Sydney // A seriously ill Australian boy was granted his wish to become “Iron Boy” for a day, as police on Thursday staged an elaborate mission on the steps of the Sydney Opera House while Hollywood star Robert Downey Jr tweeted his support.
Nine-year-old Domenic Pace – who has battled cystic fibrosis all his life – has long idolised Marvel superhero Iron Man. He expressed his wish to be Iron Boy, with the Make-A-Wish foundation granting his dream to fight crime in Australia’s biggest city.
Sydneysiders turned out to watch Domenic save the day on the harbour in a spectacle that took almost a year to organise.
“Sent a very special boy on a top secret mission today. Go get ‘em, Domenic! #IronBoyAU @MakeAWishAust,” American actor Robert Downey Jr, who plays Iron Man in the Marvel films, tweeted on Thursday.
New South Wales police commissioner Andrew Scipione told Domenic, who was playing in a Sydney park when he was flown by helicopter to police headquarters for the surprise mission, that authorities needed his help.
“Make-A-Wish reporter Hope Joy has been kidnapped. Officers have confirmed that Clark Island has been overtaken by Ultron’s henchmen and Hope Joy is being held captive,” Mr Scipione said in a video recording.
“If I could make one wish, it would be for you to help us, Iron Boy.”
Domenic was fitted with a specially made Iron Boy suit and his elder brother Joseph, 12, played the role of Iron Man sidekick Colonel James Rhodes as he told reporters he was “ready to get down to business”.
The schoolboy was then whisked off in an inflatable boat to Clark Island in Sydney Harbour, where he freed the fictional reporter before engaging in a fight with villainous robot Ultron on the steps of the iconic Opera House.
The scenes were reminiscent of Batkid, a five-year-old boy recovering from cancer who in 2013, who became the diminutive version of the crime-fighter Batman in San Francisco.
“Go Dom!,” Australian thespian Liam Hemsworth, the younger brother of Hollywood star Chris Hemsworth who plays Thor in the same series of movies, tweeted as #IronBoyAU became the top-trending hashtag on Twitter in Australia.
* Agence France-Presse
