The Sins Past Prelude.

Originally reviewed on Wix back on January 29th, 2023.

Gwendolyn Stacy was a character from the Amazing Spider-Man comic series, she first appeared in issue... I don't remember, but it was a Ditko issue. She was gorgeous, she was charming, she was perfect in every way. For a while, she was Spider-Man's girlfriend. Oh, and I suppose Mary Jane was there too.

Spider-Man's biggest enemy of all time is the Green Goblin, aka Norman Osborn, a scientist CEO dude that had a little lab accident and now has another personality that thinks about nothing but mischief.

Little problems that were presented in the series prior to this issue: Green Goblin knows Spider-Man's secret identity and everyone he loves, meaning that he can attack anyone at any point to hurt Spider-Man's feelings. Gwen Stacy does not like Spider-Man, I don't think she ever did, and she really started to HATE him because she believed that it was Spider-Man who murdered her father, George Stacy.

The behind-the-scenes story on this is pretty interesting.

Then Spider-Man writer Gerry Conway wanted to kill off somebody, so he first thought to kill off Aunt May, but when he presented the idea to Stan Lee, he gave them a big fat NO. So, they thought to kill Gwen Stacy, and he was like "lol ok", and that is how this story came to be. 

Previous issues showed Spider-Man going up against the Incredible Hulk before getting called to go back home because... Well, we'll find out when we read The Amazing Spider-Man #121 by Gerry Conway and Gil Kane.

This comic has been adapted either loosely or very well in films like the 2002 hit Spider-Man (reviewed), 2014's The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (NOT reviewed), and a little bit of it is adapted during the infamous fan film "Spider-Man: Lotus", but thankfully we have a fan-made adaptation that isn't total garbage in 1992's The Green Goblin's Last Stand.

During my reviews, I like to specify where I'm reading this from, and guess what, surprisingly enough, I do NOT have an original copy of this book from the 70's, what, do you think I'm made of money? I didn't have this one for years until my brother purchased this Green Goblin TPB for me that also just so happens to print Green Goblin's first appearance and The Amazing Spider-Man #797 to 801. The inclusion of issue 801 really confused me, but it's a nice comic, so it's fine.

This is the cover, featuring Spider-Man looking at many rectangles that just so happen to have the pictures of his friends and loved ones, and according to the caption over there, at least one of them is going to die... I've seen countless reviews of this comic book and not once have I seen anyone comment on Spidey's ass.

The book begins with Spider-Man looking through the window and seeing how Harry Osborn has once again fallen victim to the effects of drugs.  Mary Jane and Gwen Stacy are there, obviously pretty preoccupied over this situation, and honestly, who wouldn't be? 

Peter changes back into his civilian clothing to visit Harry before he gets interrupted by Norman Osborn, who believes that Harry's current state is all Peter and Friends' fault because they're wimps... I guess I can't blame Norman since I also probably would be acting in a similar fashion if my child was in such a condition. 

Harry goes to Norman before collapsing again, but meanwhile, Peter swings through the city, feeling a little sick, so he changes again into his civies and goes to the Daily Bugle to drop his pictures before getting kicked out by JJJ because Peter was probably gonna infect everyone with his yucky germs. 

Meanwhile, Norman has another mental breakdown and starts to hallucinate Spider-Man coming after him, which is something that happens to me on the regular. Norman's on sabbatical, honey, that's right, Green Goblin has taken over and he's now off to kidnap the concerned Gwen Stacy, who was just in Peter's apartment thinking about the current situation with Harry.

Spidey is swinging through the city, almost falling like 3 times before deciding to go to his apartment... Wonder what would've happened if Spider-Man went to his apartment and Gwen was still there... So, anyway, Spidey finds... Gwen's purse and a pumpkin bomb, and that is bad news. So, the ill Spider-Man goes on a wild goose chase throughout most of New York City in hopes of finding the Green Goblin or Gwen, until he finally finds them on top of the Brooklyn Bridge... And Spider-Man is so sick that he mistakes it for the George Washington bridge...

So, the brawl begins, with the Goblin throwing around pumpkin bombs and Spider-Man just narrowly avoiding them, but then Spidey remembers that he has a girl to save! So, he goes to the top of the bridge, where the unconscious Gwen Stacy is located, but before Spidey can reach her, Goblin just pushes her off. Luckily, Spider-Man uses his trusty web to catch her before anything bad can happen, and Gwen Stacy is safe... Or so he thinks.

Spider-Man is trying to get her to wake up, but he is shocked to find out that Gwen Stacy is dead.

The comic ends with Spider-Man threatening to kill Green Goblin for killing the woman he loved as the title of the story is finally revealed, "The Night Gwen Stacy Died".

Let me tell you... This comic is great, definitely one of the most shocking Spider-Man stories ever, and for good reason, I mean, it was definitely a bold move, a story that no one had ever expected to be published. Many historians claim that this is the comic that ended the Silver Age of comics. The artwork by Gil Kane is just so well-drawn. Definitely one of the most important comic books I've ever read. 10/10.

