"You're doing this for the wrong reasons, Gwen. None of this will change the past. So long as you're out here alone, running from the truth trouble's gonna keep chasing you."
Review:
I'll start this out by saying that while I enjoy Spider-Man I am not uber familiar with his mythos. One thing I do know is his ill-fated girl friend Gwen Stacy is one of those characters defined almost solely with tragedy befalling them, being mainly know for dying while Peter tried to save her or just for unpleasant retcons about having secret children with her friend's father and Spider-man's arch nemesis. And besides my loves of comics playing with the Alternate Universe concept in creative ways and under-used characters getting some attention it was also Spider-Gwen's awesome costume and color scheme that made want to read this. So there's one thing an awesome costume can do for a character.
All that aside, Spider-Gwen, or really Spider-Woman as she's know in her world, has her origin story unsurprisingly contain parallels to Peter Parker's yet twists here and there that make it her own so this isn't solely rehash of Spider-Man but with Gwen though she suffers from her own version of "Parker luck" while trying to balance her superhero life and personal life with her band and father. Also rather dark her first issue of her series ends with her falling....thankfully she survives it of course. On that note, in a universe where Gwen is bitten by the radioactive spider her friend and misfit Peter dies trying to make himself a hero, most specifically his own version of The Lizard who gets out of control. Beside's dying in the place of Gwen this Peter becomes her "Uncle Ben" as well on top of the public seeing her as responsible for Peter's death and all around public menace much thanks to J. Jonah Jameson who is still pretty much the same here. There are however plenty of other familiar Marvel characters pop-up in this run quite different from what many are use to such as Matt Murdock who is a corrupt blind lawyer serving The Kingpin and Ben Grimm who is a normal looking police officer. There's also familiar faces that retain some old characteristics such as unrelenting police captain Frank Castle and now black pop-star Felicia Hardy who is still a cat burglar as well. Also, Gwen's conscience in form of Spider-Ham.
With gorgeous art and engaging tale for those familiar with the Spider mythos or not Spider-Gwen Vol 0 manages to be an enjoyable read of a young heroine trying to deal with her demons and keep her life and city in order from fighting classic strange villains to trying to talk to Peter's Aunt and Uncle since he passed away. Revitalizing characters in alternate universes can be a fun and creative method and this book is a wonderful example that does in ways that can throw even long time fans for a loop. Especially for characters who can't catch a break almost anywhere else like Gwen Stacy.
Recommendation:
Spider-Gwen is fun, action-filled and at times touching read and suitable for YA shelves. There's violence and on-panel deaths but nothing gorey or over the top. Another ideal book for young girls wanting to read about super heroines and the gorgeous art to please anyone. The series still continues just under the name Radioactive Spider-Gwen and thankfully no changes to continuity.
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