Super Dad

Look around—it’s the age of the superhero.

Iron Man. Batman. Superman. They’ve all had their share of comic-book runs and box-office success.

But Ivy Butler of Zachary questions their powers.

“Superman never bought any diapers,” Ivy says. “Batman never got up at two o’clock in the morning. I did that.”

Ivy is the 44-year-old father of eight, husband to Donna and a full-time employee at River Bend Nuclear Power Plant. But when he’s not providing for the family, Ivy is putting on a different set of work boots, a silky blue cape, a red mask and a white body suit. He becomes a superhero—Daddy-Man.

The idea of Daddy-Man started 15 years ago when Ivy and his eldest daughter Haley were watching Superman on TV. “It’s the kid in me. I wanted to be a superhero, so I went in the bedroom, got a blanket, came back and proclaimed I was Daddy-Man,” Ivy says, grinning. “It was a spur-of-the-moment thing that blossomed from there.”

Ivy’s wife Donna immediately started work on the character. Daddy-Man’s online “headquarters” is daddy-man.com, which opens with the family’s irresistible home recording of the Daddy Man theme song. If you visit, be warned: the song will lodge itself in your mind for days.

In 2006, the Butlers updated his Ivy’s costume, and in March 2008, they released the first of seven Daddy-Man books written by Donna.

“We put too much emphasis on false heroes,” Donna says. “You’ll see posters of Hannah Montana or Reggie Bush in a child’s room. But look around that child’s room for a picture of the dad. Where is it? We want people to realize that if they look beyond the costume, a man can be his own child’s superhero.”

With the hero comes the creed. Daddy-Man’s mission is to create memories with his family. “Family’s the most important thing there is,” Ivy says.

Ivy has big ideas for Daddy-Man’s future: “We’re going worldwide with this. I feel there are so many good fathers around the world. I want to create a camaraderie of fathers.” daddy-man.com