Spider-Gwen: Gwenverse

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Spider-Gwen: Gwenverse
Spider-Gwen Gwenverse review
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  • North American Publisher / ISBN: Marvel - 978-1-302-93465-1
  • Release date: 2022
  • UPC: 9781302934651
  • Contains adult content?: no
  • Does this pass the Bechdel test?: yes
  • Positive minority portrayal?: yes
  • CATEGORIES: Superhero

Tim Seeley begins yet another Spider-Gwen reboot by stressing how on her homeworld she’s relatively unique as there aren’t an abundance of people with super powers. However, she can hop between dimensions, and her father’s unhappy at her being a superhero in far more dangerous environments. It doesn’t bode well for him, then, that this is titled Gwenverse.

A music star from the future is responsible for that, her technology mixing with Gwen’s personality as a multi-dimensional being to create five versions of Gwen through time, each with an exaggerated aspect of one character trait. The result is her world being altered, and not for the better. In order to set things right Gwen has to confront versions of herself as other Marvel characters.

There’s a viable premise here, but it’s all so whimsical. Everything being set in motion by a publicity hungry attention seeker, also a version of Gwen, is a very tenuous connection to her established personality, and Finale is extremely irritating besides. She transmits as one of those tragic social media figures for whom the adoration of others is the only purpose of life. It means she loves the sound of her own voice, and the dialogue balloons are plentiful and filled to capacity.

The cartoon art of Jodi Nishijima is consistent with Gwen’s previous appearances, but she’s a figures-only artist, depending on colourist Fernando Sifuentes to provide the backgrounds giving those figures depth. It’s functional, but hardly art you’ll rave about.

Other than for people who really, really, really love the whole idea of Spider-Gwen, there’s very little to recommend about Gwenverse.

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