Following an uproar on social media, comic book giant DC entertainment has reconsidered its decision, and will now allow its iconic Superman logo to be used on a statue honoring a child who was starved to death by his grandparents in 2002.
DC had originally decided to stop their logo from being used on the statue, which was built to honor the memory of Jeffrey Baldwin. As The Inquisitr previously reported, Baldwin was killed at the age of five by his maternal grandparents, who starved the young boy, and were eventually convicted of second degree murder.
After an inquest that took place earlier this year, MailOnline reports that Ottawa IT worker Todd Boyce instigated an online campaign to raise money for a statue honoring Baldwin. The effort was successful, and a model of the statue was constructed, depicting Baldwin in the costume of his favorite hero, Superman.
“He wanted to fly,” Baldwin’s father, Richard, related. “He tried jumping off the chair. We had to make him stop. He dressed up (as Superman) for Halloween one year. He was so excited. I have that picture at home hanging on my wall. He was our little man of steel.”
When DC entertainment found out, they refused permission for the Superman logo to be used, a turn of events that left Boyce feeling angry and emotional. “Basically they didn’t want to have the character of Superman associated with child abuse. They weren’t comfortable with that,” Boyce related. After speaking with DC representatives, he says his stance “softened,” and he was willing to compromise, changing the “S” in the logo to a “J”. When the story was reported, however, a major social media backlash against DC took place:
Something tells me this is not what Superman would do. I think @DCComics made the wrong call here. #WWSMD http://t.co/HisgLIQflz
— Paul Vermeersch (@PaulVermeersch) July 7, 2014
Maybe if enough of us retweet this and threaten to boycott DC comics, they will do the right thing! Please PLEASE #RT http://t.co/VbsPP0j0ih — Ryan Belleville (@ryanbelleville) July 7, 2014
After the media outcry, DC entertainment reversed its stance, The Toronto Star reports:
“DC Entertainment uses a flexible set of criteria when we receive worthy requests such as this, and at times have reconsidered our initial stance. After verifying the support of appropriate family members, DC Entertainment will be allowing the Jeffrey Baldwin Memorial Statue to feature the Superman ‘S’ shield.”
The news prompted a fresh round of reaction on social media, though the second time around, it was overwhelmingly positive:
Thanks, @DCComics for seeing the light & now allowing Superman’s S on a memorial statue for young fan Jeffrey Baldwin. #WhatWouldSupermanSay
— Jim Beaver (@jumblejim) July 9, 2014
Never too late to correct a corporate blunder: D.C. Comics relents and allows statue of Jeffrey Baldwin to bear Superman logo. — John Moore (@MooreintheAM) July 9, 2014
The statue is currently at a foundry, and thanks to DC’s decision, will have the proper Superman logo when is unveiled in the fall.
[Image via MailOnline ]
