The Unbelievable Gwenpool #1 Review
Well, this is... different.
So, earlier today I was in the comic book store and I spotted something... strange. So for those not in the know, one of Marvel's more recent break-out characters has been Spider-Gwen, a character from an alternate reality in which Gwen Stacy got bit by the radioactive spider instead of Peter Parker. So when I saw this comic sitting on the shelves I assumed it was some kind of weird off-shoot of the Spider-Gwen concept only with Deadpool, which sounded like something a really dumb fanfic writer would come up with. Regardless, my curiosity was nonetheless peaked and I picked it up, expecting some kind of silly concept that might make for a good review. What I ended up getting was something else entirely.
The first thing we learn is that, despite the obvious similarities in name and costume, Gwenpool here is actually in no way connected with Spider-Gwen. She's actually a girl named Gwen Poole who was somehow (it's never explained in the comic) transported from our world, by which I mean the world that you the reader of this blog are presently living in, into the Marvel Universe. In Deadpool fashion, Gwen narrates while breaking the fourth wall. She jokes about how there are too many origin stories out there and demonstrates her awareness of the typical tropes of superhero fiction. As Gwen is in a bank trying to open an account (without an existing ID or Social Security Number in this universe mind you) a bunch of crooks in mascot heads come in to Rob the place. Gwen, excited at the prospect of fighting bad guys dons her pink and white Deadpool inspired costume and starts shooting the bank robbers like a mad woman. What we soon learn is that, since Gwen only thinks of the Marvel Universe as a realm of fiction, everything is just a game to her and she has little regard for human life, guilty or innocent. However, the people she just saved are more terrified than grateful and she is thrown in the back of a police car with the only surviving bank robber. However, the arresting officer decides to let them go as he's quitting the force. He then recounts some of the horrors he's witnessed as a cop in the Marvel Universe, which Gwen regards as awesome, much to the cop's disgust. Clearly seeing that she was at least trying to do good, he lets Gwen and the robber, a hacker named Cecil, go. Cecil just wants out, but he's also far too terrified of Gwen to leave so he reluctantly agrees to be her sidekick.
Cut to several weeks later and Gwenpool is getting by doing some mercenary work, by which I mean, she's causing more destruction than would be covered in her fee and having a blast the whole time. Gwen's next job, take out a group of Alien squid people... though apparently someone already beat her to it. Without evening bothering to learn who the other mercenary is, she nonchalantly pushes him in a giant furnace and calls it a day.
Later that night, Gwen and Cecil are at home when M.O.D.O.K. blows a big huge hole in the side of their wall. It seems the now dead mercenary worked for M.O.D.O.K. and since Gwen killed him, that means Gwen now works for M.O.D.O.K.... or else. Gwen, once again viewing this all from the perspective of a comic book reader, knows that M.O.D.O.K., at least compared to more serious villains like Ultron or Doctor Doom, is a bad guy that no one actually takes seriously and laughs at the very idea of being threatened by something that looks like the bastard offspring of Spongebob Squarepants and Birdie from Street Fighter after having been turned into a cyborg. M.O.D.O.K. does not exactly take kindly to being laughed at and vaporizes Cecil in a most grisly fashion. It is this moment that finally breaks Gwen out of her naive mindset and forces her to realize that, even though this is realm of fiction in her world, now that she is a part of this world, the danger is very real, and her blatant disregard for the consequences of her actions have caused someone she cares about to die. The comic ends with Gwen, brought to her knees in tears, cradling Cecil's skull in her arms, sheepishly accepting M.O.D.O.K.'s offer.
What Works:
When I said this sounded like something a bad fanfic writer would come up with, I really wasn't that far off. In a lot of ways, Gwen is a someone who is trying to write her own interactive fan fiction, and it seems she's not a very good writer. See, Gwen here is someone thinks being a superhero is fun, and to an extent, I agree with her. Who among us hasn't fantasized about swinging from webs or punching out super villains. However, when you look beneath the surface, you realize that Superheroes lives are dangerous and full of tragedy, which is the part Gwen has chosen to ignore. She even mentions at the beginning that she's seen Uncle Ben die a million times in the same way a cynical fan would, even though saying that about someone's real Uncle would make you sound, at best, like a jerk or at worst, like a complete sociopath. And frankly, it's that idea that makes this comic so fascinating. This is not a re-hash of Deadpool or a cash-in on the popularity of Spider-Gwen. This is the story of a naive fan who gets the chance to be a superhero, but not being prepared for the tragic consequences that come with it. The closing scene in which Gwen cradles Cecil's skull is incredibly powerful, especially because the death of Cecil was such an abrupt tone shift from the light-hearted nature of the rest of the comic. You can see it all as she falls to her knees, without even the strength to lift her head. However fictional these people may seem, in this world, they are as real as she is, Cecil was as real as she is, and because of how she behaved, Cecil is now gone, and his blood is on her hands. Her finally narration of "I'm not a hero, I'm a henchman" is that of someone who has truly given up when faced with the reality of her situation.
What Doesn't:
Honestly, I can't really think of anything. Maybe Gwen's personality can be grating at times, but that's sort of the point.
Overall: 5/5
This comic exceeded my expectations and then some. Gwen isn't the most interesting character by herself, but she's not supposed to be. As a comic book fan entering the Marvel Universe, any one of us could be Gwen, and the exploration of what happens when a fan becomes a real superhero is as fascinating as it is tragic. Not bad for something that could easily be mistaken for a cheap and unimaginative cash-in.