Imagine an alternate universe where the web-crawling Spider-Man isn’t our beloved Friendly Neighbourhood vigilante. Now, make it a reality. In this head-spinning real-life tale, Spidey doesn’t catch the bad guy. He is one himself.

Fairfax County Police arrested a male suspect dressed as Spider-Man for allegedly robbing a shop in Virginia and escaping with nearly $10,000 worth of game cards. The shop owner eventually revealed that the accused walked away with gaming cards associated with fan-favourite anime series Pokemon, Dragon Ball and One Piece .

Identified: Suspect dressed as Spider-Man arrested for alleged anime trading cards burglary

Police has since reportedly identified the man in question as 20-year-old Joel Brown and charged him with burglary . Gaming Giant, located in the 4000 block of University Drive in Fairfax, Virginia , was the scene of the crime. Its owner told FOX5 that Brown, sporting a Spider-Man get-up, knew what he was looking for as he walked up to a display case that held Pokemon, Dragon Ball and One Piece trading cards. They were worth thousands of dollars.

According to DC News Now, the City of Fairfax Police Department revealed that the accused wearing a Spider-Man costume is a man from Silver Spring in Maryland. Officers responded to the Gaming Giant store’s SOS call about a burglary that took place overnight on March 15, just after 11 am. Joel Brown, in the guise of Spider-Man, was held at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Centre. Thereafter, he was released on an unsecured bond.

A disheartened customer told FOX 5 how he felts “kind of depressed” especially since they all “feel like a community.” “Him actually coming in here and taking from the store and a community that we’ve developed and hold dear, it’s just wrong,” said another frequent customer about the Spider-Man suspect.

Spider-Man’s biggest critic roasts him again

Comically enough, Spidey’s big-time hater was quick to unload more criticism online. An account on X/Twitter that goes by the name J. Jonah Jameson, a widely popular character who’s often been spotted in comics and movies associated with the web-slinging character, took note of the Virginia arrest.

Unleashing his ever-hateful rants about Spider-Man, the character tweeted, “First, he breaks the law, now he’s stealing Pokémon cards! What’s next? I’ve been saying it for YEARS! Spider-Man isn’t some hero—he’s a masked menace! And now, he’s not just swinging around terrorizing hardworking New Yorkers—he’s out there looting stores for trading cards?!!?!?” In a follow-up tweet, he added, “What, the bank vaults weren’t good enough for him? This is who you idolize?! WAKE UP, PEOPLE!!!!!”

The post has since gone viral on X. At the time of writing, the tweet has amassed over 5.5 million views and 214,000 Likes. Other users have joined in the chaos, chiming in with more such hilarious reactions and drawing Daredevil-Fisk connections.