01x08 - Battlin' Braden

[bunniefuu]

[narrator]
At Marvel, our stories and our superheroes

are inspired by real-life heroes.

So, the editors of some of
our best-known comics have come together

to work on a special project:

to find and tell the stories
of kids doing the extraordinary,

helping communities near and far,
and changing the world.

These are the kids who will inspire
our stories for years to come.

It's not really a disability. It's just
something you have in a different way.

[woman] The reach-out from
the hearing-impaired community was huge

because they've really never had
somebody talking about that.

[narrator] Braden is already a hero.

Now we bring his story to the world
with the surprise of a lifetime,

making him into a Marvel superhero
immortalized in his very own comic

as a member of Marvel's Hero Project.

They're everyday kids...

who have accomplished the amazing.

Now, their true stories...

will reveal the heroes that live among us.

This is Marvel's Hero Project.

I think one of the most exciting things

and often difficult things we do
every single month with our comics is

finding challenges to throw
in front of the characters,

and then finding a way for them
to overcome that.

That's why Braden and his story
and the things he's had to deal with

offer, I think, such potential
for the Hero Project.

This kid's born
with significant hearing loss

and has found a way to let that spur
his life to help other people.

He's so laser focused on making sure
that he helps other people

who have significant hearing loss

that he gets as many hearing A*DS
as he possibly can and touches many lives.

I feel like that is so beautiful,
so lovely.

It really makes me think of a character
like, say, Star-Lord, right?

Who is well-traveled, right?

-Going across the galaxies. Right?
-Across the galaxies. Yeah.

But is also tech-savvy and charismatic.

Very multifaceted the way
that Braden is really multifaceted.

It makes me think
of Warren Worthington of Angel

who has this thing that makes him
different, his really cool wings.

And it's not necessarily something
that he had to worry about.

He knew other people were more concerned
about the things that made them different.

And so he went out and, like Braden,
was a spokesperson for these people

and made sure that he helped them

feel as comfortable in their own skin
as they could.

We have got to bring Braden
into the Hero Project.

[Braden]
When I first put my hearing A*DS in,

it feels like my world just goes
from, like, black and white to color.

It makes me feel
more confident about myself

and it helps me be who I am.

And it's so crazy

that people have lived almost their whole
entire life with hearing impairment,

and they haven't really been able
to do anything about it.

It warms my heart to see that we're able
to give hearing A*DS to people in need.

And I hope their friends and family
are able to talk to them

and they can hear music

and they can hear everything
that we take for granted.

Hold on, let me put on my hearing A*DS.

Okay.

[woman] When Braden was born,

he never passed
the newborn hearing screen.

The hospital told us he's gonna need help
being able to hear clearly.

And he is a candidate
for hearing A*DS at this point.

We used to call them his powers,
like his little superpowers.

He likes to be able to have
a little color, a little flair.

Having my hearing A*DS, it really makes me
feel like I can really do anything.

If I didn't have my hearing A*DS,

I don't even know if I'd, like,
go to school,

go outside the house,
any of that kind of stuff.

It's such a big confidence boost.

[man] So, just another week, huh?

So, I was sick one night
and I left my hearing A*DS on the ground,

and my dog ate 'em.

It was really scary

'cause the next morning I was like,
"Where are my hearing A*DS?"

I couldn't find them anywhere.

[Ashley] They were demolished.

When I saw them, this surge
just goes through your body, like...

[gasps] "Oh, my gosh."

[Ashley] So, I freaked out, of course,

'cause, you know, insurance doesn't cover
hearing A*DS and that's $3,000 a pop.

So, we had this conversation
about how lucky we were.

Because people can't afford that.

I never really realized
that there were people in the world

who didn't have the money
or didn't have people

to really help them
get their hearing A*DS.

I knew how much I loved my hearing A*DS
and how I couldn't live without them.

It's really sad to know that there are
people out there in other countries

that don't have access to hearing A*DS.

And once I saw that this was a problem,

I really wanted to help solve it.

Hi, my name is Braden Baker.

I am ten years old
and I am hearing-impaired.

I made a video, hoping to raise money
for other people who couldn't afford them.

I want to travel around the world,

raise money and give other people
some hearing A*DS that need them,

but they can't afford them.

We never said anything about that.
Traveling the world was, like...

I was pretty much giggling.

Hey, everyone, it's Braden.
I just wanted to say...

In literally less than a year, I think,
what he said came true.

[Ashley] He asked if he could
put it on my Facebook page.

We woke up the next morning
and people had donated.

Every hour we were getting some money,
and we were like, "Oh, my God!"

I said, "Oh, would someone donate if
I solved a Rubik's Cube on a surfboard?"

[Ashley] It got kind of exciting.

Hey, guys.
It's Braden, back with another video.

We have 5,000--

9,000--

$11,200.

[Ashley] By August, we had $15,000.

We needed somewhere for that money to go.

I looked at the back of my hearing A*DS
and it said "Oticon."

I looked up Oticon Foundation

and there was
an Oticon Hearing Foundation,

and I was like, "Perfect."

[Ashley] Aw. Hey.

We got a hold of some Oticon people,

and I was like,
"Uh, we got some money for y'all."

And she said, "We have a meeting coming up

and we would love for Braden
to hand this big check to Gary,

the president of Oticon,
at one of the meetings."

[Braden]
When I was at the Oticon conference

giving my $15,000 check,

I met a woman named Dr. Kamal Elliot.

[woman] I just couldn't believe it.
He was ten years old.

A little child
who was wearing hearing A*DS

and a lot of people look at that
as a child who has a disability...

yet he had gone out
and done something so amazing.

Dr. Elliot said
I needed to see my funds in action.

[Kamal Elliot] I just thought the only way
for him to really understand

the impact of what he's doing here
is to bring him on a mission trip

so he can see firsthand
how much help he's been able to provide.

When she said that I needed
to go to Guatemala,

I was like, "Oh, my gosh.
It's actually happening."

[bell tolling]

[Braden]
I was so excited. I was, like, "Wow."

What I always dreamed to do
was actually happening.

-Hola.
-Hola.

[in Spanish]

Fernanda.

[man] When you go to Guatemala,

and those kids are five years old,
ten years old, 15 years old,

and they've never either been diagnosed
with hard of hearing,

or had the ability
to get hearing A*DS or get tested.

[Kamal Elliot] Please say, "Hola."

-Hola.
-Sí.

It feels great that I'm able to help
other people be able to get hearing A*DS

that can't afford them.

Christian.

[man chuckles]

[in Spanish]

¿Sí? ¿Escucha?

[Braden] It's so amazing to see them
and their reaction

when they finally get hearing A*DS.

It just made me realize
how my funds are really helping people

all around the world.

-[Kamal Elliot] Braden. Brian.
-Hi.

[in Spanish]

[Kamal Elliot speaking Spanish]

You're not alone!

[Kamal Elliot] We connect the devices,
and then turn them on,

and that's when the magic happens.

I'm gonna go ahead and turn it on.

[giggles]

[Kamal Elliot] Hola.

[Kamal Elliot, volunteers chuckle]

[Braden] The hearing smile is like
when someone has all this joy built up,

and when they finally get to hear,

they just start crying, laughing,
they're just in tears.

-[male] Sí.
-Sí.

[Kamal Elliot] It's indescribable
to watch a person's face

when they hear sound for the first time.

[bell clinking]

[laughing]

[Ashley]
These beautiful people in Guatemala,

they traveled miles,

and he's shaking their hands
and he's engaging in conversation,

making connections bigger than himself.

I can't give you a word
for what's it's like.

-[man] Hola.
-[woman] Hola.

[Ashley] And in that moment,
Braden found his heart's calling.

[Braden] When I went on
these mission trips at first,

I never really thought
this was really an issue here at home.

But some people still don't have
hearing A*DS where I live.

-Oh, look at this.
-"You're a kid hero."

[Braden]
So, I decided to take some action.

Braden here.
I am actually on my way to the airport,

going to LA to be on Ellen.

[Ellen]
We want to invite you to The Ellen Show.

[shouts, laughs]

[audience laughs]

[Ellen]

[Braden] She gave me $20,000 to
keep giving to people who can't afford it.

I was raising money,

then I was on Ellen,
then I raised a lot more money.

When that came out, the reach-out from
the hearing-impaired community was huge

because they've really never had
a big voice

or somebody kind of talking about that.

-[audience applauding]
-Hey, everybody.

Braden, you ready?

[Braden]
A lot of people see my story as, like,

the reason why they shouldn't be scared
to wear hearing A*DS.

Not hearing changes somebody's life
in such a profound way,

but other children see Braden
with hearing A*DS,

and his are colorful and obvious.

I think it gives them hope.

You've done some remarkable things
in your very young life.

[Braden] The Cooper sisters,
aka the Cooper Hoopers,

only had hearing A*DS during school

and had to give them back to the school
at the end of the day.

-Hi.
-Hey.

[Braden]
We were able to give hearing A*DS to them.

I used to be so upset, like,
that I was feeling I could cry.

You know, every time
I used to take off my hearing A*DS,

because, you know,
I like to hear everything.

And having to turn it in after school
every day,

that was, man, heartbreaking for me.

And they make you leave class early
to interrupt your classwork.

Like, that was not--
making me not get the full work done.

-Like, it can make a big difference.
-[Nakaya] Right.

When I first put these on, I was so happy.

Like, man, I was like, "Yes!"

I said,
"Thank you, Lord. This is a blessing."

What?

-[Amaria] I really appreciate you.
-Can you hear me?

-[giggles]
-[Kamal Elliot] What those devices do

for Braden is give him connection

and allow him to go out
and do the things that he's doing.

[Braden] When you guys
put those hearing A*DS on,

was it like a whole new world?

'Cause for me it was.

-[Amaria] Yeah.
-[Nakaya] Yeah. For me it was.

[Ashley] All the amazing people
in the hearing-impaired community

finally feel validated
and finally feel good.

And isn't that the point of everything?

[girl laughs]

To know that one person
has lived just a little bit better

because you've existed?

[Braden] Being able to dedicate your time
to people who really need it

just feels like you've really done
your part in the hearing world.

I hope that I can get every person
hearing A*DS that can't afford them.

And that might take a really long time,
but I'm gonna try my best.

I'm really struck by Braden's story
and how he found the power of his voice.

And he found how important it was to,
in essence, speak up.

You know?

The challenge with this one

was finding a way
to portray the power in a visual sense.

The power he has is in his voice.

That was the best way
to tell his comic book story.

We worked with the artist, Craig Rousseau,

to find a way to really make it feel
like you can hear the comic.

Where we landed was this idea of these
sonic waves that come out of his voice

and sort of spread around the world,

spreading his message

and spreading the need that kids
who struggle with hearing loss have.

I love that we change the location.

We go from his home in Texas
down to Guatemala.

We framed it
so that the colors are very muted

until this young girl
gets her hearing back.

And then the expression changes.

Andrew Crossley did a great job
making that moment feel very special.

The brightness of everything
that's going on,

and then, of course,
highlighted by her hearing smile.

Of course, it was also very important,
as you know,

we spent weeks making sure
we got Chewy right.

-Yeah. [chuckles]
-'Cause Chewy kicks this whole thing off.

This last splash page here,
it's so vibrant.

You've got so many different colors
and layers to it,

and you've got his sonic wave hearing,

which is this electric blue color.

All the people that he's helped
along the way.

-So, we've got the comic.
-Yeah.

We know where Braden's gonna be.

He's gonna be back in his hometown
of Fort Worth,

where a bunch of the people he has helped,

adults and kids alike,

are coming together
to, sort of, celebrate him,

and that's where
we're going to surprise him.

He has gone to so many people
to help them.

Now it's about time for people
to show up for him.

So, hopefully, he's gonna see
just how extraordinary he truly is.

Surprise!

[Ashley laughing]

[cheering]

Braden, what can I say, man?
You've done some amazing things for us.

You've raised over $100,000.

You are an inspiration to me
and my students.

You should keep up your great work.

In Guatemala, you will always find friends
and a home in my heart.

Hey, Braden. It's Dutch. I wanna
congratulate you on all the hard work

that you've put in for kids
around the world with hearing loss.

You're basically my hero.

You're a lot of people's hero, I bet,
for getting them hearing A*DS.

And I know how it feels
without having hearing A*DS.

And I think we should meet
in real life, sometime.

I think that would be really cool.

Hi, Braden.

[all gasp]

[Ashley] "Dear Braden,

you have had a profound impact on everyone
in this room, and countless more.

Because of you,
lives have been transformed.

You brought the gift of hearing
to so many children

whose families couldn't otherwise
afford hearing A*DS.

Braden, you have a challenge
and you meet it every day.

You see the plight of those who need
support and you feel their pain.

You hear their cries
and you speak on their behalf

with your most valuable gift of all.

And that's your voice.

Like Black Bolt from the Inhumans,

who has a voice so strong
it can level a city,

you too have a unique power.

And you're using yours to inspire,
improve and transform lives.

Braden, you're giving power
to the powerless,

and a voice to the voiceless.

It is a marking of a true superhero.

Now we have something
really special for you.

There's a box in front of you.

Open it up.

And when you do,
you'll see that you have been selected

to be part of a very elite team.

Welcome to the Marvel Hero Project.

Take out the jacket and put it on.

We made it just for you.

It's your badge of honor in your new role

as a member of the Marvel Hero Project."

[cheering]

[Braden] Thank you, guys, so much.

[Ashley]
"To show you how much you inspire us,

we are making a donation in your honor

to an organization
that helps those with hearing loss

in the amount of $10,000."

[cheering]

"But that's not all!

[all laugh]

Inside the box,
you'll find an instant collector's item,

Battlin' Braden number one.

We hope you see yourself in every page,

just as we here at Marvel do,

as a real-life Marvel superhero."

[Ashley] Whoa!

Turn around, show it to them.

So, you are now an official hero.

-[boy 1] Can we read it?
-[boy 2] Can we read it?

[boys]
"Braden was born with 75% hearing loss.

As a result,
he always relied on hearing A*DS.

And sometimes he took them for granted."

Tonight was probably
the most amazing night of my life.

And when I saw the comic book,
I really thought,

"Wow, this is actually,
it's actually happening."

"That's when he knew
he had to help people around the world."

[boy 3] Look at this. "Help me help them."

-Do we all get one of them?
-Hey, can you sign it?

Braden, can you sign it?

Just seeing his eyes...

Opening the box, seeing the comic.
All that was amazing.

[boy 4] Braden, what's your slogan now?

[Braden] It's "Be heard."

Marvel put my son
in the same league as a superhero?

They're seeing him
the way his father and I see him.

Oh, look, there's Chewy!
There's Chewy, hold on!

[Braden] No matter how big or how small
the thing that you do is,

if you're making a difference
in the world,

that's the best thing that you can do.