Spider-Gwen: Ghost-Spider (2018-) #2

by Seanan McGuire

[Quirky Cat]

I adore the reboot of Ghost Spider (aka Spider-Gwen) so far. First, the new name is amazing. I’m not ashamed to admit that I wish they had gone with it from the start. Second, I’m enjoying seeing her out of her element and the normal situations she’s up against. While those plots were interesting, they did sometimes feel like they were kicking a puppy (which I suppose they got from Peter Parker, so no real surprise there). This reboot feels so much fuller of life and energy. And it’s taking risks.
Gwen is no longer on the earth she knows. She’s not even at Earth 616, the other earth she’s gotten somewhat familiar with. Nope, she’s stranded on a totally new one (to her, that is) all while her friends are stuck dealing with the Inheritors. On the one hand, I totally understand how stressful that would be for her. Realistically every moment that she’s gone is a missed opportunity for her to be helping somebody she cares about. On the other hand I’m actually pretty happy that she isn’t involved in that war. I know realistically that they won’t be killing off any of the spider characters we consistently read about (as in: Peter Parker, Miles Morales, Jessica Drew, and Gwen Stacey) but it’s nice seeing her out of the fight regardless. Plus it’s allowing for new and different risks, not to mention that this lets her go off on her own adventure instead of being absorbed by the main one occurring. I’d consider it a win on the whole.
The twists and turns of this issue…they were both interesting and kind of heartbreaking. Again I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by that, since Peter Parker was involved (boy they really do love to kick that boy when he’s down, don’t they?). But it was in a different way than we usually see. While there seem to be some constants between all of the universes, there’s room for change between them all. We already knew this, but seeing it through Gwen’s eyes really brings that point home.
I’m looking forward to what will be revealed next issue. There are a couple of potentials on the horizon. Will Gwen be heading home and back into the fight? Or will she be stuck there at least long enough to miss out on the fight entirely (the conclusion is coming up, as weird as that feels to say). Or will she be stuck there even longer than that? I don’t know, but I can’t wait to find out!