When kids meet their superhero, they usually want to be just like them when they grow up. But then life happens and they end up working a nine-to-five – but not Canberra’s Spider-Man.
CBR Spidey (we can’t reveal his true identity) is living his childhood dream, donning a mask and assuming the character every weekend on the streets of Civic.
All we can tell you is that he’s about the same age as Peter Parker in the Spider-Man movies, he grew up in Queanbeyan, and he does good-Samaritan work with sick kids in his day job.
CBR Spidey, an ANU graduate who studied a Bachelor of International Security (true story), is probably the most photographed person in Canberra, posing for hundreds of selfies with late-night revellers.
His motivation is not to save the day, but to make people’s day.
“I met Spider-Man as a kid when I was six years old at an amusement park in Wollongong and it’s come full circle; it had a larger impact on my life than I realised,” CBR Spidey said.
“I just really love Spider-Man and I enjoy bringing joy and happiness to people as well. It was this full circle moment where the photos that I’m taking with kids, I’m essentially recreating of myself.”
Late last year, CBR Spidey splurged on a quality Spider-Man suit and fell in love with it (he now has three high-quality suits from the three live-action movie portrayals).
This is now his dress code for a night out at either Mooseheads, Hopscotch, outside Civic Maccas, the Kingo or last weekend’s Raiders match (he even wears red on Canberra’s red light rail).
I first spotted the web-slinger on the dance floor at Smith’s Alternative.
“On an average night I’ll spend a couple of hours at a spot or do some laps and I can be surrounded by crowds of people asking for a photo,” he said. “I guess a guy dressed in a red and blue suit in the middle of the city is going to stand out.”
Fittingly, it was on 1 August (International Spider-Man Day) that CBR Spidey realised this was his calling.
“I had the privilege to advertise the new [Spider-Man] movie at Limelight Cinemas on that day and on the drive home afterwards, I had the massive revelation that I am who I wanted to be when I grew up,” he said.
“I’ve really found my lane and it sounds really silly but I just accepted my passion – or obsession depending on who you ask – and I’m just running with it. Having worked at the hospital for so long, my first thought was to visit paediatric inpatients to make their day and it’s grown from there”.
The most common question he gets asked: can he really spin a web? (Yes, he has replica web shooters that actually do work.)
He also gets asked if he can do a backflip (not yet) or if he can replicate the famous upside down kiss with onscreen love interest Mary Jane (no, there’s nothing in Civic to hang from).
“Something as simple as getting into the Spidey pose can blow people’s minds,” he said.
Like the Marvel character, who lives in Manhattan, CBR Spidey lives in the city, but despite the close proximity, it takes him an hour to get home because he keeps getting mobbed for photos.
His lair/apartment is dotted with collectible Spider-Man figurines, mugs, key chains, a Velcro wallet and mobile phone cover.
“Even under the mask, I smile for every photo that gets taken,” he said. “I guess I’ve known my lane for a long time, but I just didn’t know how to express it. I’ve grown a lot more confident being Spidey and being out in public. His personality has become second nature to me.
“The anonymity adds to the fun of it. That’s another question people ask me: ‘Can you take your mask off?’ And I’m like, ‘No, it defeats the whole purpose of the mask.’”
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