Teen Dresses as Spider-Man and Uses Tinder to Lure and Attack a Suspected Pedophile

For decades now, the mantle of Spider-Man has served as an inspiration for people to do good in the world, and it looks like that’s especially true for one recent news story. Earlier this month, A Tribuna reported a case of a teenager taking matters into their own hands to stop a suspected pedophile — and the unique way they used Spider-Man to do so.

The 15-year-old boy was reportedly arrested in Joacaba, Santa Catarina, after luring out and beating up a suspected pedophile while wearing a Spider-Man costume. The report reveals that the boy had been pretending to be a 14-year-old girl on Tinder, as a way to gain evidence on the pedophile. Following the arrest, the boy reportedly presented authorities with a flash drive filled with chat logs between him and the man, whose age wasn’t given in the report.

While the teenage Spider-Man might not have brought superpowers to the fight, he reportedly did carry two pocket knives, two retractable tonfas, and a bladed brass knuckle.

It is unclear if any additional arrests came out of this ordeal, but it’s arguably a pretty unique example of Spider-Man’s impact.

The friendly neighborhood wall-crawler has had a renaissance of sorts in recent years, between the release of the Spider-Man PS4 game, the Oscar-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and this summer’s Spider-Man: Far From Home. While it’s safe to say that Peter Parker’s next adventure won’t get as dark as this particular real-life Spider-Man, it’s safe to say that the new film will bring about a major emotional arc.

“It’s the first movie nerd, Tom Holland, being dropped into this giant world and really feeling the pressure of wanting to do something special or do your best,” Far From Home director Jon Watts recently told ComicBook.com. “The second one is about feeling, when you’re growing up, to so badly want responsibility and to step up and given the responsibility, suddenly you wake up and realize you are being treated like an adult. Then you’re like ‘Wait, I actually liked being a kid, and now I have to do all this stuff?’”

What do you think of this real-life vigilante using Spider-Man to take down a pedophile? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!