# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2017, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spiderman-sense/792627/21 "2017-08-03T14:27:24Z")
Marvel retconned some of their characters like Cloak and Dagger into mutants years ago to give them a little rub. They would never need to do that with Spidey though since he’s popular enough without having to be a mutant. There was a series where it was revealed that Parker was a Spider-Totem and the spider bite had a mystical component to it. I don’t know if the current continuity follows that now or not. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2017, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spiderman-sense/792627/22 "2017-08-03T14:47:48Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > No doubt. Some comics show him dancing through a hail of gunfire, while others show him being punched by Daredevil. [Mole-man](https://joshreads.com/2010/11/infinite-cartoon-sadness/#spidey) takes him out with a stick. ---
**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, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spiderman-sense/792627/23 "2017-08-03T14:49:08Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > Marvel retconned some of their characters like Cloak and Dagger into mutants years ago to give them a little rub. They would never need to do that with Spidey though since he’s popular enough without having to be a mutant. Wasn’t a plot point in House of M that PP pretended to be a mutant to fit in? And possibly it was revealed that he wasn’t, and there was a scandal? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2017, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spiderman-sense/792627/24 "2017-08-03T15:19:28Z")
It is very inconsistent so no single explanation makes sense. It could have been some kind of ‘eyes in the back of his head’ kind of thing even if the eyes weren’t physically apparent but in the comics it started as some kind of general precognition of danger that any kind of heightened physical senses don’t explain. However, he was bitten by a radioactive spider, the physics and chemistry of that circumstance are still unknown because for some reason the studies of the effects of radioactive spider are horribly underfunded. We only assume that the Spidey’s super powers are all spider based, but this one could be purely based on radioactivity. Since we know there’s some sort of connection between anger and the physical effects of radioactivity on the human body it’s possible that Spiderman is feeling the effects of anger by others. Because he was only bitten by a radioactive spider and not exposed to intense radioactivity as the Hulk was this only manifests as a feeling he has due to the limited effect of anger on his body. Perhaps if he was exposed to additional radioactivity the effect of the anger of others would turn him green, or perhaps his own anger would have that kind of effect. We have seen that his strength varies situationally so there may be some sort of general emotional effect on his powers and he’s feeling a corresponding physical change. OTOH, even though he wasn’t born a mutant (though I’m not clear on that whole storyline since the whole ‘every superhero is a mutant’ phase Marvel went through is about when I lost interest in comic books) clearly the spider bite did change is cellular structure in some way that may correspond to the psychic abilities displayed by other mutants, so it may actually be precognition, just not functioning at a high enough level to let him know exactly what is about to happen. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2017, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spiderman-sense/792627/25 "2017-08-03T15:26:37Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > In the newspaper comics, it is always immediately followed by him being knocked unconscious. It is more of an “imminent head trauma” sense. Have comics addressed the recent findings on CTE? ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2017, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spiderman-sense/792627/26 "2017-08-03T15:28:12Z")
Who has had more head trauma, comics Spider-Man or Hal Jordan? ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2017, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spiderman-sense/792627/27 "2017-08-03T16:09:59Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > 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. I recall the tactic the Punisher used in a What If? comic where he was tricked into killing Spider-Man: He set up a Doctor Octopus dummy full of explosives, and when Spidey closed in he didn’t realize that his spidey-sense was telling him anything beyond the obvious “going up against Doc Ock is dangerous”. ---
**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, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spiderman-sense/792627/28 "2017-08-03T16:14:18Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > He set up a Doctor Octopus dummy full of explosives, and when Spidey closed in he didn’t realize that his spidey-sense was telling him anything beyond the obvious “going up against Doc Ock is dangerous”. Was that after the failed attempt to get him to run at full speed into a hole painted on side of a cliff? ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2017, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spiderman-sense/792627/29 "2017-08-03T16:53:57Z")
Maybe Peter Parker received a small portion of fly powers because the spider that bit him had some bits of a fly still in its stomach digesting. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2017, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spiderman-sense/792627/30 "2017-08-03T17:10:05Z")
> [@Snooooopy](#): > > Maybe Peter Parker received a small portion of fly powers because the spider that bit him had some bits of a fly still in its stomach digesting. Maybe he ate some of the roast Dennis the Menace swatted a fly on in the strip above. ---
**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 3, 2017, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spiderman-sense/792627/31 "2017-08-03T19:20:50Z")
Maybe he swallowed the spider to catch the fly that wriggled and jiggled inside him ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2017, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spiderman-sense/792627/32 "2017-08-03T20:18:11Z")
> [@Trancephalic](#): > > Maybe he swallowed the spider to catch the fly that wriggled and jiggled inside him Spiderman or Dennis? ---
