Superhero funeral for 5-year-old Brayden Denton who died from rare cancer

The boy's uncle was among the pallbearers dressed in a superhero costume

Brayden Denton meeting Spide Man when he was still alive (Facebook/Staci Denton )

The mother of a 5-year-old boy from the US state of Indiana who died of cancer made sure her son was surrounded by his favourite film characters during his send-off, by having his pallbearers dress as superheroes.

When Brayden Denton’s health deteriorated earlier this month, his mother Staci Denton took her son to James Whitcomb Riley Hospital in the Indianapolis, where he passed away on 8 May.

“He stopped walking,” Staci told WLFI.com. “We got through that hurdle. Then, he started not being able to eat or drink.”

“Basically, he stopped breathing,” she added.

Ms Denton told the broadcaster that when her son died, she decided she wanted his funeral service to be filled with what Brayden had loved during his short life.

“He was a huge Spider-Man fan,” Staci said. “He had to quit just liking Spider-Man because he had all the toys. So really, he liked every superhero.”

To honour Brayden, pallbearers carried his coffin dressed as Iron Man, the Hulk, Spider Man, Super Man, Bat Man and Thor.

Brayden’s uncle, who dressed as Thor, told the broadcaster of his experience as a pallbearer.

“It was hard, but I did it for him,” Mr Denton said. “We went to the Superman movie with him and he was dressed up as Superman. I watched all the Ironman [movies] with him.”

“He’s always here with me, and I’ll always watch [superhero movies] with him because he is always with me,” Mr Denton said.

Ms Denton donated her son's tumors to research, after Brayden suffered from diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma. The rare and aggressive disease kills 90 per cent of children diagnosed with it within 18 months, according to The Cure Starts Now Foundation.