An Arizona 7-year-old who was struck by a car last week has a unique explanation for why he survived the collision -- he’s Spider-Man.
Styles Johnson IV of Phoenix was crossing the street in his neighborhood on Jan. 13 when he was struck, according to BET News. Styles, whose family said he is obsessed with everything Spider-Man, was flung through the air and into a neighbor's yard.
His family, including his sister, Cecily Gueyser, 20, rushed to Phoenix Children’s Hospital, not knowing what to expect.
"(When) we met him in the trauma room, being examined, he stayed positive even though he was scared, and after examination, they sent him to a room to rest, where we all got to see him and we all broke down," Gueyser told BET News.
Amazingly, Styles suffered only a mild concussion, his sister said. And he had a theory about his lack of other injuries.
"I hugged him and asked him how he felt, and that's when he said, 'I'm lucky I'm Spider-Man, or else I wouldn't have survived,' which made us all laugh," Gueyser said.
Gueyser was so tickled by his answer that she tweeted about it. The tweet, which included a picture of Styles resting in his hospital bed, has been retweeted nearly 20,000 times.
It has also caught the attention of Marvel Comics, which tweeted to Styles, ‘Thank goodness for your Spidey sense! We’re glad to hear our favorite web-slinger is OK.”
Brian Michael Bendis, the writer of the “Ultimate Spider-Man” comic book series, also contacted Gueyser about sending her brother a care package. Bendis is also co-creator of Marvel’s Jessica Jones and the character of Miles Morales, a teenager of black Hispanic heritage who replaces Peter Parker as Spider-Man in Bendis' comic book series.
Gueyser told BET News that Styles is reacting to the attention like any 7-year-old would.
“He just keeps asking me if he’s really special, which I, of course, tell him he is,” she said.
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