Hearing-Impaired Salem Boy Inspires Comic Book Character

FOX 25 Boston reports that Anthony Smith, 4, of Salem, now holds a distinction that few people can contend with: He inspired a Marvel Comics superhero. According to the news station, Smith, who is hearing-impaired, told his mother that he wouldn't wear his hearing aid because heroes don't wear them.

When Anthony's mother contacted Marvel for examples of superheroes with hearing loss, the company not only sent them an image of a superhero named Hawkeye who'd experienced 80-percent hearing loss and wore a hearing aid, they later sent along an image of a brand-new superhero: Blue Ear. Fox 25 reported that Blue Ear was named after Smith's hearing aid.