Gwenpool #4 Review

 

Writer: Cavan Scott

Artist: Stefano Nesi

Colorist: Matt Milla

Letterer: Ariana Maher

Cover Artists: Chad Hardin & Edgar Delgado; Rickie Yagawa & Nolan Woodard

Graphic Designer: Kat Walkington

Editors: Kaeden McGahey, Jordan D White & CB Cebulski

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $3.99

Release Date: August 6, 2025

 

When Spider-Man collapsed in the street, Gwen Stacy tried to help him. Instead, Gwenpool got in the way. Gwen Stacy's training kicked in, and she killed Gwenpool. That should have been the end of it. But like Gwen Stacy, Gwenpool's spirit refuses to go gently into the night.

 

Throughout her life, Gwenpool has circumvented the rules other Marvel characters must follow. After sliding between panels and emerging giant-sized to tackle Fin Fang Foom, Gwenpool possesses Kate Bishop. When Spider-Man thwips Hawkeye’s body to Gwen Stacy’s grave, Gwenpool manifests as a Class 4 ghost. Then, the pink apparition possesses Spider-Man's body. Why didn’t Gwenpool die? And what will her spirit do with Spider-Man’s body? Let's grab a bowl of split pea soup, leap into Gwenpool #4, and see!

 

Story

Gwen Stacy is confused. The Great Architect dubbed her Gwenpool. She preferred the designation X-31. But much has happened since she left the Weapon X facility to hunt down three Deathloks. Gwen begins to question the Great Architect's programming. She remembers her former life. Her love for Peter Parker reconnects her with humanity. As Gwen stands in the city, surrounded by angry and afraid people, she yearns to help them. But Gwen Stacy was reborn to be a killer. That's her new role in life.

 

In Gwenpool #4, Gwendolyn Poole may be a ghost. But she’s stolen Peter Parker’s body. Despite their mutual love for Jeff, Hawkeye won’t let that stand. Long ago, Peter tried to save Gwen. But in arresting her fall, Spider-Man inadvertently killed the woman he loved. Now, Gwenpool inhabits the body of Gwen Stacy’s former boyfriend. And Gwendolyn wants to punish Gwen for turning her into a ghost.

 

Cavan Scott's story is about manipulation. It speaks to the damage people inflict when they try to use people instead of developing the skills and abilities to empower themselves. The Great Architect covers his face because he's just someone who found a way to order others about. He corrupted Gwen Stacy, turning this loving and caring woman into a living weapon.

 

Whether it's the Bloodhunt, the Gang War, or Fin Fang Foom, the rioters have seen their world blow up too many times. In Gwenpool #4, the people retaking the streets symbolize those in our web of relationships. They observe this manipulation, but feel powerless to stop it.  

 

 

 

Art

Stefano Nesi reveals Gwen Stacy's painful rebirth in the Weapon X laboratory. Like Victor Frankenstein, one doctor runs away, horrified by his creation. Gwen gazes up, as if crying out to the divine for letting the scientists turn her into an abomination. When the Great Architect enters, the X on his face symbolizes that his decision, if not the direction of his life, is wrong. The rioters bear his mark on their apparel. Only the X covers images of those who promised to protect them, and failed.

 

Matt Milla paints Stefano Nesi's action-packed, dramatic art with bright and fluorescent colors in Gwenpool #4. Yellow accompanies Gwen's painful rebirth and the mind palace in which she imprisons Peter Parker. Orange links Gwen's destructiveness with the rioters. Purple binds Gwen Stacy and Kate Bishop, two women who have lost a parent they loved. Pink represents the two sides of Gwenpool: the angry side that channels her unique abilities to control others, and the positive side, when she commits to helping those in need.

 

Ariana Maher casts uppercase black letters into white and pink balloons, and white letters into purple narrative boxes. The letters grow bold for inflection, enlarge for volume, and shrink for lowered voices. Sound effects enhance the fighting, Kate Bishop’s reckless driving, and Gwen Stacy’s desperate search for truth. Thanks to Marvel for providing a review copy.

 

Final Thoughts

Gwen Stacy was Peter Parker’s first love interest. Then the Green Goblin threw her off a bridge. While her body may have died, her spirit lives on. Gwenpool #4 celebrates the rich history of Gwen Stacy, and how generations of fans refuse to let her rest in peace.

 

Rating 9.4/10

 

To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.