12 Spider-Man Questions That Always Confused You

11. Why Don't His Webs Go Off When He's Fighting?

Spider-Man Questions
Sony

After obtaining his spiderpowers, Peter Parker built twin web shooters to swing around the city. These devices are worn on his wrists and can shoot strands of web-fluid at high pressure. They are extremely sticky but durable enough to lift several tons.

Spidey has battled a bajillion baddies over the years (give or take), and yet his web-shooters have never gone off by accident in mid-fight. At first, this seems like a plothole that you have to ignore in order to enjoy the story.

But Spider-Man creator, Stan Lee, offered a very explanation. Spider-Man’s web shooters don't just activate when he closes his hands. The tech is pressure-sensitive. He designed the web shooters so they only fire a web when he taps a button in the palm of his hand twice with his middle finger and ring finger. He made them this way so the web shooters can’t go off accidentally when he makes a fist during a fight.

Although this is common knowledge to comic book readers, it's worth mentioning since it has never been explained in any of the film adaptations.

Contributor
Contributor

James Egan has written 80 books including 1000 Facts about Superheroes Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about Horror Movies Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about The Greatest Films Ever Made Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about Video Games Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about TV Shows Vol. 1-3 Twitter - @jameswzegan85