Warning: SPOILERS for All-Out Avengers #5
Marvel’s Spider-Man is already a strong superhero, but Marvel just confirmed Peter Parker has the strength to defeat the heavy hitters of the Avengers…but only in a very specific spot in the world. Peter is known as an agile superhero, able to dodge and avoid nearly any blow, even the blows of an angry God. This is self-evident in All-Out Avengers #5, in which Spider-Man fights Captain Marvel, Thor and the other members of the Avengers – and nearly wins.
The All-Out Avengers series follows in the footsteps of Non-Stop Spider Man by focusing on action and many characters fighting surprise villains. Oddly enough, issues begin in the middle of battles and stories, dropping the reader directly into the action. The mysterious Dark Tide threatens to devour Captain Marvel, Doctor Doom is split into two beings, and many separate events come together. This is secretly the work of the Beyonder, manipulating reality for an as-yet unknown purpose (but only Captain America knows the Beyonder is behind the attacks at all).
In All-Out Avengers #5, written by Derek Landy with art by Greg Land, Spider-Man must evade all the Avengers at once: Spider-Man believes the minds of his fellow teammates are being manipulated, but the Avengers think the same of their webslinging comrade. As Spider-Man defeats Captain Marvel and expertly evades Thor and the other heavy-hitters on the team, the Beyonder narrates his accomplishments. “Out there in the streets, he’s vulnerable. But in an enclosed space, where fliers can’t fly and the gods can’t simply snatch him out of the air as he swings? In an enclosed space, he’s unstoppable.”
It is a well-known franchise trope among Marvel fans that the overwhelming majority of Spider-Man issues begin with Spider-Man swinging through New York City. Far from being a visual conceit, this is a strategy: Peter Parker knows the streets and skies of his city better than nearly every other superhero, thanks to the fact that he must rely on buildings, lights and alleys for his webs to propel him through the world. With the ultimate home field advantage, Spider-Man can invalidate a heavy-hitter’s powers like those of Thor and Captain Marvel, who require wide open spaces to operate.
Unfortunately, Spider-Man still has plenty of weaknesses and blind spots: he has absolutely no defense against energy-based attacks outside of dodging them, and he can’t avoid telepaths like Jean Grey. While the Avengers have no telepaths, they have a well-coordinated team, which is able to get the drop on Spider-Man easily. While Spider-Man can’t defeat the Avengers in the open, he is nigh-unstoppable among the crowded buildings of New York City.
