Children are holding touching memorials for 'Black Panther' star Chadwick Boseman with their superhero action figures
- Actor Chadwick Boseman died of colon cancer on August 28. He was 43.
- Young fans who looked up to the "Black Panther" star are holding memorials with their superhero action figures.
Actor Chadwick Boseman, known for his role as the "Black Panther" superhero King T'Challa, died of colon cancer on Friday. Fans and colleagues were shocked by the news, as Boseman had never spoken publicly about his illness.
Children who idolized the "Black Panther" hero mourned his loss by holding memorials with their Marvel action figures.
King Westbrook shared a photo on Twitter of his 7-year-old son, Kian, paying tribute to his hero. The image, which garnered more than 600,000 likes on Twitter, shows Kian's Black Panther toy on a box surrounded by flowers and other Avengers action figures. Kian holds a "Wakanda Forever" pose.
"Black Panther was important to him simply because Kian loved seeing a superhero hero that looked like him," Westbrook told Insider. "He understands that Black Panther is a fictional hero, but he made Kian believe a Black boy could grow up and be a strong Black superhero. When he found out about Chadwick's passing, he was devastated. I'm not saying that lightly. Chadwick was his hero, and he felt like he lost a strong Black superhero."
Kian modeled the memorial after the one held for Iron Man in "Avengers: Endgame."
"We talked about death with Kian, and he knows it's a part of being human, but he misses him dearly, and believes Chadwick is with God," he said. "Kian did the memorial because he wanted to honor Black Panther. He wanted to do a memorial similar to the one Iron Man received in the movie after he died. That's why the other Avengers are there too."
Ralph Morasch replied to Westbrook's tweet with a photo of his own son doing the same.
"Same here my son is saddened too," he wrote.
Rudy Pervis also posted a photo of her 7-year-old son, Max, in a Wakanda salute while holding his Black Panther action figure.
"We gave Max the sad news about Black Panther dying and going to heaven... surprisingly taken the news a lot easier than expected," Pervis wrote. "I think it might be me that needs a little time to process it."
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- Chadwick Boseman's last tweet has become the most-liked of all time, Twitter confirms
- Barack and Michelle Obama honored the memory of Chadwick Boseman as a Black 'hero' with tributes to his powerful performances
- 'Black Panther' star Danai Gurira calls Chadwick Boseman the 'epitome of kindness, elegance, diligence, and grace' in a touching tribute