We all know that comic book superheroes are all about wish fulfillment. But is there any purer example of this than our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man? The Marvel Universe is proliferate with characters who have impressive powers, cool costumes and impressive lifestyles. Heck, most of us would give anything to spend a day as Iron Man. But of all the heroes in the Marvel pantheon, Spidey's the one who seems to have the most unadulterated fun while doing it. Whether he's web slinging over the teeming streets of Manhattan or trading witty barbs with supervillains, being Spider-Man almost always seems like a blast when we read about his adventures, watch them on-screen or play them in video games.
As much fun as Peter Parker has when he dons the familiar red and blue outfit of the Amazing Spider-Man, we're all pretty sure we'd have just as much fun if we had his power set. He may not be a heavy hitter on the level of Thor or Sentry but his impressive abilities have served him well in a 56-year crimefighting career. They've enabled him to take down a variety of nefarious threats from the Kingpin to the Joe Fixit version of Hulk. If you thought that Spidey's abilities extended only to wall crawling and web slinging read on, for these are just the tip of a huge, hairy and multi-legged iceberg. Although Miles Morales and others who've worn the spider mantle have brought their own unique abilities to the table, Peter has shown us time again that he's no slouch in the superhuman abilities department.
20 EXTRA LIMB GENERATION
Ugh, don't you just hate it when you're driving through heavy rain and you've got to keep both hands on the wheel... but you have an itch on the tip of your nose that needs to be scratched. That wasn't a problem for Peter Parker in the 'six arms saga' that ran from Amazing Spider-Man #100-#102.
A chemical cocktail intended to curtail his spider powers had an extremely worrisome side effect. After a fitful sleep, Spidey awoke with 2 new sets of arms. Great for multitasking, but hard to explain away in polite company. Fortunately, with the help of The Lizard's better half Dr. Curt Connors, Spidey was able to develop an antidote.
19 NIGHT VISION
The freaks come out at night. And where evil rises, good must rise to meet it. It's also pretty handy for vigilante crimefighters who need a day job in this capricious economy. Night vision can make the difference between life and death when brawling with thugs in a dimly lit alley at midnight.
But Spidey's 20/20 vision night vision was not a result of the bug bite that gave him his powers. He got it in "The Other" storyline at the start of J.Michael Straczynski's excellent run on Amazing Spider-Man in the early '00s. After a nearly fatal encounter with the supernatural Morlun, Spidey emerged with heightened senses including peerless night vision.
18 GLIDING
Long term fans of Spider-Man's comic book adventures will know that in his early appearances, Spidey had webbed wings under his armpits. He had them ever since his first appearance in Amazing Fantasy #15, but over the years they've come and gone and while they've mostly been an aesthetic flourish, they have also been functional too. They've guided his falls and helped him to avoid becoming street pizza in some of his deadlier aerial encounters.
This was seen most recently in Spider-Man: Homecoming when Peter's tech heavy suit, developed by Tony Stark, unexpectedly sprouted wings enabling him to rescue his friends from the Washington monument. This dramatic scene made comic book fans happy to see this beloved affectation on the big screen.
17 SPIDER KINSHIP
Not only can Peter Parker do whatever a spider can, he's also able to communicate with his arachnid namesakes. The spider that bit him on that fateful day was not only the source of his powers, but it also afforded him a kinship with his totem creatures that enables him to communicate with them.
This was especially useful in a story line titled "The Queen". The Spider Queen was one of many failed attempts to replicate Captain America's powers and unleashed an army of humanoid spiders upon New York. Peter's spider kinship allowed him to communicate with these creatures and this collaboration allowed him to defuse a lethal bomb.
16 VAMPIRE BITE IMMUNITY
Aside from Spidey's winsome personality, a great look and a cool grab bag of powers, there's another reason why we love to read his exploits month after month. He has one of the greatest and most diverse rogues galleries in comics from blue collar working Joes gone bad to actual demons. On occasion he's even tangled with undead menaces like Morbius the living vampire.
Fortunately, Peter Parker's powers have a surprising side effect... immunity to vampire bites. The Ultimate Peter Parker of the 1610 universe found himself immune to vampire bites because the combination of radiation and spider venom has tainted his blood.
