Both the decision to kill Gwen and the method in which Marvel implemented it remain controversial among fans because some believe that Peter himself was the one who caused her death. The death became a pivotal point in both Spider-Man's history and in American comic books in general. Many point to Gwen's death as the end of the Silver Age of Comics. Before her death, except possibly as part of an origin story, superheroes did not fail so catastrophically, nor did the hero's loved ones die so suddenly and without warning.