Spider-Man. An undeniable cultural icon, as well as a self-proclaimed Friendly Neighbourhood superhero.
For ages, this enigmatic figure could only lurk behind the big screen and small screen alike, as his mantle was taken up by the likes of Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland.
But it has been spelt out in the stars that Spider-Man will one day become a non-fictional superhero defending the streets of Real Earth 878, and much as I like to denounce such prophecies, there’s really no stopping this one because it has already come true.
In Malaysia, no less.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen. A dimensional Spider-Man has webbed his way into Malaysia and he’s a curious one at that. For one, he has unveiled his age to be 50, a figure that’s more reminiscent of his traditionally dead uncle.
And for seconds, he brings a disabled woman along on his heroic ventures, not Aunt May…
But his disabled wife, whom he has donned the suit for.
50YO ‘Spiderman’ Poses For Photos As A Means To Pay For Disabled Wife’s Medical Fees
Spider-Man has landed in good ol’ georgy Georgetown, and apparently he’s hard at work pushing his disabled wife through the streets as he combs for heroic job prospects.
According to Harian Metro, the man behind the mask is none other than street artist Ahmad Shakirin Mohd Zain, 50, a former artist at Pasar Seni, Kuala Lumpur. And lest you’re wondering why he ditched his art job for a masked suit, wonder no more.
He got bitten by a radioactive spider whose existence could threaten the whole of humanity He put on the spider suit as a way of gaining side income to pay off his wife’s medical fees.
“My wife fell in a toilet and that gave her stroke, and due to her diabetes, her right leg had to be amputated from the knees below,” he said. His wife, Nur Aznita Mohd Ismail, 37, had worked as a chef in a famous restaurant in the city.
“Thereafter, we moved to Penang and tried to change our luck here with this method.”
Before he was Spider-Man, Ahmad’s main income had revolved around the sale of his paintings at popular locations around the city.
