+the news

Robert Downey, Jr. names sick child 'honorary Avenger'

Written by . Published: February 12 2016

Iron Man star Robert Downey, Jr. gave a young cystic fibrosis sufferer the surprise of a lifetime by naming him an "honourary member of the Avengers" superhero team.


Domenic Pace, nine, was allowed to act out his fantasy of becoming a version of Robert's character from the Marvel comic book movies at an event in Sydney, Australia on Thursday (11Feb16), staged by the Make-A-Wish Foundation.


After Domenic, who was dressed as 'Iron Boy', "saved" a damsel in distress, the actor recorded a message as Iron Man's alter ego Tony Stark on Youtube.com praising his efforts.


"Hey Domenic, it's Tony," the actor says in the video. "Listen here, I don't do this very often but I'm making you an honorary member of the Avengers - I hereby dub thee. Because guess what? Iron Man loves you...


"I've heard you had quite the day. It's hard work saving the world isn't it?... I just want to wish you all the best. Keep up the good work," he added.


Members of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, who organise events allowing sick children to fulfill their dreams, staged a similar superhero stunt in 2013 for a leukaemia sufferer in San Francisco, California, by allowing him to become 'Bat Kid' for a day.

Error! Unable to retrieve any Images!