Despite his superpowers, Spider-Man often seems out-classed by the heroes he works with. When your world has gods like Thor or gamma-powered monsters like the Hulk who can bench press 100 tons on their worst day, being able to lift a car doesn’t seem like it stacks up. Even Captain America showed he edges out Spidey in fighting ability.
Still, Spider-Man’s will and determination has made him the victor in many matches where he seemed outmatched – including a decisive win against Firelord, a former Herald of Galactus, and the Juggernaut, the X-Men’s unstoppable foe. His unwillingness to back down from a fight has earned him the respect of many beings – including the cosmic energy the Enigma Force, which once transformed Spidey into Captain Universe!
A popular idea in Marvel Comics, the Enigma Force is a source of virtually limitless cosmic energy that can imbue anyone – human, alien, or animal – with the power of a god. Those who receive this gift have all of their physical abilities magnified and gain a host of other powers – including flight, matter reconfiguration, energy blasts, and much more. Such power is only given to combat a great threat and bestows the bearer with the identity and costume of Captain Universe – although that isn’t exactly what happened to Spider-Man…
During the 1990s, Spider-Man became caught up in a supervillain plot known as “Acts of Vengeance.” Masterminded by Loki, the plan called for villains to attack superheroes they normally didn’t fight. This would presumably give the villains an edge since the heroes wouldn’t know how to defend against their attacks. Realizing that such massive mayhem would threaten millions of lives, the Engima Force decided to make Spider-Man the new Captain Universe so that he could stop the Acts of Vengeance.
At the time, however, Peter Parker was caught up in a science experiment that manipulated unique forms of energy. Thus, when the Enigma Force gave him its power, Peter only got the abilities of Captain Universe, not the costume or the awareness of what he was supposed to do with his new gifts. This sudden upgrade upset Peter as he now felt he was too powerful. Indeed, as the Enigma Force regularly boosted an individual’s strength by a factor of 50, Spider-Man – who could normally lift 10 tons – was now the strongest hero in the Marvel Universe by the power of his muscles alone!
This power did come in handy in The Amazing Spider-Man #328 when Sebastian Shaw, one of the men behind the Acts of Vengeance, decided to recruit the Hulk to attack Spider-Man. At the time, the Hulk was in his gray, “Joe Fixit” form and was willing to be hired out as an enforcer for enough money. Although the Gray Hulk had nothing against Spider-Man, he decided the money he was being paid was enough to rough up the webslinger.
Only things didn’t go quite as planned. Right from the start, Spidey proved way too powerful for the Hulk. Even though he kept trying to pull his punches, the Hulk still felt every blow Spider-Man struck and wondered if the web head had been working out. Things got serious, however, when Spidey saw the Hulk menace some kids in a junkyard. Fearing for their safety, Spidey hit the Hulk with all of his strength, and sent him flying up… and up… and up.
The next thing the Hulk knew, he was orbiting the Earth like a satellite. Fortunately, his body was impervious to the cold and pressure – and he had the good sense to hold his breath before he left the atmosphere. However, in his present state, he turned back to Bruce Banner when the sun rose – and as he began orbiting the planet, he knew he only had a matter of minutes before he became human and exploded.
Thankfully, Spider-Man used his new power of flight to reach the Hulk and drag him back down to Earth before things got messy. Grateful for the save, the Hulk promised “I won’t kill ya” to Spider-Man and leapt away, although Spidey wondered if he could even die thanks to his new power. And while Spider-Man lost his cosmic powers the next time he met up with the Hulk, it’s a good bet that the Gray/Green Goliath remembers their encounter and will be treating Spidey with a bit more respect from now on.