Spider-Man

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Spider-Man
Real name:	Peter Benjamin Parker
First Appearance:	Amazing Fantasy #15 (May 1962)
Created by:	Stan Lee Steve Ditko
Affiliations:	New Avengers Daily Bugle
Abilities:	Superhuman strength Wall-crawling Spider-sense Superhuman reflexes
Portrayed by:	Tobey Maguire

Spider-Man is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15 (August 1962), and was created by scripter-editor Stan Lee and artist-plotter Steve Ditko. Peter Parker was bitten by a radioactive spider in high school. The spider's DNA combined with his own giving him powers similar to that of the arachnid. He was soon able to climb walls, shoot webbing, lift more than his own weight, and sense imminent danger, as some spiders do. Upon the death of his Uncle Ben, Peter decided that 'With Great Power comes Great Responsibility', and thus took on the name Spider-Man.

He lives with his Aunt May in Queens and is usually in love with Mary Jane, (though he's dated quite a few ladies over the years). He is friends with many heroes and has a rogue's gallery that is larger than most of theirs. If an arch-nemesis would be named for Spider-Man, it would arguably be Green Goblin, who has manipulated Peter's life in so many diabolical ways over the years, Norman could be considered a Criminal Mastermind.

Always the underdog, Peter is routinely out-manned and out-gunned, but still manages to throw in the wise cracks between punches, and usually comes out on top in the end.

Contents 1 History 2 Powers and Abilities 2.1 Powers 2.2 Abilities 3 Equipment 4 References 5 See also

[edit] History

Peter Parker was orphaned at the age of six when his parents were killed in an airplane crash overseas. He went to live with his uncle and aunt; Ben and May Parker, in Forest Hills, New York. Parker was extremely bright and became a high honors student at Midtown High School. Parker's shyness and scholastic interest often made him a social outcast.

One evening, Parker attended a public exhibition demonstrating the safe handling of nuclear laboratory waste materials sponsored by the General Techtronics Corporation. During the demonstration, a small common house spider happened to be in the path of a particle accelerator's beam and was massively irradiated. The stricken spider fell on to Parker's hand, broke his skin with its fangs, and died. With his hand burning from the bite, Parker left the exhibition. Parker made his way home and passed through an unfamiliar section of the city, where he was accosted by a gang of hoodlums. Tossing the gang members aside, Parker was shocked by his own display of strength. As he fled from them, he ran into the path of a speeding car, and leaped to safety about thirty feet up onto a nearby wall. To his growing surprise, he discovered that he was able to stick to the wall with his fingertips. As he easily walked down a guy wire to the street below, he realized that he now possessed a superb sense of balance. Parker quickly associated these spider-like abilities with the bite from the irradiated spider.

Parker went home, where his Aunt May sent him on an errand to deliver clothing to a charity drive located in a nearby National Guard Armory. There, he saw a wrestling match which offered a prize for anyone who could remain in the ring for at least three minutes with a professional wrestler. Interested in testing his new-found powers, Parker decided to accept the wrestler's challenge. Wearing a mask to conceal his features to avoid embarrassment in case he lost, he easily defeated his opponent.

A television producer's talent agent spotted Parker at the wrestling match, and promised him a segment on a network variety show. Parker, calling himself "the Amazing Spider-Man", accepted the offer and decided to use it as a springboard to a show business career as a spectacular stunt performer. Over the next several evenings, Parker used equipment borrowed from his high school to fabricate a fluid that imitated a spider's silk web, and design spinneret devices to project that fluid from his wrists in the form of a web strand. He also silkscreened his original design for a costume onto a body stocking and full-head mask. Thus prepared, Peter Parker appeared as Spider-Man on national television and was an immediate media sensation.

When the television show ended, a burglar, being pursued by a security guard, ran by Parker who impetuously allowed him to pass, although he could have easily stopped him. When reprimanded by the guard, Parker arrogantly replied that he was a professional performer, and that chasing criminals was the guard's job. Parker promptly forgot the incident.

A few days later, Parker returned home to find that his Uncle Ben had been murdered by a burglar. A police officer informed him that the burglar had been trailed to a nearby abandoned warehouse where the police had him trapped. Grief-stricken, Parker rushed to the warehouse to seek vengeance. At the warehouse, Parker, as Spider-Man, easily captured the burglar and realized that he was the same person that he had allowed to run past him earlier that day in the TV studio. He realized that if he had acted responsibly earlier, he might have prevented the death of his uncle. Filled with remorse, he realized that with great power comes geat responsibility, and he vowed to never shirk that responsibility again.

