A 9-year-old Columbus boy who spends his free time handing out water to people experiencing homelessness and shelving books in Little Free Libraries is now one vote away from the quarterfinals of a national competition celebrating kids who make their communities better. Asher Bentz, a third-grader at W.D. Richards Elementary School, has advanced through hundreds of other children in regional voting during Stan Lee's Super Kid competition, and this week his fate comes down to a single bracket.
Asher's group finals voting closes Thursday, and according to The Republic, he will move straight to the quarterfinals if he's named the preliminary winner of his bracket, or into a wildcard round if he finishes second. That wildcard round lets second-place finishers from other groups compete for one of the remaining quarterfinal berths. The competition, billed as the first of its kind, will ultimately crown a single national winner.
Born in Madison and raised for most of his life in Columbus, Asher created his own superhero, the Sky Phantom, who can fly, turn invisible, and save the day without ever seeking credit. His mother, Jerrica Lowe, told the paper that Spider-Man is another role model in her son's life, and that the hero's flaws make him more relatable to Asher. Asher first fell for the character after watching a clip from the 2004 film Spider-Man 2 in which Spider-Man stops a runaway train.
A Third-Grader's Real-World Acts of Kindness
The parallels between Asher's comic-book hero and his own life aren't accidental. He has volunteered alongside his mother at local food pantries, including Love Chapel, handed out water and frozen treats to people experiencing homelessness on hot days, helped place books in Little Free Libraries around Columbus, and read to younger children through school. Asher said helping people the way his superhero does makes him feel proud.
The need at Love Chapel is substantial: the pantry, run by the Ecumenical Assembly of Bartholomew County Churches for more than 50 years, served 1,237 families in a single month and has distributed over 1.21 million pounds of food so far in 2026 across Bartholomew County. The Republic has reported increased demand at Love Chapel.
How the Super Kid Tournament Actually Works
Stan Lee's Super Kid competition is a national contest highlighting children who spread kindness, creativity and positivity in their communities, and it draws an enormous field. More than 85,000 children across the United States and Canada entered the inaugural tournament, Stan Lee Foundation managing director Chaz Rainey told 650 CKOM, adding that he was surprised by how wide the tournament's geographic reach turned out to be.
The tournament runs across nine voting rounds from September 14 through mid-November, and contestants' vote totals reset to zero at major transitions like the wildcard round, meaning previously accumulated votes don't carry forward, per the Voting Academy. Supporters can cast one free vote for Asher every 24 hours at thesuperkid.org/2026/asher-3318 or by scanning QR codes posted around Columbus; they may also vote by donation.
The grand prize carries an estimated retail value of $31,000: $25,000 in cash, four VIP passes to the 2027 Los Angeles Comic Con, and a featured original superhero role in a limited-edition Stan Lee Universe comic book, according to a PR Newswire release announcing the contest. A second child hand-selected by the comic's creative team will also earn a feature in the publication. The competition's ambassador lineup includes actress Ming-Na Wen, filmmaker Kevin Smith, and literacy advocate LeVar Burton, several of whom recorded promotional videos urging families to register.
Who Benefits, and How the Money Flows
The competition is operated by Colossal Management in partnership with DTCare, with proceeds ultimately benefiting the Stan Lee Foundation, which promotes literacy, access to educational resources, creative writing, storytelling and mentorship. The current Stan Lee Foundation was formally incorporated as a 501(c)(3) public charity in February 2025; Chaz Rainey is its managing director, and Bob Sabouni is a foundation director, according to Wikipedia.
Colossal Management, a nationally registered professional fundraiser, is running the contest.
For Asher, advancing further would bring tangible firsts, including his first-ever airplane trip, and he's hoping to keep climbing the bracket. Lowe, whom Asher also counts as a role model, said he advanced past hundreds of other children in the competition's earliest rounds. Whatever happens when voting closes Thursday, the Columbus third-grader has already built a track record of showing up for his neighbors — at Love Chapel, at Little Free Libraries, and in classrooms where he reads to younger kids — the same quiet, credit-free heroism he gave his own invented superhero.
