Growing Up with Spider-Man: A Brand New Day Reflection | 3
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I have vivid memories of every single one of my Spider-Man movie theater experiences, Spider-Man 3 was the first. I had the DVDs for the first two and watched them on an unbearable rotation, sorry mom and dad. I saw Spider-Man 3 at the Universal City Walk theater when I was 11 and as far as my memory serves me, it was one of the first few movies I had seen in theaters without my parents. After the movie, my friend and I went to 7/11 to get the exclusive Slurpee cup collab, I had that cup for YEARS. Spider-Man 3 was by no means a perfect film – but who’s going to tell an 11-year-old that his first time watching Spider-Man on the big screen was bad?
The Amazing Spider-Man movies all came out while I was in high school. The Amazing Spider-Man 2, where Peter Parker graduates high school, came out a month before I graduated high school. I must’ve seen that movie for what feels like a dozen times in theaters. Even though Andrew Garfield was 30+ during his tenure, Peter Parker in those movies was exactly where I was in life, being tossed to and fro by the winds of high school and now stepping out into the world where life does not hold back.
The Tom Holland trilogy started while I was in “college,” I use quotes because I dropped out shortly after I started and went to work full-time. But that’s where I was in life and that’s where the people around me were at. I watched Spider-Man: Homecoming two days after coming back from serving at a high school camp a few states over. There was about 10 of us that pulled up to the now defunct Arclight Cinemas in Sherman Oaks, we were all dead tired, but we didn’t care because Spider-Man was BACK. Spider-Man: Far From Home came out in my first 6 months of marriage. All I remember was that it was opening night and I was stoked that I got to say, “I watched Spider-Man on opening night with MY WIFE.” A dream come true for a nerd. And don’t get me started on No Way Home. The experience of watching your favorite Spider-Man redeem his worst moment and prove to himself that he can save Gwen from that fall and has freed himself of that guilt. Man.
Into the Spider-Verse was such a fond experience. I wasn’t too familiar with Miles Morales at the time and my opinions on animation were uneducated and foolish, but the impact that movie had not on just myself, but the culture, will never fail to amaze me. It was opening weekend and several of us went to go see it during my friend’s bachelor party at AMC The Grove. Fun fact, it was also the same day that I bet on a racehorse for the first, and last, time. But probably my fondest Spider-Man theater experience was Across the Spider-Verse. My wife and I were in Manila, Philippines for her work. If you’ve never been, or have never been to Southeast Asia, take whatever humidity you’ve experienced and multiply that by double whatever it is your thinking. It is weather unlike anything I’ve experienced in my travels. So, while my wife was fulfilling work obligations I walked over to the Mall of Asia (one of the biggest malls in the world, an important fact for later) to stand in line at the theater and buy tickets, the old school way. I stood in that sweaty line for over an hour. Later that night a group of us walked over to that same theater I stood in line for to watch the movie. Unbeknownst to me, that even though that is where I stood in line, that is not where our tickets were for. So, we walked 5 minutes to the next theater, still not the right theater. Then we walked another 5 minutes to the next theater, still not the right theater. Third time was the charm, walking about a mile in sweltering Manila nighttime heat, we missed the opening scene, but we made it. And we watched, completely immersed in the beautiful piece of art that so many people came together to create. It was a journey to get there, similarly to how long this retelling is starting to feel, but 5 minutes after sitting down we didn’t care because we were watching a Spider-Man movie. And after 2 hours of watching everybody tell Miles who he is and who he isn’t, I will never forget hearing him say “nah, I’mma do my own thing.”
And finally, Spider-Man: Brand New Day. I got my Icee (my go to theater treat), found my seat, and anxiously waited. That moment of euphoria when the lights completely dim after the final trailer finishes is without a doubt my favorite part of the theater experience. It is a moment that teleports you from the real world to a fictional one. A moment where you can leave all your worries at the door to allow yourself to be so immersed by story, visuals, and sound that you forget that there’s a real world spinning and going on outside of that theater.
Spider-Man has been with me since I was a kid. I was 6 years old when Sam Raimi’s first Spider-Man movie came out, and I turned 30 just a couple months ago. From being a child, to a high schooler, to an awkward single college student, to a young newlywed, and now the big 3-0, Spider-Man has been with me through every season of life. And every time a Spider-Man movie comes around, no matter where I’m at in life, I am always reminded of this: you are able. When I was 6, I thought that literally meant I could be Spider-Man. But as a 30-year-old married man, it means that if Peter Parker or Miles Morales can find a way, then so can I.
Spro // Joshua
P.S. I will spend this coming week finally looking into e-mail subscription. There are many options out there so I want to be diligent to make sure I’m choosing the right option. I thought it would be as simple as a couple clicks, but apparently this is far more in depth than I anticipated. Anyways, I appreciate y’all for reading again this week.
P.P.S. I’ve got a claim sale this Wednesday 8/5 at 5 PM PST on my Instagram, I have a brand new collection that came in just this weekend so I’ll have a bunch of books from that available. If you want my full thoughts on Spider-Man: Brand New Day, check out The Comic Room Pod’s full review episode for all my thoughts. Let me know in the comments if you have any fond memories of a Spider-Man movie experience. See you on the next one!