Marvel Comics Debuts New Superhero 'Blue Ear' After Hearing Impaired Boy
Marvel Comics created a new superhero called "Blue Ear" after a 4-year-old boy from Salem, New Hampshire who refused to wear his hearing aid.
Anthony Smith's mom Christina D'Allesandro wrote to Marvel Comics to say that her son didn't want to use his hearing aid because "Superheroes don't wear blue ears." "Blue ears" is how his family referred to the hearing aid.
In response, artists at Marvel created "Blue Ear" a superhero with a hearing device that lets him hear "an ant hiccup on the other side of the country," Marvel assitant editor Nelson Ribeiro told HealthPop.
"I think on a personal level for the creative and editorial staff here at Marvel, if you work on superhero comics it's because on some level, you believe in heroes. So when we learn about someone like Anthony, that belief comes into play," Marvel editor Thomas Brennan told HealthPop.
"Our jobs are to make sure kids like Anthony believe in heroes, and we'll do that job, whatever it takes."
Smith's mom said her son now proudly wears his hearing aid.
