Stacy or Stacey may refer to:

Places

In the United States:

• Stacy, California, an unincorporated community
• Stacy, Minnesota, a city
• Stacy, Virginia, a village

People

• Warren Stacey, British R&B singer-songwriter
• William Stacy, American Revolutionary War officer and pioneer to the Ohio Country
• Steve Stacey, Australian rugby league footballer
• Stacy Anam, a Malaysian singer, winner of the sixth season of Akademi Fantasia.

Fictional characters

• Gwen Stacy, character in the Spider-Man comic books

Other uses

• Atari Stacy, a computer in the Atari ST family
• Stacy (film), Japanese zombie horror film
• Stacy Adams Shoe Company, store located in Brockton, Massachusetts

See also[link]

• Stacy (given name)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (December 2010)

Stacy Lattisaw (born November 25, 1966) is an American R&B, dance, and gospel singer. Since the 1990s, she has exclusively sung gospel music, as a callback to her Christian roots.

Career[link]

When she was a teenager in the early 1980s, Lattisaw had a string of Top 40 R&B hits, with several songs — "Let Me Be Your Angel", "Jump to the Beat", "Love on a Two-Way Street", and "Miracles" — crossing over to the pop mainstream. Lattisaw recorded her first album for Cotillion Records at the age of 12 in 1979, under the direction of record producer Van McCoy. However it was not until she affiliated with Narada Michael Walden, a former drummer with the Mahavishnu Orchestra who was just beginning a career as a producer, that she became a star. Under Walden's direction, she had five hit albums between 1981 and 1986. She also opened for the Jacksons Triumph Tour in 1981. From Lattisaw's 1982 album "Sneakin' Out", Mariah Carey used a sample of the song "Attack Of The Name Game" (R&B #14) for her 1999 track "Heartbreaker".

Lattisaw continued recording into the late 1980s, signing to Motown in 1986. She scored her only #1 R&B hit with frequent duet partner Johnny Gill, titled "Where Do We Go from Here", in 1989. While the success was great, she grew increasingly disenchanted with the record industry. By the early 1990s, she decided to retire from the music industry and concentrate on raising her family. In addition, her official website states that she is now working on a gospel CD. In 2010, Lattisaw's music career was chronicled on the TV One (US TV network) docu-series Unsung (TV series), in which she also appeared.

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Compilation albums[link]

Singles[link]

See also[link]

• List of disco artists (S-Z)
• List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart
• List of people from Washington, D.C.
• List of artists who reached number one on the Billboard R&B chart
• Number-one dance hits of 1980 (USA)
• R&B number-one hits of 1990 (USA)
• American Music Awards of 1982

References[link]

External links[link]

• Stacy Lattisaw on Myspace
• Stacy Lattisaw at YouTube
• Stacy Lattisaw at Allmusic

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (April 2009)

Johnny Gill (born May 22, 1966) is an American R&B singer-songwriter. He is the sixth and final member of the R&B supergroup New Edition, and was also a member of another supergroup called LSG; with Gerald Levert and Keith Sweat. His signature song "My, My, My" has been included on numerous romantic compilations.

Life and work[link]

Gill was born on May 22, 1966 in Washington, D.C, the son of a minister. He started singing at the age of five in a family gospel group called "Wings Faith" which included his brothers Bobby, Jeff, and Randy Gill (himself a solo recording artist and member of the group II D Extreme). His recording career began in 1983 when his childhood friend, singer Stacy Lattisaw, convinced him to record a demo. This demo fell into the hands of the president of Atlantic Records, and his self-titled debut album was released shortly thereafter, featuring the minor hit, "Super Love". On this album, Gill played guitar, bass, bongos, and drums in addition to performing lead and background vocals. Gill then teamed up with Stacy for a duet album, which featured their first hit together, "Perfect Combination". A second album on Atlantic Records yielded the song "Half Crazy", which is still a fan favorite.

Gill began a new chapter in his career in 1987, when he was recruited by Michael Bivins to join New Edition to replace lead singer Ralph Tresvant, who was rumored at the time to be leaving to pursue a solo career.

With Gill, the oldest member, as one of the lead singers (along with Tresvant, who ended up staying with New Edition and delaying the launch of his solo career) on the album Heart Break, the group developed a more mature, adult sound, hitting the charts with songs such as "Can You Stand The Rain", "N.E. Heartbreak", "If It Isn't Love", and the Gill-led "Boys To Men".

