UConn Spider-Man wants to remain anonymous, for now

Picture this: I’m sitting in McHugh room 101 watching some movie that’s required for my UNIV 3820 class. It’s incredibly dark; the only light is coming from the screen. It’s quiet. Suddenly, a door creaks open. Light pours in as a red and blue silhouette ducks into the room quickly, looks around and leaves. I laugh and shoot my friends a look as if to say, “Was that him?” They all smile, confirming my suspicions. UConn Spider-Man is in the building. 

UConn Spidey has always been somewhat of a mystery to me. I have wondered about the motivations of the student, famous simply for wearing a Spider-Man suit around campus. 

It has been almost two years since Spidey first appeared in Storrs, yet I have only seen him in person a handful of times. I was always shy to go up to the seemingly confident man who is often surrounded by groups of starstruck fans. I had thought about what I would say to Spidey if given the chance. And I was. 

Using Instagram DMs, Spidey and I set up a time to chat. However, as I sat in the empty Zoom room, I wondered if I had gotten the time wrong. 

“Holy shit, I am so sorry I forgot,” Spidey texted me three minutes after the set time. “I’ve been cramming for exams.” 

I laughed at the relatable message and suddenly, Spidey felt like less of a celebrity and more like a peer. 

“No worries, I totally get it,” I responded, trying my best to seem chill in front of what some have called a “campus legend.” 

“Let me just make sure my roommate doesn’t walk in…he doesn’t know,” replied Spidey. 

The second Spidey joined the call, I disregarded all of my prepared questions. Excitedly I asked “Your roommate doesn’t know? How does that work?” 

“Yeah. I mean, it’s hard keeping a secret like that. I had a different roommate when I first started this, so he does know but he hasn’t told anyone… my new roommate doesn’t know,” Spidey explained. “He’s not really much of a social person, so I kind of doubt he’s heard of me.” 

Spidey went on to explain the hidden “go bag” he keeps in his closet. 

“If I ever need to put on the suit or someone needs something, I quickly go back to my room and grab my other backpack. It’s got everything I could need. My suit, the mask, the face shell. It’s got wipes in case it’s dirty. It’s got like a stick of gum for breath, just like anything I could need in that moment, it’s there,” he said, describing the bag. 

“But why Spider-Man as opposed to other superheroes?” I asked. 

“It was the easiest. It doesn’t have a face. You know, you could get a suit anywhere. But I also grew up with Spider-Man too, so he very easily became the first choice. And I mean everybody likes Spider-Man,” he replied. 

UConn in particular seems to love Spider-Man. An example of the enormity of the hero’s popularity is the time he attempted to walk past Gampel Pavilion. 

As is normal for basketball season, the sidewalk surrounding Gampel Pavilion was lined with students hoping for a prime seat in the student section. 

“The lines were long and I mean like around the corner, in every exit kind of long and everyone was cheering for the basketball team,” recalled Spidey. 

However, as Spidey turned the corner the crowd of students began cheering his name instead. 

“The craziest part was that people actually got out of line to come take a picture with me and then went to the back of the line because they valued that picture more than the basketball game. It wasn’t even like two or three. I had like a line of like 40 people, like immediately. Thank God I had a mask because I was crying, taking all these pictures,” he said. 

While his main goal is to have fun and make people smile, Spidey has also been involved in more heroic efforts such as standing up against the homophobic street preachers that frequent UConn’s campus. 

According to an article from WHUS Radio, the presence of these street preachers at UConn dates back at least a decade. When they showed up on Sept. 28, 2022, Spidey knew what he had to do. 

First, he told his boss he needed an hour off for a job interview — a fabricated story to buy himself time and eliminate suspicion. 

He then sped out of work, ran to his dorm room, and transformed into the superhero. After about 45 minutes of protesting, he switched back to his regular persona and went back to work. 

“I totally lied, but I had to get out there. That was one of the times I felt the most loved by the campus. I felt like an avenger walking in,” said Spidey. 

While Spidey is certainly a symbol of hope and joy, he also wields a lot of power — something he learned while attending his second protest. 

While standing in the hot sun, Spidey noticed the crowd starting to get violent. 

“I very quickly realized my role in the situation. I was like, although I may disagree with the preachers here, like fundamentally, there’s no reason to fight them. We don’t want to get the police involved here,” said Spidey. 

“It’s funny,” I added, “Because I imagine people would be like ‘Spider-Man save us!’” 

“You’re not wrong. People did that,” Spidey began. “But I realized that when I was shouting at them, the crowd got really excited and they began, you know, almost trying to fight these guys.” 

Not wanting to be the reason for violence, Spidey decided to step away from the energized crowd and stand in silence. 

“The crowd sort of just followed what I did…it was really strange,” Spidey said, “but it was worth it because eventually the preachers walked away.” 

One of Spider-Man’s biggest appeals is that while he web-slings throughout New York City, underneath the mask, he’s a regular student with a somewhat regular life. While UConn Spidey is no different, staying anonymous is something he is sure about, at least for right now. 

“Maybe when I graduate I will [reveal my identity], but also I might just do it next year,” said Spidey. “At the same time, I don’t really want to be known for it. I like the idea that it could be anybody, that it is just an anonymous guy trying to be nice and help out people… I’d hope to have it revealed in a dramatic way though.” 

“Well, no matter how you do it, I’m sure people would be really excited,” I told him. 

“I hope people don’t see me and they’re like damn, he’s ugly… that’s part of why I’ve just been so secretive. I’m not ready to be judged by the internet. I’m shy as shit in real life as it is,” Spidey said.  

Spidey considers himself to be a regular student, balancing work, academics and being a superhero. He’s even changed his major multiple times. The hardest part, he says, is living a double life. 

“[When] my friends are like, ‘how was your weekend,’ I have to lie. I’d have to be like, ‘Oh, it was boring,’ but really I was at a frat rager… at some points, I got confused as to who I was and I got frustrated because I couldn’t share the experiences that I wanted to at the expense of the secret identity,” Spidey explained. 

While Spidey has successfully remained anonymous for almost two years, there have certainly been close calls. 

“I was studying with this group of people and I had to leave in a few hours because someone else wanted to do an interview for a podcast thing. I left after studying with this person for like 3 hours and I switched to the suit and I was heading over to the podcast room. This woman starts calling my name. I turn around and it’s the woman I was just studying with. And I was like, oh fuck, this is it, it’s game over. This is where I get revealed…all she wanted was just a picture and then she walked away…I thought that might have been game over, but no, it was okay,” Spidey recalled. 

I asked Spidey about the legacy he wants to leave behind after he graduates. 

“I hope that the people I had experiences with keep them in their heart and move forward in the same way I do and for those who see me, just think back and laugh and take a minute away from the harsh reality of school and education, and stress and exams and just remember that there’s a dude in a Spiderman suit just chilling,” he said. 

“Do you think you’ll try to recruit someone to take over [after you leave]?” I asked. 

“I don’t know. It’s hard because at its best, this is a great way to socialize and at its worst, it’s cheesy. You need someone who is willing to do it and not take the fame for it… I haven’t really found that person yet,” he explained. 

While Spidey is clearly a humble individual, there is no doubt that he has reached a certain level of fame on UConn’s campus. He’s even dealt with imitators. 

“One person told me that some guy tried to claim that they were me and pick up [a girl] … and I just I was like… what woman is going to be like, ‘Oh, that’s so hot. You’re Spider-Man,’” Spidey joked. 

“You’d be shocked,” I said.