Spider-Man is one of Marvel Comic's most iconic superheroes of all time, with recent popular media featuring him in movies like "Spider-Man: Far From Home" and "Spider-Man: No Way Home." But movies aside, the web-slinger is famous not only because of popular media but also because of his relatability, as ABC News and Octal Comics reported.
As many now know, Peter Parker, the man who will eventually be known as Spider-Man, became a superhero after a radioactive spider bit his hand.
The story can change in various ways in different continuities or universes, but some facts remain the same. Because of the bite, Peter Parker gains super strength, agility, and the ability to climb on any surface. We first saw this in "Amazing Fantasy Vol. 1 #15."
However, what isn't consistent is where Peter got his web-slinging abilities, or the ability to shoot webs, just like a spider could.
Spider-Man's Web-Shooters
According to "Amazing Fantasy Vol. 1 #15," Peter Parker constructed a device that would allow him to shoot webs from his hands. The twin devices, which would be later known as web-shooters, consist of materials that were easily found in his room (he's a brilliant science student, after all) and a special web fluid based on actual spider silk, which is said to be one of the strongest, toughest materials on Earth, per Stan Lee.
The web fluid is kept in liquid form and is sealed in high-pressure cartridges that can be loaded into Parker's web-shooters, which have different firing forms depending on Parker's needs. the web fluid hardens and expands on contact with air, creating a thin but superhumanly material whenever Parker shoots out a web.
Organic Web-Shooters
Although most iterations of Spider-Man come with mechanical web-shooters, Sam Raimi's Spider-Man does not.
You may remember that scene in the 2002 Spider-man film where Peter Parker, played by Tobey Macguire, went to a rooftop and made a few hand signs in an attempt to shoot out webs. This scene was controversial in the Spider-Man community as this suggests that Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man has organic web-shooters.
To be fair, organic web-shooters were a thing back when Spider-Man was transformed and given the ability to shoot webs organically. However, this ability was retconned after the events of "One More Day" and "Brand New Day," according to the Marvel Fandom.
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The reason why Sam Raimi decided to give his Spider-Man organic web-shooters is due to realism. A Screen Rant article mentioned that Raimi toyed with the idea of mechanical web-shooters, but decided not to use them in favor of organic ones. This decision is due to Raimi finding it difficult to believe that a high school student like Parker would have the resources to build a device and web fluid that no private company or government entity could make.
Another reason for the omission is that Raimi wanted the ability to come with the radioactive spider bite. According to the director, Peter's spider bite gave his body the same traits as the spider that bit him. These powers include the ability to create and shoot webs.
IRL Web-Shooters
Regardless of the origins of Parker's web-shooting abilities, the idea of shooting webs out of one's hands to travel around places is an idea that fascinated comic book readers and moviegoers alike.
Since Spider-Man's web-shooters are normally mechanical instead of organic, that only means that ordinary humans can also create their web-shooters with the right resources.
In fact, JT from the YouTube channel Built IRL successfully created a fully functional web shooter. while it isn't a perfect copy of Parker's web-shooters, the results were still impressive.
According to Gizmodo, JT constructed the web slingers with a simple metal tube that shoots a long cable embedded with metal hooks that could secure itself when it wraps itself around a metal beam. The device is powered by compressed propane from a small tank, meaning that the device would have to be refilled with a fresh tank between each use.
The construction of these web-shooters means that while we are able to mimic Spider-Man in some way, we are still limited by the technology of our time to create a perfect copy of Parker's web-shooters in real life.
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