Continuing his role as a romantic balladeer while emerging as a new jack swing star, he released a second self-titled album in 1990, which included the hits "My, My, My", "Rub You the Right Way", "Fairweather Friend", and "Wrap My Body Tight". In 1991, he was featured in Perri "Pebbles" Reid's hit single "Always" from the album of the same name, along with Pebbles' cousin, R&B singer, Cherrelle. The single made the R&B Top 20 shortly after its release.^{[citation needed]}

In 1993, Gill released another solo project, Provocative, which included the songs "Quiet Time to Play", "A Cute, Sweet, Love Addiction", and a moving gospel, "I Know Where I Stand". In 1996, Gill was reunited with New Edition, including Bobby Brown, as they recorded Home Again, an album noted for the singles "Hit Me Off" and "Still In Love". The title song, "Home Again", although not released as a single, is one of the most impressive vocal performances recorded by the group to date.^{[citation needed]}}

In 1996, Gill also released Let's Get the Mood Right, which included the title song, "Love In an Elevator", and "Maybe" - which is considered by many to be one of his greatest vocal performances ever.^{[citation needed]}} The following year, he collaborated with Gerald Levert and Keith Sweat to form the supergroup LSG (Levert/Sweat/Gill), which yielded the multi- platinum debut album, Levert-Sweat-Gill, and a follow-up album in 2003 titled LSG2.

Gill, the only member of New Edition who is not from Boston, was raised in Washington DC, where he attended Kimball Elementary, Sousa Junior High, and Duke Ellington School of the Arts. His career dictated that he complete his high-school education through the services of a tutor. Gill had planned to attend college and pursue a degree in electrical engineering, but his career came first.

His latest recording, "You For Me (The Wedding Song)" from the Madea's Family Reunion soundtrack, received strong reviews from music critics as well as the general public. In 2008, Gill, as a member of New Edition, received the Golden Note Award at ASCAP's 21st Annual Rhythm & Soul Music Awards.

On September 27, 2008, he began touring with Ralph Tresvant and Bobby Brown in a new group named Heads of State.

With over 80 television and film appearances as a singer and actor, Gill earned much acclaim for his cameo role on the hit TV show Family Matters (TV series), and recently thrilled audiences singing "You For Me" in the movie Madea's Family Reunion.

In October 2004 "Rub You The Right Way" appeared in popular videogame Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, playing on R&B, Soul radio station CSR 103.9.

Gill most recently starred in the 2009 stage play A Mother's Prayer, which also stars Robin Givens, Shirley Murdock, and Jermaine Crawford. In July 2010, Notifi Records, based out of St. Louis, MO, signed Gill to a recording contract, with new music due in 2011.

On October 11, 2011, Johnny Gill released his sixth studio album called Still Winning, which is his first album in 15 years. The first single off the album is titled "In the Mood".

Personal life[link]

Gill, who has never been married, is the father of a son, Isiah Gill, born in 2006, to a Washington DC journalist.^{[citation needed]}

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Collaboration albums[link]

Compilation albums[link]

Singles[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Johnny Gill at Allmusic
• Johnny Gill at VH1

Stacy Westfall is a professional horse trainer who specializes in reining. She was the first woman to compete in and win the "Road to the Horse" competition.^[1] In 2006 she won the American Quarter Horse Congress Freestyle Reining competition on the black mare Whizards Baby Doll, riding both bridleless and bareback.^[2] The video of this ride went viral on the internet and brought Westfall to the attention of the non-horse world.

Early life and career[link]

Westfall grew up in South China, Maine, learned to ride from her mother and got her first pony, named Midnight Misty,^[3] at the age of six.^[4] Her first full-sized horse was a mare named "Bay", given to her by her father as a reward for good grades in school.^[5] She used Bay for barrel racing.^[3] Her parents, Biff and Sherri Gliddon, were not horse professionals, though Sherri had a lifelong interest in horses,^[3] and until Westfall went to college, Sherri was her only instructor.^[4] Westfall went to college at the University of Findlay in Ohio,^[3] where she majored in equestrian studies.^[5] Her instructors included Steve Brown and Clark Bradley. She went on to work for well-known reining trainers Mike Flarida and Dan Huss.^[5] At the root of her technique is the principle to "think-like-a-horse”.^[5]

In 1994, Westfall met her future husband, Jesse Westfall, at the Quarter Horse Congress. They married in 1997. Jesse Westfall is also a reining trainer and a judge for the National Reining Horse Association (NHRA). The couple settled in Mount Gilead, Ohio, have three sons and run a horse training facility.^[5] Westfall gives clinics, trains horses and competes in reining.^[3]

Westfall did not originally compete without a bridle on her horses until one time when she accidentally dropped a rein while in a traditional reining competition on her mare Can Can Lena, a move that normally results in disqualification, but which also gave her the idea to test herself with a new challenge. She then began to perform bridleless in freestyle reining, a form of reining competition where exhibitors design their own routines and perform to music.^[3] Costumes are allowed and there are fewer rules for equipment. In 2003 she won the National Reining Horse Association Freestyle reining competition riding with no bridle, and in 2006, on the black American Quarter Horse, Whizards Baby Doll, aka “Roxy," she won twice while riding bridleless and bareback.^[5]

