The Night Gwen Stacy Died - Significance

Significance

  • The death of Gwen Stacy shocked the American comic book community. Previously, it had been unthinkable to kill off such an important character - the girlfriend of the main character and a character with a large fanbase. This story arc is considered one of the markers of the end of the Silver Age of Comic Books, and the beginning of the darker, grittier Bronze Age.
  • Gwen Stacy's death is listed on the website Women in Refrigerators as an example of a trend in superhero comics whereby female characters tend to physically suffer more than their male counterparts in the service of those male counterparts' emotional storylines.
  • The frequent tendency for the wives and girlfriends of male superheroes to meet grim fates was referred to as "The Gwen Stacy Syndrome" by the Comics Buyer's Guide.
  • A fan poll conducted by Marvel Comics for their series The 100 Greatest Marvels of All Time voted The Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 1) #121 and 122 to be the 6th and 19th greatest issues of all time, respectively.

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