Apparently, August 1 is Spider-Man Day? Not sure when that decision was made, but the internet tells me it’s because Spider-Man’s debut in Amazing Fantasy #15 was in August 1962.

It’s surely not a coincidence, then, that someone — somewhere — restored the original teaser for the 2001 Spider-Man movie in high-definition for the occasion.

What’s the big deal? Unfortunately, the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center are prominently featured in the teaser. After what happened on 9/11, that just couldn’t be shown anymore. The teaser has been available since then, but the quality of the video wasn’t very good — until now.

So if you’ve never seen it, this is the first time Spider-Man appeared on the big screen. It was just enough to ignite excitement for the movie coming the next year:

Superhero movies were still an uphill climb for audiences in 2001, so clever teasers that looked like a different kind of movie were the gateway to win people over. No, this wasn’t a Michael Bay-esque helicopter heist film! It’s Spider-Man!

Anything was now possible! A guy crawling up walls! Swinging through New York City — between those skyscrapers — on his webs! This was no longer something comic book and movie nerds dreamed about for 20-plus years!

Now that we live in an era when four or five superhero movies are released each year, this seems like such a long time ago. Spider-Man has now appeared in 10 live-action films, including Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. It’s always special, but there can only be one first time, right?

And, uh, 18 years ago is indeed a long time ago, Old Man.

[Slashfilm]