The neighborhood-friendly Spider-Man of the block now officially has a street bearing his name in New York, right in the part of the city where his alter ego Peter Parker grew up. Yesterday, Monday, October 12, 2026, in Forest Hills, Queens, Spider-Man Way was inaugurated, a new commemorative designation assigned to a stretch of Ingram Street at the intersection with Ascan Avenue.
The ceremony brought together representatives of city institutions, Marvel officials, and a large crowd of fans, many of whom arrived wearing the famous hero’s costume. Among the attendees were Nick Lowe, editor of Spider-Man comics, and Mark Ditko, the nephew of artist Steve Ditko, who created the character alongside Stan Lee in 1962. The new name was introduced through the co-naming system, which allows a commemorative name to accompany the official street name without replacing it.
The choice of the site is not accidental, since just steps away from the new Spider-Man Way lies number 20 Ingram Street, the address that in 1989 was identified in the comics as Peter Parker’s home, where the young man lives with Aunt May and Uncle Ben.
Since his first appearance in Amazing Fantasy #15, published in 1962, Spider-Man has stood out from other superheroes for his humble origins. Unlike billionaire or extraterrestrial characters, Peter Parker is a Queens student grappling with financial difficulties, family responsibilities, and personal struggles. It was this dimension that was highlighted during the ceremony, underscoring that the character’s value lies not only in his superpowers, but in his ability to take on responsibilities even when daily life makes everything more difficult. Then, as we know, with great power comes great responsibility.
It is reasonable to expect that Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland, passing through the Queens, will stop for a selfie in front of the plaque.
From Superman to Tex Willer: Streets and Squares Dedicated to Fictional Characters
The inauguration of Spider-Man Way is not a wholly isolated case. There are other public spaces that celebrate imaginary figures, though one must distinguish between officially named streets, commemorative designations, squares, and simple monuments. One of the best-known examples is in Metropolis, Illinois, a city that in 1972 officially adopted Superman as its symbolic superhero. Here lies Superman Square, a square dominated by a statue about four and a half meters tall dedicated to the Man of Steel. The city’s name, however, predates the character, so it was not chosen in homage to the superhero.
An especially interesting case comes from Italy, specifically Rome. In the Torrino Mezzocammino neighborhood, also known as the comic book district, characters such as Tex Willer, Corto Maltese, Diabolik, Zagor, Valentina, and Pimpa have become an integral part of the urban identity.
The district hosts the Park of the Comics, with entrances dedicated to various protagonists of illustrated stories, including the Tex Willer Gate, the Corto Maltese Gate, and the Zagor Gate. The streets and squares of the area instead pay homage primarily to their creators, such as Hugo Pratt, Andrea Pazienza, Gianluigi Bonelli, and the Giussani sisters Angela and Luciana.
Still within the realm of roads named after the world of imagination, Paris municipal authorities have created a route dedicated to the literary characters who have traversed the capital in their adventures. Between 2024 and 2025, around fifty commemorative plaques were installed honoring figures such as Jean Valjean, Cosette, D’Artagnan, Rastignac, and even Asterix and Obelix. The plaques do not alter the names of the streets but officially recognize the bond between the city and the protagonists of literature and comics.
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