A 12-year-old schoolboy from Russia claims to have gained unexplainable super powers after an accidental electrocution. Is he the real life Magneto from Marvel Comic' X-Men series? He can't quite manipulate magnetic fields, but he can attract coins, spoons, forks, and all sorts of other metal objects with his body.
Nikolai Kruglyachenko was just a regular Siberian kid until one day he leaned on a defective lamppost and was electrocuted so intensely that he was thrown across the pavement.
Ever since then, something changed. The electric shock somehow gave him a newfound superpower, similar to that of Marvel Comics' Magneto.
"When I came round, I felt groggy, but managed to get home and told my mum what had happened. When I woke up the next day and got out of bed, I found some coins that had been lying on the mattress had stuck to my body. Then when I was having breakfast and dropped my spoon, it stuck to my chest," explained 12-year-old Nikolai according to the New York Post.
These shocking and impressive abilities, in which he can apparently attract coins, spoons, and forks to his body with his sheer magnetic force, have made him quite the popular commodity at school.
Nikolai basks in his newfound popularity, as seen in the Russian news video clip, showing off his amazing skills to his classmates who don't share his unique powers. His friends attempt to stick the very same items on their own bodies without such luck.
But is the boy just dreaming? Or is there any possibility that we may have actually stumbled upon a real life Magneto?
BBC News spoke to Doctor Ipsita Roy, a specialist in microbial biotechnology at the University of Westminster, and she insisted that there's more than what meets the eye. Although an impressive trick, the "magnetic power" is simply impossible.
There's no way he could become magnetic after an electric shock. Electricity can't magnetise the body. Either he's eaten something which makes him magnetic, which would naturally pass out of the body quickly anyway. Or he could have something attached to his body which isn't visible. Or it could be glue," explains the doctor.
Womp womp, it looks like little Nikolai may just have unusually sticky skin. Although I'm sure he enjoyed the attention his supposed Magneto powers brought him, his intentions appeared to be somewhat pure.
"Nikolai wants to become a real Magneto when he's older, especially if it means he can use his powers to help people," explained BBC News.
Looks like Nikolai may have to find another career path, although he should never lose sight of his intentions to help others.
