By Mary Jane Epling, The Herald-Dispatch
HUNTINGTON — After 13 years of inspiring young people, West Virginia’s Batman returned to
Meadows Elementary School on Friday for a final farewell — ending his journey where it first began.
Even though his days of suiting up as the Dark Knight are over, the man beneath the mask, John Buckland, said he hopes his message and its impact will outlast the suit.
Buckland said he answered the calling to make a positive impact on the youth who face their own unique battles daily as a result of healing from his own childhood trauma that led to poor decisions in his early adulthood.
Buckland said those struggles would inspire him to create Heroes4Higher in 2011, finding similarities between his own battles and those of Bruce Wayne’s character.
Through Heroes4Higher, Buckland has been a recognized and influential figure in the region, traveling to area schools to have hard conversations with students to remind them that a difficult present doesn’t have to be a difficult future.
During his career, Buckland’s motivational speeches and recognizable character traveled throughout the Tri-State and reached as far as Europe, where he visited children in Poland and Ukraine who were displaced by the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Buckland has also been a staple figure in visiting sick children and acted in a supportive role to young victims of various crimes while still sharing his message of hope and anti-bullying.
Image: By Mary Jane Epling, The Herald-Dispatch