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A popular song on the radio, Coldplay's "Something Just Like This" lists various superpowers that the singer does not have. They include

  • Spider-Man's control
  • Batman and his fist

Does Spider-Man have a "control" power of some kind? His powers I am aware of include agility, web slinging, and "spidey-sense" which detects danger.

Batman has been known to punch a villain or two, but if I had to name one superpower, it would be extreme preparation; perhaps huge piles of money.

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    Related question with an answer explaining Spider-man's use of self-control
    – DaaaahWhoosh
    Commented Jun 1, 2017 at 15:38
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    "Achilles and his gold"? First we'd have to establish whether these lyrics have any real meaning whatsoever, and I don't think they do.
    – DisturbedNeo
    Commented Jun 1, 2017 at 15:42
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    According to the batman wiki, Bruce Wayne knows 127 different martial arts. Regardless of it being a "superpower" or not, Batman and his fists are pretty epic in scale, for a human.
    – Dungarth
    Commented Jun 1, 2017 at 15:53
  • As others have observed, Batman is sometimes the world’s greatest detective, and sometimes the world’s greatest puncher of ninjas.
    – Paul D. Waite
    Commented Jun 1, 2017 at 16:32
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    I mean, Maguire' first appearance as Spidey had him catch all of MJ's food on a tray without even spilling her drink, after catching MJ herself, who had already slipped before he'd even started to move. If that's not super control, I don't know what is. But yeah, I'm big on Mythology, and those Achilles and Hercules lines..... they're just weird.
    – DisturbedNeo
    Commented Jun 1, 2017 at 17:26

1 Answer 1

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Spider-Man has no "control" power, at least in the sense of some psi talent that he can use to influence the behavior of others. What he does have is tremendous control of his super-ability. While fighting Manslaughter Spidey remarked that he always pulls his punches when fighting villains. Unlike any other random brawling human being, no matter how enraged he gets, Spidey never swings or kicks with full force. If he did, he would instantly kill nearly every villain he faces. Consider that an ostrich can kill a man with a kick and Spider-Man can kick at least two orders of magnitude harder than any ostrich.

Imagine what would happen if a person who can do this...

spider-man lifts bus

... got angry and punched you in the face with all his might. Or punches you with even a tenth the force he was capable of producing.

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    "unlike any other" - I seem to remember Superman was always holding back as well.
    – Gallifreyan
    Commented Jun 1, 2017 at 18:31
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    @Gallifreyan Supes doesn't typically brawl. His main concern is idiots shattering their bones against his body and preventing bullet ricochets from killing bystanders.
    – Kyle Jones
    Commented Jun 7, 2017 at 7:15

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