George Stacy is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, primarily in association with Spider-Man. He is Gwen Stacy's father and the police captain from the New York City Police Department. Stacy is a strong supporter of Spider-Man, often defending the superhero when others accuse Spider-Man of criminal acts, and thus serves as a foil personality to another Spider-Man related character, J. Jonah Jameson. Stacy's death in The Amazing Spider-Man #90 (November 1970) has been described as a turning point in the Spider-Man saga, signaling to readers that permanent changes could happen in the story, and that the supporting cast was not safe. Stacy was resurrected in a cloned body by Ben Reilly in Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy (2016–2017), with the embodiment of Death herself confirming in Ben Reilly: The Scarlet Spider (2017–2018) that all clones Ben created of deceased people had their souls intact on being brought back, before Stacy was killed again by the Carrion virus.
The character has been adapted from the comics into several forms of media, including animated series and feature films. In live-action, the character was played by James Cromwell in the film Spider-Man 3 (2007), by Denis Leary in Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man film duology (2012–2014), and by Shea Whigham in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) and Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse (TBA).
Publication history
George Stacy first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #56 (January 1968), created by writer Stan Lee and artist John Romita Sr.
Fictional character history
George Stacy is a respected former police member in the NYPD. He is the father of Gwen Stacy, husband of Helen Stacy and the brother of Arthur Stacy. Even in retirement, Stacy kept up with the happenings at the department - and had taken a keen interest in Spider-Man. John Jameson calls Stacy out of retirement to assist in the return of a device called the Nullifier - which could render any electrical or mechanical apparatus inoperative - that Doctor Octopus had tricked an amnesiac Spider-Man into stealing.
After safely securing the weapon, Stacy interviews Peter, believed to have been held captive with Doctor Octopus and Spider-Man. After the interview, Stacy reveals to Peter that he had spent time studying the career of Spider-Man, and that he is glad to have met Peter, known for photographing the wall-crawler on numerous occasions.
Identifying himself as a strong supporter of Spider-Man, Stacy wishes to see the wall-crawler redeemed in the public eye. He also takes an instant liking to Peter, and openly encourages the growing bond between Peter and Gwen. Shortly thereafter at a dance club which employs Mary Jane Watson, Stacy is put under a hypnotic trance through a rigged camera operated by Mary Jane who took photos of him unaware that these actions were aiding Wilson Fisk (aka the Kingpin). Stacy is placed under additional brainwashing by the camera's inventor, Dr. Winkler.
Stacy begins to suspect Peter and Spider-Man were the same person. After a feverish Peter admits to being Spider-Man before his friends, including Stacy, he asks the Prowler to pose as Spider-Man so Peter and Spider-Man can be seen together. However, this does not fool Stacy.
Called into action one night, Stacy watches Spider-Man battle Doctor Octopus on a rooftop high above the city. As the two battle, chunks of concrete dislodge from the roof and rain on the spectators below. Spotting a child standing under the falling masonry, Stacy shields the boy at the cost of his life.
During the "Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy" storyline, Ben Reilly resurrects George Stacy along with Gwen to convince the latter to work with him as his business partner at New U Technologies. Doctor Octopus pulls a switch which activates the Carrion virus in all of the clones and causes them to start rapidly decaying, including George and Gwen. George deteriorates in Gwen's arms and tells his daughter to keep Spider-Man safe while she can before dying.
Other versions
1602
An alternate universe version of Captain Stacy appears in Spider-Man: 1602. This version is a passenger of the Mayflower and a former member of the Royal Navy.
House of M
thumb|upright|Chief George Stacy in the House of M timeline. Art by [[Salvador Larocca.]]
An alternate universe version of George Stacy appears in "Spider-Man: House of M". This version is a former police chief and a personal friend of Peter Parker, though the latter is soured after George discovers Peter's diary and ramblings that allude to his death on Earth-616.
Marvel Adventures
An alternate universe version of George Stacy appears in Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #54. This version is younger and has light brown hair. Upon discovering Spider-Man's secret identity, he calls on him for support on some of his cases.
Spider-Gwen
An alternate universe version of George Stacy from Earth-65 appears in Spider-Verse and Spider-Gwen.
Spider-Geddon
Two alternate universe versions of George Stacy appear in Spider-Geddon:
- On Earth-91918, George Stacy is a bartender and associate of Spider-Ben.
- On an unidentified Earth, George Stacy acquired Spider-Man's powers, dons a homemade black suit with white stripes, and operates as "The Spider" to secretly aid his fellow police officers in capturing criminals.
Ultimate Marvel
A character based on George Stacy named John Stacy appears in Ultimate Spider-Man (vol. 1). This version is much younger than George, has brown hair, is more athletic, is estranged from his daughter Gwen Stacy, and has a troubled marriage. Additionally, he is not a fan of Spider-Man, but admires his vigilante work. John later sacrifices himself to save a child from a bank robber posing as Spider-Man.
Ultimate Universe
An alternate universe version of George Stacy appears in Ultimate Spider-Man (vol. 3) #16. This version became Mysterio instead of a police officer before being killed by the Maker's Council.
In other media
Television
thumb|right|George Stacy as depicted in [[The Spectacular Spider-Man (TV series)|The Spectacular Spider-Man.]]
- A character loosely based on George Stacy named Ned Stacy appears in Spider-Man, voiced by Len Carlson. This version is Mary Jane Watson's uncle.
- George Stacy, with elements of his Ultimate Marvel counterpart, appears in The Spectacular Spider-Man, voiced by Clancy Brown.
- In Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, George is revealed to have been killed sometime after the events of the series.
- George Stacy appears in the Ultimate Spider-Man episode "Return to the Spider-Verse", voiced by Robert Clotworthy.
- George Stacy appears in Spidey and His Amazing Friends, voiced by Scott Porter.
Film
- George Stacy appears in Spider-Man 3, portrayed by James Cromwell.
- George Stacy appears in The Amazing Spider-Man, portrayed by Denis Leary. This version is younger and does not approve of Spider-Man, considering him to be a menace. He is later killed by the Lizard while helping Spider-Man thwart the former.
- Hallucinations of George appear in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, portrayed again by Leary.
- In July 2015, Leary said that he was attached to reprise his role in The Amazing Spider-Man 3, where George would have been resurrected.
- The Earth-65 incarnation of George Stacy makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.