Spider-Man is one of Marvel's most popular superheroes and has a long and storied history in both the comics as well as wider media, including TV, film, and animation. Across all these platforms, the scientific mind of Peter Parker has created countless inventions.
The wearers of the Spider-Man costume are usually innovators and must continue to create state of the art technology and other gadgetry in order to stay ahead in a fight. But some are just not as great as others. Here are the 5 best and worst Spider-Man inventions.
10 WORST: SPIDER-MOBILE
Batman has a Bat-Mobile so Spider-Man should have his own version right? Well, it certainly makes it easier to travel around the city but this small vehicle isn't exactly impressive. Plus, Spider-Man's web-shooters allow him to travel extremely quickly.
While the Spider-Mobile has a number of in-built gizmos and gadgets that does not make up for the fact that it has a really poor design. With an open roof allowing enemies to shoot in and a small exterior, it's not exactly a threatening car and looks quite cheesy.
9 BEST: STINGERS
The Spider-Man of 2099 has made some alterations of his own to the iconic costume. Of course, the design itself is far different from the classic looks we are used to, owed in part to the futuristic materials on offer, the weaponry is also different.
The ability to sting is one that some spiders actually have and many Marvel characters can also replicate this, including Jessica Drew and Miles Morales. Spider-Man 2099 has therefore built incredibly useful stingers to use in battle as a weapon.
8 WORST: BOMBASTIC BAG-MAN
Speaking of costumes, sometimes Peter has to work on the fly and create something out of the items available. Sometimes that's easier said than done and the result can be an incredibly strange invention that is of poor quality compared to his other designs.
In this case, when Peter needed a new costume quickly and only had a limited number of supplies to use, he created the Bombastic Bag-Man, complete with a Fantastic Four suit and a paper bag mask. Needless to say, this invention didn't last too long, although we hope to see it in live-action still.
7 BEST: SPIDER-MAN COSTUME
The normal Spider-Man costume is also of Peter Parker's making though and it's far superior to anything he gained from Marvel's first family. The suit has been evolving constantly, but the core design will always remain the same.
Featuring a combination of items including moving lenses, a utility belt, and web wings, these costumes are designed to be agile and useful in the middle of combat and stealth missions. It's really one of the most perfect costumes in all of comics.
6 WORST: SPIDER-SIGNAL
The spider-signal is another gadget that's been stolen from Batman and we have to say that there's not a massive demand for this. Firstly, Spider-Man's logo just isn't as striking as a singular bat. It's also changed a little over the years and isn't consistent enough.
Secondly, Spider-Man operates during day and night. A spider-signal is really only useful for those dark hours, during which he's probably patrolling anyway. The logic behind it doesn't quite make sense and it's not been used much since it's arrival.
5 BEST: WEBBING
The organic webbing that Peter has created using his scientific formulas has been the most useful invention that he has ever made. It's saved him countless times and has a variety of ways in which it can be very purposely used.
Whether it's to swing from building to building or perhaps to string up a number of enemies; the web-shooters and webbing also come in a number of variations in order to make it useful for the job. Web grenades are certainly one of our favorite uses.
4 WORST: SPIDER-GLIDER
Some of Spider-Man's enemies have a number of useful gadgets that he thinks could be good to adopt. The Green Goblin is always using contraptions in order to kill his arch-nemesis and Peter has tried to reverse engineer some of this technology.
From this, the spider-glider was born. Far more agile than the mobile, this is an air glider, shaped like a spider, that Peter can fly around on. It looks ridiculous, doesn't suit the character at all and is difficult to control and it has been almost completely forgotten about.
3 BEST: SPIDER-DRONE
Spider-drones, or bots, have appeared across a number of different platforms and a number of different Spider-Men. Whether it's the PS4 version or the Superior Spider-Man, these little spider-like robots are actually really helpful for a variety of missions.
They are especially well equipped for stealth situations and can usually access areas that Spider-Man normally couldn't get to. They can also be controlled from a remote location although they are a little similar to the technology of Alistair Smythe.
2 WORST: PETER PARTICLES
You've heard of Pym Particles, but what about Peter Particles? These are the discovery and invention of the young scientist during his years of research on kinetic energy. Unfortunately, the particles are far more dangerous than he could have realized.
It's these particles that created the character Alpha, who has been powered up, de-powered and then re-gifted his abilities. They didn't last too long as they were incredibly dangerous and difficult to fully understand. They could be used for really villainous purposes.
1 BEST: SPIDER-TRACER
Spider-Man is constantly using his detective abilities to solve various crimes across New York. Unfortunately, sometimes the bad guy gets away, or Peter wants to track the criminal to his headquarters to do some further investigation.
The spider-tracer can come in handy when Peter wants to track down the perpetrator that he's facing. It's small, discrete and, of course, shaped like a spider. The tracer will attach to anything or person and show their exact location. It's genius really.