On the eve of the release of Avengers: Infinity War, many are looking forward to seeing the Marvel Comics superheroes that inspire them brought to life on the big screen. Meanwhile, in Las Vegas, one real-life hero has been given an Iron Man-inspired gift by the Las Vegas Children's Heart Foundation.

Eziekel, age 2, has a tragic origin story that surpasses that of any comic book character. Born with two-thirds of his heart as well as portions of his kidneys and intestinal tract on the outside of his body, his prognosis was looking grim. But, the Las Vegas Children's Heart Foundation was able to provide Eziekel and his family with a custom designed protective chest plate that enables the otherwise-healthy and active toddler to live his life. Ezikel's family elected to have the plate painted to resemble the red and yellow chassis of Tony Stark's Iron Man armor, owing to that hero having a similar history of heart problems.

Eziekel's story, first reported by KTNV news, was shared with a wider audience by Marvel Games' Executive Director Bill Rosemann. His post linked to the original story and included a picture of Eziekel trying on his new gift in a most appropriate setting.

Eziekel is but one of many kids whose dreams have been made a reality thanks to the power of superheroes and the inherent humanity they inspire. Many actors from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, such as Spider-Man Tom Holland, have visited children's hospitals in character to lift the spirits of sick children. Their X-Men counterparts have done the same and Mystique actress Jennifer Lawrence (who had planned to be a pediatric nurse if her acting career failed to take off) makes regular visits to the children's hospitals in her home state of Kentucky as her schedule permits.

Marvel Comics continued this trend with their recent announcement of a special children's charity campaign, which tied into Avengers: Infinity War. This initiative saw Disney partnering with Hasbro and Funko to donate a portion of their profits and a generous number of new toys to numerous charities, including the Make-A-Wish foundation, Give Kids The World and the Starlight Children's Foundation. It also continued the "Hero Acts" campaign, which saw actors from the MCU trying to get pictures of themselves posing with prize-packs for various hospitals to go viral in a bid to secure matching donations. That's a lot of goodwill any way you slice it, proving that some actors do more than just play heroes on screen.

More: Marvel & DC Actors Rally to Support Terminally Ill Avengers Fan

Source: Bill Rosemann

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