Throughout the years, Spider-Man comics have tackled a bunch of controversial storylines. Whether it's Peter meeting his clones, Doctor Octopus exchanging bodies with Peter and taking over his life, or Peter making a deal with Mephisto to save Aunt May (sacrificing his marriage with Mary Jane on the way), the web-headed hero has been through some rough times. But there’s one particular storyline that could be the most ludicrous of all. In Sins Past, written by J. Michael Straczynski, Peter fights a pair of villainous twins who are later revealed to be Gwen Stacy’s children. Who's the father? Norman Osborn himself.
What is 'Sins Past' About?
Sins Past was published in 2004, running for six issues starting with Amazing Spider-Man #509. In it, Peter receives a cryptic letter from Gwen, written before her death while she was in Paris. Since Gwen has always been a ghost of regret looming over Peter’s head, he is shaken by this and later visits her grave. At the cemetery, Peter is attacked by two mysterious figures, a man and a woman, but ultimately manages to escape.
With the clues in Gwen’s letter and some DNA testing later (which involved digging up Gwen’s grave), he discovers the twins, Sarah and Gabriel, are in fact hers. Sarah meets with Peter again and, after he unmasks her, sees the uncanny resemblance to Gwen. Sarah warns him that Gabriel is on a vengeance spree and won’t stop until he sees Spider-Man suffer. Later, when Peter vents to Mary Jane, she finally tells the truth about knowing this secret all along.
How Did Gwen Stacy Get Pregnant With Norman Osborn’s Twins?
Mary Jane’s role in this story was to fill in the gaps, as she overheard a fight between Gwen and Norman in which their situation was exposed. Sometime around Captain George Stacy’s death in The Amazing Spider-Man #90, Gwen met with Norman and, feeling sorry for his mental state, connected with him – leading to them having an affair. Sometime after, she traveled to France but eventually returned to New York and got back with Peter. During her trip, the twins were born. To avoid a scandal, Norman proposed to adopt them, but Gwen refused, seeing how Harry Osborn’s upbringing was severely affected by his father.
In comic books, time doesn’t move the same way as in the real world. The twins should’ve been around 10 years old, but it’s also revealed that they inherited Norman’s goblin-infected and accelerated metabolism. And not only that, they’re also dying because of it. Peter offers to help them and explains his side of the story. In turn, he learns from the twins that Norman manipulated them their whole life, telling them Spider-Man killed Gwen and that Peter is their father.
What Happens at the End of 'Sins Past'?
Sarah gets accidentally shot by her brother, and ends up in the hospital. Peter gives her a transfusion and she finally starts to heal from the rapid aging. Gabriel chooses to remain on the path of violence and takes the goblin formula to combat it. He takes on the mantle of the Grey Goblin and once again attacks Peter. Sarah shoots his glider, saving Peter, but both of them disappear.
While Mary Jane keeping Gwen's secret from Peter can be seen as a betrayal, it really is more of a sacrifice of sorts. She kept this from Peter because she promised Gwen and wanted to avoid tarnishing Peter’s memory of her. The storyline gives a darker, more sinister motivation for Norman killing her in The Night Gwen Stacy Died, but it still seems unearned. This was solely a story to move the plot forward, no matter how scandalous the theme or how outraged the fans would be.
It's no surprise that, in true Marvel fashion, the story has been retconned (thankfully) recently. In the early 2000s, the character of Gwen Stacy was not as bankable as it is nowadays. Spider-Gwen, voiced by Hailee Steinfeld, is returning in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. On top of that, fans still clamoring for a live-action return of Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy. While it seems highly unlikely that we would ever see Emma Stone become Spider-Gwen, Spider-Man: No Way Home proved that anything can happen!