Career milestones[link]

• 1997 Graduate of University of Findlay
• 2003 NRHA Futurity Freestyle Champion (Bridleless) ^[1]
• 2005 All American Quarter Horse Congress Freestyle Futurity Champion
• 2005 NRHA Futurity Freestyle Champion
• 2006 Road to the Horse Winner ^[5]
• 2006 All American Quarter Horse Congress Freestyle Champion ^[1]
• 2006 Named to The University of Findlay’s Western Equestrian Wall of Fame

Mainstream media[link]

Stacy’s best-known bridleless freestyle ride was in 2006 when she and “Roxy” were named All American Quarter Horse Congress freestyle reining champions. She performed to the song “Live Like You Were Dying” by Tim McGraw and dedicated the ride to her father, who had died days before her performance. ^[6] When a video of that ride was posted on her website in February 2008 it became very popular and came to the attention of television talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, who interviewed Westfall on her program on March 14, 2008, bringing both Westfall and Roxy to the studio.^[3] However, by 2011, the video of Westfall's performance had gone "viral" across the internet containing a claim that she was in her 20's, deaf, and mute, none of which was accurate.^[7]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website

Gwendolyn "Gwen" Stacy^[1][2] appears as a supporting character in Marvel Comics' Spider-Man series. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, she first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #31 (December 1965).

A blonde college student, Gwen was originally the first love of Peter Parker (Spider-Man) before the introduction of Mary Jane Watson. The Green Goblin (Norman Osborn) killed Gwen in The Amazing Spider-Man #121 (June 1973). Both the decision to kill Gwen and the method in which Marvel implemented it remain controversial among fans, but the death became a pivotal point in both Spider-Man’s history and in American comic books in general. Many point to Gwen's death as the end of the so-called Silver Age of comics.^[3] Spider-Man writers and fans disagree about who is the character’s "one true love;" Gwen or his subsequent love-interest Mary Jane. The character was ranked 89th in Comics Buyer's Guide's "100 Sexiest Women in Comics" list.^[4]

In the 2007 feature film Spider-Man 3, Gwen is portrayed by Bryce Dallas Howard. In the upcoming reboot The Amazing Spider-Man she will be played by Emma Stone.

Fictional character biography[link]

Background[link]

Gwen first appears in The Amazing Spider-Man #31 (December 1965). Peter Parker meets Gwen while both study as undergraduates at Empire State University.^[5] Initially, with Aunt May in the hospital, Peter feels troubled and ignores her advances; insulted, she dates both Flash Thompson and Harry Osborn. Gradually, however, a romance develops; Gwen, a science major, seems to appreciate Peter's intellectual personality. In the comic books, their relationship begins almost immediately after a relationship between Peter and Betty Brant ends.

Their relationship almost ends before it begins. A mind-controlled (police) Captain George Stacy, Gwen's father, gets into a fight with Peter, which Gwen observes. Thinking Peter attacked her father, she halts the relationship. Gwen eventually learns the truth and she and Peter reconcile. Their romance becomes more complicated when Gwen's father is killed by falling debris during a battle involving Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus (The Amazing Spider-Man #90). Gwen blames Spider-Man for his death, which sets their relationship back for a while. Gwen leaves for Europe to cope with her loss. She wants Peter to ask her to marry him and convince her to stay, but his guilt stops him from proposing.

Peter goes to London to see Gwen, but is forced into action as Spider-Man and leaves without seeing Gwen. Gwen eventually realizes her error in trying to pressure Peter into marriage, so she returns to New York and they get back together.

Death[link]

In The Amazing Spider-Man #121 (June 1973), by writer Gerry Conway and penciller Gil Kane, the Green Goblin (Norman Osborn, who has identified Peter Parker as Spider-Man) holds Gwen Stacy captive on a tower of the George Washington Bridge. Spider-Man arrives to fight the Green Goblin, and when the Goblin throws Gwen Stacy off the bridge, Spider-Man catches her by her leg with a string of web. He initially thinks he has saved her, but when he pulls her back onto the bridge, he realizes she has already died. In shock and anger, Spider-Man nearly kills the Green Goblin in retaliation, but in the end chooses not to do so. The Goblin still seemingly dies when he is impaled by his own goblin glider in an attempt to kill Spider-Man, and Norman Osborn would not return for nearly three hundred issues.

