About that EW photo of Spider-Man for the #SuperheroPowerList

Our Spidey senses have been tingling. When we saw fans of the web-slinging hero sharing tweets like these about the image above…

…we realized we owed everyone an explanation. The photo of Spider-Man in the observatory of One World Trade Center featured in this week’s issue for the Superhero Power List isn’t an official still from the upcoming Spider-Man: Homecoming film starring Tom Holland. Instead, the man behind the mask in the shot is Kevin P. Sullivan, EW’s movies editor and cosplayer for a day as Spidey’s non-powered (as far as we know) stand-in.

“We had him wear the costume under some sweats, because we thought security might think we were up to no good,” EW design and photo assistant Mettie Ostrowski, who captured the shot, says. “To our surprise, everyone was like, ‘Are you wearing the Spidey costume? That’s awesome!'” In fact, visitors who spotted the photo shoot thought the EW team was celebrating the first day of New York Comic Con. “Some people were looking and watching,” Ostrowski remembers, “and then some couldn’t care less.”

And no, it’s not a selfie either. Because of the narrow windows, Ostrowski put together a composite of shots of the Manhattan skyline and Sullivan holding his arm to one side to make it look like he was playing Peter Parker and wielding his own camera. Here, take a look at some behind-the-scenes photos taken by EW associate photo editor Alison Wild, who also conceived of the shoot:

As for the suit, Wild loaned the costume from The RPC Studio and chose the most official-looking one, which, to be fair, is probably the reason behind much of the confusion. Still, the secret’s out, everyone! Now please stop hounding the EW social team like online J. Jonah Jamesons about whether the shots are fake? …Please?