Spider-Man Upgrades
(The best and worst dressed superhero)
by Phil Perich for the True Believers Blogs
Everyone who saw the movie Captain America: Civil War knew it was coming since that end credits scene, but there was more talk recently of upgrades to the MCU Spider-Man’s costume and tech courtesy of Tony Stark. Here are some good (and not so good) upgrades to Spider-Man’s arsenal.
Original
When Peter Parker was first bitten by that radioactive spider, he designed an outfit to become a professional wrestler and make money. After the death of his uncle Ben, Peter would modify his outfit and accessories to help him fight crime and take pictures of himself in action for the Daily Bugle. Peter would use an automatic camera webbed to a nearby wall or rooftop. Mechanical web shooters, a signal belt, and web foils under the arms were all part of the original Spider-Man costume.
Finding Otto
A device that Spider-Man has used almost since the beginning and has been improved upon and even used to this day is the Spider-Tracer. Peter was able to track the tracers at a certain range with a tracking device, but later figured out how to attune them so he could track them with his spider-sense. Peter first came up with the idea for the tracers when Otto Octavius was released from prison the first time and Spider-Man wanted to keep tabs on his archenemy.
Heavy Metal
Caught in the middle of a gang war with multiple criminal organizations attempting to fill the vacuum left by the absence of Wilson Fisk aka The Kingpin of Crime, Peter built a bulky suit of armor version of his Spider-Man costume. While the armor didn't last through the final fight, it helped Spider-Man survive and take down a few of his foes.
Different Strokes
While Peter Parker would invent and improve his arsenal in his own ways, his clone Ben Reilly would explore different paths during his time traveling America. Not only were Ben’s web shooters on the outside of his costume instead of underneath the sleeves like Peter’s, but they were triggered by different flicks of the wrist instead of finger taps. Ben’s web shooters were also designed to fire his other inventions: microdot tracers that took the place of spider tracers and small balls of webbing that expanded when shot and wrapped up their targets tightly. These were known as impact webbing. Ben also created sedative darts named stingers.
Those are just some of my favorites or the ones that stand out in my mind. What’s your favorite Spider-Man tech?
@Nightwingpdp & @marvel_roundup on Twitter
You can hear me discussing all things Marvel (comics, movies, TV) every week with my cohost Charlie Esser (@CharlieEsser) on the All New Marvel Roundup and Superconnectivity, both part of the Nuff Said Podcast. I also write another blog, the Legends of DC and do a podcast of the same name. You can find all my podcasts, blogs and those of others at www.southgatemediagroup.com. You can also find all my creative endeavors at www.philperich.wordpress.com.
NUFF SAID!