Peter Parker’s Spider-Man is the definitive street hero, protecting the streets of New York every day. Spidey isn’t exactly at home in Marvel’s cosmic landscape… so why does he seem to be immune to the Infinity Stones whenever he faces them individually? Spider-Man’s latest tangle with the all-powerful artifacts shows his spider-sense yet again overcoming Marvel’s most powerful hunks of space rock, adding not a second but a third Infinity Stone that seemingly can’t touch the Web-Head. However, there is an oft-forgotten reason Spider-Man would find himself immune to the Stones.

In a preview of Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1, Spider-Man mixes it up with Overtime – the current bearer of the Time Stone. While Overtime tries to use his time powers to take a swing at Spider-Man, Spidey senses the blow coming and effortlessly ducks out of the way. While it’s impressive that Spider-Man’s spider-sense is powerful enough that even time travel can’t outfox it, this moment only takes on its real significance once you know that Spider-Man has shrugged off the Mind and Reality Stones in similar ways.

Spider-Man’s origin may have seen him bitten by a radioactive spider, but later stories revealed this event was ordained by Lord Chaos and Master Order – two cosmic beings who always intended him to be their weapon against Thanos. The issue is part 2 of the ongoing ‘Infinity Watch’ event (see below for Marvel’s reading order.)

Spider-Man Can Dodge the Time Stone

Peter Parker Adds a New Infinity Stone to His Win Column

Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 is the second chapter of the ongoing ‘Infinity Watch’ saga taking place across Marvel’s 2024 annuals. Thanos Annual #1 saw the Mad Titan set out to collect the Infinity Stones once again, hoping to harness their power to break his new creation the Death Stone to his will. However, after witnessing the other Infinity Stones having bonded with living bearers like Overtime, the Death Stone escaped Thanos, seeking out its own bearer in surprise character Phil Coulson. Now, the bearers are working to escape Thanos, bringing them into conflict with Marvel’s greatest heroes as they take extreme measures to escape. The current Infinity Stone bearers are:

Because the Infinity Stones work in a circuit, the bearers only unlock their maximum powers when they’re gathered together. While their powers are still significant individually, they aren’t at the level of the full Infinity Gauntlet, which has complete control over all levels of reality. However, at the same time, the Stones do access the fundamental forces of reality. It’s therefore surprising that Spider-Man can dodge a punch that Overtime went back in time to throw – a feat made even more impressive by the fact that Spider-Man also shrugged off Star’s reality control (in 2021’s The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #2) and Moondragon wielding the Mind Stone (1993’s Web of Spider-Man #105.) These events have led fans to theorize that Spider-Man is immune to each of the Stones, especially since it’s generally his spider-sense that defeats them.

Spider-Man’s Secret Origin Explains His Cosmic Immunity

Lord Chaos and Master Order Chose Peter Parker to Fight Thanos

This makes particular sense in relation to 1977’s Marvel Two-in-One Annual. This issue revealed a wild new detail of Peter Parker’s origin, stating that the cosmic embodiments of order and chaos “chose to endow him with the destiny of being Spider-Man.” Given that Marvel’s cosmic beings tend to act through natural law, this doesn’t contradict Spider-Man’s more sci-fi origin, or even the idea of Peter as a ‘spider-totem’ – someone mystically chosen to become the spider-hero of their reality.

Marvel Two-in-One cast Spider-Man as Lord Chaos and Master Order’s back-up plan to defeat Thanos, with he and the Fantastic Four’s Thing meant to combat the Mad Titan when Adam Warlock was out of commission. It therefore makes sense they’d give him as much resistance to the Infinity Stones as possible, given Thanos’ penchant for using the artifacts when he can. Of course, no being in the universe can resist the combined Stones, suggesting how Spider-Man could have individual immunity but still be vulnerable to the full Infinity Gauntlet.

The past decade has revolutionized Spider-Man’s place in the Marvel Universe, revealing that he is essentially the linchpin of Marvel’s reality. The Spider-Totems of the Marvel Universe are connected to the Web of Life and Destiny – a fifth-dimensional energy construct created by the Goddess Neith. In each universe, a fitting individual is chosen to become a Spider-Totem, connecting them to the Web. Indeed, it’s this connection that gives Spider-Man his spider-sense, revealed not just as an enhanced awareness of his surroundings but a form of genuine precognition, allowing its users to predict the future (this is most extreme in Madame Web, with Spider-Man possessing a lesser version.)

This connection to the Web of Life and Destiny could help explain why Spider-Man’s spider-sense would allow him to overcome individual Infinity Stones – in Marvel lore, the Stones only have power in their home realities. Not only are they powerless in any other reality, but they can even be destroyed if they come into contact with another universe (as Captain America once learned to his dismay.) Since Spider-Man is always partially connected to the entirety of the multiverse via the Web of Life and Destiny – and has way more experience with his spider-sense than the Infinity Stone bearers currently have with their powers – it makes sense he’d have some wiggle room when it comes to each Stone’s influence over Earth-616.

Spider-Man’s Infinity Stone Immunity Could Earn Him a Spot on the Infinity Watch

The New Team Will Keep the Stones Out of the Wrong Hands

Whether it’s deliberate canon or not, Spider-Man keeps proving himself immune to the Infinity Stones when they’re turned against him, usually by using his semi-supernatural spider-sense. Given the cosmic elements of his origin, it would be a great twist for Marvel to confirm that Spider-Man was gifted this hidden power without ever knowing about it. In fact, there’s no better time to do it than the ‘Infinity Watch’ event itself, which has promised to assemble a new team of heroes to protect the Infinity Stones (a responsibility Spider-Man might be uniquely placed to accept.)

Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 is coming from Marvel Comics July 3.