Thanos was wrong when he said that reality was often disappointing.
The truth is that our reality is filled with inspiring moments of young heroes making positive changes around them. Just ask the inspiring kids of Marvel‘s Hero Project who are making a huge difference.
The 20-episode documentary series spotlights kids across the country for the work they’ve done in their communities, proving that you don’t always need an iron suit, super strength, or a mighty shield to be a hero. In each episode, each kid will find out that he or she has been immortalized in a Marvel comic as a new superhero among the ranks of the Marvel heroes they already know and love. Yeah, you bet this is a total tear-jerker.
At New York Comic Con (NYCC), fans got a special first look at the series, followed by a Q&A session with panelists Sarah Amos, Marvel vice president and head of development and production for new media; Sana Amanat, Marvel vice president of content and character development; and Stephen Wacker, Marvel vice president of creative and content development.
“I think for what makes a Marvel hero is that moment in all of our characters’ lives — from Peter Parker to Tony Stark to Carol Danvers — that moment where they’ve been given a gift, an opportunity, and they can do something selfish or something selfless. What they decided to do is something selfless. It all goes back to what Stan [Lee] wrote 60 years ago almost: With great power comes great responsibility. So that’s what I think all of these kids personify,” Wacker says.
The series highlights 20 kids who are working on issues such as the environment, homelessness, identity, disabilities, and more. Production company MaggieVision scoured the country for these amazing kids and found them through viral stories, word of mouth, or social media posts.
Check out this exclusive poster of Jordan in Hero Mode! What a star! 🤩 #MarvelHeroProject #nycc19 #FuelYourFandom pic.twitter.com/2jMRcLEkDr
— The Pop Insider (@thepopinsider) October 5, 2019
As part of being initiated into Marvel’s Hero Project, each kid will star as a superhero in his or her own No. 1 collector’s edition of a Marvel comic. Some of the company’s best editors worked on these issues to put the stories together, and the comics will be available to read online each week when the corresponding episode airs.
“I love the fact that we were able to specifically work with these kids and highlight the great things that they’re doing, but just make them into literal superheroes and give them a costume and give them a look and see them saving the world,” Amanat says.
The first episode spotlights extraordinary 13-year-old Jordan who has a limb difference and encourages kids with disabilities to embrace their differences. She is known for her design of a glitter-shooting prosthetic arm that she named Project Unicorn. Jordan has the passion to problem-solve in creative ways and is a leader in creating STEM opportunities for other disabled kids.
“There’s no way you can’t give Jordan the platform to change the world. The work she is doing, the way she’s inspiring not just the kids during the episode, but so many other kids that she works with through her workshop. It’s everything a Marvel hero is, from being able to build things and invent things to inspiring to helping to not being stopped by any set of obstacles that get in your way. That is textbook Marvel hero,” Amos says.
After the world premiere of the first episode, Jordan joined the other panelists on stage. To her, a hero is someone who makes an effort to do something in the world to make a change, and her personal heroes are the members of her supportive family. She just released a book, worked with Mattel to launch a Barbie doll with a prosthetic leg, and is launching a consulting firm to give design input on accessibility.
“Jordan was already a hero. We just got the opportunity to tell her story to a really large audience,” Wacker says.
Watch the full trailer below! Marvel’s Hero Project debuts on Disney+ on Nov. 12, and episodes will air weekly on Fridays. I’m getting multiple boxes of tissues ready.
Photo: the Pop Insider
