Author |
|
John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005 Posts: 134710
|
Posted: 06 July 2025 at 1:24pm | IP Logged | 1
|
post reply
|
|
…the Hulk, Thor, and the Thing…••• From the vintage of that drawing we could easily unleash a fairly ferocious debate on the strength levels of those three! Applying my “specialist rule” I would place the Hulk far ahead of the other two.
|
Back to Top |
profile
| search
|
|
Brian Miller Byrne Robotics Member

Joined: 28 July 2004 Location: United States Posts: 31644
|
Posted: 06 July 2025 at 1:29pm | IP Logged | 2
|
post reply
|
|
On one of those early jobs the editor called and told me to stop. “We don’t do that any more.”
I asked if he was aware the webbing was there on the corner symbol.
“Just stop,” he said, “and we’ll do a story explaining it.”
*******
Stern/JRjr emphasized him adding it back to the costume. Not sure if a story was ever done explaining its absence.
|
Back to Top |
profile
| search
|
|
Rick Whiting Byrne Robotics Member

Joined: 22 April 2004 Posts: 2248
|
Posted: 06 July 2025 at 2:37pm | IP Logged | 3
|
post reply
|
|
Seeing that panel of Spidy lifting up that bus is probably how Marvel came up with Spidey's strength level being able to lift 10 tons since a city bus weights between 10 and 20 tons. IMO, I think that it was a mistake to make Spidey that strong. I'm one of those fans who doesn't like heroes being over powered and I think that one of the worse things that has happened to Marvel over the last 20 years is that the Marvel heroes have become way over powered (I'm talking DC levels of OP). When you have the Hulk preventing an earth destroying Earthquake by holding two tectonic plates together, you have jumped the shark. And don't get me started on Wolverine's healing factor being OP.
|
Back to Top |
profile
| search
|
|
John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005 Posts: 134710
|
Posted: 07 July 2025 at 12:20pm | IP Logged | 4
|
post reply
|
|
Seeing that panel of Spidy lifting up that bus is probably how Marvel came up with Spidey's strength level …••• That panel came long after Stan’s “strength of ten men” declaration.
|
Back to Top |
profile
| search
|
|
Rick Senger Byrne Robotics Member

Joined: 16 April 2004 Location: United States Posts: 9752
|
Posted: 07 July 2025 at 1:19pm | IP Logged | 5
|
post reply
|
|
One of my all-time favorite issues is Daredevil #7 where a normal powered DD attempts to go toe to toe with Submariner who way outclasses him physically, even weakened by a lack of recent water contact. It was beyond improbable that DD could hang with Submariner past a punch or two back then (can’t speak for now) but there was something incredibly compelling / noble about the attempt and Stan came up with some good wrinkles to make the battle last as long as it did. I prefer a plucky, spry, clever but physically overmatched Spidey who uses Perker’s science brain wits and pluck more than some trumped up Super-Spidey powers which made him just another muscle head. The best Spider-man for me was his angsty early incarnation when he was an underdog teen, not a symbiote-enhanced (or whatever the amped excuse) God.
|
Back to Top |
profile
| search
e-mail
|
|
John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005 Posts: 134710
|
Posted: 07 July 2025 at 1:47pm | IP Logged | 6
|
post reply
|
|
Lazy writing will almost invariably lead to power increases. Look at Superman. As the years went by his abilities increased—some coming from the animated cartoons—which somewhat ironically cause power levels to be scaled down on Krypton. The “race of supermen” that planet had spawned were pretty much reg’lar folks by the time Kal-El was flying unaided between stars.
|
Back to Top |
profile
| search
|
|
Andrew Bitner Byrne Robotics Member

Joined: 01 June 2004 Location: United States Posts: 7566
|
Posted: 07 July 2025 at 3:19pm | IP Logged | 7
|
post reply
|
|
Spider-Man should be strong enough to lift a car off someone but not then able to throw that car at someone two blocks away. Capable of truly impressive feats but not toppling (or holding up) a building single-handed. In short, he ought to be a lot stronger than the street level criminals he usually faces but not so much that he's picking fights with Power Man or Doc Samson.
|
Back to Top |
profile
| search
|
|
Paul Kimball Byrne Robotics Member

Joined: 21 September 2006 Location: United States Posts: 2237
|
Posted: 08 July 2025 at 3:29am | IP Logged | 8
|
post reply
|
|
I agree with Andrew.
|
Back to Top |
profile
| search
|
|
Samuel P. Barden Byrne Robotics Member

Joined: 19 April 2004 Location: United States Posts: 240
|
Posted: 08 July 2025 at 4:30am | IP Logged | 9
|
post reply
|
|
Spider-Man should be strong enough to webspin around the city.
Otherwise Spider-Man should count on his brains more than his fists. When Spider-Man started wiping the floor with his villains and other random villains in the Marvel Universe, I checked out of the book.
|
Back to Top |
profile
| search
e-mail
|
|