(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Chicago now has a Marvel super hero helping spread the word about disaster preparedness.
The Marvel character Ironheart is being featured in new advertising from Chicago’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications.
Kaila LaRaviere, the agency’s head of emergency management services, said she got the idea after learning the city of New York created their own superhero to preach preparedness.
She said she noticed Ironheart in the recent Marvel movie “Wakanda Forever” and thought the armored character would be a good fit because the hero’s alter ego, Riri Williams, is a STEM student from Chicago.
Marvel gave the city permission to use the character. Now, Senior OEMC Emergency Management Coordinator Beverly Carrington says, Riri will give people advice on preparing for extreme weather, among other things.
Carrington, a huge comics fan, says if you get young people to learn this, they’ll get their parents to pay attention.
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