Where did the viral "Spider-Man" photo making rounds online recently come from? This wasn't a promotional stunt for the movie "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" nor a street event orchestrated by Marvel; instead, it was a moment unexpectedly captured during a local political clash in the United States.
The "Spider-Man" who appeared outside Minneapolis City Hall was reportedly a man participating in a counter-protest. According to local police, far-right activist Jake Lang, a participant in the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot, and his associates arrived in two vehicles. The vehicles illegally drove onto the sidewalk and advanced toward the gathered crowd. Police ultimately arrested 11 people, including 33-year-old William Nicholas Love, who was taken into custody on suspicion of assault.
Media reports further indicate that Love appeared in a "Spider-Man" costume at the time. Videos captured him grappling with Lang in the back of a pickup truck and throwing multiple punches. Love later stated on a crowdfunding page that "racist supremacists invaded the streets" that day, and he attempted to block the trucks' path with police barricades, but police moved the barricades to allow the vehicles through.
This incident is precisely why the photo went viral. Local reports mentioned that hundreds of counter-protesters were present, and the image of this Spider-Man leaping onto the truck quickly circulated across social media.
Photographer Chris Juhn's picture was dubbed the "best photo of 2026" by netizens. Others jokingly asked how much "Daily Bugle" publisher J. Jonah Jameson would pay Peter Parker for the shots. Additionally, some users directly applied comic book templates to the news photo, creating humorous "Spider-Man" cover parodies, transforming a local demonstration into an unexpected "friendly neighborhood" event.