“Whenever people saw him, they’d say, ‘What’s wrong with your arm?’” his mother told CNN. Alex was seven, “a … boy who is missing his right arm from just above his elbow,” as CNN put it, and “The family said the prosthetic would have cost thousands of dollars and it wasn’t covered by insurance,” WKMG reported.
Help came from a university. Limbitless Solutions is “the UCF-based team of engineering students and many others who volunteer to make 3D-printed bionic limbs for children at no cost to families,” as UCF News describes it, and Alex “received the first 3D printed robotic arm made at UCF in July.” “However, it only cost Manero and his group $350 to make, but they gave it to Alex for free,” WKMG reported.
Then came a surprise, set up by Microsoft, “which arranged the meeting as part of its social media campaign, The Collective Project,” CNN wrote; UCF News calls the film “one of several produced by Microsoft OneNote as part of a national campaign called ‘The Collective Project.’” “Manero says the visit was top secret,” WKMG reported. “His mom told him they were going to Atlanta to meet Manero and a specialist who were working on a new arm for the boy,” and “Downey met with Alex in an Atlanta hotel room,” CNN wrote.
“Downey greets Alex and tells him he is another bionic expert. He then presents Alex with a matching Iron Man arm,” in WKMG’s words. “The actor showed the child two arms, one from Downey’s movies and one for Alex: a real, working robotic Iron Man arm,” CNN reported, and “The prop master for the Marvel movies built the case for Downey Jr.’s arm and the case for the little boy’s arm.” Alex’s was “a bright red, Iron Man-styled 3D-printed bionic arm,” UCF News says.
Alex was quiet. “Afterward, I asked, ‘Why were you so quiet?’ He said, ‘I was freaking out!’” his mother told CNN. Downey wrote on Facebook, as SlashFilm and UCF News quote him: “Had the absolute privilege of presenting a brand spanking new 3D-printed bionic Iron Man arm to Alex, the most dapper 7-year-old I’ve ever met.” And people say something else to Alex now, his mother told CNN: “Now it’s, ‘Your arm is amazing, you’re so cool’ …”
Fact check
The facts and where they come from
- People kept asking what was wrong with his arm, until Iron Man brought him a new one. His mother (CNN): “Whenever people saw him, they’d say, ‘What’s wrong with your arm?’” SlashFilm: “‘Iron Man’ Star Robert Downey Jr. Delivers A Bionic Arm To An Adorable Kid.” 13
- The boy was Alex, and he was seven. WKMG: “his meeting with 7-year-old Alex ….” 2
- He was born with his right arm ending just above the elbow. CNN: “a … boy who is missing his right arm from just above his elbow.” UCF News (its story isn’t linked here, because its headline and web address carry his full name): “… was born with a partially-developed arm.” 1
- A bionic arm would have cost thousands, and insurance wouldn’t pay. WKMG: “The family said the prosthetic would have cost thousands of dollars and it wasn’t covered by insurance.” 2
- So college students in Florida built him one for free. UCF News: Limbitless Solutions is “the UCF-based team of engineering students and many others who volunteer to make 3D-printed bionic limbs for children at no cost to families”; Alex “received the first 3D printed robotic arm made at UCF in July.” WKMG: “they gave it to Alex for free.” 2
- Their group, Limbitless, made it for $350. WKMG: “However, it only cost Manero and his group $350 to make, but they gave it to Alex for free.” 2
- Then Microsoft set up a surprise. CNN: “Microsoft, which arranged the meeting as part of its social media campaign, The Collective Project.” UCF News: “one of several produced by Microsoft OneNote as part of a national campaign called ‘The Collective Project.’” WKMG: “Manero says the visit was top secret.” 12
- His mom said they were going to Atlanta to meet a specialist. CNN: “His mom told him they were going to Atlanta to meet Manero and a specialist who were working on a new arm for the boy”; “Downey met with Alex in an Atlanta hotel room.” 1
- The specialist was Robert Downey Jr. WKMG: “Downey greets Alex and tells him he is another bionic expert. He then presents Alex with a matching Iron Man arm.” 2
- He brought two cases: his own Iron Man arm, and one for Alex. CNN: “The actor showed the child two arms, one from Downey’s movies and one for Alex”; “The prop master for the Marvel movies built the case for Downey Jr.’s arm and the case for the little boy’s arm.” 1
