COMICS: Writer Jason Latour Talks SPIDER-GWEN's First Arc, Villains and More
The Wolverine and the X-Men writer sat down with Newsarama to discuss the exciting unveiling of an ongoing series starring Spider-Gwen, teasing character development, musical inspirations, the effect of Spider-Verse, and future storylines.
The announcement that writer Jason Latour, artist Robbi Rodriquez and colourist Rico Renzi would reunite to work on an ongoing series Gwen Stacy as Spider-Woman came earlier today, and Newsarama caught up with Latour to discuss their take on the character. Well before making her acclaimed debut in last month's Edge of Spider-Verse #2, 'Spider-Gwen' was kicking up a storm, with fans loving the direction and design of the character, and the world in which she inhabits (she hails from an alternate dimension). The story featured a two-page 'previously' spread, briefly recapping the career of this rocking new Web-Slinger with reference to the spider bite, J. Jonah Jameson, and the death of Peter Parker. "The story of how Peter Parker (in our universe) actually died is a story that we may tell at some point," the writer explains. "But what you need to take away from that, is she feels responsible for having inspired him to become the Lizard. When she got her superpowers, she basically did what 616 Peter did, which is try to become famous, try to be on stage. So her being on stage inspired [her] Peter to try to be special, too. So he did this, became a supervillain, they fought, and somehow, Peter died. So she feels responsible for Peter’s death." This is an aspect teased in the issue. Latour continues, "it’s also interesting because her dad is a cop, so now she’s a criminal. That mask, it is the literal grey area between her sense of justice and doing right by other people that her father would preach and instill in her as a kid, and this new and unique modern reality for her that he would have no concept of. So it’s her trying to merge those together, and being a hero is for herself."
Music also plays a vital part in Edge of Spider-Verse #2, with Gwen playing the drums in a band lead by Mary Jane Watson. Latour discussed where that aspect came in to play: "You know, I knew Robbi and I both like music, it’s a part of our life, a thing we’re interested in. Then from a story standpoint, I’m a creative person, I’ve been a creative person my whole life. To have the drive to sort of be yourself, but decide how much of yourself you give to the world and how much you keep inside. That’s part of being an artist, one part is selfish, one part gives to people. I felt like that was a neat parallel to what Spider-Man is all about. So the two things just sort of clicked organically. It also felt like a fresh way to do a Spider-character that we’d never seen before." The fact that our heroine plays the drums, not a leading segment of the band (such as lead vocals, or a guitar) is not by accident, either. "It’s all personality stuff," he said. "It’s all the fact that, you know, being raised by a cop, there’d always be emphasis on being a steady hand, being a person who doesn’t take too much credit for things, but is there to help people. The drummer, if nothing else, that’s what they are in most bands, they’re the glue that holds things together. So you can see two things on display here: when she’s Gwen she is the Gwen she’s grown up to be. When she puts the mask on, she can be somebody else and define who that person is – she gets to be the frontman, so to speak. So it was fun to play with that."
Moving away from what we've already seen, Latour spoke about what to expect from the series, and Gwen's appearance in Dan Slott's Spider-Verse. Once her solo book debuts, she will have just returned from the craziness of the event, where her friends and family believe her to have disappeared. This will inspire havock, Newsarama suggests, but will also inspire her to be a better person. "When she comes back from Spider-Verse, not only will she be inspired by the Spider-Men and Women she meets to sort of try to be a better hero, she will also have to pick up the pieces of being Gwen Stacy, and figuring out what that means. So that’s really what the drive of the first arc is." Though he was not specific in terms of a supporting cast and rogues gallery, he promises the "evil-ish Matt Murdock" will play a big part moving forward, as well as "a new, retro take on an old Spider-villain to start. Then we have a surprise antagonist, who’s also a well-known New York Marvel character. Speculate away." As for one particular thing that he's excited for fans to see? "The Parkers, Ben and May, are still alive. Just keep that in the back of your head." Interesting comments! Spider-Gwen #1 hits shelves in February.