Relationship Spotlight: Gwen Stacy & Peter Parker (The Amazing Spider-Man)

In recent comic book movies, these two make just about the best superhero/superhero’s love interest pair outside of Captain America and Peggy Carter (we just can’t have nice things, can we?)  While they’re not without their contrived drama and being teenagers definitely gives them a different tenor than most of their competition, I love this relationship enough to have singled it out in my reviews of both films.  I’d say that warrants their own write-up, wouldn’t you?

It’s not that I’m setting out to prove how much better Peter/Gwen is than Peter/Mary Jane in the Sam Raimi films; it just sort of happens.  First, as far as their basic connection goes, I like that we don’t get a tired Beauty and the Geek pairing, where she’s the ravishing girl-next-door who typically dates Neanderthals, and he’s the quintessential put-upon Nice Guy who finally wins her after years of being nigh-invisible to her.  Instead, while Gwen is on Peter’s radar from the start, he’s on hers, too.  She appreciates his guts and his smarts, and they sort of circle each other, almost-flirting as they get closer and closer with each revolution.  And again, that’s on both sides – Gwen seeks Peter out pretty much as often as he seeks her, and when he’s with her, he doesn’t just do the moony-eyed geek-boy thing.  He’s maybe a little awkward, but he’s also self-deprecating and fun, and it’s clear that he’s no chump.

When they get close enough to start actually flirting and later begin a relationship, they just fit together so well.  Their interactions are quick and funny, and what’s more, they have plenty in common.  Both are big into science, they care enough about right and wrong to do something about it, they can keep their heads in a crisis, and they’re more than a little reckless.  Maybe Peter fell for Gwen before he knew all that about her, but there’s no denying that when they get together, they click.  I have a hard time imagining what Peter/Mary Jane would do just hanging out on a quiet night, but Peter/Gwen could easily keep each other entertained and occupied.  And when they bicker or all-out argue, you can see the affection behind it; their minor tiffs are playful and sarcastic, and their larger fights still tend to recognize how much each means to the other.

And as far as the whole “superhero’s girlfriend” thing goes, Gwen comes out pretty well.  Yes, she gets menaced by bad guys and she’s sometimes threatened by the villains for the sole purpose of hitting Spidey where it hurts.  However, she’s endangered largely because she chooses to enter dangerous situations, not wanting to wait on the sidelines while her boyfriend takes care of everything.  She may not be climbing walls or throwing punches, but she doesn’t need to; she contributes in the ways she knows she can be useful, way that rely on her science knowledge or quick thinking.  This can be a sore spot between them, because Peter is understandably worried about her getting hurt or killed and assumes that, as a powered individual, it’s up to him to make the call on whether something is too dangerous for Gwen to be in the middle of it.  But while his fears are understandable, making her decisions for her is in no way justifiable, and Gwen makes it clear that she’s having none of it.  When he tries to keep her out of a dicey situation, she comes anyway, fuming and calling him a “caveman” for his attempt to hold her back out of a perceived knowledge of what’s best for her.  Is it the smartest thing for a non-powered person to be at ground zero during superhero fights?  Probably not, but Gwen sees the danger and goes into it with her eyes wide open, and when she gets there, she helps; in the big showdown in both films, I’m not quite sure how Spidey would’ve won without her.  Go, Gwen!