Peter began to use his powers to fight crime. He also tried to join the hero team the Fantastic Four in their formative stages, but was dismissed.[2] As a solo hero, Parker took pictures of his fights as Spider-Man using an automatic camera, and then sold the pictures to The Daily Bugle. Spider-Man rapidly became one of the most well-known citizens in New York City, although Bugle editor J. Jonah Jameson soon branded him a "menace". Parker's main concern was for his Aunt May, who he feared would have a heart attack if she ever found out about his crime-fighting identity.

Early in his career, Spider-man fought the master of disguise, the Chameleon, the high-flying, low-down Vulture, the terrible Tinkerer, the tentacled terror Doctor Octopus, the sand-shifting Sandman, the diabolical Doctor Doom, the lethal Lizard, the electronic Living Brain, the electrical enemy Electro, the Big Man and his Enforcers, the mysterious illusion master Mysterio, the megalomaniacal Green Goblin, and the predatory Kraven the Hunter. Several of these villains would form the Sinister Six, a team completely dedicated to the destruction of Spider-Man that would change its roster many times over the years.

During this time, Parker dated Betty Brant of the Daily Bugle, although Liz Allan had a crush on him. At the same time, both Aunt May and her neighbor, Aunt Anna, were encouraging Parker to date Anna's niece, Mary Jane Watson, whom he would not meet until months later.

Before the graduation from his high school, Peter, ever the superhero, continued to fight off menaces, including the Circus of Crime, the sinister Scorpion, the Beetle, the Spider-Slayers, the Crime-Master, and the Molten Man.

After high school, Parker enrolled in Empire State University, and divided his time as a hero, a student, and photographer. Eventually, Parker moved into his own apartment with Harry Osborn, the son of Norman Osborn, the Green Goblin. It was Norman Osborn, in fact, who became the first super-villain, the first person even, to learn Spider-Man's secret identity. During this time, he developed a relationship with Gwen Stacy. He fought the Rhino, the second Vulture, the Shocker, the Kingpin, the Prowler, Silvermane, and Morbius the Living Vampire. Unfortunately, during Spider-Man's conflicts with Doctor Octopus and the original Green Goblin, both Captain George Stacy and Gwen were killed (albeit at different times). Some time later, Parker developed a steady relationship with Mary Jane. Parker proposed marriage, although Mary Jane declined, and soon left Parker's life for many months.

Eventually, Parker graduated from ESU, and pursued his career as a hero and photographer. As he continued to live on his own, his Aunt May decided to transform her house into a senior citizens' boarding house. At one point Parker began a romantic relationship and heroic partnership with the Black Cat, although Parker later broke it off due to the Black Cat's disdain for Parker's life apart from being Spider-Man.

Prior to this, Spider-Man was among the heroes kidnapped by the powerful Beyonder to fight in his so-called "Secret Wars". When his costume was damaged, Parker tried using the futuristic technology on the Beyonder's planet to repair it, and instead, replaced it with an alien "symbiote" which transformed into a black version of Spider-Man's costume, perhaps based on the newly appeared Spider-Woman. Parker used the symbiote for his costume, which was capable of transforming into street clothing as well as generating webs. When the costume behaved strangely, Parker sought help from the Fantastic Four's Mister Fantastic, who discovered the costume was a living organism. He helped remove the costume by force, and kept it in Fantastic Four headquarters in captivity. The symbiote would later escape, plaguing the life of Parker again and ultimately merging with one of Spider-Man's critics Eddie Brock, creating the villain Venom.

As Spider-Man, Parker met and fought alongside nearly every hero in Manhattan, if not the world. Although he fought with the hero team Avengers many previous times, he tried to join their number when he learned of the financial stipend their members received. Parker helped them stop an invasion and subsequent breakout of the energy research and villain internment facility, Project Pegasus. Spider-Man was deemed, however, to disrupt the team's cohesiveness, and was denied membership. Later, however, Spider-Man met the international mercenary Silver Sable, often working on her behalf.

Later still, Mary Jane returned to Parker's life, and, after a battle between Spider-Man and the Puma, she revealed that she had known (or at least suspected) Peter Parker's secret identity from almost the beginning of his career. Soon after, the two were married.

Peter's old friend Harry Osborn leased the couple a loft in the building that Harry and his family were also living in. Mary Jane's niece Kristie also temporarily moved in with the Parkers at one point. Eventually, however, the Parkers had to move into a room in Aunt May's house due to financial problems.

