What Spider-Man Means to Me

What spiderman means to me
by David Mayhew, age 9

My name is David Mayhew and I go to a very big school in New York. New York is a really cool city. There are really tall buildings and really cool lights and really great food. But sometimes the people aren't all that nice. I get bullied a lot at school. They make fun of me. They call me names like buttmunch or nerd turd. One time they pushed my food into my face. I was really sad that day. My dog had died because he ran out of the house and into the street. He was one of my best friends. The bullies pushed me around that day. I started to cry. They started calling me ferry and kweer, and I ran away. Dad always said it was dangerous to run around the city alone. But I didn't care. I just wanted to leave.

I hid in a alley for a long time. After a while I heard someone say something. It was spiderman! He was on a wall and asked me why I was crying. I told him that bullies are mean. He jumped down and asked me what I was doing all by myself in a big city. I said I ran away from bullies after school and I missed my bus back home. He asked me where I lived. I told him my address, and he said he was heading there too. He told me he would walk me to the bridge and then we would swing across! He told me he was bullied too when he was a kid. He said that he always thought about the people that loved him and that they were more important than those meanies. He swung me home. At first it was scary but then it was really cool! He dropped me off at my house and met my dad. It was so cool! Then he autografed something for us and took a picture and swung away!

After that day I started thinking about the people that loved me, like my mom and my dad and even my dog even though he was dead. And I told the bullies that they could say anything and it wouldn't matter because there were people who loved me. And they stopped! Spiderman teached me that there are always people that love you and that will be on your side, and he told me he was on my side! And to me that is what spiderman means, a guy who is on your side always.

I swung around the city, doing my daily patrols. I decided to bail on yearbook today, it's not like they need me. I'm only Midtown High's best student photographer.

I was about to shoot another web when I heard a sound, the sound of a sobbing child. I was all too familiar with that sound, even I made it a lot in my days. I jumped down to the alley and bounced off the walls until I was perched right across from the kid. He looked to be about 9 or 10. He was curled up next to the dumpster, just crying while trying to keep quiet.

"Hey, bud," I started, "Why you cryin'?"

He lifted his head from his knees. He looked around the alley for feet, but saw none. Idiot, I thought, he's not gonna assume you're up here. So I whistled.

"Yo, up here."

He looked up, and there was this complete shock on his face. I don't blame the kid; I'd have the same look if New York's favorite webhead randomly showed up and asked me why I was crying.

"Hi," I said.

"H-hi," he replied.

I jumped down from the wall and started over to the kid. I crouched down to his level. His eyes were near crimson; he'd been crying for a while.

"What's wrong, buddy?" I asked, my concern coming from a genuine place.

"Bullies are mean."

I sighed, knowing all too well how cruel kids could be. I patted him on the shoulder.

"What's your name, bud?"

"David."

"David what?"

"David Mayhew."

"You have any parents, David Mayhew?"

"Yeah."

"They're probably really worried about you," I said. He sniffled.

"Yeah," he replied.

"How about I get you home, bud?" I said, adding, "We can talk about bullies the whole way."

"I-I'm scared of heights," he sobbed.

"We'll walk to the bridge, then," I reassured, "We'll have to swing over it, but it'll be very quick, like a roller coaster. Do you like roller coasters, David?"

He nodded his head yes in his knees. I stood up and offered my hand.

"Where do you live, Mr. David Mayhew?"

He told me his address. He saw my hand and stood up. The kid had stains of mashed potatoes and gravy on his jacket. I fought back old memories of when I was pushed into food. I walked out of the alley with David, hand in hand. I wasn't risking the off-chance of a kidnapper stealing him while walking him to the bridge. Then again, I am Spider-Man. That's as shitty of an idea as trying to punch Superman.

"I was bullied when I was a kid, y'know," I started. David eagerly listened.

I told him my entire story of bullying, dealing with Flash – I left names out, though David probably had no idea who they were anyways – and how I dealt with it. By the time I reached the end of my tale, we were at the bridge.

"How did you make them stop?" he asked.

I crouched down to his level again and straightened out his jacket, brushing off his shoulders.

"I just remembered that there were more people in my corner, people who cared about me," I said, "Who love me and want to know how my day went, because in the end David, those are the people that matter. It made me confident. Any insults the bullies used on me just bounced off, because in the end, I knew that they didn't matter. Only the people who loved me did."

I poked the center of his chest reassuringly. "And you know what, David?"

"What, Mr. Spider-Man?" he asked.

"I'm on your side."

For the first time during our entire trip, he smiled. He genuinely smiled. And though he couldn't see it behind my mask, I was smiling too. I turned my back to him.

"Grab on, and hang on tight. It's gonna be just like a roller coaster."

He was hesitant, but eventually he climbed on, and I swung him over the bridge. He let out a little yelp at first, but then he joined in with my whoops of joy as I bobbed from one end of the thread to the other, like a human pendulum. Of course, I did no acrobatic stunts whatsoever due to the risk of losing David, but hell, if I didn't have fun…

I dropped David off at his address and knocked on his door. I wasn't leaving this kid by himself until his parents answered the door. Eventually, a man opened the door and was shocked.

"Hello, sir. Is this your child?" I presented David to him. He nodded his head, dazed and confused.

"Mr. Spider-Man brought me home," David said. He smiled. The father just looked down at David and back to me. David ran past him into the house as he just stared at me. It began getting awkward after thirty seconds or so, so I began to turn around.

"Just wanted to make sure your kid was safe, sir," I said, "Have a great night." I got ready to leap into the air when the man stepped out of the house.

"Wait," he said.

Eventually, I was invited in and asked a bunch of questions. Where did I find David? Why did I bring him home? How did they know I was the real Spider-Man? (That last one was answered pretty quickly with one flick of the wrist.) Before long, I had taken a picture with them, and autographed a random piece of paper, drawing a small spider. It was getting late. The parents were still flabbergasted that the Spider-Man had brought their child home.

"Thank you," the mother said. I nodded my head. I got back down to David's level one last time.

"Remember, buddy," I started, patting him on the shoulder. "I'm on your side."

He smiled, and then hugged me. I crouched in shock for a few seconds before returning the hug.

"Thank you, Mr. Spider-Man," he said gleefully.

I was the last to let go of the hug and I walked out of the house. In my entire span as Spider-Man, never have I been more proud of a moment than when I returned David Mayhew to his parents, and reassured him that everything was gonna be okay, that bullies weren't a big deal. Out of all my successes, all my failures, David Mayhew was the best out of all of them. And I think that's what it really means to be me. It's not the fact that I do good things, but the reassurance that after these good things, everything is going to be okay.

I take a deep breath before leaping into the air and shooting a web toward a building, swinging toward Queens. I promised Gwen I'd watch Frozen with her tonight, and I'm not one to make promises I can't keep.

A/N: Hi! Thanks for reading this. I had a much more epic story planned for Spider-Man, but I decided that it's one that requires major backstory, which isn't something I'm entirely prepared to write. So... I wrote this little diddy instead! Spidey's been my favorite hero since I was a young lad, and I really wanted to explore this part of him, the side rarely seen when he's fighting crime or doing his Peter Parker things.

Also, please don't hate me for that TASM dig at the end. I love the movie, I really do. It's my second-favorite Spidey movie. But that line, dear god...