
Hi. My name is Gwen Stacy. I’m kind of a problem.
Five years ago, I was bitten by a genetically modified spider engineered by OsCorp Industries. It changed my life.
When I was in High School, I was kind of a wallflower. The friends I did have could probably fit at a single circular table in the school cafeteria. I drifted between two worlds, the art clique and the geek clique. We didn’t do sports. We built things, spat out ink on a page, and imagined a world better than the one we were in.
At the center of that was one guy: Peter Parker.
When we met, his mom and dad weren’t around anymore. I had just lost my mom.
The angst drew us together, but we really stayed for the science. It was like we were meant to be friends. Maybe meant to be more. I don’t know. It’s something I think about, especially with a lot of what’s happened since high school in the rear view. He was the only one who picked up on things but he was always the last one to speak up. I think becoming a superhero ruined our relationship.
I couldn’t handle being Spider-Woman, Peter Parker’s girlfriend, a scientific genius every college wanted, and the daughter of Captain George Stacy all at once. It broke me. I grew distant, angry, and lost. I’m still angry, if you believe the papers about the dangers of the Spider-Menace. The Daily Bugle also says I’m irresponsible, incompetent, and a threat to the safety of every person in New York City. It’s something I read every day and if I don’t read it I hear it, because the guy who runs it also loves to hear himself speak on his podcast.
It’s daunting. But I have to continue fighting. Living by my father’s example.