The death of Gwen Stacy had an enormous impact in the world of comic-book fandom.^[6] Before her, except possibly as part of an origin story, superheroes did not fail so catastrophically; nor did a loved-one of the superhero die so suddenly without warning. Because of this, some fans and historians take the death of Gwen Stacy as one marker of the end of the period they refer to as the Silver Age of Comic Books.

In the real world, physicist James Kakalios shows in his book The Physics of Superheroes that, consistent with Newton's laws of motion, the sudden stop would have killed Gwen Stacy.^[7] The comic book Civil War: Casualties of War: Captain America/Iron Man (2007) concurred that the proximate cause of death was the sudden stop during a high-speed fall. An issue of Peter Parker/Spider-Man revisits the issue, and further confirms that Gwen died of a broken neck due to the use of the webbing.

During a battle with the Sinister Twelve, the Green Goblin captures Mary Jane and takes her to another bridge, throwing her over the side just as he had Gwen; however, this time Peter succeeds in saving MJ by using multiple web-strands, providing her with enough support to avoid any fatal injuries.^[8]

After death[link]

Gwen Stacy's death has enormous repercussions. Mary Jane Watson feels the loss of Gwen deeply and becomes a more serious person. Gwen's death also draws Peter and Mary Jane into a closer friendship, and eventually to romance.

The Green Goblin's murder of Gwen Stacy greatly elevates his status in Spider-Man's rogues' gallery. Before her death, Doctor Octopus had seemed Spider-Man's primary nemesis, but Gwen's death pushed the Green Goblin into that role.

The Jackal, Miles Warren in disguise, a former professor of Gwen's, was secretly in love with her. Following her death, Warren had grown increasingly insane and adopted the persona of the Jackal.

In the fourth and final issue of the miniseries Marvels (April 1994), photographer Phil Sheldon befriends Gwen Stacy, who has absolved Spider-Man of any blame for her father's death. Gwen's simple faith in heroes convinces Sheldon of the purpose of the "Marvels" (superheroes) - to protect innocents such as Gwen. He resolves to write a book to praise the heroes and what they should mean to humanity. But the Green Goblin kidnaps Gwen and holds her hostage to ensure that Spider-Man will challenge him. Sheldon, frantically following the resulting chase in a taxi, arrives at the George Washington Bridge in time to see Spider-Man fight the Goblin and to see Gwen accidentally knocked off the bridge and killed, despite (and tragically because of) Spider-Man's desperate attempt to save her. Sheldon's faith in the Marvels is shattered and he retires, but not before passing on the body of his work to his assistant Marcie.

Clones[link]

Approximately two years after her death,^[9] Gwen Stacy reappears in Amazing Spider-Man 144 (May 1975), perfectly healthy but with no memory of the time since her death. The Jackal has managed to create a clone of Gwen, and uses her as part of a plot against Spider-Man in the original Clone Saga. At the end of that story, Gwen’s clone leaves to find a new life for herself.

In the 1988 crossover "The Evolutionary War", the High Evolutionary, who had once been Miles Warren's teacher, captures Gwen's clone. In the process, he discovers that Warren had not in fact cloned her, but had instead created a genetic virus (the "carrion virus") that transforms already living beings. Spider-Man investigates Warren's old laboratory and identifies Carrion as a genetic weapon developed by Warren. Another former student of Warren's, Malcolm McBride, is infected with the virus and becomes the second Carrion. The High Evolutionary identifies this Gwen Stacy to Spider-Man as in fact not a clone but a woman named Joyce Delaney whom Warren had altered.

During the second Clone Saga, Gwen Stacy's clone, now married to a clone of Professor Warren named Warren Miles, sees a copy of Peter Parker's book of Spider-Man photos, Webs, and remembers (to an extent) her real history, and returns to New York City. During this storyline, she again disappears from Spider-Man's life. It was recently revealed that the Gwen Stacy clone introduced in Amazing Spider-Man #144 was in fact the second Gwen clone that Miles Warren created and has been living in London under the name Joyce Delaney. This clone was murdered by the Gwen Stacy clone known as Abby-L.^[10]

Another Gwen clone appears in The Amazing Spider-Man #399 (March 1995). This clone believes she is the real Gwen. She dies from clone degeneration in Spider-Man vol. 1, #56 (March 1995), the next issue of the story arc.

Deadpool vol.3, #0 (December 1998) reveals that the evil geneticist Arnim Zola obtained samples of the DNA of various superhumans for cloning purposes. These experiments, discovered by the mercenary Deadpool, also involve four clones of Gwen Stacy. Zola allows Deadpool to take the four Gwens to his San Francisco base of operations, where they serve and entertain him. They later die in a plane crash.^[11]

Spider-Man: Blue[link]

Gwen and (to a lesser extent) Mary Jane become the focus of the critically acclaimed^{[citation needed]} Spider-Man: Blue, a 2002 limited series by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale that retells the beginning of Peter's relationship with the two women.

