Spider-Gwen: Shadow Clones writer Emily Kim explained how the death of Earth-65's Peter Parker turned Gwen Stacy into a different kind of Spider-Verse hero.
Speaking with Marvel about the upcoming Spider-Gwen: Shadow Clones limited series, Kim was asked what makes Gwen Stacy/Ghost-Spider/Spider-Gwen stand apart from the countless other heroes that exist within the Spider-Verse. "Gwen has a hard time having casual friendships with other people," Kim answered. "I think that resonates with a lot of young people today who find it easier to be by themselves, who own their loner status. She also very much always has this guilt from Peter’s death hanging over her head. She needs to get past that and see herself as somebody who deserves to be with other people and desires to be with other people. I think everybody struggles to connect nowadays. I think she can be a figure for something very relatable and that makes her unique."
While Earth-616's Gwen Stacy was killed in 1973's "The Night Gwen Stacy Died" story arc by Gerry Conway, Gil Kane, John Romita, Tony Mortellaro, Artie Simek and David Hunt, Earth-65's Gwen suffered from an opposite twist of fate as her best friend and neighbor, Peter Parker, was killed after undergoing an experiment that turned him into the Lizard. Spider-Gwen has since become one of the Spider-Verse's more prominent heroes, as she was one of the first characters to join Spider UK's Spider-Army. She's also become platonically close with Earth-616's Peter after Gwen decided to enroll in college in his reality.
Kim and Artist Kei Zama Throw Gwen Stacy Into Her Next Adventure
Spider-Gwen: Shadow Clones is a new five-issue limited series that officially launched on Mar. 1, 2023. The first issue -- written by Kim, featuring art by Zama, colors by Triona Farrell, letters by VC's Ariana Maher, cover art by David Nakayama and variant cover art by Bengal, Elena Casagrande, Jordie Bellaire, Greg Land, Frankie D'Armata, Mike McKone, Romulo Fajardo Jr., Peach Momoko, Brian Stelfreeze and C.F. Villa -- saw Ghost-Spider encounter versions clones of herself based on classic Spider-Man villains such as Doctor Octopus and Sandman. The series has also teased the inclusion of Gwen versions of Rhino, Kraven the Hunter and Vulture.
The synopsis for Spider-Gwen: Shadow Clones #2, which releases April 5, 2023, reads, "ENTER SAND…GWEN?! Spider-Gwen meets the next cloned version of herself, and this time, it’s a combination of her and Sandman! What do these clones want with her though? Luckily, with the help of Reed Richards, Gwen is about to get some answers!"
Source: Marvel