Greetings comic lovers and welcome back to casually comics the channel where we chat
all things comics from reviews of comics new and old to history to anecdotes to really
wherever our whims take us.
I’m Sasha and today we’re talking Origins and the real world reasons behind them my
not so secret passion.
We’ve talked a decent amount about gwenpool on this channel but we have yet to tackle
her origin either in canon or outside of it which in this case is the more fascinating
aspect.
So we’re going to look at that cause well some of you are like I’ve watched all these
gwenpool videos and umm who is she and what is going on?
Well worry no more you need not live in the dark any longer I’ve got you.
But before we dive in if you love a confusing backstory and the satisfaction of unraveling
it hit that like button.
Now Gwenpool is a very unique case she is a character who’s genesis occurs outside
of the comic medium which has happened before in some pretty famous cases like Harley Quinn
or X-23 but Gwenpool’s case is even more unique in that she didn’t come from a tv
show or a movie or anything like that but instead from a variant comic book cover.
So Gwenpool owes her existence to the massive popularity at the time of two other characters
Deadpool, and Gwen Stacey who had recently been reintroduced as SpiderWoman for Marvel’s
now much beloved Spiderverse event.
Gwen’s spiderwoman would prove so popular that she would get her own spin off comic
entitled Spider Gwen.
Which would lead to that just being what most people still call the character to this day.
Even though it could either be spider-woman or at the time of this recording ghost spider.
Deadpool has been enjoying a steady rise in popularity since the late 90s that eventually
culminated in him being a breakout and in the minds of some overused character.
He’s everywhere if they can find a way to put Deadpool in it Marvel will put him there.
So let’s set the scene the yeat is 2015 you’re hot off the heels of a succesful
spider-man event that has managed to launch a new character and cosplay darling hold onto
that point it will become important later.
You’re in the middle of another big event secret wars which as is tradition is having
spinoffs with the popular characters getting their own mini or titles or just the traditional
we interrupt our regular comic plot to bring you this mandated company wide event please
brace yourself for the shoe horn.
Unless it’s well incorporated which does happen.
Marvel wanted to ride the gwenpool high and fun fan reaction the character was engendering
so they employed a favourite method since the 80s 1986 to be precise the variant cover.
A variant cover is another version of the cover not the main one but potentially just
as enticing if employed correctly it can be a potent sales tool if misused you end up
with a lot of unsold comics languishing.
So the plan do variants of gwen as other characters across the board since essentially that was
what had happened with spider-man though this would just be a fun little promo without any
backstory or anything.
So you had gwen as doctor strange and groot and wolverine but the one that matters for
us is the cover of deadpool’s secret secret wars #2.
This cover would feature gwen stacey as deadpool in the full gwenpool costume which is a version
of deadpool’s but with spider gwen’s colour scheme minus the black.
This cover took off but especially within a particular side of fandom for fandom is
not a monolith, cosplayers.
Cosplayers loved this costume and it took off.
This mattered for a couple of reasons one Marvel was encouraged by seeing so much fan
excitement over a character who didn’t even really exist and two spider gwen she was a
cosplay darling too and super successful could there be a correlation?
And what was the harm in exploring what may be a pre existing built in fan base.
So then Marvel editor Jordan White tasked writer Christopher Hastings and editor Heather
Antos with a task their mission should they choose to accept and by that I mean which
they probably;y had to take cause it’s their job was to write a one shot for this character.
Or at least it was just supposed to be a one shot but it ended up being a 3 issue back
up in howard the duck.
So since gwenpool had no proper origin she suffered from what we shall dub Donna Troy
syndrome the fact that people would assume her origin based on her appearance but also
that it would be made up on the fly and hence a little unintentionally confusing.
Hastings would come up with the idea of gwen as a fourth wall breaking character but with
a twist she would come from our universe a fan thrust into the comic book world but with
the belief that since it’s not real her actions don’t really matter.
So she would have a deadpoolesque trait which they assumed people would expect given her
appearance but also her own thing.
She would go on to get her own series and float about in a kind of nebulous space for
awhile until at the time of this recording gwenpool strikes back.
She’s a bit of a difficult character to place cause she’s separate because of her
“real world” status it’s a fun concept but hard to maintain longterm.
However, gwenpool has also caused some well rage, annoyance and confusion alongside happiness
and acceptance people react all the ways like with all things.
So let’s start with confusion well based on the appearance and her name many people
assume and expect that she is either an alternate version of deadpool or gwen stacey.
Given the costume and the fact that under it she looks like gwen and her name is gwen,
her name is actually literally gwen poole but with an e at the end.
There’s a big push from some fans to fight the idea that gwen is derivative or like other
comic book characters and she is unque in canonical origin and her genesis but she does
owe it to these other established characters so she is derivative in the sense that she
would not exist without them but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing a character can be
spawned from a pre existing once and still be great.
But it’s a hill that some will die on and will get quite mad if people assume one way
or the other.
Personally I get why you would be confused in a world where either of the former options
if more plausible than her actual origin if you’re just casually passing through yeah
perplexing.
Now the anger sigh in some segments of certain fans there can be tension between comic book
fans or movie or tv show fans and cosplayers.
Some people look down on cosplayers or feel they are only in it for the money or the attention
or especially in the case of female cosplayers that they are fake fans.
Hence some were bothered by a character coming into existence because of this subset of fandom
as they felt this cheapened her or that this was not an audience to cater since they were
not “real or true” fans.
There are many different types of fans, fandom and ways to enjoy and participate in ones
fandom one isn’t more valid than the other and there are more and less informed fans
as knowledge tends to be the barometer for true in all sects of fandom.
Just enjoy and let other people enjoy have parallel fun.
This anger led to some being very protective of gwenpool and even more invested in her
earning “legitimacy” as a character than they would have been otherwise.
And of course some are like she’s a cheap sales tactic but to that I say what isn’t.
I’m too cynical to be.
In short in some circles there is tension around her while some have managed to bypass
all that and just enjoy, ignore or dislike the character for who she is not how she came
to be.
They claim a retcon to Gwen’s canonical origin will change everything and really to
make her fir into the marvel universe in a more permanent way she does need to be more
phased into it.
Her actions will have to have lasting consequences and her knowledge base will also have to have
consequences outside of the zany or humorous we’ve seen this already sometimes but for
her to stay she’ll have to make comics her home in some way.
What does the future hold for gwenpool we’ll have to wait and see.
So that’s how gwenpool came to be did you now about her origin, does it make you salty
if so why?
Have you cosplayed her?
I would but my legs get cold easily.
We’re you confused by her when you first saw her?
Ok that’s enough.
Thanks so much for watching Casually comics I appreciate you giving me some of your time.
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I’ll see you again soon buh bye.