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For Texas mom Shantelle, Spider-Man: Brand New Day is more than the latest Marvel action flick. It's a sentimental marker of time.
Her son Cole got his first Spidey pajama set at age 2 — and wore it everywhere as a costume. Each time he outgrew it, Shantelle bought the same one in the next size. Cole is now 13 and has outgrown the costumes and cutesy pajamas.
That transition, from toddler to teen, is what Shantelle thought of during her mother-son movie date to see Tom Holland's latest spin on the big screen, which has been a record-breaking success at the box office.
"There was a little boy sitting in the row in front of us who looked about the same age my son was when [Spider-Man: No Way Home came out in 2021]," Shantelle, who asked not to share her last name, tells Yahoo. "Watching him get so excited brought back a flood of memories."
It hit her that "those little traditions" — like superhero pajamas and costumes — had "quietly come to an end" with Cole. So the self-proclaimed boy mom started digging through her old photos and videos.
Shantelle pulled together old footage of Cole in his Spider-Man phase, set to "Wings" by singer Birdy, and posted it online. The tearjerker video has 2.2 million views.
"I wanted to capture that feeling," she says. "As parents, you don't always realize you're experiencing the 'last time' until you're looking back."
And plenty can relate. TikTok and Instagram are full of videos of parents, especially moms, in their feels over what Brand New Day represents.
To them, Spider-Man is still Spider-Man. Holland is still swinging through the air in the red-and-blue suit. Zendaya is still there. It's their boys who have changed.
When their kids were younger, they were Spider-Man. They proudly wore the costume everywhere, dropped into a Spidey pose at a moment's notice, shot imaginary webs and carried web-covered backpacks. Now, they're bigger kids agreeing to go to the movies with mom.
Cole, for example, was still up for posing next to Spider-Man at Disneyland last year. But at 13 and taller than Shantelle, the budding athlete is more interested in standing out in a football uniform than in a superhero costume.
Looking back at the footage "reminds me of a time when his whole world was make-believe, and I got to be part of it," she says. "Those years felt ordinary at the time, but now they feel priceless."
The Spider-Man franchise stands out because there's really an entry point for nearly every age and generation.
Preschoolers today have Disney Jr.'s Spidey and His Amazing Friends. Older kids have grown up with Tom Holland. Their millennial parents remember Andrew Garfield, while older millennials and Gen X had Tobey Maguire. Generations before them met the web-slinger through comic books and decades of animated series.
"The dream for a fictional character is to be able to resonate across generations for generations," Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige recently told the Wall Street Journal.
While superheroes increasingly risk being seen as entertainment for older generations — a studio exec recently told Hollywood Reporter that "Gen Z does not care about superhero movies" — Spider-Man bucks that trend. More than 70% of the audience for Spider-Man movies and TV shows is ages 17 to 33, according to data from Parrot Analytics cited in the WSJ article. Spider-Man's audience skews younger than those of Batman and Superman — and the firm's data doesn't include children.
People have certainly been showing up to see the new film. Spider-Man: Brand New Day has continued its record-breaking run, earning another $145 million domestically in its second weekend after having the biggest opening week in history.
"The stories are always told from an emotional place," Amy Pascal, who produces the franchise films, told the WSJ. "People think boys don't want to be moved, but they do."
Shantelle saw that appeal with Cole. Peter Parker is "funny, kind and still figuring things out," she says. "For my son, he wasn't just a superhero. He was someone he wanted to be."
Has Cole, now 13, seen Shantelle's video? Yes. He's "at that age where he's a little embarrassed by everything I do," says mom, but he "also understands why it means so much to me."
(Photo: Shantelle)And for parents whose little Spider-Men are still running around the house in costume, Shantelle has a message.
"Slow down and enjoy it. Take the pics and videos. They'll be fine if they want to wear a Spider-Man costume in a hot Texas summer to the grocery store," she says with a laugh.
After all, "You don't realize it's the last time they'll put on a costume until it's already happened."
