June is a significant month this year for two reasons. As always, June is Pride Month in the US and around the world, a celebration of the LGBTQ+ community and recognition of its history and battle for equal rights which continues to this day. Additionally, this June is one of the biggest months for blockbuster movies with hotly anticipated titles dropping nearly every week, starting with the recently released Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse, a sequel which takes a close look at the fan-favorite character of Spider-Gwen.
Following on from 2018’s Into The Spider-Verse, the sequel has already proven to be a massive hit, earning the biggest domestic box office opening day of the year so far and garnering near universal acclaim from critics and audiences. Having recently seen the film myself, it’s not hard to see why. Across The Spider-Verse improves on its already excellent predecessor in nearly every way, making it arguably the greatest superhero movie ever made. Much of this stems from its devotion to fleshing out its side-characters, primarily Spider-Gwen.
Also Read: Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse Review – The Best Film of the Year
Perhaps the most striking element of the film for me was Gwen Stacy’s storyline. The formerly fridged love interest turned multiversal rock star superhero has always been one of my favorite characters in the Spider-Verse, both in the comics and in the movies. But the reason Spider- Gwen’s storyline here stuck out to me is that it’s surprisingly very trans-coded.
To be honest, the coding qualifier might not even be necessary here, as there is plenty of evidence in Across The Spider-Verse to suggest that the version of Gwen seen in these films is a canonically trans woman. So, in celebration of Pride Month, I want to examine Gwen’s storyline, the idea of her being trans, and the significance of that. This, of course, will require going into spoilers, so this is your last chance to turn back if you haven’t seen the movie yet.
As Across The Spider-Verse opens, the audience is given a front-row seat into Gwen’s perspective, starting off with her story before reintroducing Miles a bit later, and in a literal sense, her world, as the opening takes place in her home universe, Earth-65. We see an expanded version of her origin as first glimpsed in Into The Spider-Verse before she has a falling out with her band and gets into a battle with a medieval version of The Vulture, ending on her father learning her secret identity and Gwen herself being recruited by Miguel O’Hara’s Spider Society.
Even in this short opening, the trans themes of this narrative are extremely apparent. Gwen’s identity as Spider-Woman, aka Spider-Gwen, allows her to feel like herself and be the best version of herself, but it also leads to people who loved her now fearing her for no good reason. And having to hide this secret from her friends and family leads to pain, frustration, and heartache; as seen in her quitting the band, the distant relationship with her father, and even the death of her best friend, Peter Parker.
These struggles are ones that trans people like myself deal with all the time. Not feeling like you can be yourself around certain friends and family members, the anxiety that comes with whether or not to tell people and when, the way putting on certain clothes can help you feel closer to who you really are. These are all things trans people go through and that Gwen goes through in Across The Spider-Verse.
The trans themes don’t stop with the opening though. After being outed as Spider-Woman to her father, Gwen joins the Spider Society and quickly finds a supportive found family through people like Jess Drew, Spider-Punk, and Spider-Man India. While not all of these relationships work out by the end, she does ultimately find a place where she can be herself in her own Spider-Team even as the Spider Society turns on her.
This is another common experience for trans and queer individuals: finding solace in various friend groups, formally organized or otherwise, when biological family is unsupportive. While I myself am lucky enough to have a supportive family, many more are not so lucky and even then, I still find it nice to share a sense of community with other LGBTQ+ people.
Speaking of supportive family, Gwen ends up having one of those after all. Towards the end of the film, Gwen and her father reunite and have an emotional heart-to-heart where Gwen talks about how she wanted to tell him she was Spider-Woman, but felt like he wouldn’t accept her. She also touches on how she views the mask as her way of helping others and being true to herself, an idea that her father ultimately ends up resonating with.
Again, this is an extremely trans experience. Many LGBTQ+ people, but especially trans people, want to be open about their identity with everyone, but end up hiding due to the bigoted views of certain family members, dangerous anti-trans rhetoric, and even anti-trans legislation. It ends up being more an issue of safety than anything else, with many securing themselves through anonymous social media personas or in this case, a superhero costume.
At this point, you might be wondering “This thematic stuff is interesting, but how does it prove that Gwen is a trans woman in canon?” Well, for starters, Gwen has a prominent trans pride flag hanging in her bedroom and her father wears a trans pride flag on his police uniform, seemingly as a sign of solidarity with his daughter. Plus, she constantly wears hoodies and cardigans even in warm weather, which as a trans woman, I can confirm we do that all the time.
Finally, the most prominent colors used in the lighting for her character scenes are pink, white, and blue: the colors of the trans pride flag. Some might think this is just to match her superhero outfit, but those technically aren’t her costume’s colors. Her costume prominently features pink and white of course, but the sneakers and ballet-style ankle straps are actually teal, not blue. Whereas the blue used in the lighting is both actually blue and more specifically, the lighter paler shade of blue used in the trans flag.
While Gwen being trans has yet to be officially confirmed by the filmmakers, all signs seem to point to yes here. So, what does that mean exactly? Well, for me, I think this is pretty awesome. Trans representation is desperately needed in mainstream media, so to have a major superhero movie wherein one of the most prominent characters is a vulnerable and quirky yet extremely capable trans woman is a significant step in the right direction.
Is it perfect representation? No. Even some of the best mainstream queer rep has struggled to actually use the vocabulary and assuming that Gwen being trans is canon, Across The Spider-Verse is sadly no exception. Moreover, I would prefer trans characters be played by trans actors and though Hailee Steinfeld is extremely talented and fits the role pretty much perfectly, she is not trans. Though, I admittedly prefer to have a trans woman played by a cis woman like Steinfeld as opposed to a cis man as happens far too often in Hollywood.
Nevertheless, Spider-Gwen’s story in Across The Spider-Verse is one of the best elements of an all-around masterpiece of a movie. Her storyline is a powerful and poignant one that was extremely relatable to me as a trans woman. And if my hypothesis is correct and Gwen herself being a trans woman is truly canon, then it gives a much-needed boon in representation to one of the most underserved and marginalized groups on the planet.
With anti-trans rhetoric and attempted anti-trans legislation sadly at an all-time high, it can feel harder and harder for us trans individuals to feel safe being ourselves. As we continue to fight for our rights, it’s important to acknowledge the victories and savor happiness whenever we can. As such, I can’t think of a better way to kick off this year’s Pride Month than by giving trans people a cinematic superhero of their own to look up to, Gwen Stacy: the spectacular Spider-Woman.
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