Spider-Man is the face of Marvel and easily one of the most recognizable superheroes in the entire world. If you asked any random person on the street who their favorite superhero was, odds are, you’d either get Batman or Spider-Man more often than anybody else. He’s more iconic than nearly any other character, with an instantly recognizable design and a powerset that helps him stand apart even in a world populated with hundreds of other heroes. Anyone can understand what Spider-Man is capable of, but what many don’t see is the hidden complexities of those powers. Spider-Man has very defined abilities, but there’s a whole lot of room for creativity in that area.
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Case in point, all of Spider-Man’s powers and skills have been expanded on at some point. He has a preternatural Spider-Sense, which not only alerts him of danger, but can let him tap into certain frequencies and track them. His webs let him swing around New York City in a cinch, but they can also be molded into shapes like a parachute to help him glide. Our subject for today, however, is seemingly Spider-Man’s simplest power: his stickiness. Spiders famously climb walls, so Spider-Man can stick to anything he touches. It sounds simple, and it is, but Peter Parker is nothing if not inventive, and he made a whole new way to use this power.
Spider On a Stock
Spider-Man Noir returned fans to the classic 1930s corner of the Spider-Verse that Nicholas Cage fans are sure to enjoy. Gwen Stacy hired private eye Peter Parker to find out who murdered her father. In the course of his investigation, Peter discovered that the person who killed George Stacy was him. He ran afoul of the Scorpion Gang’s dealings on the docks. While most Spider-Men preserve life at all costs, this particular breed is a whole lot darker than the rest. He carries guns and isn’t afraid to use them to put his enemies in the dirt, which Captain Stacy just so happened to be, given that he was secretly a part of the Scorpion Gang.
Spider-Man shot Captain Stacy in self-defense, but that didn’t make explaining it to Gwen any easier. While he gathered the courage, he kept looking into the Scorpion Gang, which inevitably meant he ran into the other gangsters vying to take them down. Hardboil and his boys started a firefight in the streets to take out the Scorpions, and naturally, Spider-Man jumped in the middle. In the midst of it, he showed off the most creative use of his wall-sticking that he’s done in years.
When two goons tried to use their shotguns to light everything up, Spider-Man stuck both his feet to the forestocks. Without being able to budge that part of their guns, much less aim them properly with a vigilante holding himself up on them, the crooks couldn’t fire. This maneuver prevented both goons from shooting at once and freed up Spidey’s hands so he could web up everyone in front of him. It was a fun, freaky move that only Spider-Man could pull off, and it is the perfect segue to open a discussion on just how busted Spidey’s most famous power is.
Spider-Like, But a Totally Unique Way to Stick
Spiders and other insects can climb walls because they have thousands of tiny, claw-like hairs that can dig into small bumps and crevices that the human eye can’t see. Spider-Man’s powers operate completely differently. Instead of using tiny hairs, Peter was gifted the power to control electrostatic force. This lets him basically create an indescribably tough pull between himself and whatever he’s touching. This isn’t limited to Peter’s hands and feet, either, as he’s shown that he can do this with his entire body. In Amazing Spider-Man #663, for example, Peter made his mask stick to his face when Anti-Venom tried to rip it off.
Controlling electrostatics lets Peter do much more than a spider can. Not only is his grip infinitely stronger, with the pull he can generate being able to withstand several tons of pressure, but he can stick to literally anything. Peter’s shown that he can even stick to completely sheer surfaces like glass, able to walk on them as easily as the ground. He can make his own friction, making it impossible for him to slip unless he’s caught off guard. Of course, Peter can also concentrate this power into a single point. Called the Mark of Kaine, Peter can focus all his electrostatic energy together to burn someone like lightning, searing off Sasha Kravinoff’s face in Amazing Spider-Man #637.
At the end of the day, Spider-Man’s most famous power is a whole lot stronger and more versatile than most people give it credit for. Which Spider-Man power is your favorite? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
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