Spider-Gwen first made an appearance in Edge of Spider Verse #2. For some, she was an immediate fan favorite character. They fell for her incredible costume and the twists of her story. Personally, I'm a big fan of Spider-Gwen and I have loved her series. It doesn't bother me if people don't like her, but I can't stand it when people don't like her for inaccurate and ignorant reasons. So, I'd just like to clear up some common misconceptions about Spider-Gwen.
First off, I'd like to tackle the subject of her name. Her comic is titled Spider-Gwen. Now, I've seen comments on this website that go something like this: "Spider-Gwen is the dumbest name I've ever heard! That just gives away part of her identity! Therefore, I hate Spider-Gwen!" As far as I can tell, there are still people who think she is actually referred to as Spider-Gwen in her world. This is not the case. She is Spider-Woman in her universe. Remember that she resides in an alternate universe, at least for now. We already have a Spider-Woman comic featuring Jessica Drew. So, in order to differentiate Gwen's spider character from Jessica's, Gwen's comic is called Spider-Gwen.
Another thing that I've noticed is comments like this: "It's insensitive to have her interact with Peter in Earth 616. Does Marvel even think about things like this? Is it even addressed?" Well, it is addressed. In fact, this is one of the great things about the creation of Spider-Gwen. In her universe, Peter is the one that died. So, it is just as difficult for her to deal with Peter from 616 being alive as it is for him to deal with Gwen being alive in her universe. It really creates a nice, deep emotional aspect to the comics. In a way, it's a little bit of closure for both of them. They tell each other they will look out for each other and it's actually quite sweet.
Last of all, there are a lot of complaints about there being so many spider people in Marvel comics right now. I understand where this frustration comes from. It can feel like Marvel has run out of ideas if you just look at the sheer number of spider people in comics after the Spider-Verse event. The first thing to consider when it comes to this, is that we don't know what things will be like post Secret Wars. There may be less spider people with their own series running around after Secret Wars. A second thing to think about is the quality of the comics. I've consistently kept up with the Spider-Gwen, Silk, and Spider-Woman comics. The fact is these stories have been amazing. Isn't that what it's all about? There are distinct features when it comes to each of these characters. They all have had interesting story arcs that are completely different from every other spider character. Even though it can look like an overload of spider characters, I recommend giving at least one of them a shot.
I hope this overview of Spider-Gwen has been enjoyable for everyone. You definitely don't have to agree with me, but hopefully I've given you some things to think about. Please share your thoughts and questions below! Until next time,
Petey!