Batman Impersonator Escorts 3-Year-Old to Preschool After Classmates' Bullying Left Her with a Black Eye
Not all heroes wear capes, but the hero a Florida toddler needed after being bullied at her preschool certainly did.
When Erica Calculli’s daughter Lydia came home from her preschool last month with a black eye, the 3-year-old told her mother that a group of classmates hit her and threw a shoe at her.
Not only had the toddler come home with physical bruises, but her normally sweet demeanor began to shift as well.
Calculli said she reported the incident to the school, but that no action had been taken so she decided to post on social media about it.
Jack Asbury saw the concerned mother’s post and thought of a special way to help Lydia feel a little more brave.
Asbury, a Citrus County EMT and hobbyist cosplayer, uses his realistic Batman suit to lift the spirits of children who need it the most. He calls himself “The Batman of Spring Hill.”
Why Batman specifically?
“Batman doesn’t have powers,” Asbury told WFTS. “So it just shows you anybody can be a superhero, even if you don’t have powers.”
When he saw Calculli’s post, he hoped that a visit from Batman would lift her spirits and give her the courage she needed to face another day in school, despite the bullies.
Not only did Asbury escort Lydia to her class, but he also bought her a Superman costume to wear for Halloween.
“I was heart broken when I saw her mothers post she was being bullied in school,” he wrote on Facebook. “Hopefully this will help her over come the fear knowing who has her back.”
“I knelt down next to her and told her she is going to have a great day and she will be just fine,” Asbury later told InsideEdition. “While beside her, I looked at [her classmates] and told all of them that she is my very best friend, and I would be back to check on her.”
According to WTSP, the school has since moved Lydia into an advanced classroom in response to her mother’s report.
“I’m really hoping that a new classroom and having Batman by her side, can change the outcome altogether,” Calculli said. “Batman really saved the day!”
Asbury is currently hosting a fundraiser on Facebook so that he can continue to surprise children and lift their spirits.
He recently was able to meet and encourage a 5-year-old boy with a rare genetic mutation, according to WFTS.
“Lets get back to helping each other and being proud of our community,” he wrote on his fundraiser page.
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