"Precognitive spider-sense ability"

[Banner]

Spider-Man's precognition have always been called a "spider sense", but why? Spiders don't have such abilities. The eyes of for instance jumping spiders makes it harder to sneak up on them, but arthropods like many flies and cockroaches are just as good or better to avoid danger.

[ARkadelphia]

Spider-Man's precognition have always been called a "spider sense", but why? Spiders don't have such abilities. The eyes of for instance jumping spiders makes it harder to sneak up on them, but arthropods like many flies and cockroaches are just as good or better to avoid danger.

Stan Lee was running low on time for a story point and here we are

[JudicatorPrime]

Actually, you hit it on the head. They couldn't very well give Peter 8 eyes, so they gave him Spidey Sense instead.

[Ultimate Captain America]

Comic books may be great but don't trust in them for accuracy in biology... or history, or physics, or geography, or legal stuff, or astronomy, or mythology, or medicine, or basically anything that requires high school education or higher. It had to be said.

[SuperiorIronman]

It's a bit of yes and no.

With their multitude of eyes and distortions in the air that they can feel on their hairs, yeah they can sense things approaching. But specifically a danger sense, no. They also can use webbing to a similar effect.

The specifics of how a spider-sense works is unclear, and it's been depicted with connections more to the mystical than scientific. There are ways to explain it based off creatures in the real world, but don't expect this to translate to comics or it to be 1:1 in terms of scientific accuracy. I assure you the spider writers don't think about this and Peter could just as easily have been Gecko-man.

[Banner]

If he ended up with eight eyes, the bullies would call him eight eyes instead of four eyes.

Yeah, you can't trust too much on comics when it comes to science and other kind of knowledge, but referring to non-existent senses (such as a "spider sense") as if they were real is luckily not that common.

When the writers introduced the spider-totem stuff, it was Marvel's attempt to move away from the original explanation about where his powers came from. Back then the writers didn't take it too seriously. If Disney decided to create a flashback to how Peter got his powers in one of their future movies, unless the Sony versions still counts, they could just skip the whole spider. He has three different superpowers; the ability to climb all surfaces, a body that is stronger and faster than normal (including healing abilities) and some sort of clairvoyance about what could happen if he ignore the warning. Only the first power makes you think of spiders (and insects and geckos), in addiction to his costume and web shooters. So what if he got his powers from being exposed to pure energy or some chemical, and when he discovered he was able to climb walls, he notice a spider crawling next to him, which gives him the inspiration to appeal like a human spider. Of course it's never going to happen, but personally I think it would make a little more (spider)sense than a radioactive spider transferring its "powers" to him.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

A Spider-Sense is meant to heighten Peter's vulnerability. It's a thing that literally sets his nerves on high alert and the window for reaction is very small. So it's literally something to warn him when he's in real danger. So there's a strong story logic to that, a character logic. Neither Cap, nor Wolverine, nor Superman, nor Batman have anything like that.

Of course, a Spider-Sense isn't actual precognition. For that, you need to look at Peter's daughter, Annie in Renew Your Vows.

[Pav]

A Spider-Sense is meant to heighten Peter's vulnerability. It's a thing that literally sets his nerves on high alert and the window for reaction is very small. So it's literally something to warn him when he's in real danger. So there's a strong story logic to that, a character logic. Neither Cap, nor Wolverine, nor Superman, nor Batman have anything like that.

Of course, a Spider-Sense isn't actual precognition. For that, you need to look at Peter's daughter, Annie in Renew Your Vows.

Or the original powerset of Kaine.

-Pav, who loved the twist of his powers...