At this time Spider-Man once again allied with the Avengers to stop the alien Nebula from destroying reality with her Infinity Union. An increasingly unnerved Spider-Man, unaccustomed to dealing with cosmic-scale menaces, accidentally allowed Nebula to absorb the power of the Infinity Union, although the Avengers, Spider-Man, and the alien Stranger thwarted her regardless. Parker was told again that Spider-Man may not be suited for Avengers membership, although later he was inducted into their number on a provisional basis.

Parker later returned to his studies and postgraduate work as a lab assistant at Empire State University. During this time, Parker was briefly endowed with the powers of Captain Universe, in order to stop a series of robots, including the mutant-killing Sentinels. Once the menace was defeated, the extra powers left him.

Aunt May supposedly suffered a debilitating heart attack and died shortly after revealing she knew Parker's secret. This also led to the Parkers meeting Ben Reilly, whom he had fought earlier as a clone of himself. Reilly created a similar spider-costume, dubbed the Scarlet Spider by the Daily Bugle, and helped Spider-Man in his adventures. Shortly afterwards, Mary Jane became pregnant. Peter and Mary Jane briefly moved to Seattle, as Parker considered retiring from being Spider-Man in order to start a family.

Spiderman was cancelled today.

After many more months of adventuring, Spider-Man was framed for a crime and increased pressure was placed on capturing him. In order to continue his crime-fighting career and investigate the fraudulent claims, Parker relinquished his Spider-Man identity while creating four unique and separate ones: Dusk, Hornet, Prodigy, and Ricochet. As Dusk, Parker was able to investigate the villain Trapster and publicly exonerate Spider-Man, at which point he resumed his Spider-Man identity. Later, the golden age hero Black Marvel acquired the four costumes and gave them to four teenagers, forming a team he named the Slingers.

When the Avengers were attempting to reform their number after disbanding for a year after the crisis known as Onslaught, Spider-Man was contacted due to his past affiliation with them. However, by his own choice Parker decided to dissolve ties with the Avengers.

Aunt May was later discovered to be alive; the woman who seemingly died was in actuality a genetically modified actress. Parker, Mary Jane, and Aunt May moved to an apartment in Manhattan. Parker had promised Mary Jane to give up his Spider-Man identity, but he would continually sneak out at night as Spider-Man. Their marriage began to strain, in part because of a new modeling career of Mary Jane and in part because Parker's secret was discovered. Before they could reconcile, however, Mary Jane was supposedly killed when her airplane exploded. For a long time, Parker refused to believe her dead, but eventually grew to accept it.

Parker discovered Mary Jane was alive, captured by a villain who had been stalking her prior to her airplane flight. After a brief reconciliation, Mary Jane requested to leave Parker once more, saying that she needed time to adjust by herself. He soon took a job as a teacher at his somewhat beloved Midtown High. After getting this job, he encountered a strange old man named Ezekiel who possessed powers very similar to his. He knew Peter's secret identity and talked to him about things about his powers he had never thought of, like, "Did the radiation enable the spider to give you these powers? Or was the spider trying to give you those powers before it died?" After many questions, telling Spidey his powers were 'totemistic' in nature, and showing Peter what he could have done, had he stayed in showbiz, Ezekiel warned Peter about a totemistic predator named Morlun, who would try to kill him. After ignoring the warnings of Ezekiel, and being defeated by Morlun, Spidey attempted to get Ezekiel to help him. Refusing to do so, Spidey went after Morlun again after Spidey found him terrorizing innocent people. After being nearly beaten again, Ezekiel helped Spidey, but seemingly perished. Spidey then injected himself with radiation at a nuclear plant, which hurt Morlun, thus enabling Spider-man to defeat him. However, after the brutal battle, Spider-man returned to his apartment, and fell deep asleep. Aunt May came by, only to find that Peter had severe wounds and scars, and a tattered Spider-man costume on the floor.

After a day of coming to grips with the fact that her nephew was Spider-man, Aunt May revealed that she knew. Now their relationship was stronger than ever, and eventually, Mary Jane and Peter reunited for good. Later still, after a breakout at the Raft Security Prison, Spider-Man joined the New Avengers. May, Peter, and Mary Jane moved into Avengers Tower after an enemy destroyed both Peter's and May's places.

Changes resulting from a confrontation with Morlun have caused Peter to try and reconcile 'the man and the spider' within himself. He has now gained greater speed, poisonous, razor-sharp stingers located within his arms, night vision, increased sensory awareness via vibratory patterns transmitted through the hairs on his body and through his weblines, a greater clinging ability, and equal superhuman strength in order to carry heavy objects on his back.

