Analyzing the Spider Powers of the Original Spider-Man Movies – Part 1

Analyzing the Spider Powers of the Original Spider-Man Movies – Part 1

With all of the versions of Spider-Man that we’ve seen since the turn of the century, it’s understandable for fans of the character to have their favorite. Whether it’s any of the cinematic Spider-Men, the video game web-slingers, or the comic Spideys, this classic superhero is certainly amazing in all forms. While every Spider-Man has relatively the same skillset, each version is discernible by his favored powers and fighting style. This is definitely true for the first film-version Spidey — and many people’s most nostalgic edition — Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man in the renowned Spider-Man trilogy. Viewers got to see Spider-Man in all of his web-slinging glory on the big screen for three whole movies, which gave the creative team plenty of time to showcase his most spectacular superpowers as the hero gained confidence in himself and grew as a character. 

The classic Spider-Man comics depicted him as a nerdy teenager who suddenly possessed some very spider-like abilities after being bitten by a radioactive spider. The titular hero in the Spider-Man movies also gains these arachnid-adjacent abilities, with skills that are clearly more tactical in combat. From swinging on webs to sensing danger before it arrives, this Spider-Man is a reliable depiction of the fascinating abilities of Spider-Man. This leads us to ask: how do this specific Spidey’s superpowers compare to the skillsets of real arachnids? After all, the Raimi-verse Spider-Man inadvertently provided the blueprint for future Spidey films — not to mention superhero origin stories in general — so it seems reasonable to believe that there might be some reality within the arachnid powers. If you’re up for a web-slinging adventure, join us in our dive into the webbed world of Spider-Man (Tobey’s version). 

Super Origins

Just like this trilogy, it’s essential to begin this brief analysis with the origins of Spidey’s powers. The first movie features the classic origin story of this superhero: Peter Parker is bitten by a genetically-engineered spider and endures a feverish night before waking up with his newfound abilities. This particular movie features an excitable Peter on a class field trip to Columbia University’s impressive science department, where the tour guide conveniently explains their spider research. Long story short, there are three main spiders involved in the genetic project. One can quickly jump and catch its prey (family Spanasidae), one can funnel durable webs (family Filistatidae), and one can hunt with a sort of “spider sense” as its reflexes exceed those of any predator (family Agelenidae). The scientists combined the genetics of these spiders and created 15 super spiders, and the tour guide is oddly nonchalant about the fact that Mary Jane only counts 14 in their enclosure. As Peter’s luck would have it, the 15th spider gifts him with a nasty bite that causes the spider DNA to bond with his human DNA in a very 2000s-era CGI sequence.

For all of you movie trivia-enjoyers, there is something to note about the infamous spider: it was real! Well, not technically, since there’s not an actual “super spider” that can give us powers, as disappointing as that may be to some people. But the spider in this scene was a live spider that became plan B after the team’s computer-generated spider looked too fake for their liking. The whole process was completed by entomologist Steven Kutcher, who had director Sam Raimi select his favorite spider out of a specific group. They originally wanted to use a black widow, but after considering the level of danger that a venomous spider would present to the actors, they set their sights on Steatoda grossa. Raimi chose one with a round body that would stand out, and the creative team painted the lucky spider with red and blue body paint to make it adhere to Spider-Man’s color palette. This sounds like quite the process, but we think it’s safe to say that it was worth it to achieve that pivotal scene in this film.

The fictional spider was quite super indeed, as it gave Peter all kinds of special abilities that would prove useful in his fights against some of the most iconic villains in comic history. Let’s examine some of his most prominent superpowers and see how they match up against our real — and far less super — spiders.

Wild Webbing

Objectively, the ability that sets this Spider-Man apart from the two subsequent live-action Spider-Men is his webbing. He organically produces silk webs from special glands in his wrists, as opposed to both Andrew’s and Tom’s Spider-Men, who need to build their own web-shooters in order to fully become Spidey. The audience just sees strong webs shoot out from Peter’s wrists when he chooses to do so, but what we don’t see are the spinnerets, radial minor spigots, and glands that all work together to naturally make the webs and fire them at his desired target. One of the caveats of this ability is that it seems Spider-Man can only shoot webs when his hand is in the classic “I love you” formation, which is an action that generations of children have loved to emulate while pretending that they are their favorite superhero. Spider-Man shows the humorous beginning of Peter figuring out how to actually shoot his webs, but it’s only in Spider-Man 2 where we see that this ability is heavily dependent on his health and mental wellbeing. When Peter decides to quit his web-slinging role, his webs also stop working and don’t start up again until Peter fully commits to his secret identity once again.

