By now, you’ve probably heard about Batkid, the story that captured the entire nation on Friday. But in case you’ve been trapped in a rowboat at sea, or had taken a temporary vow of internet celibacy, let me fill you in: “Batkid” is actually 5-year-old Miles Scott of San Francisco, a Make-a-Wish Foundation recipient who has been battling leukemia since he was one year old and has recently gone into remission. On Friday, the city of San Francisco rallied around the little boy, whose wish was to fight crime with Batman, his favorite superhero. The whole city was in on it, with the local news doing a live broadcast alerting “Batkid” that there was trouble in Gotham City, setting off a chain event of crime-fighting for Batkid, who took off with Batman in two donated Lamborghinis dressed up to look like the Batmobile.
Over the course of the day, Batman and Batkid saved a woman tied up on the tracks of the iconic San Francisco cable car line, caught the Riddler as he was robbing a bank, and finished the day saving the San Francisco Giants’ mascot from the clutches of the Penguin. He was awarded the key to the city by the mayor and police chief, and was even given a shout-out by President Obama in one of his first ever Vine videos.
It wasn’t just normal folks who were captivated by the story of Batkid, either. Three former actors who have previously played the role of the Caped Crusader and the current actor holding down the fort also offered their support for the newest, pint-sized member of the Bat Family.
First up, Ben Affleck, who already knows Batkid will be a bigger deal than he could ever be:
Batkid. Best Batman ever. #SFBatKid #MakeAWish @SFWish
Original Batman Adam West also shared his thoughts on Twitter:
What a wonderful thing. Relieved that Gotham is safe again thanks to Miles. #SFBatkid #makeawish… http://fb.me/2vrobmfom
While most recent Batman Christian Bale was asked about it in a recent interview with Vulture and was moved:
I looked on the news and I saw this headline and thought, ‘What’s that?’ And I saw all the pictures of him running around and saving people. It’s so touching. What’s his name, Miles. He must have been bewildered! Hopefully, later on, he’ll be able to look back and say, ‘Oh my God, how amazing.’
And TMZ caught up with Michael Keaton, who was equally as charmed:
Somebody sent it to me. It’s the cutest thing in the world. Let’s not talk about Batman. Let’s talk about the kid. That’s such a cool thing. That’s such a sweet idea. I haven’t seen it. Somebody sent me the link, and I’ve got to check it out. I think it’s a cool idea.
(via CBM)
It’s pretty amazing to see a city come together for once for a happy reason, rather than a tragedy. Think we can get Batkid to cameo in Batman vs. Superman? Someone, get Warner Bros. on the phone.