Spider-Man fever is no joke right now. The anticipation around his first appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been steadily building since it was announced that Spidey will be taking a side in Captain America: Civil War. Even though we’ve been unable to see any footage of the wall crawler so far, it seems like Spideymania isn’t slowing any time soon. Let’s face it: who doesn’t want to be bitten by a radioactive spider in exchange for awesome spider powers and team up with the Avengers?
A few weeks ago, we reported that scientists from Cambridge University stated that it would be physically impossible for a human to crawl walls. Yes, even if the person in question were given the powers that Peter Parker has in the comics. This form of childhood dream-crushing was due to the idea that humans’ feet and hands just aren’t large enough to support our bodies while clinging to a building. Well, it turns out those smartypants over at Cambridge aren’t as sharp as they think they are.
On a recent episode of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Colbert let us now that new scientists from Stanford are ready to debunk Cambridge’s claim. Check out the segment from the Late Show below.
So, it appears that all Peter Parker would need to scale the walls of New York City were those nifty gloves that the folks at Stanford have. While the particular scientist who is demonstrating the power of the gloves isn’t exactly moving at superhero speed, it shows that a human could potentially use the technology to climb a wall. Plus, the poor guy doesn’t have super strength like Spider-Man does, so you can’t really blame him.
It’s also worth noting that Spider-Man has always utilized technology in his superheroic adventures. Unable to naturally produce his signature webs, Peter Parker generally uses web shooters and web cartridges to swing, trap, and catapult himself and those he comes in contact with. Additionally, there have been version of Spider-Man that use advanced technology to give him an additional four arms. Since Peter Parker is a man of science himself, it doesn’t seem crazy that he could construct a more advanced version of the Stanford gloves.
Check out the full video to Stephen Colbert from the fine folks at Stanford University. You can see Spider-Man kick some ass when Captain America: Civil War swings into theaters on May 6th, 2016.