15 SUPER AGILITY
Picture Spider-Man in your head right now. What's he doing? Chances are he's leaping into the air, sailing through the skyscrapers of Manhattan with all the grace and agility of his arachnid namesake. His ability to perform his signature acrobatic leaps doesn't just look awesome, it's an invaluable tool in his crimefighting arsenal.
It enables him to rescue free falling innocents, and evade the attacks of even his most persistent foes. Pete's crime fighting career would have been a whole lot shorter if he hadn't been able to weave through Doc Ock's tentacles, vault over Electro's blasts or dive majestically out of the way of Green Goblin's glider.
14 SUPER SPEED
If you're going to web sling around New York and go toe to toe with the worst the Marvel universe has to offer (and still find time to spit one-liners), you need to be light on your feet. Sure, Spidey may not be racing Quicksilver to the finish line but his enhanced musculature and reflexes allow him a speed that far exceeds that of even world class athletes.
His speed has helped him evade pumpkin bombs and dodge Venom's symbiotic tendrils. Not to mention that time in the "Civil War" story line where he took on an entire SWAT team along with Scarlet Witch and Hawkeye. Tragically, however, Peter will always be haunted by those times when he wasn't fast enough.
13 FAST METABOLISM
There are many reasons why we grew up wanting to be Spidey as kids. But one reason that our adult selves may be a little more grateful for than our childhood counterparts is his super fast metabolism. It turns out doing whatever a spider can burns a whole lot of calories, meaning that Spidey often has a ravenous appetite.
But there's more to this power than facilitating gluttony. It's also made him able to recover quickly from a wide range of poisons and toxins. Most notably it enabled him to survive being beaten, poisoned and buried alive in the iconic story, "Kraven's Last Hunt".
12 SUPER DURABILITY
Perhaps one of the reasons that Spider-Man resonates so strongly with us is because he's an everyman. He's not an earthbound god like Superman or Thor, nor is he an unimpeachable billionaire like Batman or Iron Man. He's just like us if we had superpowers. He makes mistakes, he has to worry about paying the rent on time... and every now and then he endures an almighty beatdown.
Fortunately, his powers afford him a superhuman durability that enables him to tangle with the likes of The Hulk, Mr Hyde and The Lizard and stay in one piece. Even with his outstanding speed and reflexes, Spidey would be a smear on the sidewalk if he didn't have his superhuman durability.
11 RADIATION IMMUNITY
Is he strong? Listen bud! He's got radioactive blood. What the theme song to the beloved '60s animated show neglected to mention is how that radioactive blood carries with it some unexpected benefits. Aside from his spider-like powers, Peter also enjoys an immunity to most forms of radiation.
He used this power to his advantage in his battles with the seemingly immortal Morlun in J Michael Straczynski's run on Amazing Spider-Man. By overdosing on radiation he was able to subdue the supernatural villain as he fed on the power of his spider totem. Plus, he probably doesn't have to worry about what would happen if he leaves his phone in his pocket.
10 WALL-CRAWLING
In an interview in the special features of the original 2002 Spider-Man movie Stan Lee recalls his inspiration for the Spider-Man character. He was watching a fly crawling up a wall in his office and thought that comic book readers would get a kick out of a character that could do that. His publisher said it was the worst idea he had ever heard... and the rest is history.
Without his wall crawling abilities, Spider-Man just wouldn't be Spider_Man. Not only is his wall crawling a key part of the character's iconography, it allows him to patrol the streets of Manhattan effectively and creep up on criminals with stealth.
9 HIS VERY OWN MARTIAL ART
When you think of the premier martial artists of the Marvel Universe your thoughts might well turn to the likes of Iron Fist, Shang Chi: The Master of Kung Fu, Moon Knight or even Captain America. But let's not forget that Spidey is no slough in the hand to hand combat department either.
In fact, Peter even developed his own martial art called the Way of The Spider. This martial art (nicknamed Spider Fu by Peter) was developed in collaboration with Shang Chi himself during the "Spider Island" storyline. This variation on traditional kung fu focuses on swift, economical short range attacks targeting nerve clusters and capitalizing on Peter's superhuman strength and speed.
8 HEALING FACTOR
Whether he's on the page or on the screen, Spidey takes his fair share of beatings. Yet, while he may do so with some aches and pains, he still gets up to fight the next day. Sure, a big part of this is his strong will and desire to do the right thing. But these noble traits are augmented by his healing factor.
