Spider-Man Blocks With a Web Shield

About this drawing

Spider-Man web shield moves prove his webbing does a lot more than swing him between skyscrapers. Over the years, comics and movies have dreamed up dozens of ways to use it, and those tricks often decide who wins a fight.

Webbing can harden into a shield against punches or flying debris, spread into a net that catches a whole gang or stretch into a cable strong enough to slow a speeding train. He also uses it to blind a foe, glue boots to the floor or open a parachute in mid-fall.

In the classic comics Peter mixes the web fluid himself. When it shoots from his web-shooters, it reacts with air and turns into a tough strand that dissolves after about an hour, which keeps the city from filling up with sticky leftovers.

The idea comes from real spiders, which spin silk from organs called spinnerets. Some spider silk is tougher than steel of the same thickness, which is why scientists study it for things like lightweight ropes and medical materials. Scientists continue to look for ways to copy it in the lab.

• spider-man
• web
• shield
• marvel