Tony Stark used his knowledge and highest-tech equipment to tailor Peter a new and in many ways extraordinary suit. It was based on nano-fiber and controlled by Peter himself by thinking of what he wanted it to do. In its appearance and function it quite resembled Iron Man´s armor and since Spider-Man pretty much became Tony's right hand man, Spider-Man was dubbed "Iron Spidey".

Since the Civil War started, Spider-Man had been having an inner conflict with himself on deciding whose side he should be on. He was originally set against revealing his identity, although he did not fully reveal that to his new mentor and boss Tony Stark. He was prepared to liquidate his assets and flee the country with his wife and aunt to avoid revealing his identity and putting them in jeopardy. On one hand, Iron Man (Spider-Man's new boss and friend), wanted him to be for the Superhero Registration Act. However, having had a secret identity, Spider-Man would've rather been with Captain America, against the SRA. After talking to Aunt May and Mary Jane, they were, on the other hand, supportive of the idea, and felt it was time for Peter to finally get some much-deserved recognition for all of his good work. Spider-Man then revealed his secret identity at a press conference held by Iron Man to an entire room of stunned media.

This was Peter's show of commitment to the cause and a show of solidarity with his mentor, Tony Stark. Peter went above and beyond the requirements of the SRA when he outed himself. It was a question of loyalty, and a very, very personal choice. Peter felt indebted to Tony for all he'd done for him and his family; this was one way of repaying that. After all Peter was Tony´s right hand in this conflict and just like Tony he very much needed to unmask to be able to stand for what he represented.

Also, if Peter hadn't revealed his identity, he would've become an outlaw. It would've cut him off from his family, or put them on the wrong side of the law. Peter knew the meaning of: "With great power comes great responsibility". He felt that burden every day, and when something was law or something was made illegal, he took it extremely seriously. People like J. Jonah Jameson had been declaring for years that Spider-Man had no regard for the law. If he openly defied the Registration Act, then he would have verified once and for all the worst things that had ever been said about him. Exposing himself to the attention of the main public had caused several emotions, ranging from extreme enthusiasm to anger, and straining his relationship with J. J. Jameson, who felt betrayed by Peter. Tony Stark had forcibly drafted Spider-Man in a task-force to hunt the rebel heroes and bring them to justice - severely upsetting Peter as he felt blindsided by such a decision, perhaps most agitated about the possibility of having to confront Captain America. Jameson also filed a suit on Peter Parker, asking him the restitution of all the money he gave him during the years for his Spider-Man photos plus punitive damages.

However, Peter still intended to teach at Midtown High and thanks to a holographic projector given to him by X-Men's Beast, he was able to do so under a new identity of 'Ben Reilly,' after one of his clone's aliases. He also uses the device to impersonate the Punisher and Wolverine, in order to scare off would-be bounty hunters who would use the students as hostages to draw Spider-Man out for the reward.

After the second fight with Captain America, Peter became doubtful that he was on the right side. He asked Iron Man to allow him to visit the prison which was built in Negative Zone for unregistered superheroes. When he saw how the prisoners were treated he decided to change sides and asked May and Mary Jane to escape from Stark Tower. Then he was attacked by Iron Man who found out that Spider-Man had made a decision to betray him.

Now revolting against Iron Man and his Pro-Registration Campaign, Spider Man fled the Stark Tower, and rushed into the sewers for temporary cover, knowing Aunt May and Mary Jane were safe, until he became ambushed by the Jester and Jack O'Lantern, two of the super villains enlisted by Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Maria Hill to hunt down the anti-registration superheroes. They were both shot dead by the Punisher, who rescued Spider-Man and brought him to the headquarters of the Secret Avengers for medical treatment, knowing Spider-Man had now switched sides. As of now, Spider-Man had again gone public on television, formally announcing his reversal of support for the Registration Act and revealing the existence of the prison within the Negative Zone. Tony Stark now considered him as a traitor and ordered his forces to hunt him down.

Kingpin, meanwhile, put out a hit on him, and an assassin was targeting Mary Jane and Aunt May while Spider-Man took part in the final battle of the Civil War, supporting Captain America.

The final battle culminated in the streets of New York City after Cloak did his biggest teleport yet to take the battle out of the Negative Zone Prison. Spider-Man's main target appeared to be Mister Fantastic, beating his way through 3 Pro-Registration heroes to reach him. Mister Fantastic appeared surprised at this awesome show of agility and strength, and remarked, "Amazing." Peter then kicked him in the neck, saying, "Spectacular".

