# Spiderman sense **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 2, 2017, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spiderman-sense/792627 "2017-08-02T15:07:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2017, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spiderman-sense/792627/1 "2017-08-02T15:07:39Z")
So one of Spiderman’s powers is the ability to sense and avoid danger. I have to say I would think that power would be better assigned to a fly based superhero. I can kill spiders 99/100 times on the first attempt however, flies elude me almost every time I try to squish one. Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2017, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spiderman-sense/792627/2 "2017-08-02T16:34:14Z")
It’s also his most inconsistently-presented power. In the newspaper comics, it’s just a vague tingling when “something is wrong”, without giving him any specifics on what it is, and seems to apply to anything in the same city or so, or happening within an hour or so. Most movies, however, seem to use it for extremely fast, possibly slightly precognitive, reflexes, with a timespan of no more than a second, and giving enough information to enable him to actually react directly. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2017, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spiderman-sense/792627/3 "2017-08-02T16:39:18Z")
[Relevant Link](https://youtu.be/5gr75OQabg0?t=15s) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2017, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spiderman-sense/792627/4 "2017-08-02T17:24:45Z")
Well, it’s a literary device, of course, and as such, it doesn’t bear close scrutiny. As far as flies go, that’s just superior eyesight, nothing super or magical about it. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2017, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spiderman-sense/792627/5 "2017-08-02T17:28:46Z")
Oh, and the trick with flies is a Miagi thing, approach really, really slowly, then launch your attack from an inch away. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2017, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spiderman-sense/792627/6 "2017-08-02T17:36:03Z")
I’m just glad Spiderman doesn’t have to suck the juices out of his victims for sustenance. Plus, in the comix, the Spider Sense always looked like stink lines to me. Hey, Parker, wash your hair! ---
**Author:** ![Trancephalic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trancephalic/32/380_2.png) [@Trancephalic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trancephalic)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2017, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spiderman-sense/792627/7 "2017-08-02T17:36:54Z")
Depends on the spider when discussing eyesight. Those jumping ones are very cognizant of moving objects and shadows. All things considered, though, there isn’t much spider to spiderman aside from “webbing” (it’s more accurately silk), and that’s not even part of the spiderbite’s influence. I think having no actual knowledge of spiders is a requisite to work on his comics. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2017, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spiderman-sense/792627/8 "2017-08-02T17:44:02Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Plus, in the comix, the Spider Sense always looked like stink lines to me. Hey, Parker, wash your hair! Hey, spend a day climbing buildings, swinging across Manhattan on webs, and fighting criminals while wearing a spandex balaclava and see what kind of hat hair _you_ end up with. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2017, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spiderman-sense/792627/9 "2017-08-02T17:48:39Z")
> [@drewder](#): > > So one of Spiderman’s powers is the ability to sense and avoid danger. I have to say I would think that power would be better assigned to a fly based superhero. The Fly’s superpower was to get romantically involved with Geena Davis. _1986_ Geena Davis. That’s a much better ability. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2017, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spiderman-sense/792627/10 "2017-08-02T17:48:53Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > In the newspaper comics, it’s just a vague tingling when “something is wrong”, without giving him any specifics on what it is In the newspaper comics, it is always immediately followed by him being knocked unconscious. It is more of an “imminent head trauma” sense. ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2017, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spiderman-sense/792627/11 "2017-08-02T17:49:16Z")
I think it has something to do with the way spiders feel their Web moving. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2017, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spiderman-sense/792627/12 "2017-08-02T17:51:13Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > It’s also his most inconsistently-presented power. No doubt. Some comics show him dancing through a hail of gunfire, while others show him being punched by Daredevil. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2017, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spiderman-sense/792627/13 "2017-08-02T19:35:01Z")
I always liked how the Punisher dealt with his spider-sense. Yeah Spider-Man detects danger when the Punisher shoots at him but that explosive round he still somehow dodges is still going to explode nearby and hit him with shrapnel. ---
**Author:** ![caligulathegod](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caligulathegod/32/9685_2.png) [@caligulathegod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligulathegod)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2017, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spiderman-sense/792627/14 "2017-08-02T20:47:28Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Plus, in the comix, the Spider Sense always looked like stink lines to me. Hey, Parker, wash your hair! Relevant link. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BVgHXik5oA&t=1m4s) ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2017, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spiderman-sense/792627/15 "2017-08-03T11:01:38Z")
> [@Trancephalic](#): > > All things considered, though, there isn’t much spider to spiderman aside from “webbing” (it’s more accurately silk), and that’s not even part of the spiderbite’s influence. To be fair, I have seen actual spiders crawling up walls. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2017, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spiderman-sense/792627/16 "2017-08-03T11:25:02Z")
> [@Trancephalic](#): > > All things considered, though, there isn’t much spider to spiderman aside from “webbing” (it’s more accurately silk), and that’s not even part of the spiderbite’s influence. That’s why I was pro organic webshooters in the Raimi version, and wish they’d kept with it for his subsequent iterations. It made him a bit more arachnid. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2017, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spiderman-sense/792627/17 "2017-08-03T11:54:58Z")
> [@drewder](#): > > So one of Spiderman’s powers is the ability to sense and avoid danger. I have to say I would think that power would be better assigned to a fly based superhero. I can kill spiders 99/100 times on the first attempt however, flies elude me almost every time I try to squish one. Although really flies don’t have a spidey sense, they are just _fast_. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2017, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spiderman-sense/792627/18 "2017-08-03T12:29:59Z")
But the organic webspinners raise the question of why they’re in his wrists. Personally, I prefer a compromise: He does organically produce web-stuff, from an embarrassing place. He can then, however, use that stuff and some simple chemistry (bright high-schooler level, not metatechnologist level) to produce usable web-fluid which he can load into the launchers he built. Producing it probably also requires an unusual diet-- Show him having some weird cravings, like shrimp including the tails or something. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2017, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spiderman-sense/792627/19 "2017-08-03T13:19:10Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Producing it probably also requires an unusual diet-- Show him having some weird cravings, like shrimp including the tails or something. ([Throat-clearing sound](https://theconversation.com/what-does-spider-man-eat-for-breakfast-36857).) ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2017, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spiderman-sense/792627/20 "2017-08-03T13:31:06Z")
Has it ever been suggested that Peter Parker is a mutant? Maybe the spider bite didn’t give him powers at all. Maybe he was born with powers, that were dormant until activated by a little accident. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spiderman-sense/792627.md?page=2)