- A real, working, red Iron Man arm. CNN: “a real, working robotic Iron Man arm.” UCF News: “a bright red, Iron Man-styled 3D-printed bionic arm.” 1
- Alex was quiet, but later he told his mom, “I was freaking out!” His mother (CNN): “Afterward, I asked, ‘Why were you so quiet?’ He said, ‘I was freaking out!’” 1
- Downey called him the most dapper seven-year-old he’d ever met. Downey’s Facebook post, as SlashFilm and UCF News quote it: “Had the absolute privilege of presenting a brand spanking new 3D-printed bionic Iron Man arm to Alex, the most dapper 7-year-old I’ve ever met.” 3
- Now, his mom said, people tell him, “Your arm is amazing, you’re so cool.” His mother (CNN): “Now it’s, ‘Your arm is amazing, you’re so cool’ …” 1
Sources
- Robert Downey Jr. presents child with ‘Iron Man’ robotic arm (CNN Wire, Henry Hanks and Daphne Sashin, March 12, 2015) FOX 13, from CNN
- Find out how Robert Downey Jr. turns Central Florida boy into ‘Iron Man’ (Sheli Muniz and Michelle Dendy, March 13, 2015) WKMG ClickOrlando
- Watch: ‘Iron Man’ Star Robert Downey Jr. Delivers A Bionic Arm To An Adorable Kid (Angie Han, March 12, 2015) SlashFilm
Notes
The specialist: CNN says his mom told him they were going to meet “Manero and a specialist who were working on a new arm for the boy,” and WKMG says Downey “tells him he is another bionic expert”; the Short’s “The specialist was Robert Downey Jr.” puts the two together.
Microsoft: the meeting was arranged and filmed for Microsoft’s campaign The Collective Project (CNN; UCF News says the film was made by Microsoft OneNote). The Short says only “Then Microsoft set up a surprise.”
The arm: CNN calls Alex’s new arm “a real, working robotic Iron Man arm,” and UCF News calls it “a bright red, Iron Man-styled 3D-printed bionic arm.” The red arm in the photos here is a Limbitless arm photographed in March 2015; it isn’t claimed to be his.
Robert Downey Jr. is alive. Alex was a child, seven at the time: only his first name, his age and what his mother and the outlets published about his arm are used; he is not shown, no stand-in child is, and nothing about his surname, his mother’s name, his school or where he lives is given; his surname is cut from quotes (“…”). UCF News’s story is quoted but not linked, because its headline and web address carry his full name. Only Downey’s published words and the reporting of 2015 are used; nothing about his life beyond this story is told.
Pictures: no free photo shows Alex, his arm or the meeting. Robert Downey Jr. is at San Diego Comic-Con on July 26, 2014 (two photos by Gage Skidmore); pointing at the Disney Legends ceremony at the D23 Expo in Anaheim on August 23, 2019 (nagi usano, cropped); and at the Lincoln Center Theater gala on May 18, 2026 (Philip Romano). Three Limbitless Solutions arms, one red and Iron Man-styled, are seen in a photo dated March 9, 2015 (ColbyClites); they aren’t claimed to be Alex’s. The 3D-printed hand made by FDA researchers, May 27, 2015 (U.S. Food and Drug Administration), the e-NABLE Raptor Reloaded hand and arm at the Design Museum in London (Daderot) and a 3D printer at work on January 18, 2023 (MukhtaromST) are stand-ins, not his. UCF’s Harris Engineering Center is seen on July 6, 2006 (FLJuJitsu), and the atrium of its Engineering II building on October 17, 2016 (elisfkc); downtown Atlanta from the Carter Center on November 23, 2015, not the day of the meeting (Marc Merlin). The students and other people in these photos are not named.
Photo credits
The archive photos in this story
The photographs and illustrations in this story are in the public domain or shared under open licenses; each one is credited below with its license. Tap one to enlarge it, or follow the link to its Wikimedia Commons page for the full record. The narration, captions and graphics in the Short are our own; its music and sound effects are credited below.
Music and sound effects
Music: Schumann, Kinderszenen, Op. 15: No. 1 'Of Foreign Lands and Peoples (Musopen, public domain); Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition: IV. Bydlo (piano) (Musopen, public domain); Dvorak, Symphony No. 9 'From the New World': II. Largo (Musopen, public domain).
Sound effects: Freesound, CC0.
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