The original reception for the story back in 1973 was... Surprisingly negative, John Romita Sr. even claims that they received death threats... Looks like things haven't changed in the slightest for some Spider-Man fans because they're still doing that.

There's still one more important issue here, and that is issue 122.

This cover and the first page are pretty much just... The last page of the last issue but from different perspectives.

The Green Goblin and Spider-Man are about to fight to the death, Spidey just going to town and really hitting the Goblin with all his strength... Before Goblin lets him go and Spidey starts falling... Now, here is the funniest remark of the entire issue... as Spider-Man falls, he thinks to himself "Now I'm falling-- Just like Gwen fell--", I'm sure that was meant to be dramatic, but I can't help but see it as Spider-Man joking about his girlfriend's death that just happened in front of him.

So, he swings away to get away from the battle for a little bit, and he spots a crowd looking at the now deceased Gwen Stacy. Spider-Man goes crazy and pretty much tells everyone including the cops to back the fuck off, and everyone starts accusing Spider-Man of murdering this young lady, but Spidey couldn't care less, and starts caressing the dead body... A bit odd, but hey, Spidey is dealing with the sudden loss of Gwen, he's obviously struggling to process what just happened. So, Gwen's body is taken to an ambulance and Spider-Man swings away to see if Norman Osborn is at his home.

Peter instead finds Harry Osborn, who is still suffering the effects of his overdose, he's asking Peter to not leave him alone, but Peter is a man on a mission, he is going to find Norman and KILL him. Spider-Man drops by the Daily Bugle to see if he can find any clues on where Norman Osborn could be. We get to see how Robbie and JJJ react to the news, Jameson blames Spidey for what happened but Spidey just webs up his mouth and swings away.

We cut to what looks like an abandoned warehouse... Because it is, but it is also the hideout of the Green Goblin, when suddenly, there's a knock on the door... Spider-Man is here to finally end this battle once and for all. A pretty violent scene, but still full of amazing action. After a few punches, Spider-Man wonders if he's going too far, he realizes that killing Goblin is only gonna make him feel worse and it's only gonna turn him into a real menace...

But as Spider-Man ponders, he fails to realize that the Green Goblin has a last trick up his sleeve, and uses his glider to stab Spider-Man... But Spider-Man just avoids the attack, and the glider ends up stabbing the Green Goblin. 

Well, the Green Goblin is dead, Spidey doesn't feel any better, so he just goes home for the night, unaware of the prescence of a shadowy figure.

Epilogue: The final page of the comic shows Mary Jane, obviously pretty distraught over the news of Gwen's death. Peter tells her to just go home, but Mary Jane doesn't listen to him and stays. The end.

What a way to end an era, and what a way to end a storyline, this issue is just as iconic and just as memorable as the last one. It represents the end of the Green Goblin saga in Spider-Man... Or at least until he was brought back, but that's a story for NEVER. 10/10.

Footnotes that are related to these comics that I feel like I should include:

- Supervillain "The Jackal" would become obsessed with Gwen Stacy, so he made a clone of her and Spider-Man (Amazing Spider-Man #149, October 1975). Spider-Man titles would be fine for a couple years until SOMEONE at Marvel thought about bringing them back, which led to the Clone Saga and a few more Gwen clones... And Spider-Man acts shocked every single time.

- Jill Stacy, Gwen Stacy's cousin would appear and befriend Peter and Mary Jane. (Spider-Man #76, November 1996)

- Green Goblin was brought back.

- In some Wizard Magazine special, Deadpool gets a bunch of Gwen Stacy clones and puts them in a bunch of skimpy outfits. What the fuck.

- Norman Osborn was brought back to life. (Spider-Man #75, October 1996)

- I GOT THE BLUUUEEESSS SO BAD. (Spider-Man: Blue #1-6, July to December 2002)

- In the Ultimate Universe, Gwen Stacy was killed by some weird ass creature named Carnage. (Ultimate Spider-Man #62, September 2004)

- Some time, somewhere, some guy named Jason Latour created Spider-Gwen, like, what if she was bitten by a spider instead of Peter? And what if Peter died instead of her? It's crazy. Oh, and by the way, this comic BLOWS.

- Dead No More, an evil Ben Reilly or whatever the fuck brings back Gwen Stacy or a clone, I'm not sure, I've never read Clone Conspiracy. And then she disintegrated (Clone Conspiracy #5, April 2017)

- Something something, Kindred, whatever.

- Judgement Day brought her back AGAIN. Holy shit, dude. (Amazing Spider-Man vol. 6 #10)

- And then, Weapon X brought her back as a killer girl... Who now has to fight Spider-Man, Kate Bishop and Gwenpool... 2 of those characters were killed.

Say, I feel like I'm forgetting something here... Maybe some controversial story...