REGINA, Sask. — What started with a father scrolling through Facebook has turned into a remarkable run for Tony Dubois in the 2026 Stan Lee’s Super Kid competition.
Tony's father John Dubois saw the contest, looked at his son and decided there was nothing to lose.
“The backstory is I was just doom scrolling when I came across this contest and I thought, what the heck, you know, like, why not?” John said. “We'll just try.”
They did.
Then something neither of them expected happened.
Tony began climbing.
“He started climbing the rankings after a few family members voted and then a few more friends voted and then I started sharing it and yeah, he just started snowballing,” John said.
Tony went from 75th to 50th, then 30th, before breaking into the Top 10.
Now he is sitting first in his group as the competition moves through its Top 10 round, with voting continuing until Oct. 8.
For Tony, the sudden attention still feels difficult to believe.
“I just feel amazed because it's just wild,” he said. “We did this on a whim. We didn't even think we would have a shot at all.”
Tony knows what it means to face challenges that other children may never have to think about. His cerebral palsy affects his mobility, and he uses leg braces, a walker and sometimes a wheelchair for longer outings.
But his father says Tony has never allowed that to define who he is.
“He is my hero. He hasn't known normal since birth. He still tries to do better. He's smart and strong-minded,” John said.
That determination is reflected in the superhero world Tony has loved since he was young.
His favourite is Batman, a character he admires because he is intelligent, does not kill and tries to do what is right. Tony's collection of superhero toys has grown to more than 100 figures and buildings, according to his father.
But when asked what powers he would choose for himself, Tony did not choose them simply for himself.
He wants telekinesis, super smarts and the ability to slow down time.
“To help people in their time of need and make the world better,” Tony said.
Then, with the honesty of a 12-year-old superhero fan, he added that having those powers would also be “really cool.”
The competition's grand prize would give Tony a chance to step into that world in a very real way.
The winner receives a $25,000 cash honorarium, four VIP passes to the 2027 Los Angeles Comic Con and the chance to become an illustrated superhero in a special-edition Stan Lee Universe comic book.
For Tony, that last part may be the most exciting.
He described the possibility as “wild, unexpected and amazing.”
His father is already thinking about what the prize money could mean for his son's future, including creating a professional streaming setup with a computer, cameras, microphones and lights.
But beyond the prizes, John sees something much bigger in what is happening around his son.
“It would be a legacy for us,” he said. “Like, it would be Tony's legacy. He'd leave his stamp on the world.”
That possibility has brought Regina family, friends and strangers together behind Tony.
John said the amount of support has been overwhelming, particularly because his family has generally kept to itself.
“We didn't know so many people would support him,” he said. “We're kind of kept to ourselves.”
Now, people are voting, sharing Tony's story and helping push him further through the competition.
John said Tony is especially happy whenever he hears that someone new has discovered his story and decided to support him.
The competition celebrates children across Canada and the United States for qualities including courage, creativity, kindness and perseverance, while donations connected to the voting process support the Stan Lee Foundation's work in youth literacy, education and the narrative arts.
Tony's message to other people facing difficult circumstances is “Don't look at the negative, look at the positives.”
And his father hopes the community keeps helping Tony write the next chapter.
“We just want to thank everybody for their support,” John said. “We want to thank them for voting every day and we want to thank anybody who's made some donations towards this charitable cause.”
