I Wish to Be... a Superhero!

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It's a Bird! It's a Plane! No…It's Electron Boy!
Rescuing the Seattle Sounders, innocent civilians and capturing the bad guys is a tall order for some superheroes but not for Electron boy, Western Washington's newest crusader! It was all in a day's work for Electron Boy (otherwise known as his secret identity, 13-year-old Erik) whose superhero efforts have garnered media attention and fans from Seattle to Anchorage to Missoula and beyond.

A superhero is born
Living with cancer, half a heart and a myraid of other challenges, this soft-spoken teen who has always wanted to help others, underwent a transformation of giant proportions to become his very own comic book character and Western Washington's only hope against the sinister forces of Dr. Dark and Blackout Boy.

It all began with an urgent call from Spiderman. Dr. Dark and Blackout Boy were at it again and there was only one superhero capable of stopping them.

Without missing a beat, Erik slipped into the red, blue and yellow superhero costume (sans the cape because as he says, "capes are always getting caught on things"); grabbed his light saber and headed out the door to bring his arch nemesis to justice.

With sirens blaring and lights shining, 25 policemen on motorcycles paved the way for the arrival of Electron Boy's super stealthy vehicle, a DeLorean identical to the one he fell in love with in Back to the Future. Out came his driver and his sidekick, Lightning Lad, who briefed him on Dr. Dark and Blackout Boy's evil plan to rob the city of light and imprison innocent civilians in the process. It was off to save the day, but not before Lightning Lad taught him a special "energize" handshake that would give him the power to defeat these unscrupulous villians.

Answering the call of duty
Like a sight from a movie, the motorcade (which stretched about a mile and shut down several major freeways) was off to Qwest Field so Electron Boy could free the Seattle Sounders who were trapped in a dark locker room. As the motorcade rolled by, onlookers clamored to take pictures because they were certain they were in the presence of a celebrity or dignitary. They shouted, "Who's that?" to which his family excitedly shouted back, "Don't you know? It's Electron Boy!"

Faster than a speeding bullet, they arrived to the scene fo the crime and heard loud screams and banging from inside the locker room. Electron Boy cleared the way and with his light saber in one hand he channeled his luminous powers. Seconds later, the doors swung open and the team was free. They were so grateful that they escorted him onto the field, took pictures and gave him a signed soccer ball and team jersey. And then, the celebration came to a halt.

Dr. Dark and Blackout Boy appeared on the big screen with a message that they were wrecking havoc on Puget Sound Energy where they had trapped "Energy Jim" in the bucket of a utility truck that had been suspeneded in mid-air. So, it was onto the next victim. The convoy rushed to the scene of the crime only to find hundreds of people waiting for Electron Boy to arrive.

As his DeLorean pulled up, the cheers were deafening. "Electron Boy save us," one fan shouted. It was so loud that people in the surrounding office buildings were drawn to their office windows or onto the street to find out what was going on.

Like he had done at Qwest Field, Electron Boy freed "Energy Jim" with one powerful hand movement. A grateful bunch greeted him with cheers, smiles, handshakes and a personalized comic strip of his superhero adventures so far. But the festivities were interrupted with another video transmission from Dr. Dark and Blackout Boy. Once again, they had struck. This time, they had trapped some Make-A-Wish staff members at the top of the Space Needle and only Electron Boy could save them.

They were off to this Seattle landmark in a flash. Hundreds of fans were lined up at the base of the Space Needle waiting for him to rescue the poor civilians trapped atop the Needle. As he carefully stepped out of his car, Electron Boy and Lightning Lad were soon face to face with his nemesis, Dr. Dark and Blackout Boy.

The Standoff
The moment he had been waiting for had finally arrived. There were a few tense moments and some heckling back and forth but without any notice, Electron Boy used his powers of super speed, energy and light to charge ahead and freeze the villains, stripping them of their powers and turning them good.

Dr. Dark led the crowd in a cheer of "Hip, hip, hooray" and Spiderman presented him with a medal of honor and a plaque from the Superhero Club. Seattle City Council Woman, Sally Bagshaw, issued a proclamation and gave him a key to the city and a grand celebration followed with pictures, cake and a sparkling cider toast to Electron Boy. Erik's wish of being a superhero was a super success in Seattle.

Take a Bow
Special thanks to the Electron Boy cast of characters who made Erik's wish come to life: Seattle Sounders FC, Puget Sound Energy, Space Needle, Edgar Hansen & Jake Anderson from The Deadliest Catch, Bellevue & Snohomish Police, Seattle Children's Theater, Rob Burgess (Lightning Lad), Sally Bagshaw - Seattle City Council Member, Costco, Branded Solutions by Edgar Martinez, the DeLorean Club, Spiderman, Bayview Limousines, Mister T's Trophies, Northwest Label/Design, Inc., Tri-Film Productions, Inc.

Check out the amazing coverage that Electron Boy's wish garnered locally, nationally and worldwide here.

Special thanks: Volunteers Lisa MacKay and Heidi Hardy

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