That's really the nonsensical point.  I don't know.  I guess I read too much of some of my history or friends history.

If this was MJ, it could possible make some sense.  Or of course the Black Cat. But this was Gwen.  and in my experience, girls like Gwen don't usually have a one night stand with some strange old ugly guy for no reason, even when having confusing but loving relationships with guys they are waiting for.  Not like that. It happens. But come on.

Gwen Stacy of all people.  The guy Gerry Conway said was "a stiff, so I made her one for real."

Especially since she was dead. What's the point of "deepening" a character who is essentially a dead end. An untouchable dead person like Uncle Ben, or Buck.... well.

<<*Later exploiuted as the reason for her death by Kevin SMith.>>


Huh?

***

Karen was a porn star and shot heroin with needles, I guess,

Mysterio told her he was a doctor and gave her an aids test and told her she was positive, which she believed because of her past. As Mysterio said, "you'd think she would have gotten a second opinion."

I forget the rest, but it led to the chain of events in that story where Bullseye killed her written by Kevin Smith.

 By the way, I love how the story never addressed why Gwen had remained
so chaste with Peter, when she didn't hesitate to hit the sheets with
Norman. It was raised conveniently as a story point, but no logical reason
for this was ever given, or even hinted at.

***************************************

At the risk of mind-reading or defending JMS, I can't help but think that someone high-up nixed the idea of stating overtly that Peter had sex outside of marriage. A lot of what happens make even LESS sense if Peter and Gwen hadn't been intimate.

While few things could make Gwen's decision to cheat on Peter with his best friend's and her former boyfriend's father less ghetto and less Jerry Springer like, I could almost *almost* wrap my mind around her getting "caught up in the moment" if she wasn't depicted as a virgin. Emotionally, losing one's virginity is a big deal and it definitely would have been for Gwen, and if she wasn't having sex with her longtime boyfriend with whom she loved, but could have sex... almost on a whim with Norman Osborne? Crazy.

As I've stated, I would *almost* buy the revelation that Mary Jane had done this. It would come closer to fitting the character as depicted back then, and this would really be a "sins past" type thing. A stupid mistake Mary Jane made in her youth would jeopardize her marriage because she had unwittingly fooled around with her husband's greatest enemy and the man who murdered her friend. Again, I'm not crazy about it, but I can almost see it.

But Gwen? No way. No how. This just smacks of JMS wanting to put his stamp on a classic story (the Death of Gwen Stacy) by completely changing the villain's motivation. And to that I say a hearty, "FEH!"

"I thought the story itself failry well written-in the sense that it was emotional and the art backed it up-to a point."

I'm kind of a plot-first guy, so I can't consider a story well-written if it's built on an unbelievable premise.  Girl losing her virginity to an older man?  Believable.  Girl losing her virginity to her boyfriend's best friend?  Icky, but believable.  Girl losing her virginity to the father of her boyfriend's best friend?  I gotta throw the penalty flag on that one. 

Mike 

"At the risk of mind-reading or defending JMS, I can't help but think that someone high-up nixed the idea of stating overtly that Peter had sex outside of marriage. A lot of what happens make even LESS sense if Peter and Gwen hadn't been intimate."

Doesn't JMS' deal with M****l include no editorial "meddling" in his scripts?  I definitely remember reading that somewhere, but it couldn've been phony internet scuttlebutt.

On the other hand, I can envision the corporate meeting where something like "Sins of the Past" is okayed as long as Peter Parker's chastity isn't questioned.  "Spider-Man can't be a fornicator!  What would Wal-Mart think?"

Mike

Stephen,

"Turns out JMS wanted Peter Parker to be the father of Gwen's kids but editorial nixed the idea. The powers that be felt that it would age Peter Parker too much if he had two adult kids running around. It was then decided by the whole creative and editorial team that Norman Osborn would be the father!"

http://www.silverbulletcomicbooks.com/rage/111497451826808.h tm