The hype for ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ is still strong in Indonesia after its theatrical release last week, and the new superhero flick is getting some free viral marketing in the country thanks to this friendly neighborhood (unofficial) traffic man.
Recently, a video went viral showing a man in a Spider-Man costume directing traffic in the East Java city of Malang. Standing before the Arjosari flyover, he tries to prevent any motorcycles from going up the elevated road, which is against the law (a law that is often violated in Indonesia, leading to some horrific accidents).
While Malang’s Spider-Man has won over many fans, especially the many elementary school kids who came to see him in the video, Malang’s traffic police chief rightly pointed out that his stunt is dangerous.
“It’s admittedly good and funny, but the method is wrong,” said Ady Nugroho, head of the Malang Police’s Traffic Unit, as quoted by Merdeka.
But, as they say, it wouldn’t be heroic if there wasn’t an element of danger. That said, we hope nothing bad ever happens to Malang’s Spider-Man. Perhaps the police could show him the correct ‘method’ by appointing one of their own to direct traffic at the junction.
And apologies to Spider-Man for revealing his secret identity (even though we initially thought he was Tom Holland, considering his build), but this traffic hero happens to be Universitas Brawijaya student Aziz, originally from the North Sumatran city of Medan. He told the media that he took up the stunt after growing worried about seeing so many motorcyclists driving up the flyover.
