How Strong Is Spider-Man With The Symbiote?

Believe it or not, Spider-Man is super strong. He may be known more for his spider maneuvers and senses, but Spider-Man has superhuman strength.

Once the teenager Peter Parker transformed into Spider-Man, he gained spider-like skills like crawling on buildings and shooting webs. Yet, he also acquired great strength. With his Symbiote suit, he became even stronger.

How strong is Spider-Man with the symbiote? This Black Suit boosts his strength to such a degree that he may be as strong as the Hulk.

Spider-Man and the Symbiote

When Peter Parker changed his outfit, he got a boost in strength. The Black Suit or Symbiote Costume was his first major outfit change and goes back to 1982.

This suit came from a Marvel competition asking fan writers and artists to help update Spiderman. It first appeared in the Amazing Spider-Man, Vol. 1 #252 issue.

The Symbiote suit was meant to be stealthy and durable. Since it comprised symbiotes, it provided a new kind of power for Spider-Man.

Symbiotes are extraterrestrial inorganic species that originated at the start of the universe. They are changing, amorphous, and can mold into different shapes, at times taking on dangerous forms as with Venom.

Symbiotes are parasites, in other words, that sync with its user. They enclose their hosts like a costume and thus give that appearance. Symbiotes bond with the host’s mind, in this case, Spider-Man’s.

The symbiotes enhanced Spider-Man’s abilities, but they also influenced his actions and decisions.

After Spider-Man’s usual suit was damaged, he released symbiotes to form the black costume. Spider-Man used this new costume for good purposes, and bonded with the symbiotes.

Yet, the Symbiote Suit and Spider-Man ran into difficulties as the symbiote took on a life of its own and directed Peter Parker’s actions. Spider-Man detached from the symbiotes but while he had them, he became quite strong.

How Strong is Spider-Man?

Even before Spider-Man donned the Symbiote suit, he was strong. His amazing powers provided him with superhuman strength and the ability to lift about ten tons.

According to Marvel’s Power Grid, Spider-Man has a strength level of 4, meaning he can lift between 800 lbs and 25 tons. He also demonstrated moments of even greater strength.

For example, Peter Parker lifted the Daily Bugle building and kept it from collapsing. Spider-Man has these bursts of power that expand his strength level.

From adrenaline surge and willpower, Spider-Man may even be stronger than Thor and the Hulk at times. When fighting Lizard, Spider-Man held up an underground laboratory caving in from above with trains and rubble.

So, Spider-Man is already strong. How much stronger can he get?

How Strong is Spider-Man with Symbiote?

The symbiote enhances its wearer’s strength. So, Spider-Man gets stronger with them on. In the Spider-Man 3 movie, for example, he is stronger and more aggressive.

The Spider-Man Wiki site specifies that the symbiote suit allows Spider-Man to lift anywhere from 170-175 tons. That’s quite a boost from his base strength, but comparable to his peak, rare moments of strength.

One brief posting indicates that Spider-Man goes from a 10-ton range of strength to 20 or 30 tons, and sometimes up to 70 tons. This response originates from fan comments and tones down Spider-Man’s enhanced strength.

As a good in-between estimate, Spider-Man with symbiote goes up to about level 6 in the Marvel strength rating. That means he’s lifting at least 75 tons, putting him in league with the Hulk.

In the Marvel comic Symbiote Spider-Man: Crossroads #2, Spider-Man defeats the Hulk, reflecting a comparable strength level.

In this issue, Spider-Man travels into a Crossroads Dimension where the Hulk is. With his symbiote suit and help from the Norn Stone (a gem of power), Spider-Man takes a direct hit from the Hulk before knocking the Hulk away.

That level of strength reflects the influence of the symbiote.

Otherwise, the Hulk would trounce Spider-Man. A one-on-one fight without the symbiote would register a Hulk victory because of the Hulk’s unknown strength level and durability, among other factors.

Is Spider-Man with Symbiote Stronger than Venom?

A closely related question is whether Spider-Man with the symbiote suit is stronger than Venom. Both characters have used this form of costume to their advantage.

Venom arose with the deep history of the symbiote during the time of the god of darkness, Knull, who created the symbiotes. The symbiote that became Venom was a parasite Knull, who was sent into exile, created.

This symbiote bonded with reporter and hater of Spider-Man Eddie Brock, and the two became Venom. Venom took the fight to Spider-Man.

Yet, before the symbiote came to Brock, it was with Spider-Man. Once Spider-Man found out this symbiote was dangerous, he gave it to the Fantastic Four to guard. But the symbiote escaped and made its way to Brock.

Keep track of all that? The main point is that the symbiote carried with it Spider-Man’s powers, transferred them to Venom, and enhanced them further. Hence, Venom is stronger than Spider-Man.

Fans weighed in with this verdict too, some apologetic to Spider-Man while confirming that Venom is stronger.

Yet, hold on, other sources point to Spider-Man’s intelligence and his knowledge of the symbiotes’ weaknesses, namely fire, sound, and the need for a host. If we factor in his intellect and resourcefulness, Spider-Man is stronger and can defeat Venom.

If we look at pure strength, the edge is with Venom. But if we consider the smarts of Spider-Man, we see the Wall-crawler win.

Wrapping Things up

Even without the Symbiote Costume, Spider-Man has superhuman strength. Add in the Black Suit and he is able to lift at least 75 tons and may reach the Hulk’s strength level.

By most accounts, Spider-Man with the symbiote is not as strong as Venom. Yet, with his intelligence, he gets a boost to his strength that allows him to prevail over Venom.