New Yorkers Share Their Thoughts on How Spider-Man and New York City Go Hand in Hand

Spider-Man is synonymous with New York City. You can’t have one without the other. I can’t think of a better pairing that marries as well together since peanut butter and jelly. With “Marvel’s Spider-Man” on PS4 out in the universe for nearly a week now, the most consistent praises are how much the blockbuster hit captures the true essence and intricate details of the City That Never Sleeps.

Spider-Man swings above Central Park and around Chinatown, the East Village, Midtown and more within the game. It’s hard not to be taken in with the worn brick buildings, the Empire State Building, Radio City Music Hall and the Manhattan Bridge. We took to the streets and asked New Yorkers their thoughts our friendly neighborhood Spidey.

What makes Spidey a true New Yorker and friendly neighborhood hero was his relatability. One local said, “He’s like a real New Yorker, I mean, he’s always broke. That’s kind of great, because I’m always broke.” While another added, “He went to public school, and he experienced all of these things that as a New Yorker, there are certain things you can only experience growing up here.”

Peter Parker wasn’t born into wealth and didn’t come to New York from another planet. “He came from humble beginnings too. He doesn’t think he can do a lot, but he can do a lot. That’s kind of like how I was growing up.” This makes for a New Yorker with “equal levels of confidence and self-doubt,” and that feels “pretty close to every New Yorker situation we’ve ever had.”

More so, Spider-Man is characteristically Queens. How? “You always know Spider-Man was born in Queens, because he’s always got jokes. Everybody in Queens has got jokes.” After all, “Spider-Man’s so iconic to New Yorkers, because, I don’t know, he talks a lot.” Growing up in Queens makes Peter “quick on his feet” and “know how to handle himself.”

There’s also a sense of pride and camaraderie when it comes to Spider-Man. “If Spider-Man wasn’t born in New York, I don’t think he’d have the grit to know what to do with New York crime.” Especially when it comes to vigilantism. “As New Yorkers, we’re all kind of vigilantes in a sense.” When it comes to doing good, “sometimes, you’ve got to bend some rules” because “you have to break a few shells to make an omelet.”

Spider-Man doesn’t need to take things on a larger scale to defend the world or even galaxy. He does right by his fellow neighbors. He gives them a “glimmer of hope and a sense that there’s somebody fighting for them.”

At the end of the day, “Spider-Man is not Spider-Man if he’s not in New York.”

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