The Meta-Post: Why '#SPIDER-MAN' is trending on Twitter...

On Tuesday evening, for some time, a fair portion of the Twitterverse became an echo chamber pinging with one question: Why the #$&! is #Spider-Man trending?

The simplest answer as to why "#Spider-Man" was No. 1 on Twitter for a while? Well, there was a swell confluence of Spider-Man events -- setting off so many tingly Spidey senses (and it wasn't just about "Spider-Man 3" airing on TV, as Stan Lee tweeted):

1. As speculation continues to swirl about who will star in the 3-D "Spider-Man" reboot (with Tobey Maguire literally out of the picture), various outlets peddled a new round of rumors that Logan Lerman ("Percy Jackson and the Olympians") has been cast to wear the Spidey suit.

(In this video, the Hollywood lobbying of Lerman for the role turns blatant.)

Stan Lee (AP)Enlarge Comic

2. Also on Tuesday night (ET), the popular Twitter account @FakeAPStylebook published the very funny post: "The correct spelling of 'Spider-Man' takes a hyphen. Knowing this is why we can't get dates."

This post on the satiric account received its fair share of ReTweetage.

Note: As @FakeAPStylebook co-founder Ken Lowery has told Comic Riffs before, his gang of roughly 20 "bureau chiefs" is very well-represented with big-time comics fans and (a-hem) journalistic-minded comics bloggers. (And here we thought we were unique, haha.)

Of Tuesday's Tweet Seemingly Heard 'Round the E-World, Lowery tells Riffs: "That's only the second time we've created or contributed to a trending topic. The first time was a Tyra Banks joke. Go figure."

3. Then of course, as "#Spider-Man" began trending, a spasm of responders began asking: Why the #$%! is "Spider-Man" trending? -- apparently setting off a new wave of references, pushing the term to the top of the Twitter charts.

At last, a cultural figure who was able to knock "#Justin Bieber" off the top of the Twitter trends. Gotta love the echo chamber. But now, we can't help but think:

Heaven help us if Justin Bieber is cast as Spider-Man ...