Moments That Made the Bronze Age: The Death of Gwen Stacy

People sometimes wonder why I'm so big on the Bronze Age of comics and not so happy about the way things are going today (thus my blog title). I thought I'd highlight a few Bronze Age moments over the weeks to come that show why those comics rocked.

When I was a kid, my first comic book and favorite hero was Spider-Man. I truly cared about the character, thinking Peter Parker was actually just as much a star of the book as Spider-Man himself. I actually started reading the comic a couple of years after the death of Peter's girlfriend, but thanks to Marvel's reprint Spidey title at the time, Marvel Tales Presents Spider-Man, I was able to read it for the first time.

This was the storyline that, for a while anyway, shaped Spider-Man's world. The woman he loved most in the world, and potentially the one he would have married if the storyline had been allowed to progress, was suddenly killed. And this was a serious death in the comic books, not an imaginary story or hoax that would later by wiped away as so many other comic book deaths had been.

Several things make this a pivotal moment in comics to me. First, well, she died. It was the woman he loved, killed by his arch-enemy...but not necessarily killed by his arch-enemy. Oh, Green Goblin had a part in it by knocking her off the bridge, but when you look at that fateful panel as Spidey is shooting his web to catch her you see that tiny "snap" just at her neck, indicating that Gwen was alive when she fell, and that Spider-Man himself had killed her while trying to save her. In other words, Spider-Man failed in the biggest way possible.

Yes, some might say that was a cold-hearted way to do it, but I think it was some powerful writing for the time. Her father had died saving a small child a few months prior and she blamed Spider-Man for that death, never knowing that it was Peter behind the mask. And now, just as Peter is reeling from his death, he loses his love.

Her death elevated her to the status of the perfect woman for Peter. And it shocked comic fans everywhere. The storyline finished up with the death of Green Goblin by being impaled with his glider (a fate that was used in the first Spider-Man film), and he stayed dead for years afterward.

After that, Harry Osborn, Norman's son and Peter's best friend, picked up the mask of Green Goblin and came after Spider-Man for what he did (again, a storyline borrowed for a Spider-Man film...the bad one). This even eventually led to the death of Harry Osborn many years later because he'd been poisoned by the formula used to make him the Green Goblin.

So in this one huge story arch that stretched for years, Peter Parker lost his girlfriend, his arch enemy, and his best friend...and began a relationship with Mary Jane Watson that led to one of the greatest comic book marriages ever. That truly was "amazing".  It shaped Spider-Man's legacy for comic fans everywhere.

Then a man named Quesada stepped in and destroyed all of that for us.

In "Sins Past" he revealed Gwen Stacy--Peter's perfect girl--had actually had Norman Osborn's (the Green Goblin) kids. And those kids grew super-fast and tried to kill Spider-Man later. He brought Norman Osborn back, and then he wiped everything out for the previous 20 years and started all over again. Harry Osborn was back now, but Gwen was still dead. Mary Jane was not and never had been Peter Parker's wife (hey, if Quesada ain't gettin' any then neither is Spider-Man, right?). Quesada's fanboy dreams for the character were complete.

So there you have it, a moment I consider above-the-standard for the Bronze Age of comics (it may have actually snuck into the Silver Age, but again I read it as a reprint in Marvel Tales so it was Bronze to me). It was one storyline that truly did change a hero's life forever until Quesada stepped in.

As we start looking into these strong moments in Silver and Bronze Age comic book history, which ones do you think deserve mention? Which comic book moments stuck with you long after you read them?

Trailer Thursday: Ghost Rider 2

With all the big hero films for this year done and over, it's time to start focusing on the ones coming out next year, I guess. Here's the first for the year, due out in February, which basically means the studio has so little confidence in it that they're hoping stacking it against Valentine's Day romantic comedies will give it a shot to make some money. Anyway...

Cool Costumes Continued

Here are some more costumes that stand out from the crowd:

Captain Universe 

Though many people have held this power and costume, the basic suit remains the same for everyone. It comes to a person (or even to an animal once) whenever that being is in need of help. After the adventure is complete, the power usually leaves.

For a brief period, the Uni-power bonded with various superheroes like Daredevil and even the Silver Surfer trying to find out what was wrong with it. At that time it took on a more blended look of itself and that particular hero's costume.

The idea of the power and suit being transferred to people in need and then leaving afterward is a nice nod to heroes like Hawk & Dove, while the suit itself is a cool basic blend of white and a universe design.

Punisher 2099

Oh man, I loved this book back in the day. The re-imagining of the Punisher character is hard to imagine, but somehow they stayed true to the character while still giving us something new.

The costume gives a nod to the original Punisher suit. The skull is sill there along with newer concepts like shoulder pads and gauntlets. Unfortunately the character was killed as the 2099 line was ending.

This is one of those titles I'm hoping they'll put out in TPB form someday. Spider-Man 2099 and X-Men 2099 both have a collection, so I don't know why he can't pull one as well.

Red Hood

The first Jason Todd look for Red Hood is a winner. Completely functional in every way and about as sparse as you can make it design-wise, this really is an outfit you'd think a street warrior would grab as he prepared to take down Gotham's biggest crime bosses.

And just think, the helmet keeps him safe from a head shot if any bad guy should get lucky.

Unfortunately Grant Morrison threw him into some sort of crazy costume that looks just plain stupid. Red Hood will return to his original look in the new DC reboot, which may just be the only good thing to come out of that crazy reboot stuff.

The Eradicator

A tough-looking version of Superman's own costume, the Eradicator made his "cool costume appearance" during the Death/Return of Superman storyline time. As for his actions: think of a cross between Superman and the Punisher.

I am the first to say the sunglasses weren't necessarily the best choice of a mask. At the time, however, they did a good job of giving him a reason to wear them (his eyes were sensitive to the light) and it did add to the possibility that maybe he was really Superman in there somewhere.

I think the black-and-blue color theme worked pretty well here and for the subsequent costumes. Unfortunately he died at the hands of Doomslayer in a recent Action Comics storyline.

Jack of Hearts

 A truly crazy-looking guy, Jack of Hearts has a costume that fits his persona. Keep in mind though that the suit was needed to keep his crazy nuclear body from blowing up and killing everyone around him. That being said, it's a good thing it looked like something out of a set of playing cards when he needed it.

 This one has to be considered the most flamboyant costume on this list and Jack is dead now anyway (twice...the second time killing Scott Lang/Ant Man in the process), but he still deserves a spot in here.