Peter Parker was bitten by a radioactive spider in high school, and the spider bite caused him to develop abilities powers similar to that of a spider. He was soon able to crawl up walls and sense imminent danger, and eventually even developed his own method of creating webs to swing from. Upon the death of hisUncle Ben, Peter decided that 'With Great Power comes Great Responsibility', and thus becameSpider-Man.
Powers and Abilities
Powers
Spider-Man possesses the proportionate powers of a spider, granted to him from an irradiated Common House Spider (Achaearanea tepidariorum) which bit Peter Parker that was apparently already mutated from prior exposure to certain frequencies of radiation and received a final, lethal dose during Parker's attendance of the exhibition. The radioactive, complex mutagenic enzymes in the spider's blood that were transferred at the time of the bite triggered numerous body-wide mutagenic changes within Parker, granting him superhuman strength, speed, toughened flesh, and numerous arachnid-like abilities. Like many superhuman powers, the effectiveness of Spider-Man's abilities varies based on the author and the needs of the story.
- Wall-Crawling: Spider-Man's exposure to the mutated spider venom induced a mutagenic, cerebellum-wide alteration of his engrams resulting in the ability to mentally control the flux of inter-atomic attraction (electrostatic force) between molecular boundary layers. This overcomes the outer electron shell's normal behavior of mutual repulsion with other outer electron shells and permits the tremendous potential for electron attraction to prevail. The mentally controlled sub-atomic particle responsible for this has yet to be identified. This ability to affect the attraction between surfaces is so far limited to Spider-Man's body (especially concentrated in his hands and feet) and another object, with an upper limit of several tons per finger. Limits to this ability seem to be psychosomatic, and the full nature of this ability has yet to be established.
- Superhuman Strength: Spider-Man possesses superhuman strength enabling him to press lift approximately 10 tons. Spider-Man's physical strength is sufficient to lift and throw objects as heavy such as a semi truck with ease. He must also pull his punches and kicks unless fighting someone of similar or greater physical durability. Otherwise, his blows would prove fatal to a normal human being. He has demonstrated that he strong enough enable him to knock out people with normal durability with as little as a tap to the head. Also during the Secret Invasion, Spider-Man was shown to able to knock a Tyrannosaurus Rex into unconsciousness in one punch. Spider-Man's physical strength also extends into his legs, enabling him to be able to jump to a height of several stories in a single bound. Spider-Man demonstrated this when he leaped over 30 ft vertically into the air when he first leaped out of the way of an oncoming car; it should also be noted that when he first discovered his powers as a teenager, they hadn't developed to that of his prime.
- Superhuman Speed: Spider-Man is capable of running and moving at speeds that are beyond the natural physical limits of the finest human athlete.[41] Spider-Man has showed to be fast enough to catch up to an accelerating car while on foot, but prefers to travel by webs.
- Superhuman Stamina: Spider-Man's advanced musculature produces less fatigue toxins during physical activity than an ordinary human. This allows him to exert himself physically for much longer periods of time before fatigue begins to impair him. At his peak, Spider-Man can physically exert himself at his peak capacity for several hours before the build up of fatigue toxins in his blood begins to impair him. Several accounts depict Spider-Man as able to hold his breath for eight minutes or more.
- Superhuman Durability: Spider-Man's body is physically tougher and more resistant to some types of injury than the body of a normal human. His body is more resistant to impact forces than anything else. He can withstand great impacts, such as falling from a height of several stories or being struck by an opponent with super strength, that would severely injure or kill a normal human with little to no discomfort. Spider-Man's body is durable to the point where tensing his super-strong muscles while being punched in the torso by a trained heavyweight boxer caused the attacker's wrists to break; also, Spider-Man has stated that he must roll with punches thrown by people without similar strength or durability to avoid breaking their wrists.
- Superhuman Agility: Spider-Man's agility, balance, and bodily coordination are all enhanced to levels that are beyond the natural physical limits of the finest human athlete. Spider-Man is extraordinarily limber and his tendons and connective tissues are twice as elastic as the average human being's, despite their enhanced strength. He has the combined agility and acrobatic prowess of the most accomplished circus aerialists and acrobats. He can also perform any complicated sequence of gymnastic stunts such as flips, rolls, and springs. He can easily match or top any Olympic record at gymnastics apparatus such as flying rings, climbing ropes, horizontal bars, trampolines.
- Superhuman Equilibrium: Spider-Man possesses the ability to achieve a state of perfect equilibrium in any position imaginable. He seems able to adjust his position by instinct, which enables him to balance himself on virtually any object, no matter how small or narrow.
