Brotherly Love: Boy Honored With "Iron Man" Comic Cameo
By Ukee Washington
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- In September, we told you about Max Levy of Voorhees, who was raising money for Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. He has hemophilia, and he's a big fan of Iron Man. Now he has been honored in a way most fans could only dream of.
When Max needed surgery to implant a port in his chest, his father, Dan Levy, explained in a way the 5-year-old could understand.
"I said, 'That metal disc he had in his chest? You're going to get one of those,'" Dan said. "And I'll remember it for the rest of my life, he said, 'I get to be Iron Man?!'"
Friends and family started calling him Iron Max. He needed the port for medication for his hemophilia, a genetic disorder that prevents blood from clotting. Any injury can be life-threatening.
"It's sometimes difficult to let him just be a normal kid," Dan said.
Max and his 8-year-old sister Zoe created a calendar called Hearts 4 Hemophilia. Selling it door to door, they raised more than $7,500 for CHOP.
Now there's even more good news for Max. When Marvel Comics heard about Iron Max, they drew him into the latest edition of the "Invincible Iron Man" comic book, dressed in an Iron Man suit.
"I get to be inside one of them, and on the next page, I'm blasting somebody," Max explained to CBS3 anchor Ukee Washington.
"You're blasting somebody?" Ukee asked.
Max's sister Zoe said, "The bad guy is right there, and he's shooting the bad guy."
Dan said, "I thought he was going to be a kid on the street who Iron Man flies by. Not only is Max in there, he's in the suit, he's saving the day, he's fighting Dr. Doom. It's pretty awesome."
Even Dad gets a little cameo. At the end, Marvel tells readers story of the real Max, writing, "...heroes belong in comics. We couldn't resist giving Max a cameo in ours."
Dan says he's happy about the money and thrilled about the comic. But what touches him most is that more people are learning about Max and about hemophilia.
