Look down the sidewalk! He’s a bird, he’s a plane, no, he’s Electron Boy! During my trip to the Pacific Northwest last month one of the most amazing experiences I had was seeing superhero Electron Boy battle evil and save a group trapped in an elevator at the Seattle Space Needle when all I was expecting was a really groovy view of the city.
When not combating evil with the power of light and saving the world, Electron Boy is 13-year-old Erik Martin who is living with liver cancer and his lifelong wish of becoming a superhero came true because of the amazing work of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. If you’re not familiar with what Make-A-Wish does, they enhance the lives of children living with life-threatening medical conditions by granting wishes. And when they grant the wish, the whole family is involved.
On April 29, hundreds of Bellevue and Seattle volunteers helped orchestrate Erik’s wish come true. They ranged from a professional soccer team to a police department and adoring fans to Spider-Man. Rather than regurgitate the entire story, the Seattle Times has a great recap (Local Boy with Cancer Turns into a Superhero for a Day) and Make-A-Wish has posted a video.
What we witnessed that day at the Space Needle was a man dressed in a black, wearing a cape, decked out with goth makeup and skateboarding in the parking lot. He looked a little old to be goofing around like that so I asked one of the staff, “What’s up with the dude in the cape?”
We learned a wish was going to be granted but had no idea we would see most of it unfold. Leaving the Space Needle, Spider-Man was lurking in the doorway while the bad guys, Dr. Dark (aka: Deadliest Catch‘s Edgar Hansen) and Blackout Boy (dude wearing the cape, aka: Deadliest Catch’s Jake Anderson) hung outside, waiting for their nemesis, Electron Boy.
From my vantage point, I saw the teen superhero dressed in red arrive, take a light saber and jab it at the bad guys. The crowd cheered when the bad guys froze in place.
Electron Boy was then brought into the Space Needle and saved a group of tourists stuck in the elevator. He was quickly whisked away to the crowd who cheered some more for him. There was a champagne toast (or maybe it was bubbly cider), the bad guys converted to the good side and “hip, hip, hooray!” cheers for Electron Boy were yelled.
Seeing this wish granted was one of the most memorable parts of my journey.
Electron Boy seemed a little overwhelmed by the attention and what was happening, but I suppose any superhero’s first day on the job would be a bit overwhelming.
