What to know
- Lev Laderman is a 12-year-old from Thornhill and a distant cousin of Superman co-creator Joe Shuster.
- He’s entering the Stan Lee Super Kid competition in memory of his late uncle Adam, who inspired his love of superheroes.
- The competition supports literacy causes, a mission close to Lev’s heart as he has a reading and writing processing disorder, commonly known as dyslexia.
- One winner will be chosen by community vote to star in a new Stan Lee Universe comic book and win $25,000, while the other will be selected by the Stan Lee Universe team and appear alongside them in the comic book.
Twelve-year-old Lev Laderman of Thornhill, a distant cousin of Superman co-creator Joe Shuster, shared a love of superheroes with his late uncle. Now, he’s honouring that bond by entering the Stan Lee Super Kid competition in his uncle’s memory.
The Stan Lee Super Kid competition celebrates the legacy of iconic comic creator Stan Lee and raises funds for literacy initiatives.
Two winners will be awarded the opportunity of starring in an upcoming Stan Lee Universe comic book, while the first winner will take home an additional $25,000.
Applications are open now for children to build a profile with photos and their story, and compete to earn votes.
‘They’re both really nice and good people’: Laderman enters competition to honour his Superman-like late uncle
In May, Laderman lost his uncle Adam to a rare and aggressive cancer. Growing up, Lev and Adam bonded over their shared love of superheroes—especially Superman, who Adam introduced to Lev, unknowing it would become his favourite hero.
Laderman’s family also shares a real-life connection to Superman: Joe Shuster, one of the character’s original creators, is actually his distant cousin.
“It makes me feel like I’m related to Superman himself, and that gives me a deeper connection to him and the entire Superman action comics,” Laderman told Now Toronto.
But he added that the superhero reminds him of his uncle because of their caring personalities.
“Superman reminds me of him because they’re both really nice and good people,” he shared.
Through the competition, he hopes to show people that everyone is special in their own way.
He’s even created his own superhero, Kraytex—a character who invents incredible gadgets from everyday objects.
“I can show people that you don’t need to have powers to be a superhero,” he said.
Laderman’s mom, Rachel, added that her brother, Adam, was an avid comic collector, so she’s touched that her son is continuing Adam’s passion through the competition.
The competition’s support for literacy is personal for Lev, who has a reading and writing processing disorder, commonly known as dyslexia, that affects his daily life.
“I’ve always had a hard time with literacy, reading and writing, so since it’s raising money for people who also have hard times with that, I say it’s a good cause. So they can get extra help and ways to make it easier to read and write,” he shared.
Rachel said the loss is still fresh, but the competition has given their family something positive to focus on.
“We’re all still trying to find our way through the grief,” she said. “This competition has unexpectedly given us something positive to focus on, something to rally around together, and moments of excitement and happiness during an otherwise incredibly difficult time.”
Laderman wants others dealing with loss to know that it gets better.
“I want them to know it gets better over time. And for anyone having a hard time, just remember, there are always other people around you to help you,” he said.
