San Francisco turns into Gotham City for Batkid
Miles Scott is a 5-year-old with leukemia who has always wanted to be Batkid. Thousands of volunteers, TV crews, and even President Obama teamed up with San Francisco's Make-A-Wish foundation to make the child’s dream come true.
By Carol Kuruvilla / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Published: Friday, November 15, 2013, 1:59 PM
Updated: Saturday, November 16, 2013, 11:51 AM
Jeff Chiu/AP
Fighting crime before dinnertime is all in a day's work for this tiny superhero.
Batkid to the rescue!
Just one day into his crime-fighting career, young Miles Scott, 5, already had a fan club Friday as San Franciscans cheered on the cancer patient who always wanted to be a superhero.
Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area
The city of San Francisco is going Gotham today to make a 5-year-old boy with leukemia's 'make a wish' come true, giving him the chance to be Batkid for a day.
The kindergartener from Tulelake, Calif. has plenty of experience battling villains — he’s been fighting leukemia since he was 18 months old. He wrapped up his treatment in June and is in remission now.
While he was struggling with the illness, Miles became fascinated with superheroes. They were crimefighters and saviors. And they always won in the end.
Jeff Chiu/AP
Miles Scott, dressed as Batkid, second from left, exits the Batmobile with Batman to save a damsel in distress in San Francisco.
"Miles has always been a fighter," his dad Nick Scott said. "He fought through cancer and he beat that. I think it goes hand in hand that he's a fan of Batman and superheroes, as well."
There's no telling if Miles' cancer will return. But the child hasn't lost his superhero spirit.
When San Francisco's Make-A-Wish Foundation asked Miles what he wanted more than anything in the world, the little guy said, “I wish to be Batkid.”
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/san-francisco-turns-gotham-city-batkid-article-1.1518454#ixzz2ksyE846y
Gary Reyes/Bay Area News Group/AP
The 5-year-old rescues a damsel in distress in San Francisco.
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Jeff Chiu/AP
Batman and Batkid carefully deliberate their battle plan.
His wish came true today as San Francisco turned into Gotham City just for Miles.
An estimated 12,000 Gotham City residents had Batkid's back as he rushed to save their city. Police closed down major roads and his fans crowded the streets.
Thanks to social media, crowds rooted for Batkid at every crime scene. The President and First Lady tweeted out their support from the White House. Obama later sent out a congratulatory Vine.
The day began with a breaking news story. San Francisco’s Police Chief Greg Suhr appeared on TV asking if anyone in town knows the whereabouts of Batkid. Suhr desperately needed Batkid's help to save the city from the evil supervillains Riddler and Penguin.
Miles, disguised as Batkid from head to toe, joined an adult-sized Batman and his baby brother as Robin as they hopped into two waiting Lamborghinis, aka Batmobiles.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/san-francisco-turns-gotham-city-batkid-article-1.1518454#ixzz2kszmelba
ABC News Police Chief Greg Suhr is calling on Batkid to help save his city.
At least 500 people looked on as Batkid rescued a damsel-in-distress from the HydeStreet cable-car tracks in Nob Hill. She was dressed in thigh-high black boots and her hands were bound behind her back.
Batkid had to disable a plastic replica bomb to free the woman. It was a tricky job, but he managed to do it just before a cable car came crashing into the scene. The crowd went wild.
Batkid surveys his city from a Lamborghini "Batmobile" as he and Batman get ready to stop a bank robbery in San Francisco.
Gary Reyes/AP
Next, he stopped the Riddler from robbing a downtown vault. San Francisco police hauled thecrook off in handcuffs and threw him into a paddy wagon.
Ramin Talaie/Getty Images
San Francisco police officers arrest the Riddler with the help of 5-year-old leukemia survivor Miles, also known as BatKid.
Even superheroes can’t fight crime on an empty stomach, so Batkid refueled with his parents at San Francisco’s Burger Bar. His meal of choice was a hamburger and fries.
After lunch, San Francisco’s Police Chief asked Batkid to look outside the window. Hundreds of volunteer Gotham City residents were jumping up and down, pleading for Batkid’s help.
Trouble was brewing. And this time, it was that slimey Penguin.
