One of the biggest differences between the wait for the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day film and the wait for the 2002 Spider-Man film is how normal the wait feels in 2026. Everything that we have gotten so far (the initial announcement, the reveal of the newish costume, behind the scenes photos, the anticipation for the teaser trailer, the teaser trailer, the anticipation for the full trailer, the TikToks and YouTube videos and podcast episodes dedicated to picking every bit of news apart on a cellular level, the full trailer, and so on) has become the norm. I expect to see this sort of thing with every super-hero movie, not just a Spider-Man movie.

I realize that comparing 2026 to 2002 is not exactly an “A equals A” scenario for a variety of reasons, but I’ve been thinking back to the lead-up to Spider-Man 2002 and there’s this weird nostalgia for how special it all felt back then.

To put it in perspective to those that weren’t there, weren’t aware at the time, or have forgotten because a lot has happened over the past twenty-four years, the biggest comic book/super-hero film before Spider-Man in 2002 was X-Men in 2000. Before that was Blade in 1998. The prevailing sentiment was that the super-hero movie was dead thanks to the bloodbath of 1997. Movies like Batman and Robin and Steel and Spawn have gotten reappraised in the nearly three decades since they have come out (sometimes because of nostalgia, sometimes because of a culture shift, it varies), but the group think at the time was that those movies killed the super hero film genre and that despite the constant rumors and near misses of new projects Hollywood did not seem interested.

Then things began to change.

Blade was a factor, but I would argue that the general movie going audience had no idea that Blade was a comic book character and that they were going to a kung-fu vampire film. The X-Men was a more significant piece of the puzzle. It moved the needle. Slightly. It made future movies seem possible because the success of that film seemed to surprise everyone.

As cliched as it may sound, I also think the aftermath of 9/11 played a part as well. It’s easy to forget with everything we’re dealing with now that not only was there a groundswell of patriotism here in the United States in the weeks and months after the attacks on September 11^th, but also a groundswell of the idea of heroism being something to embrace, not mock or treat with the derision.

We were a cynical lot in the late nineties and early 2000s. For no discernable reason.

Smallville premiered a month or so after 9/11 and some of the talk around the pilot was that the time was right for Clark Kent to be on the television again.

Spider-Man would have been successful regardless, but I think the pop culture pump was primed for a four-color hero to do his (or her) thing on the big screen, which greased the wheels.

Stop me before I metaphor again.

On a personal level, I was excited, but that wasn’t surprising. Spider-Man was a super hero film, and I was willing to take anything that Hollywood was offering. As I wrote in previous installments, I wasn’t the biggest of Spider-Man fans, but I liked him well enough and the fact that his comics were getting back on track helped as well. I was a regular at the comic shop I called home at the time (Titan Games and Comics, the store on Upper Riverdale Road that no longer exists) and because of what the other regulars were saying (along with a healthy dose of Internet surfing) I picked up the first issues of Ultimate Spider-Man and JMS’ run on Amazing Spider-Man and followed them before various things led to me losing interest. It all fed into this excitement for Spider-Man in general and the movie specifically.

The toys helped my excitement level as well. Rachel (my wife, for those that aren’t familiar with the name) got me a bunch of the action figures from the film for Valentine’s Day that year. She bought one of the standard figures and the “battle damaged” Spider-Man as well. I could be misremembering but I think I also got three of the Toy Biz Spider-Man Classics line as well (the standard Spider-Man, black suit Spider-Man, and Todd McFarlane battle damaged Spider-Man).

I could have gotten those earlier (or later) but for some reason getting them all at once is how it plays out in my head.

(Also, if I had a nickel for every time I got a “battle damaged Spider-Man” figure in the early 2000s, I’d have two nickels.)

As the release date drew near, I was getting more and more excited. Spider-Man was seemingly everywhere thanks to merchandising and magazine. At the time I was delivering papers for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and my route was convenience and grocery stores, so I saw the slow start and then the seeming deluge of Spider-Man stuff and I just ate it up.

One of the more adorable things that happened before the movie premiered was my wife and I getting our first dog. I don’t remember the exact date, but Rachel’s parents found a poodle breeder and on a Saturday in April (again, for some reason, I don’t remember the date) we went to adopt one. After looking over the various puppies that were all vying for my attention (Rachel had to stay in the car because she was still not fully mobile after shattering her ankle in February of that year…more on that in the next installment) and I found the one that was by herself, curled up in a box and staring out a window.

There was something about this dog. I can’t tell you what it was, but she seemed different than the others. I said, “Hi,” and she looked up.I took that one and another one out to give Rachel the final choice. The other one had no interest in Rachel. The little one that was all by herself a few minutes before was all over her.

The choice was clear. And that’s how we got Boo.

We drove around a bit after getting her, mainly to stop at places to get stuff Boo would need. For some reason Rachel said we could stop by a comic shop (Dave’s Comics, which still exists, though not in that location) and the book I picked up on that trip, on the recommendation of Dave, was the first oversized hardcover of Ultimate Spider-Man.

Rachel and Boo waited in the car. I wasn’t long. Years later Rachel would tell me that Boo peed in the driver’s seat. Which was very on brand for the type of personality Boo had.

I still have that book. I’m never going to get rid of it.

Do not let the adorable face fool you. She was evil. We loved her, but she was evil.

The wait was nearly over. Rachel and I had plans to see it opening day. The excitement was at its peak.

Next time: My reaction to the movie and how I nearly committed a crime when we went to see it.