Summary

• Spider-Man's Spider-Sense is essential to his functionality as a superhero, but as one Marvel "What If?..." story revealed, it could be exploited as a weakness by the right enemy.
• In an alternate timeline where Flash Thompson became a villainous Spider-Man, Peter Parker was forced to develop anti-Spidey countermeasures in order to bring him down.
• Doc Ock, or other one of Spidey's highly intelligent villains, could potentially turn his Spider-Sense against Spider-Man, just as depicted in What If?... #76.

Spider-Man is a lot more powerful than most people give him credit for. While formidable, his enhanced strength and agility are far from his most powerful abilities. Peter can avoid almost every attack thrown his way thanks to his Spider-Sense, but this powerful ability is also at the heart of Peter Parker's biggest weakness.

What If? #76 – written by Terry Austin, with art by Stuart Immonen – elaborated on the surprising weakness caused by Spider-Man's Spider-Sense. In this story, instead of Peter Parker becoming Spider-Man as usual, it was bully Flash Thompson who gained these amazing powers. With the powers of the Webslinger, Flash quickly became one of the most dangerous criminals in New York.

Flash subsequently bullied Peter Parker into deg both his suit and the gadgets he uses to commit his crimes. Realize the menace Flash truly was, Peter set out to defeat this villainous Spider-Man, and he did so surprisingly easily.

Peter Parker Easily Took Down Flash Thompson By Turning His Spider-Sense Against Him

What If? #76 – Written By Terry Austin, Stuart Immonen, Marie Javins, & Janice Chiang

As Peter tried to fight Flash Thompson, he had a counter for every one of his Spider-Man abilities...Most notably, he projected a radio frequency that forced Flash's Spider-Sense to go into overdrive, instantly knocking the errant Wallcrawler out.

Of all of Spider-Man's abilities, his Spider-Sense has always been the most crucial. His Spider-Sense gives him a warning a few seconds in advance of any attack coming towards him. Combine this with his heightened agility, and it's practically impossible to land any hits on Spider-Man. He's shown capable of dodging all but the fastest of physical attacks and even gunfire. But despite how powerful Spider-Sense is, Peter was able to completely reverse it on Flash Thompson, and it was shockingly effective.

As Peter tried to fight Flash Thompson, he had a counter for every one of his Spider-Man abilities. Peter coated his mechanical arms in a lubricant that webbing couldn't stick to. He had gas that could instantly dissolve the webbing as well, and most notably, he projected a radio frequency that forced Flash's Spider-Sense to go into overdrive, instantly knocking the errant Wallcrawler out. Peter is among the smartest characters in Marvel, but it stands to reason that if Peter is capable of creating a system to thwart Spider-Sense, then some of his genius-level intellect villains, like Doc Ock, could at some point do the same.

Doc Ock or any other hyper-intelligent villain, could very likely defeat Spider-Man by turning his greatest power against him.

Peter Parker Exposed A Spider-Sense Weakness That His Greatest Villains Could Exploit

A Stand-Out Marvel "What If?..."

The biggest problem any villain faces when going up against Spider-Man is how to get around his Spider-Sense. That's why Venom and Carnage are so deadly, but Peter Parker demonstrated that Spider-Sense isn't something to avoid, it's something that can be used. Characters like Doc Ock are brilliant scientists and have personal experience with Spider-Sense, as Doc had his own for many years. With such intimate knowledge, Doc Ock or any other hyper-intelligent villain, could very likely defeat Spider-Man by turning his greatest power against him.

What If? #76 is available now from Marvel Comics!