A Brief History of Spider-Man in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

As a long-time comic book enthusiast and admirer of the legendary John Romita Sr., witnessing the grandeur of his iconic work soaring through the skies during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was nothing short of breathtaking. The experience brought back memories of my own childhood, where I eagerly awaited each new issue featuring Spider-Man’s web-swinging adventures and marveled at the intricate details in Romita Sr.’s artwork.

1987 proved to be a momentous year for Spider-Man. Not only did Peter Parker win the lottery when he wed Mary Jane Watson that summer in both the comic strip penned by Stan Lee and the oversized Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21, but Spider-Man and his bride walked down the aisle during a real-life ceremony at New York’s Shea Stadium. Dressed in a tuxedo and gown designed by fashion guru Willi Smith, Spidey and his bride exchanged vows — “With this ring, I thee web” — and posed for their wedding photos, which were showcased in the autumn 1987 issue of Marvel Update Magazine.

55,000 people attended the special event where Lee, a co-creator, officiated. Attendees included Captain America, the Hulk, and the groom’s friends Iceman and Firestar from the Spider-Man series. Can you think of anything more spectacular than that?

A Brief History of Spider-Man in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

As a gamer, I found myself standing amidst the bustling crowd on Central Park West, my eyes fixed on two extraordinary sights: one, a massive Spider-Man balloon floating above, its 78-foot length and 36-foot width dwarfing everyone around; two, a colossal Marvel Universe float marching towards Herald Square. Clad in blue overalls adorned with red and black webbed tunics, a troop of 40 handlers accompanied the float, their steps echoing rhythmically against the pavement.

During his tenure as Marvel’s art director and having previously worked on the ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ series, John Romita Sr. created the design for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon that soared from 1987 until its retirement in 1998, after flying for a span of 11 years.

1991 saw Romita expressing his excitement about the project in Marvel: Five Fabulous Decades of the World’s Greatest Comics. “It gave me quite a thrill,” he said, “to create this character. During our first meeting, they were explaining aerodynamics and how most of the bulk should be in the upper part for the balloon to stay upright – usually requiring a large helium-filled head. But I had a different vision; I needed his rear and thighs to have more volume for my crawling character. They made a plaster model from my drawing, and I contorted myself to paint onto that four-foot figure every detail of the webbing, eyes, boots, and gloves. Eventually, they created the balloon based on this model, and witnessing its development from sketch to reality was truly exhilarating.

A Brief History of Spider-Man in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

In 2009, Macy’s revealed that following an 11-year hiatus, a fresh Spider-Man balloon featuring a revamped suit (with larger eyes and darker shades of red and blue) would make its debut in the 83rd Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. This version maintained the classic stance – Spider-Man with arms extended forward and legs bent behind him, mimicking a crawl – while also showcasing a web-shooting pose and a more contemporary design to create a “more defined” Spider-Man image.

In 2009, Robin Hall, who was in charge of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade at the time, reminisced about the enduring impact of a famous Marvel character that soared through the skies during the ’80s and ’90s. He recounted how fans would consistently inquire about Spider-Man’s return each year as they inflated the colossal balloons on Thanksgiving eve. This coincided with the reintroduction of the “The Amazing Spider-Man” comic book series, the “Brand New Day” era, and the planned Sam Raimi-directed movie, “Spider-Man 4.” However, Sony Pictures eventually scrapped the sequel to the blockbuster “Spider-Man 3,” which would have featured Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man, in 2010.

Juli Boylan from Spider-Man Merchandising, L.P (a collaboration between Marvel Entertainment, Inc. and Sony Pictures Consumer Products Inc.) is excited about the rising excitement for the upcoming movie ‘Spider-Man 4’. She believes that this is an ideal moment to resurrect the iconic Spider-Man balloon for the Macy’s Parade this year.

A Brief History of Spider-Man in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

40 years after his initial appearance, Spider-Man’s balloon graced the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade once more for the first time since 2014. This time, the design was a fresh take inspired by the late Romita Sr.’s work, who passed away at the age of 93 in June 2023.

Among the 17 character helium balloons showcased, the one that stands out is a 34-foot wide, 44-foot tall balloon – this is the longest at approximately 77.5 feet in length. Instead of portraying Spider-Man crawling on walls, it features him swinging through the air in a pose inspired by Romita’s work.

Throughout the process, Will Coss, Vice President and Executive Producer of Macy’s Studios, mentioned to Polygon that John was the consistent choice for the redesigned balloon, which draws inspiration from Romita Sr.’s distinctive style. It seemed clear to us from the start that this was the preferred direction, the style. As soon as we learned that Spider-Man would be making a comeback in the parade, we focused on this early on.

On a drizzly Thanksgiving Day, the fresh Spider-Man balloon made its first appearance during the 98th Macy’s Parade. This historic launch was observed by John Romita Jr., who is both a Marvel comics artist and the son of the original creator, Romita.

Romita Jr. expressed how incredible it was to witness his father’s work presented as a balloon in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. Hearing his name announced during the event brought him and our family immense pride.” After all, with such influence comes an extraordinary level of visibility.

2024-11-29 01:39

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