsible for Gwen’s death. Her neck snaps when his web fluid grasps her foot. 9/12

Gwen Stacy’s death is framed as a loss of innocence. She dies not knowing her boyfriend’s secret identity and Amazing Spider-Man #122 explicitly underscores her innocence, as do retrospective retellings like Kurt Busiek & Alex Ross’ “Marvels.” 10/12

“The Night Gwen Stacy Died” has many legacies, some more positive than others. Following the success of the story, it became increasingly common to kill or maim female love interests to provoke emotional responses from male characters, a trope now referred to as “fridging.” 11/12

But “The Night Gwen Stacy Died” also encouraged readers to reflect on the nature of heroism and the masculine stoicism that often informs it. Sometimes heroes fail & villains get away. Sometimes life isn’t fair & superpowers aren’t enough. Sometimes the laws of physics win. 12/12