Girlfriends aren't always fond of their significant other's exes, but Mary Jane Watson has taken it to a new level in Symbiote Spider-Man: Alien Reality #4... by murdering Gwen Stacy all over again. Yes, Gwen is dead, and this time at the hands of Peter's most famous lover.
The death of Gwen Stacy has always been regarded as one of the most important and influential moments in Spider-Man history. The death of Peter's first love interest came as a bit of a shock to readers, and to this day laid much of the groundwork for the Peter they know and love. Mary Jane may be the better known romance for Peter Parker, but many forget that without the love of Gwen before her, Peter would have never faced the emotional turmoil that made him the man he becomes. Despite the event taking place almost 50 years ago in real-world time, the fact that it is still being brought up in 2020 just goes to show the lasting impact the story arc had on the entire franchise.
So how does this conclude with Mary Jane being the murderer? Issue #4 features Symbiote Spidey and Doctor Strange on a mission to find the Word of God, a book of powerful magic that gives users the ability to create, destroy, or manipulate reality. The book is trapped within the Nightmare Realm, guarded by one of Doctor Strange's greatest adversaries, Nightmare. In order to retrieve the book the two enter into Peter's subconscious where they are faced with his fears. Being inside the Nightmare Realm using Peter's subconscious as a gateway means the Nightmare Realm they experience is dictated by what Peter would consider a nightmare of his own. They first find themselves in the Daily Bugle (obviously), before fleeing from a cyborg J. Jonah Jameson... and fall out of a helicopter, reliving the night Gwen Stacy died. Things go slightly differently with Gwen's death this time, and he is actually able to catch her, before Green Goblin quickly swoops in and finishes her off.
In a fit of rage enhanced by the Symbiote, Spider-Man jumps on the Green Goblin and removes his mask... to find Mary Jane's face. This truly is a world of nightmare as Spidey falls back in disbelief that his lover just murdered his past love, and that he almost killed her in the process. Mary Jane taunts him, claiming Gwen's death was a necessary step in his development, and without Gwen dying he never would have met her, his true love. While this might not be the actual Mary Jane that murdered Gwen here, it's born of Peter's actual thoughts and fears. And for that reason, absolutely shakes Spider-Man to his core.
Issue #4 not only reuses this monumental moment of Spidey history, but twists and warps it in such a way that actually acknowledges its own importance. Since this is all occurring within Peter's subconscious, even he knows Gwen's death was a huge turning point for his life and development. Proving even Peter, as hard as it is to let go of Gwen, realizes that this moment in his life was a defining one that made him the man he is today. What's also particularly interesting about this specific issue is how it flips the typical Symbiote-Peter Parker relationship on its head. Typically, it is the Symbiote messing with Peter's head, however here it is actually the Symbiote that is being messed with by Peter's head. When the Symbiote is usually a nightmare for Peter, here Peter is, quite literally, a nightmare for the Symbiote.
To experience the rest of the nightmare and to know what happens to everyone's favorite web-slinger and sorcerer supreme, you'll just have to pick up Symbiote Spider-Man: Alien Reality #4, available now at a comic shop near you.