Spider-Gwen Officially Debuts New Costume Change as She Permanently Joins Marvel's Main Reality

Summary Spider-Gwen has officially joined Marvel Comics' Earth-616, and she's doing so in style, as Ghost-Spider shows off a new pair of sneakers that gives her costume an awesome update.

The nature of Gwen Stacy's universal transfer is still shrouded in mystery, with only a few key pieces of information from lead-up storylines that tell fans what they can expect from her new comic series.

Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider #1 is available May 22, 2024!

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider #1! Spider-Gwen is one of the more popular incarnations of the ‘spider-hero’ in Marvel Comics, though she’s always existed separate from the main franchise canon - at least, until now. Gwen Stacy aka Spider-Woman is from Earth-65, and while she’s had adventures with Earth-616’s Spider-Man in the past, Gwen’s always remained in her own secluded corner of the Marvel multiverse. But now, Spider-Gwen is officially hopping dimensions into Earth-616 permanently, and this historic event comes with a new costume change.

In a preview for Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider #1 by Stephanie Phillips and Federica Mancin, Earth-65’s Gwen Stacy is coming to terms with being displaced in an entirely new universe. Gwen considers the weight of existing in a world where her own variant has long-been dead, meaning she’s effectively taking her place. Then, Gwen faces the hard reality of living in a place where she technically doesn’t exist, as she’s trying to open a bank account without any identification, and is running into nothing but roadblocks.

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As she’s trying to work something out with the banker, a team of bank robbers swarm the inside of the bank, leaving Gwen with no choice but to suit-up as Spider-Woman and take them down. However, as she cryptically mentions, Gwen suiting-up as a superhero is something that will ‘get her in trouble’, as it seemingly goes against the rules of her being in Earth-616. However, she can’t just stand by and let innocent people suffer, so Gwen springs into action regardless of the consequences. Upon doing so, she shows off one specific change to her costume: Spider-Gwen’s updated sneakers.

Spider-Gwen’s costume has always featured sweet kicks, no matter the storyline or medium. From her debut in Edge of Spiderverse #2 to her big-screen appearance in Into the Spider-Verse, Gwen Stacy’s shoe-game has always been strong - and prominently featured. That being said, Spider-Gwen’s shoes were mostly highlighted on the cover art for any given issue, while understated in the interior pages (and understandably so). However, in her new series, not only will Spider-Gwen get a new pair of trainers, but they’re going to be greatly featured throughout the interior pages of the comic itself.

In an interview with Looper, the writer of Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider, Stephanie Pillips, admits that Spider-Gwen’s new shoes could have been eliminated altogether. The cover art for issue #1 (done by artist Mark Brooks) would still highlight the sneakers, but the interior pages could have all but dropped them. However, Phillips continues by revealing that “every artist” wanted to keep the kicks in the comics.

Stephanie Phillips: [Mark Brooks] started that and then they made their way into the interior pages. Initially editorial was like, ‘You don’t have to keep drawing the sneakers’. But every artist was like, ‘No, we love the sneakers. We want to keep the sneakers.’ And I was like, ‘So we’re all getting custom sneakers when? Because I love these.’

And just like that, the passionate artists behind Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider became responsible for ensuring that Gwen’s new sneakers are a main aspect of her costume moving forward, which is a change every Marvel Comics fan can be excited about.

Wait… How/Why is Spider-Gwen in Marvel Comics’ Earth-616?!

While Spider-Gwen’s new sneakers are definitely a stand-out part of her upcoming series, they aren’t enough to distract readers from the more pressing aspects of Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider - like, what is she doing in Earth-616? Well, for those who have kept up with Earth-65 Gwen Stacy’s adventures, they already know - it’s what she’s going to do now that she’s in Earth-616 that remains a mystery.

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In Web of Spider-Man #1, Spider-Gwen gets pulled from Earth-65 by a member of the Time Variance Authority (TVA) named Ouroboros, after the TVA officer was explicitly told by Mobius to do no such thing. Ouroboros decided that Spider-Gwen is an important-enough hero in the wider multiverse to save, as she’s a unique variant when compared to other Gwen Stacys across all realities.

Before Ouroboros pulls Gwen from Earth-65, she’s terrorized by what she initially believes are hallucinations. A symbiote-like hand rises from her coffee mug and tries to grab her before Gwen finds herself staring at her world in ruin, at which point she’s attacked by a swarm of birds screeching horrible things at her. Inexplicably, it seems Earth-65 has come to a violent and horrific end, and Ouroboros ensures that Spider-Gwen survives even if no one else from her world does.

Not only does this explain how Gwen got from her universe to Earth-616, but it also reveals who Gwen was talking about in this preview in regard to there being consequences for using her powers. The preview itself leaves this point a mystery, but it seems Web of Spider-Man has already answered it, as it’s more than likely the TVA made that rule to mitigate any temporal anomalies in Earth-616. However, this doesn’t seem like a rule Spider-Gwen is keen to follow.

So, With Spider-Gwen Officially Joining Earth-616, What is She Going To Do Now?

Fans still don’t know what happened to seemingly end the entirety of Earth-65, but at least they know how and why Gwen Stacy is now in Earth-616. But now the question arises: what’s next? While fans will have to wait for the full answer, this preview did an excellent job of setting the tone for the series by showcasing the existential discomfort of being in a new place with no sense of belonging, which will surely play a role in Gwen’s upcoming storyline.

Spider-Gwen considers the magnitude of replacing a version of herself who died years earlier, making her feel like something of a ‘ghost’ of the original Earth-616 Gwen Stacy, as opposed to just being her own person. This actually makes Gwen’s alternate superhero moniker, Ghost-Spider, much more interesting, as it mixes her multiversal identities incredibly well. Gwen is a variant of ‘Spider-Man’ in that she’s a spider-hero, and she’s also a variant of Gwen Stacy, who’s dead in Earth-616. So, now that she lives in Earth-616, Gwen is indeed the Ghost-Spider.

So, aside from ‘Ghost-Spider’ taking on a new meaning (and Gwen’s overall existential crisis), what is she going to do in Earth-616? Well, if this preview is any indication, then that question is an easy one to answer: the same thing she did in Earth-65. Sure, Gwen isn’t supposed to use her spider-powers in Earth-616 (a rule seemingly made by the TVA after saving her life from her original crumbling universe), but she’s clearly not going to adhere to that. Therefore, Marvel’s main continuity just got itself an all-new full-time spider-hero.

The stage is set for this all-new chapter in Spider-Gwen’s ever-growing personal lore in Marvel Comics, as she’s making a home for herself in the franchise’s main continuity of Earth-616. Why was she pulled into this universe? What happened to her original one? Can she maintain her status as a spider-hero against the TVA’s wishes? All these questions and more will be answered as the series progresses. However, what’s not in question is how awesome Spider-Gwen looks with her costume change in the form of her new sneakers, which are going to be shown off more prominently than ever before.

Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider #1 by Marvel Comics is available May 22, 2024.

Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider #1 (2024) Writer: Stephanie Phillips

Artist: Federica Mancin

Colorist: Matt Milla

Letterer: VC's Ariana Maher

Cover Artist: Mark Brooks

Source: Looper