Spider-Man has appeared in many video games, from the Spider-Man titled series, games based on the movies, and as part of a larger cast in titles such as Disney Infinity and Marvel’s Ultimate Alliance. One roster he has never been a part of thus far is Nintendo’s wildly popular brawler Super Smash Bros. For those who have never heard of Smash, the series is a number of crossover fighting games that brings together characters from many of Nintendo’s franchises (Zelda, Mario, Kirby) as well as characters from other publishers (Pac Man from Namco, Mega Man from Capcom). The addition of non-Nintendo properties in the latest titles has opened up the game to the possibility of adding newcomers from properties you would never think of.

Case in point, the Final Fantasy character Cloud was recently announced as the newest addition. This brought me to the point of this article, if Cloud and Ryu could be in Super Smash Bros, why not your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man? I decided I’d do something a little bit different this time. I’ve thought about it in-depth and have created a move-set and play style for the Web-Head, to share what I believe would be a good take on a Spider-Man that would brawl with the likes of Mario and Sonic.

For the uninitiated, each character in the game has a move-list that uses a fairly simple combination of buttons to pull off. There are 5 main buttons that correspond with 5 main actions: Attacks (A and B), Jump, Grab, and Shield. Both the A and B buttons can be combined with directional inputs (up, down, left, and right) to access the character’s special moves, smashes (a strong, usually close combat strike). and Tilt moves.

It’s easier to do than it sounds! In order to win a match you must eliminate the other players by damaging them and knocking them off the screen in any direction. I chose the following moves in an attempt to fit the fighting style of Spider-Man himself as well as the mechanics of the game, and it will also showcase some of Spidey’s classic moves and abilities. Without further ado, let’s start with his A-moves.

A moves are the bread and butter of Super Smash Bros. They include every characters basic melee attack as well as their smashes. Smashes are used for racking up very high damage or for finishing a character off. I tried to choose a physical move set that seemed very… Spidey-like.

A-Button – Way of the Spider: The A-button is Smash Bro’s standard attack. For Spidey’s A I decided that he should have a combo attack, with a one-two punch into a jumping back kick. Shang-Chi and Spidey worked together to craft a Kung-Fu style of combat for Spider-Man to use after he lost his spider-sense, and they named the new martial art the Way of the Spider. This brand new art of fighting utilized Spidey’s natural agility and Shang-Chi’s martial prowess to give Peter an edge in hand to hand combat.

Down-A (D-Smash) – Sweep Kick: A character’s down smash is used to hit opponents on both sides, so I chose a traditional sweep kick move. Now Spidey definitely has used a variety of moves that attack both sides, but I thought a simple move would fit the character the most as an effective maneuver.

Forward-A (F-Smash) – Web Fist: For his forward smash I chose the Spidey move of web fist. Spidey uses one of his web shooters to encase his hand in a web, adding some extra oomph to his punch. The longer you hold the move the stronger his punch will be. This seemed like the best fit for the important move that is frequently used to finish off an opponent. No matter how intelligent or creative he is during a fight, Spidey’s go-to move will always be a solid punch.

Up-A (Up-Smash) – Kick Up: Spidey flips backwards into a handstand and kicks up with both legs, launching the opponent into the air. Smash’s up smash is generally used to hit the opponent into the air either to finish them off or to follow them for an aerial strike. I believe a kick up attack demonstrates Spidey’s agility and works as a move that needs to hit a foe upwards.

Aerial moves, also known as Up-Air, Down-Air, Forward-Air, and Back-Air, are moves used after jumping or whilst in the air. These are used to inflict damage on the opponent, as a spacing move to create some distance, or to juggle the opponent (keep them in the air as you constantly attack them). These are usually fairly simple moves so for Spidey I chose some basic attacks.

Up-Air: A solid aerial high-kick. Employed by Spidey countless times against many foes when a strong aerial strike is necessary.

Down-Air: A two-handed downward strike with his fists webbed together.

Forward-Air: A forward aerial punch, a basic move used constantly by Spidey during battles with foes such as the Vulture and Green Goblin.

Back-Air: A solid aerial back straight-kick.

Neutral-Air (pressing A in the air with no direction): A front flip kick that arcs in a complete circle.

Tilt moves, are moves that are less powerful than smashes, but are stronger than basic strikes. They usually have increased distance or more impact, and allow for a better variety of combos. These moves are executed by pressing A and moving the control stick or directional pad half-way up, down, or to either side.

Up-Tilt – Spider Sting: I chose an uppercut as his up-tilt, more specifically, his spider sting attack. Spider-Man has used a variety of uppercuts ranging from leaping ones to a Shoryuken (the famous Street Fighter Dragon Punch), so incorporating an uppercut into his move-set seemed like the right decision. This would operate as a solid anti-air defense or a way to knock the foe into the air slightly in the early fight.

Down-Tilt – Web Shot: For his down-tilt, Spidey shoots webs at the ground in front him, leaving behind a webbed floor that remains there for a moment. If it connects with any enemy or an opponent steps on the webs, they will be snared for a brief moment, unable to move for a second. This leaves high potential for a follow up smash or attack by Spidey.

