10 Scientific Secrets Of Spider-Man Only Geeks Will Love

Spider-Man’s extra-sensory Spider-Sense is an early warning system that operates as a series of tingles of varying intensities at the base of his skull. It works on three levels: electro/magnetoreception, extreme sensitivity to atmospheric stimuli, and super-fast reflexes.

Parker’s skin uses ambient energy to “see” in all directions in his own version of x-ray vision, and his subconscious filters out the “noise” and alerts his conscious mind when necessary.

Because his Spider-Sense is always “on”, it is impossible to sneak up on Spider-Man. The sense will alert him from which direction an attack may come and its severity; sudden or extreme attacks will go off in an extremely painful way and give Spidey the fraction of a second that he needs to engage his reflexes to avoid or prevent the attack.

The Spider-Sense allows Peter to recognize his villains when they are out of costume or in hiding due to the unique biochemical aura that all people possess. It also allows him to navigate in complete darkness or when he is blinded - similar to Daredevil’s Radar Sense - and this unique ability similarly alerts Spidey to any person or recording device that may be nearby when he's looking to change out of his superhero outfit.