GWENPOOL: Page 5 of 6

Publication Date: 27th Aug 2020
Written By: Monolith.
Image Work: Douglas Mangum.
Biography

BIOGRAPHY page 5

Or rather, Gwen's future period. It seemed the Marvel Universe really did prefer her as a villain, for her new dedication to being a hero meant far fewer pages were visible in the gutter space for Gwen's future. Maybe five issues worth, max. Despite this ticking clock on her existence, Gwen tried to prove her story would be worthwhile as a hero. Eliminating Evil Future Gwenpool's timeline meant the future trio never came back in time and found Teddy, and so Gwen's brother was lost in the Marvel Universe again. Gwen and Cecil became roommates, with Cecil content to spend all his time online as a hacker instead of venturing outside in his dog-beast monster body. Since Gwen was refusing mercenary work on her path to become a hero, Cecil supported them using his virtual services while searching the net for signs of Teddy in his spare time.

Gwenpool began assisting the NYPD with cases, despite the outstanding crimes she was still technically wanted for. She practiced using her powers against the minor threat of Paste Pot Pete, and basically killed the robber by dragging him into the gutter space and letting him go into the infinite whiteness. Confident in her success, Gwenpool approached Vincent Doonan and told him she was ready to fight Doctor Doom. In order to prove her heel turn was real and get invited to join the Avengers, Gwenpool needed to demonstrate her new powers against the most legitimate threat of all. Gwen secretly hoped that, by killing Doctor Doom, she could prove her value as a heroic character, extending her lifespan in the comic book universe. [Unbelievable Gwenpool #21]

Unfortunately for Gwen, Victor von Doom had turned over a new leaf since she entered the Marvel Universe towards the end of Secret Wars. Acting as a substitute Iron Man of sorts in Tony Stark's absence, Doctor Doom was behaving heroically, battling super-villains himself and doing his best to seek redemption. Doom trapped Gwenpool anyway, bemused by her interest in killing him. Gwen escaped Doom's trap by using her abilities to travel backwards in time, re-entering her comic book from earlier pages before the trap was sprung. Frustrated over losing her opportunity to fight "the real" Doom, Gwen lashed out at the good doctor and somehow conjured forth a malevolent version of Doctor Doom from her comic book memories, at the height of his megalomania. [Unbelievable Gwenpool #22]

Doom was mildly intrigued by Gwen's abilities, but saw them as no threat. Even when Gwen attempted to consign Doom to the abyss of the gutter space, he merely returned through his own knowledge of extra-dimensional mechanics. The real Doom eventually awakened and dispersed his wayward counterpart. Gwenpool was dejected not only because she failed to kill Doom, but because it seemed she was editorially restricted from doing so. Even Paste Pot Pete returned alive and well, back in comics as the Trapster with no memory of fighting Gwenpool or being lost in the gutters. Gwenpool and Doom had a heart-to-heart in the gutter space. While he didn't accept Gwen was a comic book character, Victor von Doom could recognize the need for redemption and the pull to act contrary to one's "destiny.” [Unbelievable Gwenpool #23]

Unable to make it as a hero, Gwenpool decided to throw herself back into villainy in a desperate attempt to prolong her comic (and her lifespan). Gwenpool went to Batroc, and together they planned a job to rob a floating casino run by Chance. They made a good team and succeeded in making off with their ill-gotten gains, but Gwen had no real joy in acting as a villain. Batroc consoled her that Chance was a villain himself, and the money they stole was likely stolen itself, making them more "robin hoods" than villains. Batroc had recognized her reluctance to behave as a criminal, and chose a job that wouldn't upset her morally. Gwen gave Georges Batroc a sad hug, worried that his character development in her book would be ignored by his next appearance after she was cancelled. Unable to truly make it as a hero or a villain, Gwenpool reluctantly prepared herself for cancellation. [Unbelievable Gwenpool #24]

Instead, a Better Future Gwenpool arrived to give Gwen some hope. Because of the non-linear, meta-fictional nature of a comic book universe, Gwen wouldn't cease to exist because her book was cancelled. Her book would live on in trades, on shelves in libraries, discovered and rediscovered time and again by new readers to inspire them. To expand her awareness of the nature of their reality, Future Gwen helped Gwen have many new adventures as vignettes in her final issue, compressed time and space that made everything seem to last longer in Marvel-Time. Gwen used a magic rocket launcher to beat Dormammu and claim the scroll necessary to restore Cecil as a real boy, with the help of her magic pals Terrible Eye, Vinnie and Doctors Strange and Doom. She and M.O.D.O.K. (the team) had a reunion to defend each other against the return of M.O.D.O.K. (the dude). Even the Poole Boys came back! She met the Earth-616 versions of her parents and took steps towards a relationship with them, and she and Squirrel Girl found Teddy again and rescued him from Mephisto's clutches. Gwen proved to Gwen that Gwen would always exist in the Marvel Universe in some form, cancellation or not. [Unbelievable Gwenpool #25]