Man Dies Due to Uppercut from Batman

Batman would probably be wrought with guilt if he knew (that’s kind of his way), but a Florida man has left this world with a bang…or perhaps a Ka-Pow!  Stephen Merrill was a comic book fan from Winter Haven, Florida.  He had been battling cancer but his sudden death on February 12 of this year at the age of 31 came so unexpectedly that his family was unsure of the exact cause.  Needing a cause of death for the obituary, a friend of Merrill suggested that they say he died from an uppercut from Batman.  The family liked the suggestion as they felt it would have appealed to Merrill’s sense of humour and love for comic book heroes.  After a little persuasion, the local newspaper agreed to post the following obituary.

Published in The Ledger from Feb. 15 to Feb. 16, 2015

Merrill’s fiancé Stephanie Vella told ABC Action News, “He would have been honoured to have died by an uppercut from Batman.”

Merrill’s funeral continued the comic book theme.  Many of the guests wore superhero t-shirts, music selections were from Merrill’s favourite superhero movies, and a flower arrangement depicting Captain America’s shield in roses and carnations was on display.

Have Merrill’s family and friends started a new trend?  How satisfying to think your final send-off will be in line with your geeky interests rather than an acceptance of the mundane limitations of human existence.  Suffer the fate of all red shirts on away teams.  Be torched by Smaug while robbing Lonely Mountain.  Take blaster fire from the one Stormtropper with decent aim.  Get staked by Van Helsing.  Have Wile E. Coyote drop a piano on you.  Do we really need accuracy in journalism when it comes to obituaries?

No word yet on what might appear on Merrill’s tombstone.