‘I love Batman’: Superhero with a message visits Morgantown

MORGANTOWN, Ky.-“I love Batman.”

More than 500 people stood elbow to elbow anxiously awaiting one of the world’s most beloved superheroes. Children decked out in their own costumes were ready for Batman and the Batmobile to appear on Mainstreet.

“I have a lot of his toys and I like him,” said one kid.

“He fights bad guys”,” said another child. 

“I wanna know how he’s been on so many TV shows and hasn’t died yet throughout his career,” said one more. 

Batman made the trip to Morgantown in the Batmobile Thursday to read his new book, Broken Toy Hero, to eager ears.

Batman, known as John Buckland without his costume, created the non-profit organization ‘Heroes 4 Higher’ and travels all over the country as a superhero. 

“I’ve been doing this for ten years now in September,” said Buckland. 

Buckland went through some struggles in his youth. After spending two years in Iraq he decided to bring Batman to the kids…he teaches the message of hope everywhere he goes and four life lessons to remember: never give up, always do the right thing, help other people, and never be a bully.

“I figured out that Batman is pretty much universal. Kids understand it. Batman was just a kid that went through something tragic, took his pain, turned it into power so Batman is a personality and a story that can apply to any traumatic kids situation,” said Buckland. 

While the Batmobile looks cool and all, it serves a greater purpose too. He calls it the Hopemobile. Inside the hood are the names and ages of children, who once rode in the Batmobile before they were laid to rest.

“I’ve actually given a lot of rides and not all of them have passed away, that’s why I call them hope injections. Because they can either capture that last smile, that ride can capture that last smile, or that ride can give the child more motivation to fight,” said Buckland.