Why Spider-Man Movies Have Never Shown How Powerful He Really Is
Spider-Man’s superpowers render him extremely physically strong, but why have the Spider-Man movies never shown how powerful he really is? After being bitten by a radioactive spider (or genetically altered, depending on the film continuity), Peter Parker accidentally gained incredible superpowers that he put to use as an amateur superhero. Among these powers was the proportionate strength of a spider. The Spider-Man comics state that he can lift roughly ten tons, making him dangerously strong, yet he never kills or severely injures the criminals he fights. The films generally shy away from showing Spider-Man’s full potential strength.
In the fairly recent Superior Spider-Man story arc in the comics, Doctor Octopus switches bodies with Peter Parker, trapping him in his dying form while inhabiting Peter’s super-powered one. During a fight with the Scorpion, Otto, not realizing how powerful Peter is, punches the supervillain’s jaw off, disfiguring and nearly killing him. Otto realizes in this moment that his former nemesis must constantly hold back his strength to avoid killing his enemies.
In the films, the various iterations of Spider-Man fight ordinary criminals and super-powered villains alike, landing punches and kicks that usually stun or briefly knock them out. This is shown particularly often in Sam Raimi's trilogy, where montages show the friendly neighborhood web-slinger thwarting criminals and trading blows with iconic adversaries such as Doctor Octopus—who, despite the monstrous tentacles and genius intellect, is still a normal human being. Spider-Man never kills his enemies, aside from immolating the Venom symbiote with one of the New Goblin’s pumpkin bombs, so the films follow the comics and rarely showcase the character's full strength, avoiding numerous potentially grisly deaths.
Spider-Man may fight criminals, but he’s not a brute. Peter Parker holds back when hitting enemies, often using his webs (organic or otherwise) to subdue criminals rather than potentially injuring them. Andrew Garfield’s iteration of Peter avoided using his full power even when fighting The Lizard, who was more than durable enough to take a punch from Spider-Man. One notable exception was the Green Goblin in 2002’s Spider-Man, who an enraged Peter unleashed an onslaught of punches on. Norman only survived because of his enhanced durability and armored costume.
When not fighting criminals, Spider-Man’s true power is often hinted at and only occasionally shown. In 2012’s The Amazing Spider-Man, Peter accidentally destroys his bathroom sink and alarm clock while getting used to his new powers. Tom Holland’s MCU Spider-Man famously lifted the debris of a collapsed building off of himself in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Perhaps the greatest showcase of Spider-Man’s power, however, was in Sam Raimi's heavily praised sequel Spider-Man 2. When stopping a runaway train, the wall-crawler used his full strength and numerous webs to gradually bring it grinding to a halt. This famous scene shows that when not holding back, Spider-Man is extremely physically strong, and he’d only use this level of strength when necessary. Against criminals and supervillains who could easily die from one punch, the Spider-Man movies made the right decision by not showing how powerful he really is.