Recap - NYCC Spider-Man World Record Attempt: Did We Do It?!

Have you ever walked into a room and felt like everybody looks the same?

On Thursday, Jazwares (an official costume partner for Marvel's Spider-Man) teamed up with Disney Consumer Products for an official Guinness World Records attempt at New York Comic-Con: the largest gathering of people dressed as Spider-Man in one place. The record to beat was 685. I was invited by Disney to participate, so I suited up and joined the fun.

When I got there, they handed me my costume and I changed into it. The first thing that made me laugh: a bunch of strangers standing in a circle, asking each other to zip up the backs of their suits. Just picture it: dozens of grown adults going, "Can you get my zipper?" What a hilarious sight. Now I know how my wife feels putting on a dress!

Then we got in line and stood around for about an hour. Nobody minded. Everybody was in a great mood, and we were all doing ballpark headcounts in our heads, thinking "Oh yeah, we are going to crush 685. There must be 1,000 people here!"

Eventually they let us in. We checked in through the Guinness World Records app and filed into a giant auditorium. Jazwares president Jeremy Padawer was there in a great mood. He told us other cities had tried this — places like Atlanta and Honolulu and cities across Asia — and they all came up short. But New York, he said, he felt good about. We felt good too.

We did have questions, though. Were we allowed to wear shoes over the costume? What if a little skin showed between the mask and the neck? Nobody wanted to be the one person who got disqualified and torpedoed the whole thing. Can you imagine coming up one short because you forgot a glove? Horrific.

Then came the final boss. The official Guinness World Records adjudicator, a man named Michael, took the stage. It was hundreds of Spider-Men against one Michael. He laid out the rules: complete attire, mask on, gloves on, the whole thing. Shoes were fine. Then came the countdown, and for one full minute, we were all in complete Spider-Man mode, looking at each other, waving, having a great time. That must have been when the official count happened.

After a little more waiting, Michael returned to the stage. This was the moment. He thanked us, reminded us the record was 685, and announced our official mark at New York Comic Con: 649. Gasps. Loud groans. Heartbreak. Michael stayed calm, like he had just landed the final blow on every Spider-Man at once and rendered us completely powerless, as if we were all just Peter Parkers before the radioactive spider bite.

We did not break the world record, but we were, he said, an enthusiastic crowd. Every Spider-Man in the room started chanting for a recount. Michael, no doubt having seen this before, just said into the microphone: I'm going home and I'm going to bed. He hugged Padawer and walked off. Dejected, we took a final group photo, then the Spider-Man meme photo, and walked out. No medal, no certificate, no world record. But we did get a cool commemorative pin, which is honestly one of the big reasons most people signed up anyway.

With that in mind, here are my "3 Thoughtful Things" about the attempt:

1) A lot of people didn't have suits

When I arrived, they were almost out of costumes. That detail stuck with me when the final number came in, because there were at least 50 people in the auditorium without one. Padawer confirmed there were more than 700 people in the room. So was it simply a supply issue? Did nobody anticipate that 1,000 people might show up? I am not sure. What I do know: the official Spider-Man count was 649, just 36 short of the record. Whatever gets tweaked next year, or in whatever city they try next, maybe the fix is simple: bring more costumes. The enthusiastic people were already there.

2) Activations like this are amazing

I thought I might get bored standing in line. I was wrong. Everybody becomes your friend. It felt like one of those small-group travel experiences where you become instant best friends with strangers. We shared this mission and we all loved it. If you are a Spider-Man fan, a comic book fan, or just into nerd culture in general, you were surrounded by your people. It was terrific. In a way, we were all soldiers in one big nerdy battle. At one point, a guardrail fell over and somebody yelled: don't worry, Spider-Man will fix it!

I made friends with a mom and her teenage daughter, and I loved seeing them share the experience together. In that moment, I wished my two kids could have been there. They would have looked so cute in little Spider-Man outfits. There were babies and toddlers everywhere, plus a few Spider-Man strollers, and it was adorable.

I was honestly shocked how few people were doing the Spider-Man meme pose. That finally happened at the very end: one giant simultaneous point. That had to break the unofficial record for most Spider-Men in one room doing the meme at once. But that is not what we came for. We came for the official one.

I kept half expecting Tom Holland, or any actor who has played Spider-Man, to walk through the door. Sort of like Ryan Reynolds dressing up as Deadpool and taking pictures on the San Diego Comic-Con show floor (the one with Sgt. Slaughter still makes me laugh every time I see it). That didn't happen, at least not to my knowledge. Maybe next time.

Hey, at least one participant was a former ESPN SportsCenter anchor. I guess that's cool to some people!

3) Being able to buy the certificate

One of the biggest reasons I was excited: I have a long history with the Guinness World Records people. If you have ever dealt with them, attempting a record can feel daunting. Between the pay-to-play model and the sheer volume of process, it is not the easiest thing in the world. So what excited me here was the simplicity. If we had broken the record, you could open the app and buy your own certificate and medal for about $50, hang it on your wall, and when friends ask about it, you have a cool story to tell. Life is all about cool stories and shared moments and experiences, at least that is what I believe. This would have been absolutely worth it.

Overall, I am glad I did it. I got a cool commemorative pin, I got to keep the costume (my kids are getting a Spider-Man surprise at the bus stop one of these days), and I have a great story. 649 Spider-Men could not defeat one Michael. The adjudicator won the battle, but he might not win the war: Jazwares is absolutely committed to breaking this record and wants to try again next year. Excelsior!