Spidey Teams With Six-Year Old Girl To Tackle Cancer

If you’re in Edmonton tomorrow you can watch Spider-Man team up with six-year old Mable, a Spidey fan who has been battling acute lymphoblastic leukemia since 2013. During treatment, Mable fell in love with the Wallcrawler while reading 1960’s Spidey stories. Much like Miles Scott who became Batkid alongside Batman in January, 2014, Mable will suit-up, become Spider-Mable and help Spidey take down a villain and rescue a local celebrity from the zoo.

The best part? She has no idea any of this is about to go down. It’s all going to start with her watching the news at 7:00 am.

From Madeleine Cummings of the Edmonton Journal:

Six-year-old Mable has been fighting cancer for the past two years, but she’d rather be fighting crime with Spider-Man.

On Monday, if all goes according to plan, she’ll be asked to suit up and save Edmonton alongside her hero — and the public is invited to watch it all unfold.

Mable has no idea she’ll be meeting with the mayor, chasing a villain at West Edmonton Mall and rescuing a celebrity from the Edmonton Valley Zoo on Monday. But her parents, the Children’s Wish Foundation and a small army of people across the city have been carefully planning her magical day for months.

Much like five-year-old Miles Scott, whose adventures as “Batkid” captured the world’s attention in 2013, Mable will be ushered around the city all day and treated as a superhero by all.

At 7 a.m., she’ll slip on a costume, designed by her mom, and watch a newscast informing her of strange happenings in Edmonton.

Spider-Mable, who will accompanied by Spider-Man throughout the day, will meet with Mayor Don Iveson at City Hall and the police at downtown police headquarters. In the afternoon, she’ll search for a villain at World Waterpark in the West Edmonton Mall, attend “superhero training” at Galaxyland and rescue a “prominent Edmontonian” at the Edmonton Valley Zoo.

Mable’s parents aren’t worried about their daughter’s energy running out before the day is over.

“She will be going non-stop for 48 hours from the excitement of being with Spider-Man,” her mother assured the Children’s Wish Foundation. The six-year-old girl is known for being spunky, smiling and “always on the go.” The day has also been designed to include lots of breaks and snacks between stops.

Mable was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 2013 and is nearing the end of her treatment. Elizabeth LoPresti of the Children’s Wish Foundation said “the prognosis is very good.”

During her treatments, Mable passed the time by reading comic books. Her favourites were Spider-Man issues from the 1960s. She later told the Children’s Wish Foundation that she often imagined fighting crime, Spider-Man-style.

“We think that she’s going to be so excited,” LoPresti said Saturday.

“The joy of a wish will really shine through as she’s embraced by the city.”

Best Places to Watch Spider-Mable In Action:
— Walk with her around 9:45 a.m. as she travels from the south side entrance of City Hall to police headquarters.
— Watch her hunt for a villain at the West Edmonton Mall’s World Waterpark around 11:30 a.m.
— Watch the rescue take place at Edmonton Valley Zoo’s outdoor plaza around 3 p.m., then join her afterwards for celebrations in the zoo’s Otter Room.

Go get ’em, Mable! I will look for video from this late tomorrow; whenever we have some I will post it here at the Crawlspace.

EDIT: The Edmonton Sun reports that the local celebrity Spider-Mable will be rescuing is Andrew Ference of the Edmonton Oilers.

—George Berryman