The battle turned when Namor arrived on the scene with a troop of Atlanteans, all ready for battle. Hercules destroyed the Thor clone/cyborg, and the battle was all but won when Captain America was taken down by the people of New York. He realized he lost sight of the American ideals and let himself be arrested as Steve Rogers.

Spider-Man disappeared after the battle and made his way to the motel room where he, Mary Jane, and Aunt May lived in. As he was welcomed by his loved ones, his spider-sense rang and he quickly hit the floor with Mary Jane. Unfortunately, in the act of saving one, he lost the other, and Aunt May was shown bleeding from the left chest, indicating a fatal wound.

The Civil War wrapped up with a majority of the Secret Avengers accepting the general amnesty given. However, some have opted to move to Canada while others joined an underground rebellion against the Superhero Initiative, which appeared to be headed by Spider-Man and Luke Cage. They were last seen with Cage complementing Spidey's suit, and we were shown the inevitable truth: Spider-Man was back in black.

First, Dr. Calvin Zabo (Mister Hyde) was taking teens off the street and giving them Spider-Man's powers.... but with dreadful consequences. When one of these super-powered teens was caught in a trap set for the real Spider-Man, he was sent to The Tombs as a temporary holding cell. Spider-Man, learning of the young man's situation, swung to the Tombs to question him. Upon arrival, however, Spidey found that the boy was in pain and ripped out the cell window. Entering, he discovered that an arachnid-like segment had grown on the boy's abdomen and brought him to a hospital, calling the cell guards to call ahead, and to summon Mr. Fantastic.

Mr. Fantastic met Spidey a few rooftops away from the hospital as Spider-Man knew that the police would be waiting to arrest him there. Mr. Fantastic commented that the metamorphosis was nothing less than fantastic (pardon the pun) and agreed to do anything in his power to save the boy. Spider-Man then visited Curt Connors and requested that the good doctor analyze the fluids on the boy's bedsheets.

Meanwhile, another would-be 'Spider-Man' fell to his death as none of them possessed web shooters, organic or otherwise. Jordan, a former student of Peter, who made an appearance during the Spider-Man Unmasked arcs was confronted by Dr. Calvin Zabo and coerced into being experimented on.

Also, Peter was confronted by his old nemesis, Sandman. However, he was not there to fight, but rather to ask Peter for his help in clearing his father's name and save him from Death Row, for a murder he didn't commit. Following a set of leads, Spider-Man and Sandman found out that the supposed killer was none other than an alternate version of Peter's supposedly dead Uncle Ben.

The Scarlet Spiders, a type of covert ops team with powers similar to Spider-Man's and suit morphing abilities, helped restore Peter Parker's secret identity. The group asked Spider-Man for help in capturing a gang called the Vulturions. In return, in front of a public crowd, one of them changed his appearance so he looked like Peter Parker. The Scarlet Spiders lied to the crowd and said that Peter Parker was a member of the group but was fired for bad behavior. Betty Brant said it wouldn't be the first time that Peter Parker had pretended to be Spider-Man in order to help the hero out and believed his self-outing during the Civil War was a similar act. Even J. Jonah Jameson wasn't sure if Peter Parker was really Spider-Man, thus, Peter Parker had his secret identity back.

Later, Peter was on a quest to save the life of his Aunt May, who had fallen from a sniper's bullet intended for him. He sought the help of Dr Strange, finding that even magic couldn't help him save Aunt May's life, though after appalling to Tony Stark, Jarvis was sent with $2 million to pay the hospital fees and give her the best care possible, after breaking several laws and at one point finding Eddie Brock in Aunt May's room, whom then attempted to commit suicide by jumping out of the window.

Peter was soon approached by Mephisto, and told that there was a way to save Aunt May's life. Assuming it was his soul, Peter refused. Mephisto said that he was done with trying to take hero's souls, as they were less fun to torture, knowing they did something right by damning themselves for eternity. He explained that he wanted to take away the love that he and Mary Jane share, as that sort of unconditional love only occurs once a millennium - it would mean he got one over on God and would enjoy listening to the small part of Peter and Mary Jane's souls that did remember the love. After 24 hours of holding each other, Mephisto came to the couple once more. Mary Jane whispered some conditions to Mephisto before agreeing, as well as making everyone forget that Peter Parker was Spider-Man (in case villains came after Aunt May again). Much to his own dismay, Peter agreed also.

