Youssif meets Spidey, gets hero hug

Editor's note: CNN agreed not to use the full names of the family because of concerns for their safety.

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Youssif, the 5-year-old burned Iraqi boy, rounded the corner at Universal Studios when suddenly the little boy hero met his favorite superhero.

Spider-Man was right smack dab in front of him, riding a four-wheeler amid a convoy of other superheroes. The legendary climber of buildings and fighter of evil dismounted, walked over to Youssif and introduced himself.

Spidey then gave the boy from a far-away land a gentle hug, embracing him in his iconic blue and red tights. He showed Youssif a few tricks, like how to shoot a web from his wrist. Only this time, no web was spun.

"All right Youssif!" Spider-Man said after the boy mimicked his wrist movement.

Other superheroes crowded around to get a closer look. Even the Green Goblin stopped his villainous ways to tell the boy hi. Youssif remained unfazed. He didn't take a liking to Spider-Man's nemesis.

Spidey was just too cool.

"It was my favorite thing," the boy said later. "I want to see him again."

He then felt compelled to add: "I know it's not the real Spider-Man."

This was the day of dreams when the boy's nightmares were, at least temporarily, forgotten. He met SpongeBob, Lassie and a 3-year-old orangutan named Archie. The hairy, brownish-red primate took to the boy, grabbing his hand and holding it. Even when Youssif pulled away, Archie would inch his hand back toward the boy's and then snatch it. See Youssif enjoy being a boy again »

The boy giggled inside a play area where sponge-like balls shot out of toy guns. It was a far different artillery than what he was used to seeing in central Baghdad, as recently as a week ago. He squealed with delight and raced around the room collecting as many balls as he could.

He rode a tram through the back stages at Universal Studios. At one point, the car shook. Fire and smoke filled the air, debris cascaded down and a big rig skidded toward the vehicle. The boy and his family survived the pretend earthquake unscathed.

"Even I was scared," the dad said.

"Well, I wasn't," Youssif replied.

The father and mother grinned from ear to ear throughout the day. Youssif pushed his 14-month-old sister, Ayaa, in a stroller.

"Did you even need to ask us if we were interested in coming here?" Youssif's father said in amazement.

"Other than my wedding day, this is the happiest day of my life," he said.

Just a day earlier, the mother and father talked about their journey out of Iraq and to the United States.

They also discussed that day nine months ago when masked men grabbed their son outside the family home, doused him in gas and set him on fire. His mother heard her boy screaming from inside.

The father sought help for his boy across Baghdad, but no one listened. He remembers his son's two months of hospitalization. The doctors didn't use anesthetics. He could hear his boy's piercing screams from the other side of the hospital. Watch Youssif meet his doctor and play with his little sister »

The father knew that speaking to CNN would put his family's lives in jeopardy. The possibility of being killed was better than seeing his son suffer, he said.

"Anything for Youssif," he said. "We had to do it."

They described a life of utter chaos in Baghdad. Neighbors had recently given birth to a baby girl. Shortly afterward, the father was kidnapped and killed. Then, there was the time when some girls wore tanktops and jeans. They were snatched off the street by gunmen.

The stories can be even more gruesome. The couple said they had heard reports that a young girl was kidnapped and beheaded --and her killers sewed a dog's head on the corpse and delivered it to her family's doorstep.

"These are just some of the stories," said Youssif's mother, Zainab.

Under Saddam Hussein, there was more security and stability, they said. There was running water and electricity most of the time. But still life was tough under the dictator, like the time when Zainab's uncle disappeared and was never heard from again after he read a "religious book," she said.

Sitting in the parking lot of a Target in suburban Los Angeles, Youssif's father watched as husbands and wives, boyfriends and girlfriends, parents and their children, came and went. Some held hands. Others smiled and laughed.

"Iraq finished," he said in what few English words he knows.

He elaborated in Arabic: His homeland won't be enjoying such freedoms anytime soon. It's just not possible. Too much violence. Too many killings.

His two children have only seen war. But this week, the family has seen a much different side of America -- an outpouring of generosity and a peaceful nation at home. "It's been a dream," the father said.

He used to do a lot of volunteer work back in Baghdad. "Maybe that's why I'm being helped now," the father said.

At Universal Studios, he looked out across the valley below. The sun glistened off treetops and buildings. It was a picturesque sight fit for a Hollywood movie.

"Good America, good America," he said in English. E-mail to a friend

CNN's Arwa Damon contributed to this report.

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