Today, my 2.5-year-old son Luke was invited to a small birthday party where Batman made an appearance. A very impressive Batman, not the kind you find roaming the streets of NYC looking for tips. Luke was the youngest of all the kids by at least a couple years, so I was really curious how he would react to seeing Batman in person. He just recently started getting into the whole superhero scene, so I was hopeful that he would be excited. Well, it was a pretty interesting first-time confrontation with a superhero. As soon as Batman entered the yard, I had my eyes on Luke watching to make sure he didn't get scared. Well, just like his daddy, his expression didn't really give any kind of indication of what he was thinking. He made sure to keep Batman at a safe distance, eyes locked on him, letting all the other kids run up first. The 10 minutes or so that followed made for quite the show. Not just for me, but for all of the adults at the party watching as the blonde hair and blue eyed little boy gave Batman a run for his money. 

I couldn't help but throw these images into a blog post to show just how this experience went down for Luke. While all the other kids were super excited, you can see how Luke sat back and sized Batman up. At this point, I was still waiting for some kind of facial expression to let me know whether he was scared or excited. I got nothing. Absolutely nothing. 

Batman asked the other kids, all of which had smiles from ear to ear, to go sit in the grass so he could have a talk with them. The other kids quickly ran off to sit down and wait, Luke didn't budge. Instead, he kept his eyes locked on like a laser as if to be questioning the Batman's motives. Now, one on one with the caped crusader, it was time for one of them to make a move. It was Batman, as he offered up a sign of peace and extended his hand for a high-five. With a quick glance over to me, he left the Batman hanging.

Batman walked over to the other kids seated in the grass to start talking to them about why he was there, and what he had planned for them. It was Mason's birthday after all and he was there to train them to be mini-superheroes. What he didn't realize was that there was a little blonde hair and blue-eyed boy named Luke that was going to put his skills to the test. Luke made his way over the group, still showing no emotion what so ever. Again, Luke made sure Batman knew he was there, and started to give him the stare down. I knew that it was only a matter of time until he cracked and let us know what he was feeling.

After a few minutes, you could tell that Batman was doing his best not to be distracted by Luke. This must have been the breaking point, as Luke glanced back at me with a smirk then stepped right up into the Batman's grill. It was obviously go time, and my son was calling out the Batman. You could tell that Batman was a little thrown off, as were all the adults at the party... including myself. What in the world is he doing? What is he thinking?

Face to face with the Batman, Luke still had no expression. I hopped up and walked over to get a closer look at this standoff, and I honestly still had no idea whether he was going start crying or laughing. The only conclusion that I could come to was the same as all the other parents there, and that was that Luke obviously wasn't a fan of this fake Batman. Just as I went to step in and break it up so that the other kids could have fun, Luke did something that no one, including myself was expecting. He opened his arms, stepped up and gave Batman a big hug. No doubt one of the best moments I've had as a parent, and looking at these photos I can't help but laugh. I guess he liked Batman after all.