10 Incredibly Useful Superpowers Heroes Forgot They Had

3. Spider-Man's Ability To Talk To Spiders

Magneto X-Men
Marvel Comics

Remember when Spider-Man had the ability to speak to spiders? Good, for Peter Parker tends to forget that he's got this unique ability in his locker.

This particular power was showcased during the fallout from the Disassembled arc, with Peter communicating directly with spiders and other certain inects. Given his name as Spider-Man, you'd have thought this should be a skill that's used on a daily basis by ol' Web-head. Instead, it's almost as if Parker has completely lost any memory of having such an ability.

Essentially, what Spider-Man should be doing with regularity is what comic book readers have seen so many times over the decades from the various incarnations of Ant-Man. Not only can Ant-Man talk to ants, but the hero constantly has said ants helping him in any such hero business that rears its head.

Granted, from a wider Marvel perspective it may be deemed as repetitive overkill to have Spider-Man mimicking one of the key powers of Ant-Man, but it would at least be good to see Peter Parker speaking to his spider pals every now and again as a way to remind readers - and Peter himself - that he has this ability.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.