The heights of heroism Winnipeg webslinger fully committed to uplifting cause By: David Sanderson Posted: 3:00 AM CDT Saturday, Sep. 28, 2024

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This article was published 28/09/2024 (381 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Don’t be alarmed if your spider-sense is tingling more than usual in the coming days.

For the past two years, first responders posing as superheroes have rappelled from the roof of the Health Sciences Centre Children’s Hospital, pausing during their descent to wave hello to pint-size patients who excitedly follow the action through the windows of their rooms.

The caped crusaders will be at it again on Oct. 4, only this time around they will be joined by Josh Pchajek, a 22-year-old University of Manitoba student who, when he’s not studying psychology, doubles as Marvel Comics character Spider-Man for birthday parties, restaurant promotions and charitable gatherings.

The event, dubbed Suspended Superheroes, used to be limited to first responders, but members of the general public are now allowed to get in on the fun, Pchajek explains, casually dressed in jeans and a white sweatshirt bearing a colourful red-and-blue image of you-know-who.

Earlier this month, Pchajek, whose business card reads Winnipeg Webhead, spent two hours with a climbing instructor, literally learning the ropes ahead of the two-hour, afternoon fundraiser. It is his understanding that along with a harness and safety gear — because he can’t really stick to surfaces, he winks — he will also be equipped with a tic-tac-toe board that adheres to glass, which he’ll use to interact with youngsters while he’s, you know, hanging around.

“I’ve done stuff for Children’s Hospital before and thoroughly enjoyed it, but I have a feeling this is going to be really special,” he continues. “For some of these kids, they have very little to hold onto and being able to offer them some hope is the best feeling in the world. I have the power to make some kids laugh and smile, so I feel it’s my responsibility to do that because at the end of the day, that’s what being Spider-Man is all about, right?”

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In 2021, Pchajek was working part-time for a company that rented out audio-visual and lighting equipment. He was assisting with the setup for a get-together at the Fort Garry Hotel when his supervisor informed him his services might be needed elsewhere.

The affair was being staged in association with the Dream Factory, a local charity that fulfils the wishes of children dealing with life-threatening illnesses. The guest of honour was a five-year-old boy named Ethan who was living with leukemia. Ethan’s favourite superhero, bar none, was Spider-Man. The plan was for Ethan to rescue Spidey from a crew of villains, by solving a series of clues as to his whereabouts in the downtown inn. There was one problem: organizers needed somebody to play the crime-fighting webslinger after the person assigned to the role dropped out at the last minute.

As luck would have it, Pchajek owned a Spider-Man outfit he’d scooped up a few years earlier when his high school chemistry teacher was stuck for a Spidey impersonator for his six-year-old’s birthday party. Also, at 6-foot-4 and a chiselled 200 pounds, he definitely looked the part, so when he was asked if he’d be willing to help out, he responded with, “You betcha.”

“Everything about the day was awesome. There were probably 200 people there and the Spider-Man angle came as a complete surprise to Ethan,” reports Pchajek, who, at the time, had some acting experience on his resumé. “After being led through a scavenger hunt that took him through the entirety of the hotel, he ended up saving me, at which point Ace Burpee along with a SWAT team presented him with a medal.”

Soon thereafter, word began to spread that there was a friendly, neighbourhood Spider-Man in our midst. Faster than you could utter “J. Jonah Jameson,” Pchajek, who underwent all the necessary background checks, was being contacted by companies and individuals alike, to offer his services at everything from official ribbon cuttings to wedding socials to walkabouts at car shows.

As he got busier and busier, he started to take his Spider-Man persona more seriously, by meticulously studying the movies and reading the comics, he says, admitting that he was a bigger fan of Captain America while growing up in River Park South. “Suddenly I was like, OK, Spidey’s alter-ego Peter Parker is an awkward nerd who loves science, can’t really talk to girls and has money woes. So basically I’m reading stories about myself. Awesome.”

One of the first things Pchajek does when he accepts a booking, especially one that will involve kiddos, is to determine from where a certain party knows Spider-Man. If the birthday boy or girl is more partial to the film series starring Andrew Garfield, he will don a getup featuring tinted yellow eyes, the sort Garfield sported in The Amazing Spider-Man 1 and its sequel. Conversely, if 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, with Tom Holland in the title role is more their jam, he’ll go with an ensemble boasting a golden spider logo on the torso.

At one point he was up to 38 contrasting suits, one for almost every stage of Spider-Man’s long career, going all the way back to the animated Spider-Man TV show that was jointly produced in Canada and the U.S. from 1967 to 1970. It doesn’t end there. He shops online for exact replicas of the various backpacks Peter Parker throws over his shoulders on-screen, so that when he goes to pull a present or whatever out of his pack, onlookers will recognize that his accessory perfectly matches Parker’s.

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned in the last three years it’s that my target audience — six- and seven-year-olds — knows Spider-Man inside and out, and with them it’s very black-and-white. Either you are Spider-Man or you aren’t. Therefore, the more authentic I can make myself appear, the better.”

“Either you are Spider-Man or you aren’t. Therefore, the more authentic I can make myself appear, the better.”–Josh Pchajek

As Spider-Man, the most common questions he fields are “Who’s your girlfriend?” (Mary-Jane), “Where’s home?” (New York City) and, from nosy adults, what does he wear under his suit (a pair of dry-fit, moisture-wicking briefs and matching T-shirt).

Additionally, he has stock replies when a child dares him to climb on the ceiling (he’d love to, except their parents requested he not sully it with his fingerprints) or to demonstrate his webshooters. He just swung into town, he’ll let them know, and he’s all out of web fluid.

Pchajek, who graduates this fall, is excited to see where Spider-Man takes him next. Besides one-off bookings, he has entered into a business relationship with Kid City, an indoor playground at 550 Archibald St., where he will be conducting six-week boot camps commencing Nov. 5. He has also taken his show on the road a number of times, including a recent visit to Pauingassi First Nation, 280 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, plus a 2023 trip to Ohio, where he delivered the closing speech at a daylong, Spider-Man in Popular Culture conference held at Bowling Green University.

“I was the only Canadian there. As far as the States are concerned, not only am I the Winnipeg Webhead, I am Canada’s Spider-Man,” he crows.

By the way, if you’re wondering where Pchajek stands when it comes to the real, eight-legged deal, he has never been one to leap out of the way when he crosses paths with an arachnid.

“I’m not too scared of spiders. In fact, I remember putting a spider in the microwave as a kid, to make it radioactive so it could give me superpowers. It exploded all over the microwave and my mom was not impressed,” he says.

“On the other hand, my girlfriend doesn’t like spiders one bit, though she does think I look good in my Spidey suit.”

For more information, or to make a donation to his cause for the Children’s Hospital, go to his — you guessed it — website, winnipegwebhead.ca.

david.sanderson@freepress.mb.ca