“The cycle of life is essential to the very core of existence, to the survival of the universe. To fight that cycle…is to fight the very forces of creation itself. And that power…is not within my grasp. Or yours…. We all die, Peter. You, me, and those we love most dearly. All we can do is whether or not those we love die alone. I do not regret that I loved them, only that, in so many cases, I was not there to do what is perhaps the most important thing of all. I was not there to say goodbye”. -Doctor Strange to Peter Parker in One More Day.

In a flash, he woke up, realizing he was late for a "Welcome Home" party. He dashed out of Aunt May's house, jumped onto his bicycle and headed to the venue. Upon arriving, Flash mentioned his tardiness - but he was just in time. Back from five years in a European rehab center was Harry Osborn. After months of no one but Peter himself knowing the identity of Spider-Man, he unmasked to his teammates on the New Avengers at the request of Ronin, the team's new leader, in order to implicitly earn the team's trust.

When a Skrull ship crashed in the Savage Land, Spider-Man and the New Avengers traveled to the Savage Land to confront the threat. Various heroes, including Spider-Man, emerged from the ship. A fight ensued between the escapees and the New and Mighty Avengers as the members of both groups believed themselves to be the originals. However, their fight was interrupted by a T-Rex, who stepped on the Spider-Man from the ship, who regressed back to a Skrull. Spider-Man was pricked with a poison dart that caused Skrulls to seizure and return to their natural state and his lack of reaction proved him to be the original . Spider-Man later joined the fight against the Skrulls in New York.

Still with the New Avengers, Spider-Man helps in looking for the Skrull Jarvis who had Luke Cage's child.

Spider-Man later joined with the Fantastic Four on a journey to a macroverse they had once before visited and saved, during which Spider-Man spent the whole trip unmasked. Due to Mephisto's magic, the Four's recollection of these events had been altered, so that they did not remember what Spider-Man's unmasked face looked like. On their return, the group discovered a stone monument of them, built by the grateful denizens of the macroverse. While the FF's likenesses showed slight signs of age, Peter's face had been worn down to the point where it was unrecognisable. This prompted Johnny to start asking questions, even going as far as to attempt to burn Spider-Man's mask off. At the end of their adventure, Spider-Man is convinced to unmask in front of the Fantastic Four, restoring their trust in him, and all their memories of his identity. The group returns from the macroverse, which has been two months later, and when he wonders what has been going on since he left, Spider-Man was shocked and surprised about the poll result and to find that the new mayor of New York is J. Jonah Jameson.

[edit] Powers and Abilities

[edit] 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 abilites.

Original and Current Powers

• Spider-Sense: Spider-Man possesses an extrasensory "danger" or "spider" sense which warns him of potential immediate danger by the manifestation of a tingling sensation in the back of his skull, and links with his superhuman kinesthetics, enabling him to evade most any injuries, unless he cognitively overrides his automatic reflexes. The precise nature of this sense is unknown. It appears to be a simultaneous clairvoyant response to a wide variety of phenomena (everything from falling safes to speeding bullets to thrown punches), which has given several hundredths of a second warning, which is sufficient time for his reflexes to allow him to avoid injury. The sense also can create a general response on the order of several minutes: he cannot discern the nature of the threat by the sensation. He can, however, discern the severity of the danger by the strength of his response to it. Spider-Man's spider-sense is directional and can guide him to or away from hidden weapons and enemies. Sudden and extreme threats can cause his spider-sense to react with painful intensity. Spider-Man can also sense and dodge attacks directed randomly or by a computer. Using his spider-sense to time his enhanced reflexes, Spider-Man can casually dodge attacks up to and including automatic-weapons fire, provided there is sufficient distance. His spider-sense is sufficiently well-linked to his reflexes to the point that a threat can trigger them even when Spider-Man is asleep or stunned. His spider-sense has helped him preserve his secret identity since it alerts him to observers or cameras when changing into or out of his costume. The spider-sense does react to those who Peter does not consider to be a threat, such as Aunt May. Spider-Man can choose to ignore his spider-sense, and distraction or fatigue diminish its effectiveness. Spider-Man's fighting style incorporates the advantage that his "spider-sense" provides him. His body begins to produce more adrenaline after the sense is triggered, an extension of the 'fight or flight syndrome.'

• Superhuman Strength: Spider-Man possesses superhuman strength enabling him to lift approximately 10 tons. Spider-Man's physical strength is sufficient to lift and throw objects as heavy as most standard automobiles 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. 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.

• Superhuman Speed: Spider-Man can run and move at speeds that are beyond the physical limits of the finest human athlete. He is ultimately capable of running at speeds of at least 100 miles per hour .

