Aqua Man

Heroes typically don’t like to broadcast their unselfish feats of bravery, but Dan Petanu could rightly claim a place alongside Superman after his heroic deed this week.

Lesa Blackwell knew she was in serious trouble Tuesday when she hit a wet spot while driving along a rainy Missouri road, lost control of her car, blew past a guard rail, tumbled down an embankment and ended up sideways and sinking fast into a creek along with passengers including her 7-year-old niece, daughter-in-law Kristena and Kristena’s 4-month-old baby girl.

"Everything happened so fast, it's hard to describe what happened. It was just so scary," Blackwell told KCTV in Kansas City.

What Blackwell didn’t know was that Petanu and his friend were driving right behind her car when it sailed off the road — and immediately sprang to action.

"They were screaming and crying and all I heard was, 'My baby, my baby,'" Petanu said. "Anyone would do it. No time to think, just get everyone out safe."

Which is exactly what he did. Petanu says he went into "save mode" and rushed down the rainy embankment and pulled all four people out of the car safely — not a scratch on anyone.

The following day, Blackwell broke down in tears thinking about what might have happened — but didn’t — thanks to Petanu. Which is exactly why his superhero cape is good to go.