Side-Tilt – Web Shield: I chose a classic Spidey move for his side-tilt, the web shield! With this move Spidey quickly webs up a nice shield. In the past he has used these moves to block projectiles of any type, and in this case it would do the same. If used on a projectile (such as Mario’s fireball) it will completely nullify the attack, and if used on a character it will push them away with minimal damage.

Now for the special moves. Super Smash Bro’s B moves are usually non-close-combat moves (with some distance closing exceptions) such as Link’s boomerang, Samus’s laser, or Charizard’s flamethrower. It also includes the recovery move (a move used to get some extra height when falling off the stage), and some defensive techniques.

B-Button – Web Ball: Spidey’s typical projectile move, the web ball. This move shoots out a web ball projectile that has a slight knock back when it hits an opponent. If the player holds B and charges the move, Spidey will shoot a larger web ball with both hands, which cocoons the enemy in a web if it hits. This gives Spider-Man both a ranged move to hit those pesky distance fighters, as well as some crowd control when he wants to keep someone in place for a big combo.



Up B – Web Sling: For Spider-Man’s recovery move there was nothing else to pick but web slinging action. If the wall-crawler ever finds himself plummeting to his death he can use this move to shoot a web line straight up into the air and pull down on it, launching himself up into the sky. If it connects with an opponent that is above them, he will swing up to the attached enemy and strike them. I thought about a web swinging move as his up B, but it would be too slow as a recovery move, and open himself up to a costly counter attack.

Side B – Web Catapult: Spidey has done this move on many occasions in the comics, and I found it fitting for his side B move. When using this attack on the ground, Spidey shoots two web lines to the ground, slowly pulling himself back as far as possible. When released he catapults himself forward, becoming a human missile as he kicks any enemy he collides with. If used in the air he instead shoots two web lines to the ground, and does the same thing, except angled downwards instead of forward. This move will let him close distances quickly and deliver a nice kick to the head.

Down B – Spidey Sense: The down B move is Spider-Man’s ultimate defensive move, his spider sense! This move brings the classic spider sense lines above Spidey’s head for a couple of seconds. If he is struck by any opponent during this time frame, he dodges the move and strikes back. There are a lot of characters who have similar counter moves, and I thought this was the perfect slot to incorporate Spidey’s ability of precognition.

Grab moves are attacks that let one character take hold of their opponent, and throw them in a direction. Grabs are unblockable and can be used as finishers, combo starters, or shield counters. Spidey’s grab would start with him quickly shooting a web line in front of him; if the web shot connects, he pulls his target in, suspending them for a moment as he decides his next action.

Down Throw – Spider-Man grabs his target’s head, slamming them into the ground with a grand impact.





Up Throw – Spidey does a back-flip kick, launching the opponent upward into the air.

Forward Throw – Spidey leaps and kicks his opponent, knocking them forward as he back-flips off of them, landing back on his feet.



Back Throw – Spider-Man swings his webbed target above his head, circling around once before letting them go behind him as they go flying into the distance.

Taunts are exactly what the word implies: a tease, jeer, or funny action that does absolutely no damage. A taunt’s sole purpose is to taunt an opponent by doing a move that makes you vulnerable. They usual have some personal meaning to the character.

Taunt 1: Spider-Man reaches out with one web shooter and says, “you’re looking a little stuck,” when suddenly the web shooter malfunctions on him. He looks down at his empty shooter and says “ahhh not again!”

Taunt 2: Spider-Man whips out a camera and snaps a quick picture. He follows up with “Triple J is gonna love this!”

Taunt 3: Spidey hops into a one-handed handstand, holding a cellphone to his ear with his other hand and says, “Hey MJ, you’re never gonna believe who I’m here with.”

Final Smashes are ultimate moves with tons of damage and in most cases, no downside. This attack is only accessed by breaking an item called the Smash Ball.

Final Smash – Maximum Spider: There were a lot of moves that could take the slot of Spider-Man’s ultimate attack, but I thought the best one would be his classic ultra move Maximum Spider. With this finisher, Spider-Man would leap up and emit a large web around his position. Anyone caught inside the web would be struck by rapid attacks as Spider-Man flies around the area repeatedly attacking anyone that’s entwined. Upon ending, everyone hit would go flying in all directions.

Strategy and Conclusion: With this move-set I believe Spidey would be a very strong character. In terms of play style, he would be a zoning character, using his skills to establish space between himself and his opponent, while keeping the opponent where he wants them. With his versatile kit of ranged and close combat attacks, as well as the ability to snare his opponent in a web and quickly close the distance with his web-slinging abilities, he could be used as a hyper aggressive striker or a cautious attacker. And above all, he would be a blast to play, flipping around the battle field and using his webs and spider sense to keep his opponents guessing.

I hope you enjoyed my take on a Super Smash Bros Spidey even if you’ve never played the game, and I sincerely hope that one day Nintendo would have the audacity and genius to add the web-slinger to the brawler. (Thanks to my friend PD for making the Spider-Man splash picture).