When Peter Parker was first bitten by a radioactive spider in Stan Lee and Steve Ditko's Amazing Fantasy #15, he was almost immediately surprised by the development of his powerful new spider-abilities to become Spider-Man. Combined with his awesome sense of responsibility, these abilities have made him one of Marvel's greatest superheroes.
Of course, that wouldn't be the end of the surprises for both Spider-Man and comic fans. The popular character's abilities have frequently changed over the years while new characters have taken on the role to further diversify the enhanced power set of the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.
10 A Failed Cure Increased His Powers With Four Additional Arms
After a series of losses in Peter Parker's personal life and Spider-Man's professional life, he came to the conclusion that the only way for Peter Parker to successfully have a life was for Spider-Man to die, in one of his many attempted retirements from crime-fighting. He attempted to create a cure for his spider powers that he then tested by drinking, which obviously had disastrous effects.
Parker woke up to discover the serum had the opposite effect and increased his powers instead of removing them, resulting in the growth of four extra arms. He was able to restore himself thanks to the combined work of Dr. Curt Connors/The Lizard and Morbius, the Living Vampire.
9 He Became Captain Universe After The Uni-Power Chose Him
The Uni-Power is a cosmic aspect of Marvel's Enigma Force that empowers the chosen protector of existence known as Captain Universe when the need arises to protect the galaxy. Spider-Man was chosen by the Uni-Power to become Captain Universe during the "Acts of Vengeance" event that saw him targeted by a number of powerful Marvel villains.
As Captain Universe, his established abilities were greatly increased, though after the full extent of his cosmic powers was unlocked, he was capable of blasting the Tri-Sentinel to pieces with energy blasts. An alternate-reality version of Peter Parker that remained bonded with the Uni-Power as Captain Universe appeared during the Spider-Verse event.
8 The Venom Symbiote Gave Him Additional Alien Abilities
Peter Parker was one of the many heroes and villains taken by The Beyonder to Battleworld to explore an ultimate battle between good and evil for the omnipotent being's curiosity during 1984's maxi-series Secret Wars. After his costume was destroyed, he found a new alien costume to replace his own that acted like a second skin and enhanced his natural abilities.
The alien costume was also capable of limited shape-shifting, could generate its own webbing, and camouflage itself as regular clothing. He eventually discovered that the costume was a living symbiote and rejected its attempts to bond, which led to the symbiote's union with Eddie Brock to become Venom.
7 An Overloaded Spider-Sense Can Bring Prophetic Visions Of The Future
Peter Parker's spider-sense is one of his greatest abilities as it gives him a detailed early warning of any threats, though as he learned during the Clone Saga, that ability could also be dangerous when it was overloaded. Peter Parker's clone Kaine was first introduced during the long-running storyline, and his broken spider-sense resulted in traumatic visions of the future.
Parker's spider-sense has also been revealed to be connected to the Web of Life and Destiny that allows characters like Madame Web to see the future, though Spider-Man's own visions usually only come when his own abilities are aided or overloaded by others like Web.
6 Spider-Man 2099 Was Genetically Spliced With A Spider's DNA
There have been a few other characters who have worn the webs as Spider-Man over the years, which includes in the far future of 2099 when Miguel O'Hara carried on the legacy as the Spider-Man of the future. O'Hara was a brilliant geneticist who gained his abilities after he was forced to genetically splice his DNA together with a spider's DNA to save his life, resulting in new abilities.
Spider-Man 2099 shared a similar power set with Peter Parker, though his webbing was organic and his wall-crawling was a result of the sharp talons he developed on his fingers and toes. He also grew paralytic venom-filled fangs and enhanced vision, along with a telepathic spider-sense he could use to communicate with others in close proximity.
5 His Radioactive Origin Was Given A Totemic Retcon
When a similarly-powered character named Ezekiel Sims entered Spider-Man's life during J. Michael Straczynski and John Romita Jr.'s "Coming Home" storyline from Amazing Spider-Man, a new spiritual element was introduced into Spider-Man's science-based origins. Sims revealed that he and Peter Parker were connected to the Web of Life and Destiny and a spiritual Spider-Totem.
The Totem granted them their abilities, which in Peter Parker's case irradiated the spider that bit him. This further increased his connection to other Spider-People as avatars of the Spider-Totems that powered them, which often resulted in additional abilities in events like Spider-Verse and Spider-Geddon.
4 He Developed Organic Web-Shooters & Gained The Ability To Communicate With Spiders
A largely failed attempt at creating a new super-soldier during wartime resulted in Adriana Soria's transformation into The Queen, a human/insect mutant hybrid with advanced abilities that could mutate others, which happened when she kissed Spider-Man after choosing him as her mate.
Her mutagenic saliva caused Spider-Man to transform into a giant spider, though he was reborn in his humanoid form with additional abilities that included organic web-shooters as well as the ability to communicate with spiders, though that ability was short-lived.
3 Peter Parker Gained Animalistic New Abilities From The Other
Peter Parker discovered his connection to another Spider-Totem known as The Other following his death at the hands of the multiversal spider-hunting Inheritor known as Morlun, which were first revealed when he used retractable stingers from his wrists that contained paralytic venom. Peter Parker's body was regrown in a cocoon after he agreed to serve as The Other's avatar.
Some of his new abilities included enhanced night vision, increased sensitivity to his spider-sense that allowed him to feel vibrations through his webbing, and the entire surface of his skin was now capable of adhering to surfaces.
2 Miles Morales Can Turn Invisible & Has A Powerful Venom Blast
A new Spider-Man named Miles Morales was first introduced in the Ultimate universe following the death of Peter Parker, and he gained his powers in the same way as Spider-Man, though the genetically modified spider that bit him was a bit different than the one that bit Parker.
While he gained the same enhanced strength, agility, and spider-sense as Peter Parker, he also gained the ability to camouflage into the background to become invisible as well as a devastatingly powerful bio-electrical shock he calls his venom-blast.
1 Peter Parker Lost His Spider-Sense & Was Forced To Learn Martial Arts To Compensate
After he was forced to set off a device to eradicate an artificial insect-sense being used by the Spider-Slayer's enhanced soldiers, Peter Parker lost his powerful spider-sense which greatly reduced his ability to fight crime at his usual level.
He asked Shang-Chi to help train him as a better fighter so he could cope without the use of his spider-sense. Together, they created a new martial art known as the Way of the Spider, though Spider-Man referred to it as his Spider-Fu. This did greatly increase his effectiveness as a hero, though his spider-sense eventually returned in full.