Superheroes at school: Marvel Universe Live performers engage students

WILKES-BARRE (WOLF) -- Spiderman makes stunts look easy.

But the Marvel Universe Live superheroes know that getting there is not.

"It's really important for kids to understand growing up that using health and fitness is very important in your every-day-to day life as well as your aspiring dreams," said Ashley Olivier, a stunt performer who portrays "The Wasp" in the Marvel show.

Performers train for hours doing various physical activities to prepare for their roles on stage.

"Obviously when you're young, that's when everything's developing. So you want everybody to be healthy from as young as possible when they're growing up," said Olivier.

At Heights Murray Elementary School, kids are learning how they can achieve...with a bit of hard work.

"The hope that a superhero portrays and kind of gives off into its audience is a hope that kind of branches off into many different directions, and one of those directions is wanting to become a superhero. And once you get into the idea of wanting to become a superhero, you desire the physicality of it, the mentality of being a superhero and I think being physically fit is part of that," said Joshua Williams, who portrays the iconic Black Panther on stage.

He spent the morning showing kids some of his own moves.

Williams shared he feels inspired to take his passion for fitness back to his hometown.

"My idea is to go home and build a gym for all the fatherless sons and daughters who are in unfortunate situations, and I want to give them something more than the streets to look forward to," he said.

"Walking around and talking with the different superheroes, their life stories are just amazing," said school Principal Melissa Myers. "So we wanted to bring the success of their efforts to be where they're at today to our students to teach them, if they work hard, stay healthy, they can get to be somebody amazing some day."

And letting them know that anyone can be a superhero if they set their heart to it.

"Dreams do come true. Dreams do come true," said Williams.

Marvel Universe Live is playing seven shows at the Mohegan Sun Arena Thursday, May 3rd through Sunday, May 6th.