Netflix French-language documentary Vjeran Tomic: The Spider-Man of Paris covers the incredible and bizarre story of a fearless criminal responsible for a heist that captured the world’s imagination, earning him the title of “The Spider-Man of Paris”. We’re going to take a closer look at the events that occurred after the mastermind of the plan was caught, so strap on a safety harness as we ponder where Vjeran Tomic is now.
Apart from Marvel probably having a meltdown over the title, the world was stunned by the incredible robbery that saw art from Picasso, Braque, Matisse, Léger, and Modigliani going missing — art that was valued at a cool $100 million.
Perhaps this job was more likely to be pulled by one of Spidey’s villains rather than the iconic superhero, but “real-life Venom” probably doesn’t have the same appeal.
Who is Vjeran Tomic, the “Real-Life Spider-Man”?
The thief behind the startling crime, Vjeran Tomic, was born in Paris but moved to Bosnia when he was only a year old to live with his grandmother.
It would be a decade before he would return to the city he was born in, but even from an early age, Tomic discovered an aptitude for adventure, climbing walls and bridges as he played along the river banks.
However, even at ten years of age, he displayed some worrying tendencies, scaling a building of a library and breaking in to steal two books. They were later returned, but he had a taste now of a world that he could move through in a different way, and by his mid-teens, was living in a squat with a group of friends who survived by stealing glassware to support themselves.
Learning Parkour, Tomic discovered a world removed from the everyday humdrum of sidewalks and public transport, using buildings and rooftops as his routes, replacing pavement with ledge.
His criminal activity would find him robbing rich homes and apartments, and selling the expensive jewelry he would find there.
By 2010, he would have a plan to enter the Paris Museum of Modern Art and relieve it of some of its displays, with an accomplice with connections in the world of stolen art, ready to find the pieces new homes.
What did Vjeran Tomic do?
Tomic would cut through a padlock and enter the museum through a window, that he had spent time preparing to acquire ease of access, with his main goal being the robbery of Fernand Léger’s Still Life with Candlestick. But upon entering, the alarm would fail to go off, meaning Tomic had plenty of time to peruse the gallery, leaving with five masterpieces that he took because “he liked them”.
Tomic did in fact have a figure operating behind the scenes that would request certain artifacts to be stolen by Tomic, as he had clients ready to buy them.
The official synopsis of the documentary from Netflix reads, “In his own words, the burglar behind the 2010 robbery of the Paris Museum of Modern Art tells how he pulled off the biggest art heist in French history.”
What happened to Vjeran Tomic?
The daring robbery occurred in 2010, but by 2011, the real-life Spider-Man and his accomplices had been arrested for the crime.
After several tip-offs, police would place Tomic under surveillance. With the fencing of such note-worthy paintings becoming impossible, Tomic would rob an apartment looking for money and be caught in the act.
Along with the Tomic, two others were arrested in connection with the theft of the paintings.
A trial in 2017 would see Tomic jailed for eight years. Also jailed were two men responsible for moving the stolen pictures along, but at the trial, it was revealed the paintings had been destroyed, a claim many still doubt.
Where is Vjeran Tomic now?
Tomic is still in prison at the time of writing.
It is reported that he has a keen interest in illustration and ironically has aspirations of opening his own gallery.
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