After skimming this NPR piece about Kids in Capes, the flashbacks came fast furious vis a vis watching George Reeves (Ben Affleck played him in the recent film, Hollywoodland) pretending to leap tall buildings at a single bound whilst watching the Man of Steel on our good ol’ BW teevee in the late 50s, and wearing my trusty Super-suit. Other than skinning a knee or three, I didn’t do much harm to me, or anybody else in my costume…

Flash forward some 50 years to present-day England where a trio of scientists have agreed “the advent of superhero role models can give unrealistic expectations to the child, which may lead to serious injury,” according to the study, Superhero-related injuries in paediatrics: a case series, in the March 2007 issue of Archives of Disease in Childhood.

I suspect this “cautionary” study — dealing with broken bones, bruises and a bump on the noggin — might’ve been a bit more trustworthy in my eyes had the researchers’ conclusions not included a reference to the “imminent” arrival of a new Superman movie (Superman Returns opened in the UK on July 14, 2006), instead of Spider-Man 3, however.

Yeah, I’m quibbling, especially since my granddaughter Zoe looks so cool and cute wearing my Thing hands, and nobody got hurt while she wore them either…

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