The frame narrative has Peter, several years after her death, on Valentine's Day recording a voice "letter" to his dead love.

Dead Girl[link]

In the 2006 limited series X-Statix Presents: Dead Girl, Gwen, along with Moira MacTaggert and Mockingbird, appear in Heaven as members of the Dead Sisters' Book Club. They assist Doctor Strange, Dead Girl, and a small group of dead heroes on a mission to the lower depths of Hell.^[12]

[edit] Sins Past and Sins Remembered

The story arc "Sins Past" by J. Michael Straczynski in The Amazing Spider-Man #509-514 (August 2004 - January 2005) reveals that Norman Osborn, the Green Goblin's alter ego, fathered twins, a boy and a girl, with Gwen Stacy, to whom she gave birth while in France shortly before her death. She vowed she would raise them with Peter and refused to allow Norman access to them. Seeing her as a threat to his potential heirs, the Green Goblin killed Gwen Stacy. Norman Osborn then raised Gwen's two children, a boy and a girl named Gabriel and Sarah. Due to Norman's enhanced blood, the twins aged about 2 to 3 times faster than normal and became adults within the span of a few years. Osborn told them that Peter was really their father and was responsible for their mother's death.

The twins then attack Spider-Man, and he subsequently deduces their true identities. However, in seeking to confirm it, Peter goes to Gwen's grave and digs up a sample of her DNA to compare to the twins' DNA. Spider-Man tells Mary Jane about his initial encounter with Gabriel and Sarah, whereupon Mary Jane reveals that she knew about Norman's involvement with Gwen. By the story's end, Peter has told the twins the truth. Sarah believes Peter and concludes that he would never have dug up Gwen's grave to acquire a DNA sample if he thought there was even a chance that he was their father — but Gabriel does not. Gabriel takes the Green Goblin formula and briefly becomes the Grey Goblin. His glider explodes when it is shot by Sarah and he washes up on a beach with no memory of what happened.

"Sins Remembered," a follow-up story to "Sins Past" (published in The Spectacular Spider-Man (Vol. 2) issues #23-26, December 2004-March 2005 and written by Samm Barnes with art by Scot Eaton) spins directly out of the events of Amazing Spider-Man #509-514. Spider-Man locates Sarah in Paris, where Sarah has her brother (suffering from amnesia) restrained in her home. With the help of Spider-Man and Interpol, Sarah helps build a case against a criminal called Dupres in exchange for the government's help with her rapid-aging disease. However, during this time Gabriel escapes and has yet to be seen again. This story arc was later collected as a trade paperback in 2005 as The Spectacular Spider-Man Vol. 5: Sins Remembered (ISBN 0-7851-1628-1).

Straczynski later stated that he originally wanted to make Peter Parker the father of Gwen's kids but the editors vetoed the idea. They felt that it would age Peter Parker too much if he had two adult children. The whole creative and editorial team then decided that Norman Osborn would be the father.^[13] In an e-mail to popular comic book website Newsarama, Straczynski claimed that he regretted the version of Sins Past that went to press, and that he had hoped to "retcon" it out of continuity during the events of the recent One More Day storyline: "I wanted to retcon the Gwen twins out of continuity, which was something I always assumed I could do at the end of my run. I wasn't allowed to do this, and yes, it pissed me off."^[14] In the original plans for One More Day, the story would have ended with Gwen Stacy being resurrected by Mephisto's reality-warping spell along with Harry Osborn, but it was eventually decided to let her remain dead.

Other versions[link]

In the two-issue mini-series X-Universe which detailed what happened to the rest of the Marvel Universe during the Age of Apocalypse, the Green Goblin never killed Gwen Stacy; instead she became the bodyguard of Donald Blake, who, in this reality, had never become the Mighty Thor. Sometime later in the mainstream universe in X-Man #37, the Age of Apocalypse version of Gwen is pulled from her reality to the mainstream Earth's George Washington Bridge, much to Spider-Man's shock.

