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The following contains major spoilers for Spider-Gwen Annual #1, on sale now from Marvel Comics.

Since her introduction, the Gwen Stacy better known as Spider-Gwen has been a favorite among fans. Whether it be for her inherent charm or the deep cut-style storytelling her character lends herself to, there is no doubt that Spider-Gwen has earned her place in the annals of pop culture, and Marvel’s Contest of Chaos is set to see her prove it all over again. Unfortunately, doing so means going up against one of the most capable Masters of the Mystic Arts, although that doesn’t mean much when Gwen is just one of several heroes with the exact same fight in mind.

Rather than setting up any convoluted reason for the battle between two unlikely heroes, Spider-Gwen Annual #1 (by Karla Pacheco, Rosi Kämpe, Marika Cresta, Irma Kniivila, and VC’s Ariana Maher) drops readers directly into the action. Like so many others before them, Gwen and Ami Han, aka White Fox, find themselves pitted against one another for a mysterious prize that calls to them on a deeply disturbing level. As the two heroes fight each other across an ever shifting landscape that ranges from Arthurian fantasy to a future dystopia on the high seas, they quickly realize that they have far more in common than some magical orb, so much so that fighting simply doesn’t make sense.

How Spider-Gwen and White Fox Beat Agatha Harkness’ Contest of Chaos

While neither Gwen nor Ami are the first to step away from Agatha Harkness’ Contest of Chaos, they are certainly the first to end up actively working together along the way. This isn’t all that surprising considering how endearing these two particular heroes are, not to mention how determined they have become over the course of their careers as superheroes. For Gwen, being a hero has always been about taking care of people and doing as much good as she can with the incredible powers she has been given, all while doing as little harm as possible in the process.

For Ami, on the other hand, being a hero has always been about subverting others’ expectations of her. As the last of the ancient Kumiho, powerful shapeshifting yokai long feared for seducing and feasting upon the hearts of men, Ami has had to push back against the fears ingrained into her very culture from both sides of the mortal spectrum. That alone has put unimaginable pressure on Ami, yet her civilian life as an agent of the National Intelligence Service did very much the same. It wasn’t until Ami found a home within Tiger Division that she began to ease into a less tense demeanor, though keeping herself together for so long did help to forge her into someone whose will is stronger than any outside influence could ever anticipate.

How Agatha Harkness’ Contest of Chaos is Breaking Marvel Superheroes

Despite neither Gwen nor Ami having no interest in beating one another down over a prize that neither of them wants in the first place, Agatha’s machinations manage to still produce that very fight by appealing to their inner heroes. By threatening innocent lives, including those Gwen and Ami each care about the most, the enigmatic mastermind of this plot forces the two into grueling combat. Unsurprisingly, White Fox walks away the victor after unleashing her true power upon Spider-Gwen, but that only endears the latter to her even further, especially after seeing how much Ami truly regrets having to inflict any real harm upon someone who could have so easily become a friend otherwise.

In fact, that kind of relationship may have already been built in spite of, or rather because of the battle that Agatha orchestrated between White Fox and Spider-Gwen. Apart from giving the two a chance to fight against and alongside one another while simultaneously building a rapport on numerous levels, it is clear that there is no love lost between the two over their fight. Better yet, this experience has given Gwen every reason she needs to follow after White Fox and free her newfound ally from whatever menacing force has taken hold over her, making her the latest Marvel superhero now bound to disrupt everything Agatha has in the works.

Why Gwen Stacy is About to Become Agatha Harkness’ Next Biggest Problem

With Peter Parker and Jessica Jones already on the trail of Agatha’s plot, it is only going to be a matter of time before someone catches up to her. And, with Spider-Gwen now lending herself to that very same search from another angle, that time is going to run out sooner than Agatha could imagine. Under any other circumstances, that might be a good thing. Stealing away various heroes against their will after making them battle their allies in brutal combat certainly doesn’t garner Agatha any sympathy, yet her motives aren’t in any way overtly villainous. If anything, Agatha genuinely believes that by separating the Darkhold from the Scarlet Witch she will be making the world a safer place. And if she had ever mentioned that to someone else, she might even be right.

By keeping her actions a secret and leaning into what are obviously villainous tropes instead, however, Agatha has ensured that the heroes who have escaped her Contest of Chaos will come looking for answers as to what happened to them and why. As such, Agatha’s attempts to create a new true Darkhold on Earth could very well be disrupted in ways that neither she nor the rest of the Marvel Universe can afford. If that happens, Chthon himself may emerge in the flesh all over again to pose the kind of threat that dwarfs anything the Contest of Chaos has offered so far, and considering his track record when it comes to these sorts of confrontations, not even Agatha’s army will be able to stand in his way.