People are ‘convinced’ that New York is a ‘social experiment’ after bizarre video of Spider-Man stopping a ‘robbery’ at subway station goes viral
A bizarre video of what appeared to be Spider-Man stopping a homeless man from committing a robbery has gone viral, but things are not always as they seem.
The clip was simply New York comedian Esteban Romero reviving his character ‘Dontarius’ – a drifter he portrays online for display.
In the footage now circulating on social media, Dontarius can be seen fighting with ‘Kiing Spiider’ in a skit.
The video was shot on November 6 on a Crown Heights-Utica Avenue subway platform near Eastern Parkway Avenue in Brooklyn, prompting a series of curious reactions.
“I’m convinced New York is a social experiment,” one person said.
“It’s a different universe out there,” another added.
New York comedian Esteban Romero, performing as Dontarius, stole money from a Brooklyn subway station in a viral video
Some Twitter users deemed this “a social experiment” and even said New York wasn’t a real place because of the video
One person shared the images with the caption: ‘I’m convinced New York is a social experiment’
While appearing on multiple platforms,
‘This video is scripted. The ‘homeless’ man often appears in sketches with American YouTube personality and comedian Alex Stein, and goes by the name ‘Dontarius,’” it said.
The clarification was necessary because some viewers were misled into thinking the extravagant eyewitness clip was real.
In the video, Romero, in his role as Dontarius, sits on the floor in front of a bag of bottles, wearing nothing but a pair of torn sweatpants.
High-res vision is at the ready as he sneaks up and steals money from the hand of someone walking to the train with a woman pushing a stroller.
Kiing Spiider runs with the money and jumps off the train and chases after Dontarius in an attempt to get the stolen money back.
Dontarius tried to keep Kiing Spiider away from him by waving a wet mop around and managed to get halfway up the stairs before the superhero caught up to him.
Kiing Spider grabbed Dontarius’ pants and almost pulled the pants all the way down.
“Get the fuck away, get the fuck away,” Dontarius shouted repeatedly.
Dontarius was no match for Kiing Spiider, and near the end of the video, the Marvel social media hero restrained him and pushed him down the stairs.
Dontarius was no match for Kiing Spiider, despite attempting to defend himself and keep the money he stole
Kiing Spiider pulled Dontarius’ sweatpants off almost completely before stumbling up the stairs. Dontarius was defeated by the King Spider-man and was pushed down the stairs as he ran away
Users on Twitter were both confused and questioned about the video shot in Brooklyn.
One person asked, “What can you say after seeing something like that?”
Another person asked, “I wonder how much of this is set up and how much is natural?”
“NYC is that city that makes you a true story but is so crazy no one believes you,” another Twitter user wrote.
Others confirmed on Twitter that Dontarius was indeed a character played by Romero, appearing in sketches alongside comedian and YouTube personality Alex Stein.
Stein calls Dontarius his “wife’s friend” and even posted the video of Dontarius and Kiing Spiider in the subway station on his Twitter.
“My wife’s friend Dontarius needs your help… please donate directly to me and I will make sure he gets the support he needs,” Stein wrote in the post.
An online audience flocked to comment on the photo: “So good someone felt the need to tell us this was a skit,” someone else commented.
They added, “For a moment I thought Spider-Man was real!”