In the House of M storyline, in which the Scarlet Witch alters reality to make mutants the ruling class over humans, Gwen was never killed. Instead, she married Peter Parker, and the couple had a young son. She had become a scientist, a savvy businesswoman, and a peace activist – and had a decidedly hostile relationship with chemical weapon developer Norman Osborn. Mary Jane Watson, a popular actress in this reality, played Gwen Stacy in the film adaptation of Spider-Man's life story. Gwen and her father read textual accounts of their deaths in the main universe, though they believe this simply to be the morbid imaginings of Peter Parker, who is suffering from mental health issues.^[15]

Gwen Stacy first appeared in Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #53 as a new student of Midtown High. She had transferred from her previous school after the Torino Gang, a powerful New York mob, began harassing her in an attempt to keep her father, police captain George Stacy, from arresting members of their gang. However, the Torinos continued to harass Gwen at Midtown, prompting Spider-Man to help the police take down the gang.^[16] Like her father, Gwen believes Spider-Man is a hero. She subsequently began participating in a "Spider-Man Appreciation Society" designed to foster better public opinion of Spider-Man.^[17] Gwen is also attracted to Spider-Man's alter ego Peter Parker; although she openly flirted with him, Peter began dating a different girl, Sophia "Chat" Sanduval, which made Gwen very unhappy.^[18] Later, Gwen was brainwashed by Emma Frost into believing she was dating Peter. Gwen's brainwashing wore off (or was undone by Emma), but Gwen now believes her relationship with Peter ended when he chose Chat over her,^[19] causing her to treat Chat very coldly. She has since warmed to Chat, however.^[20] Recently, Gwen began a close friendship with Carter Torino who is the grandson of the head of the Torino Gang.^[17] Their relationship is complicated by the fact that Gwen's father is still trying to take down Carter's criminal family.^[21]

In the limited series, Marvel Zombies Return, Gwen of 'Earth Z' is still a college student out with her friends Mary Jane and Harry Osborn. The zombiefied Spider-Man travels to this earth and, despite his best intentions, turns the Sinister Six. They then slay and partly consume Gwen and her friends. To stop the spread of the virus, zombified Spider-Man obliterates the bodies.^[22]

Issue #1 of Spider-Man: Fairy Tales follows the fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood. Gwen Stacy has been previously killed by the wolf. Issue #4 is an adaption of Cinderella with Gwen as Princess Gwendolyn. She falls in love with the masked "Prince of Arachne," who is revealed to be Peter Parker, servant to Sir Osborn, but is killed during a fight between Osborn and Parker.

Gwen Stacy first appears at the end of Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane #5.She is the new girl at school and quickly becomes close friends with Peter Parker. In Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane #9, Peter and Gwen take their relationship to the next level by sharing a tender kiss, much to the dismay of Mary Jane. They date for a time, though Gwen breaks up with Peter when she learns that Mary Jane is the girl he truly loves. MJ, attempting to fix this, breaks up with Peter and reunites with Harry, but Peter cannot commit to Gwen and she is unwilling to accept him as a friend and not a boyfriend.

In the fourth issue of the comic book based on the Spider-Man Unlimited animated series, Spidey encounters a Counter-Earth version of Gwen Stacy. She helps him escape a hidden paradise known as "The Haven".

In this mini-series, Gwen Stacy again appears as the girlfriend of Peter Parker. Norman Osborn again kidnaps and attempts to kill her as a part of a plan to intimidate Peter. In a twist, the powerless Peter (with a limb crippled from a spider bite) manages to save Gwen from falling to her death.

Ultimate Gwen Stacy[link]

In the Ultimate Marvel continuity, Gwen Stacy first appears in Ultimate Spider-Man #14 (December 2001) as a teenage girl at Peter's high school. In this continuity, she has amber eyes, wears punk-style clothing, and is rebellious.^[23] In her first appearance she gives a rousing speech on 'super powers'; in the next issue she pulls a knife on Kong, a classmate who was bullying Peter. She is suspended from school temporarily. Gwen becomes friends with Peter, which leads Mary Jane Watson to believe that Gwen is vying for his affections.

Gwen is later taken in by Aunt May after her father, police captain John Stacy, is killed by a burglar wearing a Spider-Man costume. Her estranged mother does not want to take her in. Her living in the Parker house creates more tension between Peter and Mary Jane, and leads to their temporary break-up. Peter's relationship with Gwen is further complicated by her hatred of Spider-Man, whom she blames for her father's death. When Peter finds his friend Eddie Brock, Gwen confides in him about her feelings of isolation. Eddie then tries to kiss her and Gwen is shocked.

When she eventually learns that Peter is Spider-Man, the angry Gwen pulls her father's gun on him. Fortunately, he manages to convince her that he is not to blame for her father's death. Gwen runs off but returns, explaining that she is just really mad at everything at the moment and that she wouldn't have really shot him, a fact Peter already knew because his spider sense didn't go off despite Gwen's wrath. Gwen then agrees to keep his secret.

Gwen Stacy dies in Ultimate Spider-Man #62. Before her death, she made peace with Mary Jane and assured her that she never had romantic feelings for Peter, and that she considered him just as a friend. She is killed by Carnage, a vampiric monster made by the splicing of genetic material from Peter Parker, his father, and Dr. Curt Connors. Although Peter is not in the area when she dies, he still feels some responsibility for her death, as he allowed Dr. Connors to use his genetic material for experimentation. His guilt makes him decide to retire as Spider-Man for a while, but eventually he takes up his hero identity when his responsibility for the innocent becomes too great to overlook.

