The year was 1962 and it was the anthology comic book Amazing Fantasy in the Silver Age of Comic Books that the world came to know about a superhero named Spiderman. One of my uncles (a very cool one till date) used to work with a leading ad agency as a Sketch Artist. He had that copy of the comic book. He was the one who instilled the habit for reading comic books in me. While growing up, I got inspired by various other superhero stories but Spiderman always remained my favourite among all. By the time I was able to read those comic books, the cartoon channels were already playing the shows. I heard many interesting tales about Stan Lee and Spiderman from my uncle. And Spiderman won me over easily with his brave heart.
There is another fan of Spiderman I know and that is my best friend Nisha. She used to be my companion for watching Spiderman series on TV or sharing comic books. We also had a small fan club. I still have some of the crazy photographs of those childhood and teen days where we tailored many of our clothes into Spiderman-themed ones. We got ridiculed by many friends and relatives (but so was Spiderman himself).
Due to a strong liking for that character, during that adolescence period, falling in love with Tobey Maguire (the world-famous 2002 Spiderman movie star) was like the obvious choice. The antics of Spiderman – swinging around like a trapeze artist, relying on a perfectly-timed momentum are not found in any other superhero and these were the primary reasons for loving Spiderman in childhood.
While growing up, I started respecting him more. Why? Because I realised that Peter Parker’s life is always in shambles and he never gives up. The world out there is ridiculing him throughout the day but he knows the fact he is way more powerful than everyone else. He is socially an awkward character who is teased at school. Peter Parker is ridiculed at the workplace. And he is often rejected by the girl he likes. He is like us during the day. But he forgets all that and ties up the gang of criminals at night. He does all that to save the same world that doesn’t adore him much in the daylight.
It was Nisha’s birthday last week on 27th July. It was loosely planned that we will meet on that day to celebrate the day. Since the time, we moved to separate cities, we had a pact that we will fly down to each other’s place on birthdays alternately. This time, it was my turn. I knew I couldn’t make it at all owing to an assiduous time at work. On 7th July 2019, the latest Spiderman movie “Spider-Man: Far From Home” released and therefore, watching that movie would have been the most special birthday outing for Nisha. Oh, did I forget to mention that there is another pact in our friendship? We always watch Spiderman Movies or series together (only for the first time).
As I couldn’t be there, there were two major setbacks. One, both the fans were deprived of feeling the glorious story of Spiderman on screen. Secondly, the birthday celebration was not as exciting as it should have been.
And this is when, just like in the movies, in the comic books, and in thousand other fan imaginations – Spiderman came to the rescue. I told Nisha that I couldn’t make it this year two days before her birthday. But I promised to meet her after a month. But what I didn’t tell her was that I ordered a fondant Spiderman Cake from Ferns N Petals for her. To make up for the lost excitement, I opted for the midnight delivery service. And I also filtered out those crazy teenage photographs with Spiderman inspired costumes to prepare a nice personalised photo frame for her. The moment it was 12 at midnight, I called her and simultaneously her doorbell rang. The big surprise was out and we both had tears of happiness, nostalgia, and memories rolling down our cheeks. The cake was beautiful and tasted like heaven.
The birthday couldn’t have been more special for her as it was her best friend sending her a cake that brought back all her childhood and teenage memories of worshipping Spiderman. I thank Ferns N Petals for being so responsible for making that day memorable for both of us.
Lastly, I would like to say that Inside every grown up – there is a kid. And in every ordinary person – there resides an extraordinary talent which is exclusive to the self. Spiderman teaches us just that. And that world-famous line – “with great power comes responsibility” is something that will always inspire both of us and millions of other fans to do good for the larger purpose.