Of course, real spiders (of most species) are known for producing their own webbing as well. Each gland produces a different type of silk, so the spider can choose how to utilize their webs. Spiders produce their webs from spinnerets just like Spider-Man, only their spinnerets are located on the end of their abdomens. Spider silk is commonly regarded as the strongest natural fiber in the world. It is extremely durable, stretchy, and sticky — aka all of the qualities of Spidey’s webs. They can also slowly descend down a strand as they produce it, which we see Spider-Man do plenty of times in this trilogy. Sadly, real spiders can’t swing around like the superhero. They simply don’t have the strength in their small bodies, not to mention the ability to rhythmically shoot webs that attach to buildings to allow them to swing. The only time we see swinging spiders is if they happen to catch a gust of wind that blows them away from their original location.

Power-Jumping

In all of the exhilarating sequences of Spider-Man swinging across New York City in these movies, there is often a literal jumping-off point where he launches himself into the air before slinging webs. He can technically jump several stories high when he concentrates all of his energy in his legs. This superpower is in tandem with his super strength that works throughout his whole body, which we’ll talk about next. There are plenty of instances where this Spider-Man uses his jumping ability in the movies, such as when he intentionally launches himself off the side of a building while donning his new black suit in Spider-Man 3. This power is one of the more underrated of his skillset, but it certainly comes in handy when Spidey needs to attack his supervillain enemies with the element of surprise — and jump height.

Many real spiders don’t have the same super-jump as Spider-Man, which is undeniably a good thing considering the alternative. However, there is a specialized group of spiders that can jump much higher than their arachnid brethren, and that group is predictably called jumping spiders. They use this ability to evade predators and surprise their prey. Jumping spiders can contract certain muscles to increase the flow of blood to their legs and make them suddenly extend. This process is all about changing their blood pressure immediately and intentionally. It’s certainly an impressive ability, but their average jump height of 6 inches seems nothing compared to the almost 100 feet that Spider-Man can leap without much preparation.

Spider Strength

Speaking of impressive strength, this Spider-Man has multiple situations where he showcases his literal superhuman strength. It’s estimated that he can lift up to 20 tons, but some of the other ways that he exerts his strength might exceed that. Whether he’s throwing cars or swinging on webs, Spidey learns how to use his strength to his advantage in every fight. In fact, that’s one of the first actions in Spider-Man that makes Peter realize he has new powers after the spider bite. After impossibly dodging Flash’s hits, Peter delivers one super punch that is enough to launch Flash down the hall and comedically receive a teacher’s full lunch tray in the face. Tobey’s Spider-Man has plenty of moments where he gets to use his spider strength, with some of the most famous ones being when he holds the cable car full of children, braces the giant wall of Doc Ock’s lab, and stops the speeding train (with an interesting facial expression that would go on to become a meme years later). 

While Peter’s moral compass prompts him to start pulling his punches in his hand-to-hand combat, real spiders don’t have the luxury of needing to limit their undeniable strength. They’re not necessarily weak, but spiders also do not have the super strength that Peter supposedly gets from an arachnid. The clearest use of their strength is when they lift up their captive prey and carry it around. They might do this when they need to bring it to their waiting offspring or if they need to find a safer location for their dining experience. Since the prey is usually a small insect and therefore pretty light, spiders aren’t showing any signs of super strength here. It might be a lot of weight relative to the spider’s size if the arachnid is small, but spiders generally have the same amount of physical strength as the very insects that they feed upon.

Even Super Spiders Are No Match For Pointe

Make sure to come back next week for part two of our Spidey analysis! We may not have Spider-Man swinging around our cities (as far as we know), but the spiders that invade our homes are enough to worry about. The last thing you need when facing a pest problem is to deal with inefficient treatments that don’t actually solve the issue. Instead of using a trial-and-error process to stop a pest infestation, leave the stress of pest control to the pros of Pointe Pest Control. Our highly-trained technicians know the life cycles and habits of common pests — including spiders — and solve all kinds of pest problems with a combination of thorough inspections and targeted treatments. We do not leave any pest issue unsolved, and we personally guarantee that all of our non-toxic treatments will keep your home or business pest-free long after the service ends. Contact us today for more information on our reliable pest control services that can feel like a gift amidst the curse of a pest invasion.

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