7K Strangers to Help Sick Boy, 5, Become Batman

Miles will have a day as 'Batkid' in San Francisco
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 12, 2013 5:10 PM CST
7K Strangers to Help Sick Boy, 5, Become Batman
A vintage Batman logo.   (Flickr)

A 5-year-old boy with leukemia has a wish: He wants to be Batman. So the Make-a-Wish Foundation asked for help from San Francisco residents, and more than 7,000 have signed up so far. They'll help stage a series of stunts on Friday, during which little Miles will get to rescue someone in trouble on a cable car, chase the Penguin, capture the Riddler, and be thanked (and given a key to the city) by the mayor and the police chief at City Hall. The thousands of people who signed up will form crowds of bystanders who will cheer Batman on.

"Since he wants to be a superhero, we felt like having a large crowd there waiting with signs and cheering him on would make him feel like a hero," a Make-a-Wish manager tells ABC News. It's the foundation's biggest event yet, Mashable reports, and some of the volunteers are flying into the city specifically to take part. Foursquare and Twitter are also getting involved: Participants can check in at "Gotham City" on Foursquare, and Twitter has set up an account for the Penguin—who is, of course, using it to taunt "Batkid." DC Comics may even give him his own comic book. (More make-a-wish stories.)

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