Spider-Man

: Spider-Man is a Marvel Comics character. For other uses see Spider-Man (disambiguation).

Powers and abilities

The irradiated spider's bite caused a variety of physiological mutations in Peter Parker's body that mirror the characteristics of a spider.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Firstly, Spider-Man gained the ability to adhere to any smooth surface at will, allowing him to support more than his own weight while on a vertical surface or upside down. He can also grip any solid object with any part of his body as long as it can accommodate the mass of the object. For instance, if he wanted to catch a ball, all he would really need is one fingertip to make contact. While the exact nature of this has never been pinned down in comics (and various attempts to explain it have contradicted one another), in the live-action movies Peter is shown to have barbed hairs or bristles similar to those of real spiders which extend or retract through his skin. However, the superhero has had trouble keeping his grip on heavily lubricated surfaces.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He is also far more agile than a normal human could become. This superhuman nimbleness not only allows him to perform feats of athleticism far beyond the capabilities of even the most well-conditioned Olympic gymnast, but also to dodge most attacks by all but the swiftest (or luckiest) of opponents. In the past, this has allowed him to defeat opponents both far stronger and more durable, simply because in spite of their vast physical advantages, they have great trouble laying a hand on him.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He has superhuman physical strength, although not as much as most "super-strong" heroes. In recent years, Spider-Man's strength has increased to the point that he can now lift 15 tons and more than that if under extreme pressure. Because of his strength, his legs have developed to the point where he can jump the width of a city block, or almost five stories straight up.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Finally, his bodily tissues are substantially more durable and resistant to impact or trauma than an ordinary human, making it difficult to injure him (although he is not bulletproof). His recovery time from injury is faster than that of an ordinary human, although not as much as those with true healing factors. His vision also lost its myopia as a result of the spider bite.

Related Topics:
Healing factor - Myopia

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Quite apart from his physical abilities, Peter has always been brilliant with prodigious aptitude in the physical sciences. In the comics, he is an expert in chemistry and physics, but later pursues a graduate degree in biochemistry from Empire State University. In the recent films, he maintains his superb intellect with a mastery of physics and a degree from Columbia University. He is described as "brilliant but lazy" by one of his physics professors, Dr. Curt Connors, in Spider-Man 2.

Related Topics:
Chemistry - Physics - Biochemistry - Columbia University - Dr. Curt Connors

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Another trick used in his fights is provoking and ridiculing his enemies until their wrath causes a mistake (though he also does it to steady his nerves in deadly situations).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Spider-sense

Spider-Man's most subtle power is his spider-sense. A form of clairvoyance or sixth sense, it unconsciously activates and alerts him to any threat to himself, manifesting as a tingling at the back of his skull. While it cannot tell him of the exact nature of the threat, Spider-Man can judge the severity of it by the intensity of the tingling. For instance, if an enemy passes by Spider-Man with no intention of interacting with him, the spider-sense would give a low signal indicating that he should be alert for a possible danger. On the other hand, if there is an immediate lethal physical danger to Parker such as a sniper taking aim and about to fire for a kill shot, the spider-sense's tingling would take on an almost painful intensity to indicate a need to take extreme evasive action without hesitation.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The spider-sense not only alerts Spider-Man to threats to his physical safety, but it also warns him to threats to his privacy such as being observed while changing identities. Spider-Man also uses the spider-sense as a means to time his evasive maneuvers to the point where he can avoid multiple gunshots or machine gun fire. When combined with his superhuman reflexes and agility, this makes him an extremely difficult target who is almost impossible to shoot in combat. Extremely skilled martial artists taking Spider-Man on hand to hand often have better luck wounding him, although he is formidable in close quarters as well.

Related Topics:
Machine gun - Martial artist

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Although his spider-sense has saved his life innumerable times, Spider-Man has learned the hard way that it can be beaten. For instance, the Green Goblin once secretly attacked him with a gas that temporarily suppressed this perceptive ability, allowing the supervillain to shadow him and learn his secret identity. The illusions of Mysterio have sometimes been effective enough to fool Spider-Man's spider-sense in addition to all his other senses. Additionally, the alien symbiotes Venom and Carnage are not recognized by the spider-sense. This is believed to have been caused by the symbiotes bonding with Peter Parker. The spider-sense recognizes both Venom and his offshoot Carnage as a part of Parker's physical body. For instance if Peter were to slap or punch himself his spider-sense would not perceive the act as a threat and would not activate. The Ben Reilly clone did not suffer from this problem as he never bonded with the symbiote and when he battled Venom as the Scarlet Spider his spider sense was quite active and helped him quite easily defeat him along with the aid of his impact webbing and stingers. However, Kaine (a flawed clone of Peter Parker) did not set off Ben Reilly's spider sense. The ability to avoid Parker's spider-sense gives some supervillains an edge that Spider-Man often has trouble countering.

Related Topics:
Mysterio - Venom - Carnage

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Spiderman's spider-sense is not immune to natural diseases such as the common head cold. On occasion in the comic book Peter Parker has been temporarily disabled due to the high fever and congestion of the flu.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The phrase "My spider-sense is tingling" has since become an often parodied catchphrase in American pop culture.

Related Topics:
Parodied - Catchphrase - Pop culture

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In comics, the activation of the spider-sense is often shown by wavy lines emanating from Peter's head, with his mask occasionally being half-drawn as an additional cue.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~