Sure, he may not be able to give Wolverine a run for his money, but he can still heal way faster than the average Joe. Throughout his career he's been beaten to a pulp, shot and even burned alive... yet still managed to walk it off.
7 SUPER STRENGTH
He may be a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, but if you tick him off he can certainly pack a punch. This mild mannered kid from Queens has the proportional strength of a spider and a one-rep max of 20 tons as we saw in the storyline "The Queen". We've also seen him leg press a collapsed building in Spider-Man: Homecoming, itself an homage to Amazing Spider-Man #33.
Let's not forget that he's taken on some of the heaviest hitters in the Marvel Universe and matched them blow for blow. He's even traded blows with some of his fellow hard hitting heroes including Luke Cage, Deadpool, The Hulk and even The Silver Surfer.
6 ORGANIC WEBBING
Spinning webs is one of Spidey's most well known powers. It's not only his primary form of transportation, it's allowed him to tie up, trip and otherwise subdue bad guys. He's been able to use it to yank airborne villains Like Green Goblin and Vulture out of the air. He's even used it to form cocoons and shields.
Over the years, Spidey has been reliant upon his own patented spider webbing which is fired from his iconic web shooters. It was a cool way to build tension when his finite supply ran out. But for a while in "The Spectacular Spider-Man Disassembled" they sidestepped the web shooter route altogether and gave Peter the ability to fire his own organic webs.
5 MYSTIC POWERS
Upon first glance, you may not think that Spider-Man and Doctor Strange would make for a likely pairing. Nonetheless, they have shared many adventures in comics and animation before they met on the big screen in Avengers: Infinity War. Unbeknownst to many, while Spidey is no master of the mystic arts, he is not without mystic abilities.
In J.Michael Straczynski's run on Amazing Spider-Man it is revealed that the the spider that bit Peter was a creature of the supernatural as much as the atomic. In Amazing Spider-Man #40 he even gets to meet the spider deity with which he shares a bond. This mystical spider gifted Spidey mystic powers to defeat a supernatural creature named Shathra.
4 GENIUS LEVEL INTELLECT
Comic books have been teaching us for quite some time that brawn is useful, but it can never really be achieve greatness without brains to back it up. Peter Parker may be able to bench press a Volkswagen and leap over a school bus but his greatest power has always been his incredible intellect.
Many multimedia interpretations of Spidey's adventures have played this aspect of the character, portraying him as merely a competent tech geek. But Peter's vast intellect has enabled him to outsmart many a villain. Indeed, in The Superior Spider-Man #22 he even set up his own tech company Parker Industries... but it was really Otto Octavius inhabiting Peter's body that initiated this act of entrepreneurship.
3 SPIDER-SENSE
Where would Peter be without his spider sense? Throughout the five and a half decades his exploits have been in print, this power has saved his life more times than we can count. Some writers choose to explain Peter's spider sense as simply the result of extremely heightened reflexes. Others treat it as a tap on the shoulder from some invisible but omniscient presence.
Whatever the explanation for it, it's saved Peter from being shot, stabbed, crushed, impaled and incinerated for decades. Not to mention enabling him to web swing at high speeds through the busy streets of Manhattan without getting neatly bisected by a passing flagpole.
2 COSMIC POWERS
It has been said many times - -with great power comes great responsibility. It's a simple mantra that Spidey lives by. But in Spectacular Spider-Man #158 Peter was chosen to be responsible for perhaps the greatest power in the Marvel Universe... The Uni-Power. This briefly made Peter the latest in a long line who bear the name Captain Universe.
At this time he became invulnerable and was able to generate and manipulate enormous energy. Enough, in fact, to destroy a planet. A big part of Spider-Man's appeal is his street level sensibility. For all his powers, he's a fairly average guy who tends to solve (relatively) average crimes. So it was interesting to see how he grappled with virtual godhood.
1 SUPER WILLPOWER
It's arguable that Spider-Man's greatest power isn't his strength or his speed. It's not his reflexes or agility. It's not even his spider sense, his durability or his healing factor. No, Spidey's greatest power is his sheer indomitable will. They say that the measure of a fighter is in their ability to get back up after they've hit the canvas.
Spider-man has hit the canvas harder than most many times over the years. But he's overcome enormous odds and picked himself back up time after time because of his extraordinary willpower... and his dedication to that very important promise he made to his Uncle Ben all those years ago.