It’s always how are they built or how they work, but never why they’re the shape and colours they are. What does they resemble in the “spider thematic”? I know the sunglasses thing, but the sunglasses are usualy drawn fully black, if that was the emphasis, it would be drawn the recognisable way. Sometimes I see how some versions of these lenses have unintentional motives of spider phangs, but its rarely the point. Where could Peter take this motive from? Did it evolve from the motives of early heroes black masks on the eyes without pupils, like 1936 Phantom, or did it come from the lucha libre mask, but how does the mexican wrestling costume even remotely tie to purely american boy making a spider-themed suit? Why did it become the way it is? Maybe it’s optically explained, like, it’s the only way light can pass through. But again, it’s not cloth, its a lense, which can be any colour, and usually is black
I would like to hear thoughts on each aspect, that would explain why it’s not just two dots or holes for the eyes, but a triangular, black on the outside and white on the inside (besides, its the only instance where white appears in the suit), closely to triangular shape and angled thing, that doesn’t resemble anything close to spider’s thematic. It’s two intentional to be something effortless. I’m tired of searching. When I drew the spider-man I had the outlines blue and the inside red, closely tied with the webs, and everything made sense.
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I know it may break the rules, the logic here can come both from the in-universe perspective and the designer approach. Which I would consider in universe too, cus I don’t care that it’s visually appealing to kids, I want to know why Peter would design it the way it came out
As someone who cosplays as Spider-Man, the big white lenses with the big black border are supposed to resemble insect eyes. The big eyes also give you a better field of view as opposed to looking out through two small holes. The lenses are also made with privacy screens in it so that you can see out but people can’t see in. In certain versions where the lenses are darker, it’s the same concept but with a reflective layer that does the same thing. The iteration of what the material itself is changes in the comics from glass and plastic to more complicated things that have electronics and give Spidey a heads up display while patrolling. In some versions, and including my personal suit, he wears something called a faceshell underneath his mask. It’s basically a front facing helmet that hides the profile of his face and gives him that iconic side view where it appears he has no nose or lips. This also changes and sometimes it’s just a spandex mask with eyes glued onto it where you can see the shape of his nose and lips. The bigger buggy lenses with a face shell offer a bigger field of view and I can tell you that it’s very difficult to see out of a mask with a faceshell but he also relies on his spider sense in addition to his vision.
TLDR; big white lenses make him look insectoid (I know he’s an arachnid) and they offer him a better field of view while keeping people from seeing what he looks like through the lenses.
I know a lot of cheap Halloween masks that have white poked through fabric allowing the wearer to see, I always assumed it was that, I think it shows in the Insomniac suit
Either that, or as GodzillaMendoza used in his “homemade” suit that he also could’ve broken in half 2 sunglasses for the lenses, the suit in amazing Spider-Man 1 used that same logic
Keep in mind, since his suit was made with no budget most of the times, he likely had to use cost saving methods like sunglasses or cheap Halloween costumes to make his suit
Besides what others have said, lucha libre could have had something to do with it. Shortly after he got his powers he tried to make some money in a pro wrestling challenge, and wore a mask to avoid personal attention. While it wasn’t a lucha libre mask, that could have created the connection for him.
It may not have been Peter.
Though Marvel always claim Parker made it himself, ( from what?,) in his wrestling career he just improvised a mask and people presumably thought he was some kind of undersized adult, since he is clearly 14 otherwise!
He is only shown in full costume for the first time on his television show; so it’s far more likely a costumier designed the costume.
And they would have chosen that lens shape for the same reason Ditko did!
Under a microscope the face markings of jumping spiders are often mistaken by amateurs as eyes.
Spiders can have upto 8 eyes on their heads.
Some spiders have eyes on their knees.
How “thematic” do you expect them to go?
Atlas comics Tarantula was far more spiderlike and as a nod to that Marvel turned the” first ” Tarantula into a spider monster.
Why wouldn’t Spider-Man have oddly shaped lenses to fit a theme?
( Stan Lee didn’t even know spiders are arachnids, so he was thinking “insectoid” anyway!)
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Answered by Lee and Ditko