Batman vs Superman Movie News Update: Aficionado Spends $6,000 to 'Become' Superhero
With the Batman vs Superman movie upcoming, fans have been left shock with the news that a 36-year old Filipino Superman fan has spent more than $6,000 to physically change his appearance to look like Clark Kent.
Herbert Chavez underwent several years of nearly 20 surgeries that included skin whitening, nose jobs, lip liposuction, jaw realignment, pec implants and abdominal implants.
Chavez said that the public's lofty expectations of superhero appearances motivated his meticulousness in altering his physical features.
"If you talk about super heroes, the expectation of people is that they are flawless, they do not get hurt, they do not die," said Chavez to The Daily Mail. "But as human beings, we can only copy their looks. Especially as a Filipino, I have very Asian features and did not look like the caucasian Superman."
Chavez said that he intends to use his new look to inspire Filipino youth.
"I feel like a Superhero whenever I pull on the costume, but my mission is not to save the world but to help in my own small way and bring a smile to the faces of local children," he said. "People come up to me in the street all the time and want their picture taken with me. They are all really excited to see a real-life Superman in the Philippines."
Chavez became a Superman fan at the age of five, an interest that soon led him to amassing hundreds of Superman memorabilia over the course of his life. In 2013, Chavez was recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records for having the largest compilation of Superman collectibles at 1,253 items.
The Superman aficionado said that his stash is closer to 5,000 items, a number he would like to double.
His mother Linda expressed pride that her son's new apperance has made him something of a Filipino cultural icon.
"As parents we are happy because though he is small, he has become the Filipino Superman. He has become well known in our community - he has become people's idol," she told The Daily Mail.