Here is my new theory for who Kindred could be.
Not a clone of her. Not a duplicate. Not a clone or duplicate that previously existed or a newly formed one.
She is not only the only person who fits all the clues but she also makes way too much sense on a metatextual level.
1) Kindred has been heavily implied to be a pre-existing deceased character and of course Gwen is one of the two most famously deceased characters in Spider-Man
2) Spencer has reaffirmed that Mysterio did in fact die back in the ‘Guardian Devil’ arc of Daredevil and Kindred consequently brought him back to life.
Putting aside how Gwen as a fellow dead person could’ve been in a position to do that, this means that Kindred must’ve been working from behind the scenes since at least USM Annual #3 circa 2008. Thanks to Spider-Men we know retroactively that this was the first time Mysterio showed up alive and well in a Spider-Man comic book. In publication order this was ASM #618 from 2010; hmm Mysterio was confirmed as alive 10 years ago, isn’t THAT interesting?
Either way his return occurred after Friendly Neighborhood #11-13 where he was already shown as an undead servant of Hell; which of course was pre-OMD.
Even if we argued Beck wasn’t working for Kindred in the latter arc it still means that Kindred must be someone who was dead before 2008-2010. Gwen obviously fits this profile.
3) This is where some metatextual circumstantial evidence starts to come into play. Who ELSE died in 'Guardian Devil’? Karen Page ANOTHER blonde girlfriend created by Stan Lee in the 1960s. And she was the girlfriend to Daredevil no less, who traditionally has been associated with Spider-Man one way or another; they’ve shared villains, been street level characters and pre-Frank Miller Daredevil was treated as a low-rent Spidey.
If you know a little of the behind-the-scenes for 'Guardian Devil’ as well as check out Daredevil #½ you can see that Karen’s death occurred for sort of similar reasons as OMD happened, but also for sort of similar reasons for why Gwen was killed off in 1973.
4) And just who were the creators working on 'Guardian Devil’, the guys who felt Karen should die?
Well one of them was Kevin Smith, the guy who also infamously wrote a mini-series involving one of Spencer’s favourite characters (Black Cat, who Kindred has also been shown observing) that also reintroduced a new version of Mysterio, Francis Klum who appeared in FNSM #11-13.
The other was…Joe Quesada. Not only did 'Guardian Devil’ involve Mephisto briefly but Quesada wanted to revive Gwen with One More Day until brevoort talked him out of it.
5) Kindred first appears in a courthouse. This is a very loose connection I will admit but the courthouse is part of the justice system and Gwen’s father was a decorated police captain. After his death she also supported a hardline law and order [b][u]mayoral candidate[/u][/b].
6) In Spencer’s second arc, Kindred directly interacts with the [b][u]current mayo[/u][/b]r of NYC and recurring character under Spencer’s run: Wilson Fisk.
7) Gwen has reason to resent Kingpin and make him bow because in Stan’s run (the Brand of the Brainwasher arc IIRC) he brainwashed her father and jeopardize his and her life.
8) In Spencer’s third arc Kindred is angry that Peter has revealed his identity to Black Cat. Gwen never interacted with Felicia, but Kindred’s reaction makes a lot of sense if it was Gwen behind the mask. Gwen would be mad that Peter was bringing yet another woman into the crossfire of his life, endangering her life just as Gwen’s was. Equally she might be mad that Peter revealed the truth to Felicia but not to herself
9) In Hunted and ASM #826, Kindred expresses a desire to keep MJ out of the conflict and even arranges for her to be off in Hollywood. This would be a logical thing for Gwen to do if she bears a grudge against Peter. MJ was her friend so she wouldn’t want her hurt in general, but more importantly she doesn’t want MJ to be caught in the crossfire just as she was.
10) In Absolute Carnage we have Kindred talking to Norman, clearly holding disdain for him and enjoying his pathetic state. The connection speaks for itself but noticeably Kindred says that Norman is responsible for turning him/her into what they are now. This would make sense if you argue Gwen become undead and twisted was the result of her murder. Norman didn’t administer the killing blow (it was Peter when he accidentally broke Gwen’s neck) but Norman still put her in that position in the first place, he still abducted her and knocked her off the bridge.
11) If Spencer was REALLY being brave this could work in the context of Sins Past too. Gwen might not only have become twisted by her death but also by having to deal with her pregnancy in total secrecy, by having to leave her children, by having them taken from her when she died and knowing Norman took them and corrupted them. If you argue Norman, even briefly on some level, felt any affection for Gwen, then seeing her become a twisted villain like himself might give him cause to feel proud of her as he was in ASM #832
12) Gwen appeared in the flashbacks in ASM #831-832, the ones harkening back to the Silver Age
13) Harry Osborn was so heavily hinted at in those issues it HAS to be a red herring
14) Kindred’s outfit doesn’t hint at his/her sex, but Kindred’s 'framing’ within the narrative has I’d argue been more masculine. I think the proof of this is that most people have been guessing various male characters. That could be deliberate to throw us off the scent
15) Even if you feel that Kindred’s body build is too masculine to be Gwen, remember Kindred has insects, rats and other critters inside his/her bandages, meaning the body buildhe/she appears to have might not be the body build he/she actually has
16) Want some more meta evidence? Kindred is a hooded figure who can clearly crawl on walls? Reminiscent of Spider-Gwen isn’t it?
17) Of all characters who would suspect Gwen Stacy? Everyone regards her as too much of a sacred cow to touch, making her surely the most shocking reveal ever!
18) In response to that last point you might be saying
[quote]Of course no one suspects that. We don’t suspect that BECAUSE Marvel would absolutely NEVER turn Gwen Stacy into a demonic undead villain[/quote]
And 10 years ago I might’ve agreed with you.
But nowadays Gwen Stacy’s profile is distinctly different.
Within the mind of the general public I’d argue that Gwen Stacy’s status as 'Spider-Man’s dead girlfriend’ has been supplanted (or at the very least challenged) by her status as Spider-Gwen.
She has appeared in no end of merchandise and cosplays in that form and of course in two cartoons and a hit animated feature.
In fact I went to Marvel.com and searched for 'Gwen Stacy’ in their character section. You can ONLY find Ghost-Spider/Spider-Gwen, not the 616 version of the character.
With Spider-Gwen around I’d argue that Marvel regards 616 Gwen as far less of a sacred cow than they used to.
To be clear, I’m not saying that I necessarily WANT this to be the payoff to Kindred. But I now heavily suspect it will be.
discoholicmusic
stormborns
tangentwithtanner
kaledo-art
annaxmalina
jbbartram-illu
yousharknotpass
