Fan is still caught in Parker’s web

More than 19 years ago, my father and I pulled into the grass at Sky High, the former drive-in theater just down the road from Delta High School.

We nabbed a spot after cruising through a sea of cars. Dressed in my Spider-Man pajamas, 5-year-old me helped Dad blow up the inflatable Spidey-themed couch he bought just for the occasion.

My favorite superhero was finally hitting the big screen.

Since his debut in theaters in early 2002, Spider-Man has starred in nine feature films, not to mention his role in the Avengers series. (That does include his debut as young Miles Morales in the animated 2018 film “Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse.”)

I grew up watching the original trilogy, Tobey Maguire’s take on the popular web-slinger, with my dad. Justin, my boyfriend, and I saw “The Amazing Spider-Man” — Andrew Garfield’s reboot — on our first date. We have seen every new Spidey movie together since.

I’m not sure what it was about the wall-crawling hero that caught my attention. (It’s definitely not the whole bitten-by-a-radioactive-spider backstory — ironically, I have arachnophobia.) Maybe it’s his morals, such as the emphasis on responsibility and taking care of his home. Or perhaps it’s the fact “Spider-Man” was the first movie I ever saw in a theater setting.

Something in me had forgotten my fascination with the friendly neighborhood superhero. But when Justin realized the newest addition to the saga — “Spider-Man: No Way Home” — came out Dec. 17, he bought tickets immediately. I walked in without watching any trailers or reading anything about it beforehand.

And I’m so incredibly glad I walked in blind.

Sitting in the theater that afternoon, my inner child couldn’t contain her excitement. As characters appeared, I laughed, squealed, cheered and cried multiple times in the span of two and a half hours.

Every hero has his origin story. In my mind, this is Tom Holland’s pivotal moment as Peter Parker. It changes everything — in a good way. Holland’s performance in the newest movie was nothing short of amazing.

We may not see Parker in theaters again for a while. Sony owns the rights to make Spider-Man movies, and Marvel owns the rights to the comics. I’m surprised they managed to compromise for this film.

Justin and I agreed if this was the last time Parker swung from building to building on-screen, we would be satisfied. We’ve had our qualms about Sony’s Spider-Man series over the years, but “No Way Home” ties up a lot of loose ends and leaves room for stories to continue or new chapters to blossom. There’s a lot left to interpretation.

As Holland put on a show for us last week, I recalled that night at the drive-in theater with Dad.

There were a few problems we encountered at Sky High.

The inflatable outdoor couch didn’t pan out — mosquitos draw to my father like moths to a light. We opted for the car with our windows cracked to fend off the majority of bugs.

The film also came to a grinding halt halfway through the plot. A cliffhanger? Nope, it was a technical issue the Sky High crew couldn’t fix quickly. We were sent home with free tickets to come back when the issue was resolved. If we ever did go back, I don’t remember it.

But those issues didn’t ruin the experience. If anything, they made our trip memorable. I’ll never forget spending the night with my dad and watching the coolest superhero launch into what would become an unforgettable series.