- Superhuman Reflexes: Spider-Man's reflexes are similarly enhanced and are currently about 40 times greater than those of an ordinary human. In combination with his spider-sense, the speed of his reflexes allows him to dodge almost any attack, or even gunfire, if he is far enough away. Spider-Man has even been shown in some cases, to be able to dodge gunfire using just his reflexes without his Spider-Sense.
- Regenerative Healing Factor: Spider-Man has a limited healing factor. While not on Wolverine's level, it is sufficiently powerful enough to recover from severe injuries from broken bones and large amounts of tissue damage in a matter of days. After getting his powers, he soon found that his eyesight was repaired, discarding his glasses. During a battle with a villain called the Masked Marauder, Spider-Man is rendered completely blind, however after about 2 days his sight was perfect, albeit sensitive for about a day after.
- Foreign Chemical Resistance: Due to his accelerated metabolism, Spider-Man has a higher tolerance for drugs and diseases than normal humans, and he can recover from the effects of larger doses rapidly. During an encounter with the Swarm, Spider-Man was incapacitated by thousands of bee stings, but recovered in less than 24 hours. His resistance and recovery time to other toxins and diseases varies, but is typically significantly higher than normal. Spider-Man's unique physiology even allowed him to recover from the effects of vampirism.[43] Spider-Man was able to recover completely from acid being spat into his eyes by the new Vulture although the extent of the damage may have been restricted due to his superhuman durability. However, Spider-Man has the normal human tolerance for alcoholic beverages.
- Mindwipe after "Brand New Day": Although not technically a power, the worldwide mindwipe of Spider-Man's identity as Peter Parker was part of Mephisto's deal to save Aunt May in "Brand New Day" and Dr. Strange's spell in "One Moment in Time". Spider-Man is aware that the whole world has forgotten his secret identity, and describes it to Mister Fantastic as a "psychic blind spot," where any evidence which could lead to Spider-Man being Peter Parker, people would not be able to connect the dots, or they would come up with the wrong solution, but would accept it as the right one regardless. If Spider-Man was to unmask himself - or be unmasked, then any related people witnessing the incident, would have their memories returned. Mister Fantastic claims to be able to duplicate the "firewalls" for himself and the Fantastic Four, allowing Spider-Man to safely tell them his identity without fear of compromising his secret.
Abilities
- Indomitable Will: Spider-Man has a strong Force of Will, completely free of evil and temptation. For years, he has struggled to balance his life as a student and his superhero duties. He is able to emerge from defeat even stronger. His mental strength is also shown when he successfully wrestles control of nanobots from Doctor Octopus.
- Gifted Intellect[47]: Academically gifted, Peter displays an uncanny affinity for science that is nothing short of genius.[48]
- Science Major: He is a brilliant individual, with exceptional skill in practically every field of science, and is an excellent inventor[49]. He is an accomplished chemist and physicist [50].
- Skilled Photographer: Peter is a very skilled photographer [51].
- Master Acrobat: Thanks to his great strength and phenomenal equilibrium, Peter is an excellent athlete, excelling in all gymnastic fields and being able to perform every acrobatic stunt ever performed, including others that can never be performed by even an Olympic acrobat.
- Master Combatant: Thanks to Peter's amazing superhuman physiology, acrobatic powers and spider sense, he is an excellent hand-to-hand combatant using a fighting style derived from his spider like abilities, he made his own street style that could rival virtually any combatant out of sheer volatility to standard fighting techniques (eg webbing, wall crawling, super strength to lift heavy objects, etc.) To compensate for the recent loss of his spider-sense, Spider-Man is currently learning kung fu from Shang-Chi.
Strength level
Weaknesses
Unlike many superheroes, Spider-Man doesn't have a weakness he is automatically vulnerable to, but in recent years methods have been created to render him vulnerable.
- Spider-Sense Disruption: Spider-Man's Spider Sense can lose its effectiveness if it is blocked or temporarily weakened by specialized equipment or certain drugs. It also won't trigger if it detects something that isn't registered as a threat like the Spider-Man clones or the Venom symbiote and its offspring. When deprived of his spider-sense, Spider-Man becomes vulnerable to surveillance and attack, and web-slinging requires most of his concentration. Since it was destroyed after setting off a device that saved New York from the Spider Slayers, it no longer applies as there is no Spider-Sense to disrupt.
- Anti-Venom's Proximity: Anti-Venom's failed attempt to cure Spider-Man of his radioactive blood resulted in Spider-Man's powers slowly canceling out whenever Anti-Venom is too close to him.
- Ethyl Chloride: Perhaps as a side effect of gaining his powers, Spider-Man is susceptible to the pesticide ethyl chloride. This chemical is frequently used as a weapon by the Spider-Slayers.