• 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 for several hours before the build up of fatigue toxins in his blood begins to impair him.

• 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 a superhumanly strong opponent, that would severely injure or kill a normal human with little to no discomfort. He has more than once survived severe elctrocution.

• 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.

• Spiderman has the ability to achieve giant leaps.

• 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. He has developed a unique fighting style that made full use of his agility, strength, and equilibrium.

• Superhuman Reflexes: Spider-Man's reflexes are similarly enhanced and are currently about 15 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.

• 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.

Former Powers: Following the events of "The Queen" and "The Other", some of Spider-Man's traditional powers were increased to levels beyond their original limits while others remained the same. He also gained a variety of new, spider-like abilities due to these further mutations. However, with reality itself being altered after the events of "One More Day", Spider-Man's powers have all returned to their original levels and he has lost his new superhuman abilities. The following is a list of those increased and newly gained powers.

• Superhuman Strength: Following an encounter with an enemy known as the Queen, Spider-Man's strength was increased to the point that he could lift about 15 tons. Following the events of "The Other", his strength was further increased so that he could lift about 20 tons.

• Superhuman Reflexes: Spider-Man's reflexes were enhanced along with his physical strength. Following the events of "The Other", his reflexes were increased to levels 18 times that of an ordinary human.

• Psychological Awareness of Environment: Spider-Man's spider-sense could be used to psychologically see his surrounding environment, even when blinded or in extremely dark conditions, allowing him to navigate without worry. Even under normal conditions, his spider-sense helps him navigate darkened rooms, instinctively avoiding obstacles or hazards, or potentially noisy or unstable floorboards, walls or ceilings that may betray his presence. With his spider sense, Spider-man can ascertain non-threatening information, such as detecting the concealed presence of loved ones.

• Radio Frequency Detection: Spider-Man's spider-sense can also be used to detect certain radio frequencies. Spider-Man's technical skill is such that he has designed spider-tracers that broadcast a signal detectable by his spider-sense.
• Psychic Alignment with Arthropods: Recently, thanks to the genetic manipulations of the Queen, Spider-Man's spider-sense has improved dramatically, creating a psychic alignment with his environment, especially with other arachnids and insects, and a more empathic and sympathetic relationship with spiders and insects. He is particularly connected to the populations of spiders, though unable to communicate with them directly or command them. In one instance, spiders voluntarily covered his unconscious body, concealing him from Shathra's predation.

• Night Vision: Spider-Man's vision had been enhanced to the point that he is able to see clearly at night, or at least in very dim light.

• Vibration and Air Current Sense via Hair and Webbing: Spider-Man also possessed the ability to sense vibrations and currents of air transmitted on the hairs on his arm or on his web lines.

• Regenerative Healing Factor: Originally Spider-Man was just a moderately fast healer but after the events in "The Other" he gained the ability to rapidly recover from severe injuries from broken bones and large amounts of tissue damage in a matter of hours. During the recent unmasking of Spider-man in "Civil War," Spidey was ambushed by the Rhino, receiving heavy bodily damage, only to heal before the issue was over, without medical attention. He even mentions to Aunt May that 'he knows he has always been a fast healer, but lately it seems even more so.' Also when Spidey is heavily beaten and drugged, suffering multiple fractures and blood loss by the Jack O' Lantern and Jester in "Civil War," he is almost completely healed in the next issue.

• Biological/Organic Webbing Generation: After the "Disassembled" saga, Spider-Man was also gifted with the ability to organically produce his own silk webbing from glands within his forearms, limited by his body's health and nutrition. These organic webs have many of the same properties as Spider-Man's artificial webbing, though they require a week to decay rather than decomposing within two hours. Thanks to its similar properties, it appears Spider-Man can utilize his organic webbing in any way he could with his artificial webbing. The silk is released through a spinneret near each wrist containing a central web spigot orifice used for web-slinging and drag lines, supplemented by several radial minor spigots for other types of webs connected to specialized glands.

• Vibration Sensation via Webbing: After his evolution in "The Other: Evolve or Die", Spider-Man's senses evolved to the point that he is now able to sense vibrations transmitted from his webbing. Spider-Man can utilize this to find beings or objects within buildings or other places by the vibrations they emit when moving.

