GUELPH -- A real-life superhero in Guelph is giving the community a reason to smile.
“I always liked Spiderman as a kid,” explained Brandon Bott aka Guelph Spectacular Spider-Man. “I always dressed up and was running around causing ruckus at my house.”
Bott got into cosplay about six years ago, bought a few Spidey suits and began making appearances at local events.
With the pandemic putting many events on pause, this Spider-Man started doing distanced visits last month for kids around Wellington County and Waterloo Region.
“I think it's amazing! Spider-Man is such an awesome character and he brings so much joy to everybody young and old,” said Jennifer Florence who had a distanced visit with Spider-Man.
His first visit was posted to a local Facebook group and requests have been pouring in.
“I just thought hey you know what, all I’ve got to do is suit up, get some pictures with the kids and everyone seems to enjoy it,” said Bott.
The Davenport family said their visit from Spider-Man made for a day they'll never forget
“They went crazy about him, they thought he was amazing. And they put him through his ringer, you know asking him all kinds of questions to test to make sure he was the real Spider-Man. They loved it,” said Blair Davenport.
There is a small fee for the appearances, but in true superhero fashion Bott is giving most of it back to the community. He donates a portion back to local charities and the rest he uses for repairs to his Spidey suits.
“He is a local hero in our eyes, our Guelph Spectacular Spider-Man. He's lifting the spirits for our kids,” said Natasha Di Pede.
Di Pede and her son Leo had a distanced visit with Spider-Man, who also showed the five-year-old some cool new moves.
“I did do a spider jump and a web at the same time, and then I did a slide kick,” explained Leo.
With great power, comes great responsibility and Bott says he will continue to use his power for good.
