Where did Gwenpool come from?

Chris Bachalo drew the first Gwenpool image in June 2015 as a variant cover for Deadpool's Secret Secret Wars #2, part of Marvel's "Gwen Variants" promotional series[1].

What does Gwenpool mean?

The name is a portmanteau of Gwen Stacy and Deadpool, though writer Christopher Hastings built her as a standalone character who knows she is inside a comic book[3].

How do you use Gwenpool?

Most Gwenpool activity happens through fan art, cosplay, and reblog posts of the pink-and-white suit design that Gurihiru codified in the solo comic[4].

Is Gwenpool still popular?

The Unbelievable Gwenpool ended with issue #25 in early 2018 after Marvel editor Heather Antos announced the cancellation in December 2017, though the online fan following kept producing art past that point[2].

Gwenpool

Q: What is Gwenpool?

Gwenpool is a Marvel Comics character who started life as a fan-designed variant cover mashing Gwen Stacy's look with Deadpool's costume, despite having no actual story connection to either character[1].

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Gwenpool, also known as Gwen Poole, started as a June 2015 Marvel variant cover mashing Gwen Stacy's look with Deadpool's costume. Fans latched onto the pink-and-white design so hard that Marvel commissioned a real backup story, a Holiday Special, and eventually a 25-issue solo series that built a devoted online fan following through the mid-2010s.

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Overview

Gwenpool, also known as Gwen Poole, runs on a fourth-wall premise: a comic-book reader from our world who wakes up inside the Marvel Universe and knows she's in a comic. Writer Christopher Hastings and Japanese art duo Gurihiru leaned into that meta angle, giving her a chaotic tone closer to Deadpool than to Spider-Gwen despite the fact she has no in-story connection to either character1.

The visual identity did most of the heavy lifting online. The pink-and-white bodysuit, blonde ponytail, and split domino mask became the shorthand fans latched onto in art, cosplay, and reblogs3. DeviantArt users produced more than 1,300 pieces of fan work tagged "gwenpool" during the character's active run4.

Origin & Background

Platform

Marvel Comics / Tumblr (viral spread)

Creator

Chris Bachalo

Date

2015

Gwenpool debuted in June 2015 as a variant cover by Chris Bachalo for Deadpool's Secret Secret Wars #2, part of Marvel's "Gwen Variants" series that reimagined female heroes in Gwen Stacy trappings1. She was never meant to appear inside an actual comic, but her cover drew more fan attention than any of the other Gwen Variants. Marvel responded by commissioning "Miss Poole if You're Nasty," a three-part backup story in Howard the Duck Vol. 6 #1 written by Christopher Hastings with art by Danilo Beyruth3.

How It Spread

After a well-received Gwenpool Holiday Special drawn by Gurihiru, Marvel greenlit an ongoing solo series. The Unbelievable Gwenpool #1 hit shelves on April 13, 2016, with Hastings writing and Gurihiru on interior art1. Tumblr fan blogs including fuckyesgwenpool, gwennypoo, and gwenpooleblog tracked every appearance, and threads on Reddit and 4chan's /co/ board kept the character in circulation between issues3.

On December 19, 2017, Marvel editor Heather Antos announced on Twitter that the run would wrap with issue #25 as the finale2. Hastings confirmed the news on his own account the same week, and Gurihiru posted their own farewell to the book shortly after5. Fan output on DeviantArt and Tumblr kept building after cancellation, well past the comic's official ending4.

How to Use This Meme

Fan artists typically riff on the pink-and-white suit, blonde ponytail, and dual katana loadout, often dropping Gwenpool into crossover scenes with other Marvel characters. Cosplayers common approach: replicate the exact costume from Gurihiru's cover art, then lean into the fourth-wall-breaking personality Hastings wrote for her1.

Frequently Asked Questions

References (5)