10 Scientific Secrets Of Spider-Man Only Geeks Will Love

5. Spidey’s Web-Slinging SHOULD Shatter Windows Throughout New York City

Peter Parker The Spectacular Spider-Man
Marvel Comics

Spider-Man's most popular way of travel throughout the city is what he calls web-slinging. This involves propelling web fluid of his own design through his web shooters at a high building or other structure, grabbing the web line, and pulling himself quickly forward. By doing this action over and over, along with agility and acrobatic skills, Spidey can reach speeds in excess of 14 meters per second. That is over 30 miles an hour!

In Marvel Team-Up #16, he surprised Captain Marvel by keeping pace with the Kree hero at his best speed. Spider-Man is 167 lbs (75.75 kgs) and 5’10” (1.78m) tall. Given his size and the speed he travels by the windows of the buildings that he passes while web-slinging, he should rattle if not shatter some of them outright. Skyscrapers and most modern buildings are required to have safety glass in all the windows, though there are some buildings in parts of New York that are nearly 100 years old. Only luck and comic book psychics save those windows.

Another of Spider-Man’s powers prevents him from webbing a loose brick, a slippery ledge, or a loose window pane. His famous “Spider-Sense”, among other things, in conjunction with his speed and agility, allows him to make the split-second decision of where will be the best place to shoot his next web.

Contributor
Contributor

John Wilson has been a comic book and pop culture fan his entire life. He has written for a number of websites on the subject over the years and is especially pleased to be at WhatCulture. John has written two comic books for Last Ember Press Studio and has recently self-published a children's book called "Blue." When not spending far too much time on the internet, John spends time with his lovely wife, Kim, their goofy dog, Tesla, and two very spoiled cats.