PRINTA super Saturday in which comics come to life
More than 700 superheroes turn out for Be A Superhero for Columbia Public Schools
CHRISTINA MANOLIS
Chris Van Pool, Michelle Baumstark, Abby Meeds and Renee Mottaz sported Wonder Woman costumes for Be A Superhero for Columbia Public Schools. Wonder Girls Tierney and Emma Baumstark and Abrar Salem also dressed up for the event, which had a total of 762 superheroes.
October 31, 2010 | 12:35 p.m. CST
Gotham has Batman. San Diego has the Channel 4 News Team. Columbia has the Justice League, the X-Men and almost every other superhero in between. Although the attempt to break the world record of “most people dressed as a superhero” fell short, the spirit of the day was not lost.
At noon on Saturday, a mass of 762 superheroes, super heroines and super villains gathered at the Hickman High School football field. The record number of people to beat was 1,580, but event organizer Sean Spence remained upbeat about the turnout. “It’s indicative of a community that really supports its schools,” he says. “How often do we spend time on a Saturday thinking about Columbia Public Schools and the superheroes that are shaping the lives of our children?” Proceeds from the event benefited the Columbia Public Schools Foundation.
Related LinksFrom above, Hickman’s field probably resembled an exploded bag of Skittles. Phoenix pushed a baby stroller while Superman and Ironman played together in the long-jump pit-turned-sandbox. Various iterations of every character mingled in the warm sun of late October. Jim Carrey’s question-marked Riddler stood next to Heath Ledger’s streaked-makeup Joker. A yellow-suited Wolverine with extended claws passed by a Hugh Jackman ensemble of sideburns, jeans and a white T-shirt. Then Ghost Rider rolled in on his motorcycle and stole the show, revving a machine decorated with child-friendly crepe paper flames.
One Batwoman, portrayed by Debbie Diestel, had a particularly compelling reason for the costume choice. “We had a bat in our house,” she says. “It was in our house while we were sleeping, and we had to get rabies shots. Who else could we be?”
Foam abs and plastic masks were in high demand, with enough cape fabric to sail a yacht, yet plenty of the costumes were handcrafted. Long johns, red fabric and traditional underwear — BAM! Captain Underpants. Jeans, a green sweater and craft store garland — POW! Poison Ivy.
“It’s just a matter of imagination,” says Scott Robbins, who sported a professional-quality Optimus Prime outfit made of trash cans, Rubbermaid lids, wheels from a child’s electric car and a motocross chest protector to hold everything together. Robbins won one of the best costume awards for this outfit, which he crafted for Halloween last year.
Recognizable superheroes also brushed shoulders with more obscure saviors. Hannah Talecki chose to create a Quailman costume, the alter ego of the main character in the 1990s television cartoon “Doug.” Quailman’s easy outfit only consists of white underwear over khaki shorts and a belt wrapped around the forehead. “His powers are patience, intelligence and speed, but he also had the Quail Eye to stupefy people,” Talecki says. “We had to look all this up last night in case anyone asked.”
Theme music from Power Rangers and Star Wars played over the loudspeaker, except when the announcer informed the crowd, “We’re missing a 3-year-old Batman.” It didn’t take a superhuman effort to find the tyke — he was in the sand with the other preschool heroes.
Luigi, Green Lantern and a family of Supermen eventually filed out of the stadium, a confetti bag of color joined by Buzz Lightyear and Harry Potter. Despite only gaining half of the required record, positive attitudes might have been the most prevalent superpower.
“It’s amazing the time that people put into creating a fun day,” Spence says. “We had so many incredible costumes here. It was just wonderful.”
