Warning: contains spoilers for Spider-Man #8!
Marvel’s Spider-Man just demonstrated a remarkable web-based ability that can save his life easily – but it’s a last-ditch maneuver that has incredible risks. Peter Parker’s suite of powers already make him very difficult to even hit in combat, let alone wound seriously; his Spider-Sense ability in particular has allowed him to escape certain death time and time again. But Spider-Man #8 reveals Peter’s main weakness – his inability to save himself from a high fall without webs – can be countered with a one-time-only tactic.
Peter Parker is best-known as a very vertical superhero; he is capable of scaling great distances with his wall-crawling abilities, his signature twin webshooters and his Spider-Sense (allowing him to sense obstacles he would otherwise run into). Most villains can’t even land a single punch on him – but Peter often faces off against enemies who are just as agile and maneuverable as he is. Case in point: the Vulture, a supervillian with a winged suit that allows him to attack Peter from the air – and drop him to the ground far below.
In Spider-Man #8, written by Zeb Wells with art by John Romita Jr., the flying villain Vulture engages Peter in a surprise attack, flies him higher than all the buildings in New York City – and drops him. Vulture previously shredded Spider-Man’s webshooters in the previous issue, so Peter’s main method of saving himself from great heights is no longer available. At the last second, he realizes his webshooter canisters are pressurized, and he can use his super-strength to break them in two; the resulting blast should be enough to slow his fall. He breaks the canisters and the effort is successful – barely. Spider-Man hits dozens of tree branches on his way down, and while he is badly bruised and battered, he’s miraculously alive.
Unfortunately, there is a huge downside to this strategy: Spider-Man has no more web cartridges to use in battle. While the Vulture did smash Peter’s webshooters beforehand anyway, it’s still a one-time-only tactic that effectively takes Spider-Man out of the fight until he can gather or create more cartridges. Still, it shows Spider-Man’s resourcefulness in battle and proves that Peter Parker is one of the major geniuses in the Marvel Universe. Spider-Man may not be as smart as Reed Richards or Iron Man, but his chemistry knowledge is profound (and is the only character to devise a formula for his specialized webbing with remarkable adhesive properties yet also dissolves in one hour).
Spider-Man goes on to win the battle with the Vulture, thanks to Norman Osborn’s new suit. He utilizes many new gadgets in the suit, but the beginning of the battle proved he can find new purposes for each and every one. Spider-Man’s new tactic allows him to save himself, but it leaves him empty-handed…and it’s a good thing he’s made alliances with the likes of Norman Osborn to allow him to survive.
