FREDERICTON, N.B. – He claims his spidey-senses told him the world could use a pick-me-up. And that’s how Fredericton’s own Spider-Man came to be.
“There’s a lot of negativity around in the world, sometimes even in Canada, in our city and country. I just wanted to come out, hopefully inspire people, do a good deed, make people laugh and just kind of spread joy in whatever way I can.”
In true Spider-Man tradition, he’s not revealing his identity.
Not even to friends and family.
Fredericton’s Spider-Man says he strategically picks times to go out and perform good deeds, maintaining the mystery just as the Marvel comic superhero, Peter Parker intended. A couple of hours here every week, morning or evening, whenever he can escape his real life and put on the mask.
“I’m pretty sneaky,” he says.
You’ll see the red and blue superhero in ditches and alongside trails, picking up garbage, sharing stickers and photos with children and adults alike, and asking people how they’re doing.
Frederictonians are taking notice and leaning into the marvel.
“A lot of people are kind of closed off, but they see Spider-Man. And they’re like, ‘holy shit! Spider-Man!’ It just causes people to be more social and to talk to people,” said one Fredericton resident. “I think that’s just a valuable thing. Community is just getting more people to talk to each other.”
The local hero began his quest in April, sparked by a considerable amount of garbage he spotted along the side of a road in Fredericton.
“I noticed, after a week’s time, it would still be there. I just thought, ‘man, our city’s so beautiful and it would look so much more beautiful if things were cleaned up a little bit,’ so I thought this could be a great way to kind of solve that a bit,” he said.
Word spread quickly after he released a social media video explaining what he was doing.
He’s since had people join him to pick up garbage, clean parks, roadsides and trails. He says he’s not looking for compensation, but he will give shout-outs on social media to charities.
“I’ve seen him on TikTok. I said, ‘If I go to Fredericton, maybe I’ll get lucky and see him!’ Well! I did!” said Brent Christensen. “He’s a great example for younger people.”
And that’s exactly the message Fredericton’s Spider-Man is hoping to send.
“The saying with Spider-Man is everyone can wear the mask. Doesn’t have to be someone special. It can be boy or girl. Any gender, any person, anywhere in the world can help out in their own way,” he said.
“In your community, whether you’re with me in your own city, whether its garbage pick-up, homeless outreach, being nice, holding the door for somebody… Anything you can do to make a difference and spread a little bit of joy. I think if every one of us pitched in on that, I think we’d have a much more amazing country.”