At the end of the arc, there was an issue that dealt with Gwen's death. Flash makes an off-color remark about Gwen's passing, and it infuriates MJ to the point where she physically attacks Flash. It is revealed that Flash had a crush on Gwen all along.

A girl seeming to be Gwen Stacy appears in Ultimate Spider-Man #98. Says Ultimate artist Mark Bagley, "Gwen’s return is integral to the Clone storyline and is basically a way to rock Peter's world...again."^[24] In this issue "Gwen" appears to have no memory of her "death" and believes she was in a hospital, from which she has escaped. In issue #100, after a raft of revelations, the stress of the situation enrages "Gwen" and she transforms into what appears to be Ultimate Carnage before leaping out the window.

In the next issue, "Richard Parker" claims that "Gwen" should not have met Peter at all, and was merely an experiment in stem cell research. This Gwen/Carnage fights with the Fantastic Four, Nick Fury, and the Spider-Slayer drones, until she is knocked unconscious by a beam of light, and taken into custody. In issue #113, Norman Osborn as the Green Goblin causes a massive prison break from the Triskelion. An inmate appearing to be 'Gwen' walks out amidst the chaos, disappearing in the shadows. It has been revealed that the creature posing as Gwen Stacy is still the original Ultimate Carnage that Spider-man faced earlier in its run. After "devouring" Gwen, this incarnation of Carnage has gone on to mimic her "essence" and now believes itself to be Gwen Stacy.^[25]

During "War of the Symbiotes", Gwen/Carnage's back story in the Triskelion is revealed. It is shown that Gwen has been taking some form of therapy with Tony Stark. However, when the Green Goblin broke out of the Triskelion, Gwen escaped and went to Peter Parker's house in a confused and terrified state, with Carnage's face on her body. During an exchange between Peter and Gwen, Eddie Brock attempts to attack Aunt May and retake his symbiote. In a rage, Spider-Man engages Venom on a nearby rooftop. During the fight, Gwen is shown to be able to use her symbiote to fight off Eddie but Eddie reabsorbs his symbiote along with the Carnage symbiote rendering Gwen Stacy an average girl. After SHIELD intervenes, SHIELD Director Danvers states that Gwen will remain in SHIELD custody. Peter and May argue for her to come back to live with them, with Tony Stark supporting the Parkers. In Ultimate Spider-Man #129, the Parkers are now helping to rebuild Gwen's life. Six months after "Ultimatum", in Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #1, Gwen is living with the Parkers again and seems to be dating Peter. However, circumstances involving the Chameleon made Gwen realize she made a mistake dating Peter and she breaks up with him.

Early in the series, Ultimate Spider-Man #25 (October 2002) paid homage to Gwen Stacy's death in the Earth-616 continuity, although Gwen herself was not involved. The Green Goblin tossed Mary Jane off the Queensboro Bridge, and Spider-Man caught her leg with his webbing, just as with Gwen. The issue ended with a cliffhanger: when Spider-Man pulled Mary Jane up, she appeared to be either unconscious or dead. The cliffhanger was resolved in the next issue when Mary Jane awoke in #26, uninjured.

[edit] What If...?

In "What If" Volume 1 number 24, Peter manages to save Gwen by jumping after her rather than catching her with a web-line. In doing this, he was able to cushion her from the impact as they hit the water and subsequently give her CPR. In the aftermath of this rescue, Gwen sees him without his mask and after explaining himself to her, Peter proposes to Gwen. She accepts. In a subsequent confrontation with the Green Goblin in his apartment, Norman Osborn finally fights off his evil side for good upon seeing his son Harry move to protect him; realizing that he cannot kill his own son, Norman returns to normal.
During a battle in the warehouse, an escaping Goblin mails to "Spider-Man's second greatest enemy" (J. Jonah Jameson) proof of Spider-Man's real identity. On the day of Peter's wedding to Gwen, Jonah has published the expose and uses it to acquire a warrant for Peter's arrest, thus forcing Peter to escape from the police mere moments after his wedding to Gwen. The shock of her nephew "being that awful Spider-Man" causes Aunt May to have a heart attack as well. As the issue ends, Gwen departs with Joe 'Robbie' Robertson, who promises Gwen that they will do whatever they can to help Peter and quits the Bugle.

In "What If Spider-Man Had Kept His Six Arms?," Spider-Man (whose six-arms mutation was permanent here) was able to prevent Gwen Stacy's death.

