Sometimes Spider-man is drawn with webbing underneath his arms, from about his elbows to his waist. I think it may be the way he appeared first, all those years ago. I’ve seen it crop up in more recent comics, too. Is it just a preference of the artist to draw him like that? Do the wings serve any purpose?
They’re just decorative stitched-in panels of flexible fabric. They tend to “rip out” fairly easily and often (i.e. when the artist forgets to draw them). I recall seeing at least one comic where Peter is shown sewing them into one of his costumes. They always struck me as at best pointless and at worst dangerous. If your gig involved the sort of acrobatic moves Spider-Man’s does, would you want anything constricting the free range of motion of your arms in any way?
My point exactly. If you had material sewed from your wrists to your oxter, would you be able to move all that freely? Course not. It always looked like an untied strait jacket to me, for some reason.
They’re webs, Sherlock. 'Cos he’s Spider-Man. Some people. And they’re not really tight enough or strong enough to stop his motion, especially considering he’s a ridiculously strong guy.
Now Webby (that’s the original Marvel Spider-Woman to you) had little wings on her costume, & could actually glide around like an improbably proportioned flying squirrel. That’s bizarre.
He knows that, Sarcasmo.