• Hibernation Healing: It was revealed in the story arc "Evolve or Die" that Spider-Man enters a state of dormancy and sheds his skin and outer tissues, just like an actual spider, at least once in his life time. Spider-Man's recent intermittent black outs and loss of superpowers were the result of the involuntary attempt of his body to enter this dormant state. The symptoms manifested themselves because Parker was simply too stubborn to allow himself to hibernate; he finally did so as a result of a near-death experience.

• Stingers: Spider-Man developed retractable, poisonous, razor-sharp stingers that are located within his arms that release a polyamine venom, causing direct trauma and/or flaccid paralysis via interference with nerve impulse transmission. While a typical injection may paralyze a normal adult human for several hours, the impalement proved fatal to the nigh-invulnerable Morlun. How it pierced Morlun's skin is yet unknown, and may involve mystical factors Parker has subconsciously extended his stingers in response to stress and is still learning greater control.

[edit] Abilities

• Gifted Intellect: Academically gifted, Peter displayed an uncanny affinity for science,that helped him many times during batles, that was nothing short of genius ^[1].
• Science Major: He is a brilliant individual, with exceptional skill in practically every field of science, and is an excellent inventor.
• Skilled Photographer: Peter is a very skilled photographer ^[2].
• Master Acrobat: Thanks to his great strength and phenominal equilibrium, Peter is an excellent athlete excelling in all gymnastic fields being able to perform every acrobatic stunt ever performed including others that can never be performed by even an olympic acrobat.
• Expert Combatant: Thanks to Peter's amazing superhuman physiology, acrobatic powers and spider sense, he is an excellent hand-to-hand combatant, with a fighting style derived from his spider-like attributes which utilizes various different techniques such as those used boxing and wrestling methods, as well as ground fighting and tricking.

[edit] Equipment

• Webshooters: Spider-Man wears web-shooters which were twin devices worn on his wrists. The devices were able to shoot thin strands of a special "web fluid" at high pressure.

• Web Fluid: A shear-thinning liquid, virtually solid until a shearing force is applied to it, rendering it fluid, whose exact formula remains unknown, but is rumored to be related to nylon. On contact with air, the long-chain polymer knits and forms an extremely tough, flexible fiber with extraordinary adhesive properties. The web fluid’s adhesive quality diminishes rapidly with exposure to air. Where it does not make contact with air, such as the attachment disk of the web-shooter, it remains very adhesive. After approximately 2 hours, imbibed ether causes the solid form of the web fluid to dissolve into a powder. Because the fluid almost instantly melts from solid to liquid when under shear pressure, and is not adhesive in its anaerobic liquid/solid phase transition point, there is no clogging of the web-shooter’s parts.

The spinneret mechanism in the web-shooter is machined from stainless steel, except for the turbine component, which is machined out of a block of Teflon and the two turbine bearings, which are made of amber and artificial sapphire. The wristlet and web fluid cartridges are mainly nickel-plated annealed brass. Spider-Man’s web cartridge belt is made out of brass and light leather and holds up to 30 cartridges. The cartridges are pressurized to 300 pounds per square inch and sealed with a bronze cap which is silver soldered closed. The wristlets have sharp steel nipples, which pierce the bronze cap when the cartridges are tightly wedged into their positions. A palm switch that is protected by a band of spring steel, which requires a 65 pounds pressure to trigger, actuates the hand-wound solenoid needle valve. The switch is situated high on the palm to avoid most unwanted firings. A rubber seal protects the small battery compartment. The effect of the very small turbine pump vanes is to compress (share) the web fluid and then force it, under pressure, through the spinneret holes which cold-draws it (stretches it: the process wherein nylon gains a four-fold increase in tensile strength), then extrudes it through the air where it solidifies. As the web fluid exits the spinneret holes, it is attracted to itself electrostatically and thus can form complex shapes. The spinneret holes have three sets of adjustable, staggered openings around the turbine, which permit a single line, a more complex, spun web line, and a thick stream. The web line’s tensile strength is estimated to be 120 pounds per square millimeter of cross section. The 300 pounds per square inch of pressure in each cartridge is sufficient to force a stream of the complex web pattern an estimated 60 feet (significantly farther if shot in a ballistic parabolic arc).

The web formula has been altered as needed, including an insulated version for Electro and asbestos webbing for fighting the Human Torch or a similarly-powered foe.

[edit] References

1. ↑ Kiefer, Kit; Couper Smartt, Jonathan (November 1, 2003). Marvel Encyclopedia Volume 4: Spider-Man. Marvel Comics. ISBN 0-785-11304-5.
2. ↑ DC versus Marvel Comics Profile

[edit] See also

• Spider-Man (Spider-Man: The Animated Series)
• Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire)