My Uncle Is Superman

"My dad can beat up your dad!" is a common brag around the elementary school yard. And so are a whole host of other claims that typically never get vetted in a manner as to provide proof. You just either have to believe your dad can beat up Billy's dad or vice versa because the odds of getting a boxing match between the two are pretty low. And that's beside the point anyway. Kids hero worship of their parents and various other adults in their life is normal and part of what makes them feel significant to their peers. But imagine actually having a superhero, like Superman, be related to you and getting in trouble with your teacher for "lying about it" despite the truth of the claim. Enter actor Henry Cavill's nephew Thomas who was proudly proclaiming that his uncle was indeed Superman to all who would listen.

Cavill, who recounted the hilarious tale on various TV programs, including the Tonight Show said to Leno, "Keep in mind Thomas has got a great reputation for telling stories and making stuff up to the teacher." In this particular situation Thomas was making the claim as part of an assignment where each student was asked to share something about their family. Upon boldly stating his uncle was Superman, the other students burst out into laughter and the teacher, who had no idea otherwise, attempted to explain that superheroes are fictional characters that do not really exists. It could have ended there but Thomas' persistence that it was true and not a lie earned him a trip to the principal and a call home to discuss "teaching children not to tell lies."

In a twist of irony Thomas suddenly needed a real hero to put the students, who were now starting to bully him, at bay and put the teachers & administrators in their place regarding claims of telling lies. So, Thomas' mother called her brother-in-law Henry to recount the situation and asked a big favor of him to chaperone the youngster to school later that week and present himself to all the skeptics. Not only did Cavill oblige he wore a Superman shirt to corroborate the claims with a bit of visual evidence. Suffice it to say, that was the end of Thomas' troubles with teacher and peers alike. Superman really did...save the day!