From Fiction to Reality: How Science Has Brought Spider-Man’s Web-Slinging to Life!

It’s exciting to see some childhood gadget dreams come true. Remember the video watch from Inspector Gadget? Got it! How about the tricorder from Star Trek? We’re getting close. But who would have thought web-slinging would be possible in real life? Marco Lo Presti from Tufts University’s Silklab is making this a reality.

Back in 2020, Lo Presti was researching underwater adhesives. He started with a mix of silk and dopamine, which mimics how mussels cling to rocks underwater. This material sparked his curiosity.

While cleaning his equipment with acetone, he noticed something amazing: the liquid was transitioning into a solid, web-like substance. Excited, he shared his findings with Fiorenzo Omenetto, a professor in engineering at Tufts. They began brainstorming how to create a remote adhesive—something that could stick to objects from a distance.

Omenetto describes their process as a mix of exploration and play. It’s not just about following a strict plan; it’s also about making connections. One playful thought was, “Could this be like something Spider-Man would use?” They initially brushed off the idea but realized a material that mimics superpowers could be incredibly useful.

Before diving fully into this new web-making process, Lo Presti had to finish his research on underwater adhesives, which he completed in 2021. Much of their work at Silklab draws inspiration from nature—think spiders, silkworms, and even orchids.

Lo Presti points out an important distinction: while the new material acts like spider silk, no spider can shoot a stream of this solution to capture distant objects. It’s a novel concept, bringing superhero-like abilities into reality.

As discussed in their research published in Advanced Functional Materials, this type of web-shooting has its roots in fiction. In the 1962 comic Amazing Fantasy #15, Peter Parker invents wrist devices to shoot webs. Later films, like Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man, shifted the story to make web-shooting a natural power of the hero.