“If you look at other superheroes, a lot of them come from money, or they get super experiments done on them,” Sommers, 28, told the Current during a recent interview. “With Peter, he’s an average guy who just got bit by a radioactive spider. He tries to do good and help people. It’s inspiring to know that anyone can be Spider-Man.”
That anyone apparently includes Sommers.
A 2011 graduate of Wagner High School, Sommers started cosplaying as Spider-Man five years ago. His first spandex costume was a “very cheap” version he ordered online that was modeled after the suit worn by Miles Morales, one of the web slinger’s many comic book incarnations.
“It didn’t look too good, but I was super proud of it,” Sommers said. “I got so many positive comments and reactions when I went to my first convention.”
Multiple versions
Today, Sommers’ Spider-Man superhero costume collection has expanded to more than 35 suits. He got the idea to collect them when he started reading more about Marvel’s “Spider-Verse” storyline. In the narrative, depicted onscreen in 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and last year’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, it’s possible for multiple versions of Spider-Man to exist in one universe.
“I was like, ‘Wait a minute, there’s a bunch of different versions of Spider-Man, so maybe I can make my own versions of him, and it would still be within that multiverse,’” Sommers explained.
Sommers’ customized costumes are a mix of Spider-Man and other characters, many from anime TV series he enjoys watching. He designs the suits himself, then orders them from a company online. Once the suit is delivered, he makes modifications and creates accessories such as coats, capes, belts and gloves for the amalgamated characters. Each suit costs an average of $150.
Sommers then photographs himself in the costumes and shares the images on his Instagram page, @spideywu. For the photos that feature several versions of Spider-Man, he edits and combines the pictures of himself into one shot.
Some of the non-anime characters he’s mashed up with Spider-Man are video game icons Mario and Luigi, Steven Universe from the animated TV series of the same name and environmentalist superhero Captain Planet.
“If I’m watching a new series and find a character I can relate to, I sit down and sketch out a design that best incorporates the character,” he said.
Street cred
To give his collection local street cred, Sommers even designed a Whataburger-themed Spider-Man costume. The suit is orange, white and black and cleverly combines the fast-food chain’s recognizable “W” logo with the Spider-Man symbol.
“People are always spit-balling ideas to me about what to do next, but I have one friend who was always telling me that I should do a Whataburger costume,” Sommers said. “I probably eat Whataburger a bit too much, so I finally sat down to design it. I’m so proud of how it turned out.”
Along with the Whataburger suit, one of Sommers’ favorites is the one that merges Spider-Man and a character named Don Quixote Doflamingo from the anime TV series One Piece. Even so, he has a “love-hate relationship” with the design because, despite its distinctive look, it’s not very functional because of its pink, feathered cape.
“I spent hours sewing feathers, but the feathers aren’t meant to move around in the way Spider-Man moves, so if I jump, it’s literally raining feathers off me,” Sommers said. “If I’m wearing that suit at a convention, you could easily find me because all you’d have to do is follow the trail of pink feathers.”
Sommers’ hobby isn’t something he does alone. He got his wife, Ariel, involved in his Spider-Man cosplay too. The couple recently returned from anime convention WeebCon 2022 in Dallas where Sommers donned his Whataburger suit while his wife wore a hooded Spider-Man costume that repped another fast-food joint: Wendy’s.
“A lot of people are blown away when they see the suits and can’t even process it sometimes,” Sommers said. “I love getting those reactions. I create these suits to express myself and show the world what I love to do.”
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