The Unbelievable Gwenpool #6 Review

Welcome back friends, to the adventures of Gwenpool. Last time, Gwen teamed up with Miles Morales, the new Spider-Man, and hijinks ensued, just as I’m sure they will continue to ensue in this issue.

We open on a flashback to Gwen in her native reality reading an old issue of Ultimate Spider-Man, back when the Ultimate Universe was still a thing. Anywho, Gwen is reading an issue where Miles encountered a kid who, unbeknownst to Spidey, was about to bomb the school, right before Gwen’s room starts rumbling.

In the present, Gwen puts two and two together that the writer of the issue she read wanted to keep the “kid bombs the school story” around when Miles got sent to the main universe, meaning that is was the same kid who blew up the school last issue. Gwen tries to explain this to Miles, even letting her true origins slip, but Miles just thinks she’s crazy.

Anyway, Spider-Man and Gwen ambush the bomber at his house. The kid immediately backs down upon laying eyes on Spider-Man, but that doesn’t stop Gwen from trying to shoot him. Naturally, Spidey is not okay with attempted murder despite Gwen’s assertions that the bomber is “not important to the main plot.” Finally at reaching the end of his level of tolerance for Gwen’s bullsh*t, he webs her up and leaves her for the cops.

Fortunately for Gwen, her time in jail doesn’t last as her mercenary team busts her out. Between losing the respect of Spider-Man and knowing that her absence put her friends in danger causes Gwen to hang her head and say, “This isn’t fun anymore.”

What Works: I actually really like how Gwen takes advantage of her meta-fictional knowledge in order to stop crime.

What Doesn’t: I touched on this last issue, but it bares repeating. Much of Gwen’s character development in the past several issues seems to have regressed in this Spider-Man arc. I know that Gwen is still very naïve and thinks of things in terms of comic book logic and that’s part of her charm, but I was hoping after all she’s been through up to this point, particularly the death of Cecil, would have taught her to think of people as more than plot devices by this point.

Overall: 3/5

I still highly recommend this series, but I do not care for the fact that Gwen does not seem to have learned her lesson. Yes, the fact that Gwen is naïve and head-strong endears her to the reader, but it’s having a character unable to change over time is why we needed a new Spider-Man in the first place.