By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)
Just how often can anyone get to be a superhero? There are plenty of regular heroes working everyday to keep a city safe from crime and crisis. There are even all those television reality shows that showcases people with extraordinary abilities, but perhaps the real troopers are those who are fighting a daily battle with certain diseases that are still tough to defeat. To see them stay positive throughout the ordeal is what makes them the Über-hero: 5-year old Miles Scott is fighting leukemia and his wish is to become Bat-Kid with all the perks associated with it.
With the help of the Make-a-Wish Foundation: San Francisco Chapter and the guidance of Batman, Miles will get to hang out with his hero and learn how to fight crime. And on November 15th, the City of San Francisco is going to transform into Gotham. This new dynamic duo will save a damsel-in-distress and prevent a super criminal from executing a heinous crime. A nefarious criminal has plans on stealing Lou Seal, the baseball mascot of the San Francisco Giants.
This comic book style adventure will take place for most of the afternoon, and people living in or near this city are invited to be part of the fun. They can volunteer to become part of the action by helping to make this child’s wish happen or be part of the crowd cheering him on. People unable to visit can also donate online. Those of us at Otaku no Culture hope Warner Bros. or DC Comics will also get involved in some capacity. More details can be found at Make-a-Wish’s website here.
The events will take place at Union Square (approx 12:45pm) and City Hall at 2pm with Mayor Ed Lee and Chief of Police Greg Suhr presenting the Key to the City to young Miles. Onlookers are encouraged to photograph or videotape the action that is set to unfold, and YouTube will no doubt be flooded with various point-of-view shots of the day’s activities. Sharing is important, and to show fearlessness is right at the front of Miles’ bravado, even with his fight against this disease.
Through the encouragement of everyone attending, this young iteration of Bat-man will most certainly defeat the demons that lurk within.
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