Peter Parker is well-known as the Marvel Comics universe’s chief web-slinger, the Amazing Spider-Man. As the song goes, he does whatever a spider can. Chief among his incredible powers, derived from the bite of a radioactive spider, include having the proportional speed, agility and strength of a spider.
While Spider-Man isn’t as powerful as some of Marvel’s strongest brutes such as the Hulk or the Thing, he’s nonetheless thrown his weight around a few times in his history. His strength isn’t quite as famous as his wall-crawling or web-spinning, but Spider-Man has demonstrated remarkable feats of strength in the past.
10/10 Spidey Launches The Hulk Into Orbit
The Amazing Spider-Man (Vol 1) #328 By David Michelinie, Todd McFarlane, Al Gordon, Bob Sharen And Rick Parker
Under normal circumstances, Spider-Man’s strength would allow him to hold his own against the might of the Hulk. When wielding the power of Captain Universe, though, Spidey was able to dominate the Grey Goliath one-on-one.
When battling around the Roosevelt Bridge in New York City, Spider-Man landed a punch on the Hulk. The punch literally launched the Hulk into low Earth orbit. It was a demonstration of Spidey using his new powers to a tactical advantage and a display of his newfound strength.
9/10 Ultimate Spider-Man Pulled Out All The Stops
Ultimate Spider-Man (Vol 1) #160 By Brian Michael Bendis, Mark Bagley, Andy Lennig & Andrew Hennessy, Justin Ponsor And Cory Petit
“The Death of Spider-Man” was the culmination of the life of the Ultimate Universe’s Peter Parker. With the Green Goblin causing chaos throughout New York City and the Ultimates just barely able to keep up, Spider-Man gave all of his remaining energy to thwart the Goblin.
In one of Spider-Man’s last-ditch efforts to halt the Goblin’s momentum, Peter lifted a truck over his head and smashed the Goblin with it. It’s easy to forget that Ultimate Peter was only 16 years old. But great power (and strength) comes in small packages, as Spidey demonstrates.
8/10 Peter Holds The Daily Bugle On His Shoulders
Spider-Man (Vol 1) #98 By Howard Mackie, John Romita, Jr., Scott Hanna, Gregory Wright And Liz Agraphiotis
Many of Spider-Man’s greatest acts of strength come when the safety of his loved ones is on the line. The aftermath of a battle with the Green Goblin saw the Daily Bugle on the verge of collapse. Although Reed Richards was able to help save Aunt May, one final pumpkin bomb detonated, threatening to bring the Bugle crashing down.
With Mary Jane on the street nearby, Spider-Man summoned all of his strength to keep the Bugle from collapsing. Even after the Wall-Crawler saved the day, publisher J. Jonah Jameson called for Spidey’s arrest. Despite his display of strength, Spidey just can’t catch a break.
7/10 Spidey Lifts Penn Station
The Amazing Spider-Man (Vol 1) #365 By David Michelinie, Mark Bagley, Randy Emberlin, Bob Sharen And Rick Parker
The Lizard is one of the strongest and scariest villains in Spider-Man’s rogue’s gallery. Dr. Curt Connors planned to use a machine in New York’s sewers to permanently cure him of his transformation into the Lizard. However, Peter knew the machine underneath Penn Station had been rigged to kill the doctor.
The Lizard wouldn’t listen to reason and brought Penn Station crashing down on top of the wall-crawler. With the weight collapsing on him, Peter noted that even Thor would struggle to lift that much weight. However, Spidey found the strength to hoist the collapsed station and free himself.
6/10 Peter Parker Is Army Strong
The Amazing Spider-Man (Vol 1) #320 By David Michelinie, Todd McFarlane, Bob Sharen & Gregory Wright And Rick Parker
Lifting and smashing military hardware is usually the Hulk’s modus operandi, but Peter Parker can flex that muscle too, in his guise as Spider-Man. When trying to rescue an international diplomat from the Paladin the Wall-Crawler found himself under attack by mercenaries with tanks. Not only did Spidey lift a tank above his head, he slammed it into the ground and destroyed it.
