the questionable physics of spiderman

Possibly the least-believable scene occurs when Dafoe, in the form of the Green Goblin, severs the cable to a cable car filled with children. Dafoe stands high atop a structure with the cable in one hand and Spider-Man's girlfriend in the other. If we assume the cable car and children weigh 4000 pounds (1818 kg), and the cable is massless and makes a 5° angle with the horizon, we can calculate the sideways force created on the Goblin as follows:

F = W/(2·tan q)

Where F is the magnitude of the force in the horizontal direction, W is the weight of the cable car and children, and q is the angle between the horizon and the cable.

	F	=	W 2 Tan q
	Where:
		F= the horizontal force
		W = the weight of the cable car and children
		q = the angle between the horizon and the cable

The side force would be about 23,000 pounds (102,000 newtons). Even if we suspend our disbelief that the Goblin could hold on to the cable, there is no way his feet would have enough friction to keep him from being pulled sideways, yet the Goblin doesn't even have to strain.