Spider-Man is Marvel’s fast, strong, and durable webslinger, recognized as one of the most formidable superheroes.
With his mystical abilities, Doctor Strange is also one of the most powerful Marvel characters.
Peter Parker and Doctor Strange originated as ordinary people, but transformed into the Amazing Spider-Man and the Sorcerer Supreme, respectively.
If the two engaged in battle, who would prevail? Both have a range of powers to draw on to defeat one another. The difference may come down to time.
Strengths of Spider-Man
The teenage Peter Parker as Spider-Man has several powers that could overwhelm Doctor Strange.
First is his ability to leap and move across buildings with great accuracy. Spider-Man’s web-slinging from his wrists helps him glide with ease and land kicks at an opponent.
He can also wrap someone with his webs–he could bind up Strange like other adversaries and force his surrender without killing him.
Second, Spider-Man is strong, lifting at least 10 tons at his base level. Third, his “spider-sense” gives him an ability to detect and avoid danger, as in combat with Doctor Strange.
Third, Spider-Man has superhuman speed, stamina, and durability that allow him to catch up on foot with a moving car, physically exert himself for hours, and take a blow from another superhero.
Fourth, Spider-Man can heal and regenerate himself quickly, as he did after his battle with the Swarm when thousands of bee stings hit him.
Fifth, Spider-Man has fast reflexes, around 40 times better than a human’s. When combined with his spider-sense, he can anticipate danger and attacks, plan accordingly, and outmaneuver Doctor Strange.
We should also consider Spider-Man’s intelligence. Peter Parker is skilled in math and science. He is continuously coming up with innovative solutions.
His strength and resourcefulness combined several times to save him from being crushed by buildings, as he did in Spider-Man: Homecoming. He could use the same powers to defeat Strange.
The Powers of Doctor Strange
Master of the Mystic Arts, Doctor Strange holds a Ph.D. in that field and was once a talented neurosurgeon. After a crippling accident, Strange studied Magic and the Multiverse. His top strengths arise from the intersection of the two.
With Magic, Strange harnesses multiple forms of energy to transform the infinite number of realities in the Marvel universe. That means he has the power to influence parallel universes and dimensions within a universe.
Doctor Strange derives from his ability to summon three levels of Magic. The first is his use of Personal energies to carry out feats like telekinesis, telepathy, and hypnotism. All three of these energies could devastate an opponent.
With the second level of Magic, Strange can draw on Universal energies of his home dimension to summon energy shields, weapons, and teleportation.
With the third level of Magic, Dimensional energies, Doctor Strange borrows from various dimensions of the Multiverse and takes power from entities for his own purposes.
As a fan post aptly phrased Strange’s powers, “he harnesses energy from other dimensions to cast spells and conjure weapons.” His spelling-casting power is weapon enough. He can bind opponents and create energy shields.
Strange is also adept at astral projection where he casts his astral self away from him and observes others without their knowing he is present. That is handy for launching an attack on Spider-Man.
His strongest power may be with using the Eye of Agamotto, the ancient relic Dr. Strange draws on to manipulate time. He can go forward, backward, or concentrate on objects or persons.
Most threatening is that Strange can use the Eye to create a time loop where his opponent is trapped in the same moment. This is what Strange did to the villain Dormammu to make him leave Earth.
Doctor Strange has Magic and spells on his side, and he could put Spider-Man in a time loop to defeat him.
Spider-Man v. Doctor Strange
In the 2021 movie Spider-Man: No Way Home, we got to see Spider-Man v. Doctor Strange. It appears that Strange wins when he knocks Parker out of his physical form.
Yet, Parker rejoins his Spider-Man self and takes off through his web slinging…until Strange throws his cloak around him and draws on his extensive magical powers.
The contest goes back and forth, with Doctor Strange’s control over space, time, and reality appearing to give him the edge. Surprisingly, Spider-Man draws on his quick reflexes, leaping ability, resourcefulness, and intelligence (math included) to win out in this scene.
However, Strange is too powerful if he attacked Spider-Man directly, instead of trying to stop him from taking the Confinement Box.
Doctor Strange’s Magic, if used to attack Spider-Man, would be devastating. Besides the powers of Magic described above, Strange’s use of the Cloak of Levitation to keep up with Spider-Man would help, as Strange could teleport and create portals.
We saw Strange bring all of the Avengers back together to face Thanos in Endgame. This type of power goes beyond Spider-Man’s abilities.
In comparison, we should keep in mind that Spider-Man is still a teenage Peter Parker who is prone to rash decisions and distractions. Doctor Strange’s maturity level brings an added advantage.
Yet, most of all, Doctor Strange as the Sorcerer Supreme wields the greatest power of all–control over time. He can not only manipulate time, but can see into the multi-futures, as he did in Infinity War, to allow the Avengers to defeat Thanos in Endgame.
By the time of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Strange evolved into almost a god. It’s hard to compete with a god.
Wrap-up
Spider-Man does have amazing powers and contended handily with Doctor Strange in Spider-Man: No Way Home. He is fast, adaptive, strong, quick, and almost unbeatable.
However, Doctor Strange’s use of Magic provides him with almost ultimate power. Strange taps into areas that humans can only dream of manipulating. Spider-Man can’t compete with a god or a superhero who controls time.
Todd Wahlstrom is a creative and analytical freelance writer and life-long Star Wars fan who has expanded into writing about the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He has written about recent shows such as The Mandalorian and Andor and classic topics like Darth Vader, the Jedi, and Boba Fett. His recent articles include the MCU’s Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor. Todd is the author of a non-fiction book, holds a Ph.D. in history, and enjoys hiking, running, and reading about science.