**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, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spiderman-sense/792627/33 "2017-08-03T20:37:21Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **TriPolar** : > > We only assume that the Spidey’s super powers are all spider based, but this one could be purely based on radioactivity. Since we know there’s some sort of connection between anger and the physical effects of radioactivity on the human body it’s possible that Spiderman is feeling the effects of anger by others. Congratulations, **TriPolar** , you’ve just earned a place in my personal head-canon. And he certainly does have some radioactivity-based abilities: His theme song tells us that he has radioactive blood, and there have been hints that he’s immune to the harmful effects of radiation. ---
**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 3, 2017, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spiderman-sense/792627/34 "2017-08-03T20:42:19Z")
So Venom would be undetectable to spidersense because alien symbiotes operate with a different suite of emotions and while they’d feel something analogous to anger it wouldn’t set of the same register? Are other aliens undetectable to spidersense? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2017, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spiderman-sense/792627/35 "2017-08-03T21:51:25Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > There was a series where it was revealed that Parker was a Spider-Totem and the spider bite had a mystical component to it. I don’t know if the current continuity follows that now or not. It’s still in continuity, and played a big part in the “Spider-Verse” story arc from 2014. The villain from the first story, a pseudo-vampire named Morlun who feeds on animal totems like Spider-Man, comes back with his whole family in tow, and starts hunting different versions of Spider-Man from different alternate realities. The story ends up bringing virtually every version of Spider-Man ever into continuity, including [Pavitr Prabhakar, a version of Spider-man created for Indian audiences](https://hoomahmoos.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/pavitr-prabhakar.jpg), [the Spider-Man from the '70s Japanese television show who pilots a giant mech](https://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/9/99449/4149842-japanspidermanandmech.jpg), [Spider-parody The Spectacular Spider-Ham](https://www.bleedingcool.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Image-411.jpg), and my personal favorite, [The Spider-Man from the newspaper comic](http://www.spiderfan.org/comics/images/spider_verse/001-6.jpg). Morlun abandons trying to kill that particular Peter Parker proxy after being frustrated by the repetitive nature of reality in a two-panel daily comic strip universe. > [@Chronos](#): > > Congratulations, **TriPolar** , you’ve just earned a place in my personal head-canon. And he certainly does have some radioactivity-based abilities: His theme song tells us that he has radioactive blood, and there have been hints that he’s immune to the harmful effects of radiation. In the arc that originally introduced the villain Morlun, Spider-Man defeats him by irradiating himself. His spider-enhanced blood absorbs the radiation without harming Peter, but when Morlun tries to drain the “spider magic” out of him, he gets a side order of radiation poisoning for his trouble. There was also a largely unfortunate “What if?” story that tried to be a _Dark Knight Returns_ for Spider-Man, where an older Peter Parker abandoned super-heroing after Mary Jane died of cervical cancer she got from Pete’s irradiated jism. Somehow, this particular version of Spider-Man didn’t make it into the Spider-Verse story. Thank God. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2017, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spiderman-sense/792627/36 "2017-08-03T22:55:23Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > In the arc that originally introduced the villain Morlun, Spider-Man defeats him by irradiating himself. His spider-enhanced blood absorbs the radiation without harming Peter, but when Morlun tries to drain the “spider magic” out of him, he gets a side order of radiation poisoning for his trouble. > > There was also a largely unfortunate “What if?” story that tried to be a _Dark Knight Returns_ for Spider-Man, where an older Peter Parker abandoned super-heroing after Mary Jane died of cervical cancer she got from Pete’s irradiated jism. Somehow, this particular version of Spider-Man didn’t make it into the Spider-Verse story. Thank God. Jeez. I’ll stick with the newspaper Spiderman and the Comic Curmudgeon Commentary. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2017, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spiderman-sense/792627/37 "2017-08-04T01:39:42Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > It’s also his most inconsistently-presented power. In the newspaper comics, it’s just a vague tingling when “something is wrong”, In the newspaper comics, it’s hilariously awful and useless. It won’t work against a [goon with a club](https://joshreads.com/2009/09/wednesday-quickies-4/#spidey), [guy with a pipe](https://joshreads.com/2006/08/hydrocephalic-day-at-the-ballpark/#spidey) or even [just a brick](https://joshreads.com/2007/03/itll-be-like-the-end-of-the-bacchae-only-even-more-horrible/#spidey) . Seriously, one of his most effective opponents uses [“hit him with a stick”](https://joshreads.com/2010/11/infinite-cartoon-sadness/#spidey) to win. ---
**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 4, 2017, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spiderman-sense/792627/38 "2017-08-04T02:39:05Z")
The newspaper version of the power is just different, not useless. It’s not much good in a fight, because when you’re in a fight, it’s _always_ tingling… but outside of a fight, it can be much more useful than the reflexes version. Meet someone new for the first time and your Spidey-Sense tingles when you shake his hand? Now you know that he’s probably some supervillain’s secret identity. Reflexes won’t tell you that. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2017, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spiderman-sense/792627/39 "2017-08-05T19:17:03Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Maybe he ate some of the roast Dennis the Menace swatted a fly on in the strip above. Well, let’s see. Dennis the Menace famously has a love/hate relationship with Mr. Wilson. Spider-Man has, on occasion, found himself in a similar kind of love/hate relationship with Deadpool, whose real name is Wade Wilson. You know, I think you might be onto something there! ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2017, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spiderman-sense/792627/40 "2017-08-05T19:55:39Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Congratulations, **TriPolar** , you’ve just earned a place in my personal head-canon. And he certainly does have some radioactivity-based abilities: His theme song tells us that he has radioactive blood, and there have been hints that he’s immune to the harmful effects of radiation. I forgot about the theme song and radioactive blood. I was wondering how much radioactivity Peter was exposed to during the experiment when he was bitten. I don’t recall any references in comics to radioactive blood but the animated series was a Marvel production so that’s good enough for me. It’s possible he’s in danger of losing his radiation based abilities when exposed to radiation as has happened to the Hulk and Thing among others, but that hasn’t been a permanent effect on either of them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spiderman-sense/792627.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spiderman-sense/792627.md?page=3)