Spider-Man has many fantastic abilities. He is strong, fast, has superhuman senses, and he can shoot webs from his wrist.
One ongoing question about Spider-Man is how he climbs walls. Does this ability come from his suit, or is it a natural power he developed when a radioactive spider bit him?
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has not stated how Spider-Man can climb walls. However, several different explanations are given in the comic books.
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How Does Spider-Man Stick to Walls With His Suit and Gloves?
It’s not fully known how Spider-Man scales walls so easily. That said, there are several theories, some more scientific than others.
It’s unclear which of the theories apply to the MCU version of Spider-Man, so let’s take a look at all of the possibilities:
- Static electricity: In his run-in with Electro in The Spectacular Spider-Man Vol. 1 #134, Spider-Man loses his wall-climbing abilities when the villain manipulates the static electrical forces of the wall surfaces.
This indicates that Spider-Man somehow creates or makes use of static electricity to climb walls. However, this force would probably not be strong enough to bind any average-size human to a wall.
- Interatomic interactions: According to The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, Spider-Man’s skin can interact with other matter at an atomic level, manipulating it to increase friction and, thus, bonding himself to the surface.
Peter Parker speculated that he had mental control over this ability–in other words, he could decide when he wanted to bind to other surfaces and when he wanted to release the bond.
- Van der Waals Interaction: A third principle is similar to both of those above and was shown in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man movies. According to this principle, Spider-Man’s hands and feet are covered in nearly-microscopic hairs.
These razor-sharp hairs create an electrostatic bond with any dry surface Spider-Man attempts to climb.
All of these interactions would require him to contact the surfaces he is climbing with his bare skin. So, how is he able to stick to walls while wearing a suit and gloves?
The answer is that his suit and the associated gloves are skin-tight and thin. Simply put, the material of his suit does not interfere with the force or interaction that gives Spidey his wall-climbing abilities.
Can Spider-Man Walk On Walls?
Spider-Man is almost always shown climbing up walls using his hands and feet. With that in mind, you may be wondering if he can do it without using his hands–if he can walk perpendicularly up and down walls.
It would make sense for Spidey to be able to do this. However, there is no sure evidence in the MCU movies.
Spider-Man can occasionally be seen walking on walls in this manner in the comics. One example of this is found in The Amazing Spider-Man #40.
Can Spider-Man Climb Walls Without His Suit?
Spider-Man does not need his suit to climb walls. This has been seen clearly throughout the movies.
The extended version of Spider-Man: No Way Home gives us a good example when Peter Parker climbs up a wall at his high school while wearing gym clothes.
As mentioned above, Spider-Man’s wall-climbing abilities are likely due to principles like static electricity, molecular bonding, or tiny hairs on his hands and feet. They are inherent abilities not granted to him by his suit.
That means he can use these abilities with or without the suit.
How Does Spider-Man Stick to Walls in the Comics?
The comics are vague about how Spider-Man can climb walls, and some of the explanations given are in conflict with each other.
All of the theories given above regarding Spider-Man’s wall-climbing come from various comic books and handbooks.
Thanks to the Spider-verse, though, it’s a bit more complicated than that.
Every spider character has their own explanation for how they climb walls. For example, Miguel O’Hara, aka Spider-Man 2099, scales walls with sharp talons on his hands and toes.
In terms of Peter Parker’s Spider-Man, however, his ability to stick to walls is probably due to one or more of the methods discussed above: either he uses static electricity, an interatomic interaction, or the Van der Waals force thanks to tiny hairs on his fingers and toes.
How Does Spider-Man Shoot Webs?
Like his wall-climbing abilities, Spider-Man’s web-shooting abilities have more than one explanation.
The MCU version of the character does not have organic web shooters. Instead, he creates the web liquid in his high school chemistry class and invents the wrist-worn web shooters to go with it.
Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man movies show Peter Parker developing organic web shooters when he gains his other superhuman abilities. All these changes to his body came after the radioactive spider bit him.
Most of the comics indicate that Spider-Man creates his own web shooters and web liquid, so the MCU version of the character stays more true to the source material.
Conclusion
There are several explanations for why Spider-Man can climb walls. All these explanations come from the comics, as MCU has not confirmed which method its version of Spider-Man uses.
The MCU Peter Parker made his own web shooters and web liquid to use during his exploits as Spider-Man. This is true to most comic book versions of the character, but is a notable departure from the Spider-Man of Sam Raimi’s movies, who had organic web shooters in his wrists.
Sarah Hood is a freelance content writer and editor with a love for all things Star Wars. When she’s not writing, she enjoys cooking, singing, and spending time in the great outdoors.