The phrase “mini-tank” might suggest lifting it would be an everyday feat for Spidey. A small military tank weighs roughly 50 tons. Spider-Man typically objects in the 20-ton range, but when lives are at stake, Peter Parker is able to up his strength game.
5/10 Peter Parker Shows Off For His Colleagues
Amazing Spider-Man Annual (Vol 1) #1 By Stan Lee, Steve Ditko And Sam Rosen
Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 is famous for introducing the Sinister Six, a team of Spider-Man’s deadliest foes. The issue also has a backup story,”The Secrets of Spider-Man!” wherein writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko illustrate Spidey’s various powers, abilities, and gadgetry.
For a demonstration of Spidey’s strength, which Ditko notes will increase as young Peter Parker matures, Spidey hoists an unspecified amount of weight. No numbers are cited but three of Marvel’s strongest – Thor, the Hulk and the Thing – are watching and seem to be impressed with the Webhead’s might.
4/10 ‘Tis The Season For Spider Strength
Marvel Holiday Special 1991 #1 (“A Spider Carol”) By Danny Fingeroth, Ron Garney, Mike DeCarlo, Buccelatto And Richard Starkings
New York can be a little chaotic at Christmas time, and few heroes know that better than Spider-Man. Peter Parker is working against the clock to get everything ready for the holidays, just like everyone else. In the story “A Spider Carol,” Spidey was making his rounds two days before Christmas when he saw a traffic jam blocking the path of an ambulance.
Spidey swung down and lifted a cab out of the ambulance’s path, driver still inside, to a stunned reaction from passersby. In a rare bit of gratitude from his fellow New Yorkers, the ambulance driver thanks Spidey for saving its patient’s life.
3/10 Spidey Plays Catch
The Amazing Spider-Man (Vol 1) #628 By Mark Waid & Tom Peyer, Todd Nauck, Andres Mossa And Joe Caramanga
It’s one of those days where nothing is going right for Spider-Man. In this backup story, Peter Parker starts the day by waking up late, and it gets worse from there. He’s whisked into a battle with the Absorbing Man, who throws a truck into a crowd of people.
Spidey catches the truck in midair and immediately (and sarcastically) ponders whether he cares too much about his job. The fact that Spider-Man was able to stop the hurtling truck dead in its tracks is just another testament to his immense strength.
2/10 Spider-Man Saves A Plane From Crashing
The Amazing Spider-Man (Vol 1) #694 By Dan Slott, Humberto Ramos, Victor Olazaba, Edgar Delgado And Chris Eliopoulos
Only Spider-Man could team up with Captain Marvel and still get stuck with the heavy lifting. When a runaway plane’s landing gear won’t deploy, Peter Parker manages to catch up with the plane, force its landing gear down and keep the nose lifted to avoid a disaster on the runway.
Spidey notes that the plane itself is 75,000 pounds and is carrying 40,000 pounds in fuel, meaning that Spider-Man lifts well over 110,000 pounds in the course of saving the day. In a rare moment of gratitude, Spidey even gets a “thank you” from J. Jonah Jameson, then the mayor of New York.
1/10 Peter Lifts Inhuman Amounts To Save Aunt May
The Amazing Spider-Man (Vol 1) #33 By Stan Lee, Steve Ditko And Artie Simek
Throughout his 60-year history, Peter Parker has spent a lot of time caring for his elderly Aunt May. While in possession of medicine that can save her life, Spider-Man is swept up in a battle with the Lizard. During the course of the conflict, Spidey is pinned under tons of iron.
In one of his defining moments, referenced in the 2017 film Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man almost gives up before remembering how he failed his Uncle Ben. Unwilling to let it happen again with Aunt May, Peter resolves to fight on and lifts the giant mechanism to free himself.
