8 times sci-fi heroes were real-life heroes

Young Thomas's nanny had just passed away when he got an unexpected message from The Doctor. His mum said it "helped him to deal with his grief in a profound way". The 9-year-old autistic boy had written a letter to the Time Lord, who didn't even realise he'd been dealing with loss.

Iron Man gives a boy a new bionic arm

https://youtu.be/oEx5lmbCKtY

Robert Downey Jnr proved Iron Man doesn't have a heart of steel when he stepped back into Tony Stark's shoes for a young fan. He surprised one very special child with a new bionic 3D printed arm.

Han Solo carries out a helicopter rescue

He may have had a minor aviation disaster when his plane crashed but Harrison Ford is quite the pilot. Han Solo could do the Kessel Run in less than 12 par secs so is it any wonder he was able to rescue hikers from the sides of mountains on more than one occasion? They loved him for it. He knew.

The Doctor helps a little girl come to terms with his regeneration

As if that brilliant video message wasn't enough, Peter Capaldi's got a track record of helping young fans come to terms with the changing of the Tardis guard. While filming Doctor Who in May 2014 he was approached by a little girl dressed as a dalek and her mum. Her autism was making it difficult for her to accept him as The Doctor so he whipped out his phone and showed her a snap of himself with Jenna Coleman and Matt Smith. “They think it’s OK for me to be the Doctor,” he said, "So I hope you think it would be okay for me to be the Doctor too…". Brilliant.

Batman makes a hospital visit to victims of the Aurora cinema shootings

Christian Bale took time out from promoting The Dark Knight Rises to visit Batman fans who were injured during a mass shooting at a midnight screening of the film in Aurora, Colorado. 12 people died and around 70 were injured.

Spider-Man shoots some hoops with his fans

Andrew Garfield donned his iconic costume to take to the basketball court with some lucky London children. The actor dropped by Kids' City in Lambeth to shoot some hoops and tuck into a takeaway pizza. It wasn't the first time either - Garfield was also spotted playing basketball with kids in New York

Star Lord surprises kids at a children's hospital

Never one to go back on his word, Chris Pratt proved Star Lord was a man of honour by heading to visit kids in a Boston hospital after losing a Super Bowl bet with fellow screen superhero Chris Evans.

And so does Captain America

And just to prove that the 'Cap' was a bit of a hero himself, Evans took time to visit a Seattle children's hospital with Pratt, determined to make sure the kids had a marvellous day.