Dopo la tragedia dell'11 settembre 2001, della quale è da poco trascorso l'anniversario, la Marvel pubblicò un
numero speciale dell'Uomo Ragno, scritto da M.Straczynski e disegnato da John Romita Jr, nel quale si vedevano vari supereroi prestare il loro aiuto tra le macerie del grattacielo.
Anche nella realtà un volto Marvel (non più, all'epoca, per la verità) accorse come volontario nel luogo del dramma.
Dal gruppo di discussione "
Herb Trimpe Appreciation Society" leggo:
"(...) When Marvel went bankrupt in 1996, Trimpe lost his staff position but still freelanced for other companies.
(...)
The response to 9/11 by comics publishers fictional and nonfictional accounts of the events and people involved (...).
Herb Trimpe was more direct in his efforts. He had become an ordained minister of the Episcopal Diocese of New York on May 30, 1992 and was also trained in emergency medical services (EMS). He volunteered as a chaplain for the Red Cross, where he assisted those grieving and in need of counsel. The cleanup effort at Ground Zero of the attack was massive, and there were many people missing and unaccounted for, so such services were in demand. Trimpe stayed there for 8 months focusing primarily on the task of escorting remains from Ground Zero to the morgue. In 2004 he wrote a book called The Power of Angels: Reflections from a Ground Zero Chaplain. It details his experiences and observations during this time of trial, and talks about the power of faith and community in the wake of a horrific tragedy".
Anche una delle figlie, Amelia, fu tra i volontari, come lei stessa ricorda nei commenti: "My father was a chaplain at the mortuary on ground zero for a time. I still have his T-mort shirt. And I remember we both had an impetus to help out if we could, as soon as we could. Through the episcopal church I went down to St. Paul's a couple times to serve food to the first responders and the con-ed guys a few weeks after 9/11. I remember all the names with faces posted outside of missing people. And I remember going through I think the kitchen to look out the back doors at the rubble that remained. I was on a 12 hour shift and it was getting dark out. What a scene that was. I will say though, volunteering down there certainly gave me huge hope in humanity. And I realized then I didn't need to be afraid. I thanked all the workers who came down the line. They all
looked so tired and usually nodded. And I remember one fireman thanking me for volunteering. I was shocked and told him that I wasn't doing anything special, that they were the ones to be thanked. I think I shook his hand. Then he told me that my job was important too because I was helping to make sure all those men and women working on site were fed. (...)".