At the very end of Peter David's "What If: The Other" one-shot, Peter Parker, now calling himself "Poison," uses part of the Venom symbiote attached to him in a resurrection of Gwen Stacy. She takes the appearance of Carnage.

In other media[link]

Television[link]

• Gwen was deliberately excluded from the 1990s animated series, as the creators felt they could neither allow her to live nor deliberately include a character who was going to die. As a result, a variant of the bridge scene occurs with Gwen replaced by Mary Jane. Both Mary Jane and Green Goblin are cast into a dimensional void in the forty-first episode of the series. Gwen Stacy did appear in the episode "Farewell Spider-Man" voiced by Mary Kay Bergman. She appears as the fiancée of the high-tech armored Spider-Man (resembling Iron Man) from another universe.

• Gwen Stacy appears in the animated television series, The Spectacular Spider-Man, voiced by Lacey Chabert. Gwen is portrayed as Peter's best friend, though she would like to be his girlfriend. Her appearance and personality appears to be partially influenced by Debra Whitman, though Debra also appears in a minor role. She gains an internship at Dr. Curt Connors's laboratory at Empire State University with Peter and Eddie Brock. After Peter seemingly runs out of the Connors's Lab, where Gwen, Eddie and Martha Connors are attempting a serum which will restore Curt's human side after he transformed into the lizard, Gwen becomes angry with him; she forgives Peter in the episode "Competition". In the episode "Reaction," Peter (as Spider-Man) ends up saving both MJ and Gwen. She then decides to talk to Peter about Harry's condition, as he is taking the Globulin Green formula. In the episode "Intervention," after a symbiote-controlled Peter blows her off, Mary Jane gets Gwen to admit to her true feelings for Peter. In "Nature vs. Nurture," the finale of the first season, Eddie Brock becomes Venom, ties up and gags Gwen, and then suspends her from a large balloon during the Thanksgiving Day parade, hoping that she will fall to her death. While Spider-Man battles Venom, the webs holding Gwen to the float eventually snap and she is sent hurtling to the street, but she is saved when her classmates use the now-deflated balloon to catch her. In the final moments of the episode, Gwen kisses Peter for the first time, making Peter realize his unknown deep feelings for her. In season 2 however, Liz Allan's own growing affections for Peter leads him to start going out with her instead, much to Gwen's dismay. Gwen is later kidnapped by Electro and Vulture and used as a hostage by the Master Planner, who forces her father to do as he says before she is saved by Spider-Man. She soon finds herself the center of the returned Harry Osborn's attention, and winds up his girlfriend. When Venom outs Peter's identity, she finds the entire concept hilarious. Peter and Gwen are soon mobbed by a gang of reporters, several of whom believe her to be "Spider-Man's Girl." When the Green Goblin takes control of New York, Peter and Gwen finally talk, and agree to end their respective relationships so they could be together. However, the series ended before the relationship began.

Film[link]

• Gwen Stacy is portrayed by Bryce Dallas Howard in Spider-Man 3. She is a potential new love interest for Peter Parker, serving as an unintended rival to Mary Jane Watson. Gwen is a classmate and lab partner of Peter, who (as Spider-Man) rescues her early in the film from a construction crane accident. She kisses an upside-down Spider-Man which causes MJ to become angry and hurt. As Peter is at the top of Dr. Connors's quantum mechanics class, he tutors her. She considers Peter a genius and is very fond of him. She is also friends with Eddie Brock, who took pictures of her so Gwen could be a model. his relationship is short-lived, as Peter Parker, under the influence of the symbiote, steals her from Eddie; he dances with her at the same jazz club where MJ works, but Gwen realizes that Peter is doing this to make MJ jealous, so she apologizes to Mary Jane, and leaves. Peter makes amends with Gwen since she is later present at Harry Osborn's funeral.

• Emma Stone will portray Gwen Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man. Her character will be Peter Parker's main love interest in the film. She is first seen in the trailer working at Oscorp, where Peter gets bitten by the spider. She subsequently develops a crush on him. It is suggested in a trailer that Gwen might know that Peter is Spider-Man as she is seen to be appearing to patch up a wound.

Video games[link]

• Gwen Stacy, along with her dad is briefly mentioned in Spider-Man: Edge of Time. When the futuristic Peter Parker reveals his plans to Spider-Man 2099, he mentions he can save the lives of Uncle Ben, Gwen Stacy, George Stacy, and countless others.
• Gwen Stacy will appear in The Amazing Spider-Man based on the film.

See also[link]

• The Night Gwen Stacy Died
• Spider-Man supporting characters
• Portrayal of women in comics
• Women in Refrigerators

References[link]

External links[link]

• The Grand Comics Database
• The Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators
• Physics of Superheroes 1 - Death of Gwen Stacy