Even superheroes can’t fight crime on an empty stomach, so Batkid refueled with his parents at San Francisco’s Burger Bar. His meal of choice was a hamburger and fries.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/san-francisco-turns-gotham-city-batkid-article-1.1518454#ixzz2ktC7wR64
Jeff Chiu/AP
Daniel Fry holds up his daughter Kayla, 5, as they wait for Batkid's to appear.
The ruthless criminal kidnapped San Francisco Giants’ mascot Lou Seal. Lou's hands were tied together as Penguin drove off toward AT&T Park, Batkid close on their heels.
At the park, the superhero found Lou tied up in a cage. He untied Lou's hands while the adult Batman chased down Penguin. The villain begged for mercy, but another San Francisco cop hauled him away to face justice. The Chief of Police appeared on the Jumbotron to give Batkid a big "thank you" from the city.Mayor Ed Lee honored Batkid at City Hall at day’s end. Then the exhausted hero resumed his life as mild-mannered Miles Scott.
The San Francisco Chronicle, KGO-TV and thousands of volunteers participated in the event.The Chronicle distributed special-edition newspapers with the headline, "Batkid Saves City," in Union Square.
Jeff Chiu/ AP
A crowd holds up signs for Miles Scott, as Batkid, at a rally outside of City Hall in San Francisco.
The Justice Department also got in on the action, releasing a bristling indictmentof the Riddler and Penguin. San Francisco's chief federal prosecutor Attorney Melinda Haag and FBI agent David Johnson accused the villains of "performing all kinds of mayhem in Gotham, San Francisco, and parts unknown for an indefinite period of time." Upon conviction, the fiends will be thrown in the slammer for 24 years. The criminals are invited to appeal, but the Justice Department doesn't think it will do them much good.
"Because even if you get out of jail someday, you will never succeed in your criminal actions as long as Miles, aka 'Batman,' aka 'Batkid' is looking out for the citizens of Gotham," the indictment reads.
After a job well done, Mayor Ed Lee (left) handed Batkid the keys to his city during a rally outside of City Hall.
Miles' family followed him while he scrambled around town. Mom Natalie Scott said that the day was a dream come true for her, as well. It signaled the end of his treatment, of over three years of filling her son's body with drugs.
“He likes to be a superhero,” she told NBC. “He is one. He beat an awful disease.”
Thousands of Bay Area residents have signed up to help fulfill a five-year-old cancer patient's wish of becoming Batkid for a day.
When the Make-a-Wish Foundation fired up the Bat-Signal in the hopes of getting members of the public involved in making Miles Scott's wish of seeing San Francisco transformed into Gotham City come true, they expected a few to respond.
But the organization, which rarely seeks assistance from volunteers, saw support pour in, with some 12,000 offering to be part of Miles' special day.
One resident even donated a Lamborghini, which was converted into a Batmobile to drive Miles to the scene the crime.
"I've never seen anything go viral like this, with the outpouring of support from across the world," said Patricia Wilson, executive director of the local Make-A-Wish Foundation chapter.
According to an agenda released by the nonprofit, Miles' will be called on to don his Batkid cape and cowl after being alerted through a breaking news story that Commissioner Gordon (played by San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr) needs help "bringing the bad guys to justice."
Miles will then make his way to the Hyde Street cable car line to rescue a damsel in distress, followed by a quick trip to a downtown bank where he will catch the Riddler in the act of robbing a vault.
From there, Miles will head to the Burger Bar for lunch, but his crimefighting duties won't be on hold for long.
The chief will be sending him an alert calling his attention to Union Square, where the public volunteers will gather to cry for help.
Miles will then be informed that the Penguin has kidnapped the city's beloved SF Giants mascot, and BatKid is the only one who can save him.
The plan is to wrap up all the heroics by 2 p.m. local time, when Miles — that is, BatKid — will be handed the key to the city by the mayor himself.
The San Francisco Chronicle will be getting in on the action as well by releasing a special edition of its newspaper — rechristened Gotham City Chronicle — with the headline "Batkid Saves City" splashed above an article by mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent.
You can follow Miles' Big Adventure using the hashtag #SFBatkid, as well as through the Make-A-Wish Bay Area Twitter account, which will be posting photos of the event, and hopefully, a video of the whole thing later today.
Perhaps the most heartwarming part of this story is the news that Miles, who has been battling acute lymphoblastic leukemia since he was barely two, is currently in remission, and his last chemotherapy session was back in June.