The adventures of SpiderMable
‘Please help us, you’re our only hope!’ Edmonton six-year-old with cancer gets wish to be a superhero for a day
Mable Tooke is no ordinary 6-yearold.
The Edmonton girl has her own superhero theme music. She also has acute lymphoblastic leukemia. On Monday, she had the backing of her entire hometown.
Tooke, who developed a love of the 1960s Spider-Man series while undergoing cancer treatment, was cast as SpiderMable, the heroine in a citywide fantasy organized by the Children’s Wish Foundation involving NHL stars, mock broadcasts and an array of superheroes and villains.
Her day started with a fictional newscast in which police Sgt. Steve Sharp appealed for her superhero alter-ego to save Edmonton Oilers captain Andrew Ference, apparently kidnapped by evil Marvel supervillain Mysterio.
To help her unravel the crime, she met with Mayor Don Iveson and police officials. They granted her full access to the city and gave her new web-shooting guns to help with her quest.
“We urgently need your help,” Iveson told the excited youngster.
Alberta Premier Rachel Notley got behind the web-slinging 6-year-old, retweeting the police message: “Please #SpiderMable — you’re our only hope!”
The story soon spread beyond the city’s borders, trending second nationally on Twitter. The #SpiderMable hashtag would have certainly claimed top spot if Facebook hadn’t stopped working temporarily.
Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau took a break from campaigning to tweet: “Glad to know next time I’m Edmonton I’ll be safe thanks to #SpiderMable!”
Even Spider-Man himself showed his support for SpiderMable. Ference’s fellow Oiler Jordan Eberle and the NHL Players Association were both relieved to hear she was on the case.
After city hall and police headquar- ters, Tooke travelled to the World Waterpark at the West Edmonton Mall, where she found another Marvel character, Black Cat, held captive. With an ever-growing crowd watching as she hunted for the vanished Ference, SpiderMable bravely zip-lined through the air to rescue her fellow superhero. Scared? “Not very,” she told the throng of journalists covering her story with an enthusiasm rarely seen in the press ranks.
Her escapades took her to Edmonton Valley Zoo, where she had a private tour while looking for any clues that might help her free Ference from Mysterio’s clutches.
Local residents began turning up to cheer on their new saviour. Indeed, Edmonton seemed to reach a standstill greater than if SpiderMan himself came to life and starting swinging through city streets.
Other young kids, decked out in their own costumes or holding encouraging placards, watched while the Oilers nervously awaited news of their captain.
Finally, SpiderMable spotted the heinous green and purple villain and expertly fired off webs at him. A thankful Ference was saved, and SpiderMable delivered Mysterio to the police.
No motive for his crime has yet been established, though pure villainous evil is suspected.
A party was planned for Mable later at the zoo’s Otter Room.