Across the Spider-Verse’s Gwen/Hobie Friendship Has a Surprisingly Tragic Backstory

Summary

• Spider-Gwen, or Ghost-Spider, and Spider-Punk have a powerful friendship across the multiverse.
• The Web Warriors comic series explores a group of Spider-people from multiple universes.
• The series reveals that, in Spider-Punk’s universe, Gwen Stacy is a famous rock star who has already died.

Spider-Gwen and Spider-Punk have great chemistry between them in Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse, but fans may not know their friendship’s origin has a tragic backstory. In the comics, Hobie Brown was originally starstruck at meeting Gwen Stacy, as her variant in his universe is a famous rock star. She’s also, unfortunately, already dead.

Gwen Stacy and Hobie Brown first meet in 2016’s Web Warriors #7. An offshoot of Marvel’s massive Spider-Verse event, the series stars a group of Spider-people from across the multiverse who still converge to protect the Web of Life and Destiny.

Earth-65’s Gwen is a drummer in a band, but not quite as punk as her version from Spider-Punk’s universe. Whatever censored word he uses to greet her, Gwen’s reaction is, “Ew.” This version of Gwen a little younger than the Spider-Gwen in the Spider-Verse movies, and a little more new to the multiverse. Gwen is still surprised to hear that she’s died in Hobie’s universe.

“There are so few Gwen Stacys in the multiverse. Most of us die too young.”

Gwen Stacy Is More Punk Than Spider-Punk

Web Warriors #7, written by Mike Costa, pencils by David Baldeon, ink by Walden Wong & Rick Magyar, colors by Matt Yackey

Bridging the gap between 2014’s Spider-Verse and 2018’s Spider-Geddon comic events, Web Warriors keeps up with a motley crew of Spider-people not named Peter or Miles. When they meet, realities are crashing together, interrupting a concert where Hobie’s Spider Slayers are performing. Ultimately, the Web Warriors defeat the threat by living out a dream of his – disrupting the Web of Life and Destiny with vibrations coming from a rock anthem, played by Hobie on guitar and Gwen on drums. Before they part ways for their own dimensions, he tries to convince Gwen to stay long enough to record a punk album with him, but she declines.

The two are back together in Spider-Geddon, still close but older and wiser. The Inheritors, a vampire race who are the villains of Spider-Verse, return for vengeance, and seemingly kill Gwen in an initial fight (they actually jettison her across the multiverse). Hobie is devastated to see not just his friend, but a version of his idol, disappear. When she makes it back with a Spider-army in Spider-Geddon #5, Hobie rushes into her arms, and she reveals to him her new name that doesn’t give away her secret identity: Ghost-Spider. Sadly, the final fight destroys the Web of Life and Destiny.

Spider-Gwen & Spider-Punk’s Friendship is a Universal Constant

Only Gwen has the tech to jump between worlds after Spider-Geddon, and she feels both the weight of that responsibility, and the loneliness without her Spider-friends. Hobie tells her that she doesn’t have to face it alone, but she won’t listen. It’s never officially been revealed what happened to the famous Gwen Stacy of Hobie’s Earth-138, but as Earth-65’s Gwen Stacy points out in Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider #3, “There are so few Gwen Stacys in the multiverse. Most of us die too young.” Maybe the thing protecting this Gwen is the powerful but tragic friendship between Ghost Spider and Spider-Punk.