# Would you rather have the powers of Superman for a week or the powers of Spider Man for life? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 5, 2024, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-have-the-powers-of-superman-for-a-week-or-the-powers-of-spider-man-for-life/1003791 "2024-07-05T23:34:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [July 6, 2024, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-have-the-powers-of-superman-for-a-week-or-the-powers-of-spider-man-for-life/1003791/21 "2024-07-06T00:42:40Z")
I don’t know if this has ever been addressed directly in the comics, but does Spider-Man age normally? I mean, he did go from adolescence to young-adulthood, but does super health and durability imply that senescence will be delayed, or perhaps even stopped? Because a significant increase in lifespan would be a definite perk to the Spider-Man option. (of course, Superman is definitely immortal, but that won’t help much if we only get powers for a week) ---
**Author:** ![Cmyers1980](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyers1980/32/11814_2.png) [@Cmyers1980](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cmyers1980)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-have-the-powers-of-superman-for-a-week-or-the-powers-of-spider-man-for-life/1003791/22 "2024-07-06T01:22:13Z")
Bad luck doesn’t count. ---
**Author:** ![Cmyers1980](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyers1980/32/11814_2.png) [@Cmyers1980](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cmyers1980)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-have-the-powers-of-superman-for-a-week-or-the-powers-of-spider-man-for-life/1003791/23 "2024-07-06T01:22:23Z")
You’d pass. ---
**Author:** ![Cmyers1980](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyers1980/32/11814_2.png) [@Cmyers1980](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cmyers1980)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-have-the-powers-of-superman-for-a-week-or-the-powers-of-spider-man-for-life/1003791/24 "2024-07-06T01:22:46Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > does Spider-Man age normally? He ages normally. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-have-the-powers-of-superman-for-a-week-or-the-powers-of-spider-man-for-life/1003791/25 "2024-07-06T01:30:19Z")
Having the powers of a god for a week and then losing them forever would destroy me mentally. I’ll take Spider-Man. ---
**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:** [July 6, 2024, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-have-the-powers-of-superman-for-a-week-or-the-powers-of-spider-man-for-life/1003791/26 "2024-07-06T01:32:32Z")
I would take the Superman powers, fly to an M-type asteroid, use my laser vision to cut a few tens of cubic miles off of it, bring them down to an empty stretch of desert somewhere, and live the rest of my life off the profits from mining them. ---
**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:** [July 6, 2024, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-have-the-powers-of-superman-for-a-week-or-the-powers-of-spider-man-for-life/1003791/27 "2024-07-06T03:34:54Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > does Spider-Man age normally? Spiderman and The Punisher started out at about the same time. Frank is now an old man who has been waging his war for over 30 years, while Peter is still in his twenties. So, no. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-have-the-powers-of-superman-for-a-week-or-the-powers-of-spider-man-for-life/1003791/28 "2024-07-06T03:51:06Z")
He ages at the same rate as all of his friends, co-workers, and his aunt. Seems to me, Frank is the one who abnormally ages. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-have-the-powers-of-superman-for-a-week-or-the-powers-of-spider-man-for-life/1003791/29 "2024-07-06T04:00:54Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Spiderman and The Punisher started out at about the same time. Spider-Man 1962. The Punisher 1974. ---
**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:** [July 6, 2024, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-have-the-powers-of-superman-for-a-week-or-the-powers-of-spider-man-for-life/1003791/30 "2024-07-06T04:54:06Z")
But in the first ever Punisher story Spidey was just getting started. He wasn’t a famous hero yet. Frank thought he was a criminal and tried to kill him. The fact that this happened 10+ years after his debut just reinforces the weirdness. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-have-the-powers-of-superman-for-a-week-or-the-powers-of-spider-man-for-life/1003791/31 "2024-07-06T05:10:38Z")
Frank not knowing who Spidey was was just incredibly bad writing. They met in ASM #129, when Webhead was already pals with the FF and Doc Strange. That was when the infamous Clone Saga first began, years after he left high school. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-have-the-powers-of-superman-for-a-week-or-the-powers-of-spider-man-for-life/1003791/32 "2024-07-06T05:29:49Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Frank is now an old man who has been waging his war for over 30 years, while Peter is still in his twenties Well, there was the time he transformed into a giant spider and gave birth to himself, the time he sold his marriage to Mephisto, and whatever the hell it was that happened to him in the Clone Saga, so he’s had a few resets. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-have-the-powers-of-superman-for-a-week-or-the-powers-of-spider-man-for-life/1003791/33 "2024-07-06T07:13:25Z")
> [@XOldiesJock](#): > > Superman for a week. > > I don’t dig spiders, man. Even if they come with a beautiful bunch of ripe bananas? ---
**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:** [July 6, 2024, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-have-the-powers-of-superman-for-a-week-or-the-powers-of-spider-man-for-life/1003791/34 "2024-07-06T12:19:19Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Spiderman and The Punisher started out at about the same time. Frank is now an old man who has been waging his war for over 30 years, while Peter is still in his twenties. > > So, no. That’s just because of Comic Book Time. Most of the time when we see Spider-Man, he still has the vigor of youth, because he is still young. But in all of comics, for a character as popular as Spider-Man, there’s probably been some story, somewhere, where we time travel or flash-forward or something to see Peter Parker in his 60s or 80s… Is he wrinkly and worn-down, or is he still well-preserved? ---
**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:** [July 6, 2024, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-have-the-powers-of-superman-for-a-week-or-the-powers-of-spider-man-for-life/1003791/35 "2024-07-06T12:45:31Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > That’s just because of Comic Book Time. Which was my point. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-have-the-powers-of-superman-for-a-week-or-the-powers-of-spider-man-for-life/1003791/36 "2024-07-06T12:50:39Z")
Yeah…Spiderman without web shooters is just Gecko man which is lame but his spidey-sense is worth a lot. But then that assumes you are often in a position to need that sense which is dangerous and mostly sucks. So, I’d opt for Superman for a week. Maybe fly to North Korea and nab some gold or something so I am set once the week is done. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-have-the-powers-of-superman-for-a-week-or-the-powers-of-spider-man-for-life/1003791/37 "2024-07-06T12:52:02Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > But in all of comics, for a character as popular as Spider-Man, there’s probably been some story, somewhere, where we time travel or flash-forward or something to see Peter Parker in his 60s or 80s… Is he wrinkly and worn-down, or is he still well-preserved? Well, there’s [this](https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Peter_Parker_(Earth-460)). ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-have-the-powers-of-superman-for-a-week-or-the-powers-of-spider-man-for-life/1003791/38 "2024-07-06T14:46:23Z")
Spider-Man for me. Spider-Man is very, _very_ strong, agile and reactive. Even just his built-in powers would be enough to get to dictators, make a lot of money, or any of the other things people might do with Superman’s powers (other than flying around), only not _as_ easily. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-have-the-powers-of-superman-for-a-week-or-the-powers-of-spider-man-for-life/1003791/39 "2024-07-06T14:49:08Z")
If I were in my 20s or 30s or 40s, I’m sure I’d pick Spidey. But, since I’m 70, I might as well take Superman for a week and get something done. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-have-the-powers-of-superman-for-a-week-or-the-powers-of-spider-man-for-life/1003791/40 "2024-07-06T14:56:15Z")
Definitely Superman for a week even though the other option is **way** better for all of _you_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-have-the-powers-of-superman-for-a-week-or-the-powers-of-spider-man-for-life/1003791.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-rather-have-the-powers-of-superman-for-a-week-or-the-powers-of-spider-man-for-life/1003791.md?page=3)