PARIS — Aptly, he tucked an American flag into the back of his sweatshirt collar, turning the stars and stripes into a cape. Stephen Nedoroscik is, after all, America’s new favorite superhero.

A star crafted straight out of the Olympic script, Nedoroscik stars on a piece of equipment that the average sports fan has no earthly idea how to determine a good routine from a bad one. He wears glasses because of a congenital eye disease that renders his eyes permanently dilated, solves Rubik’s Cubes for relaxation, eats exactly six pieces of green apple and a chocolate muffin on competition days, and laughs like something straight out of “Beavis and Butt-Head.”

When he sat down at the dais for his news conference after securing a second bronze medal, Nedoroscik took the index finger of his right hand and pushed his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose. The only thing missing from central casting — a piece of tape to hold them together.

But when Nedoroscik swings on the pommel horse, flying through a routine that is obviously complex enough that even the gymnastics novices would know that it’s good, he is Clark Kent post phone booth, his glasses shed and his entire being transformed.

Stephen Nedoroscik finishes his pommel horse routine in the final and the crowd goes WILD! 👏 #ParisOlympics

📺 E! and Peacock pic.twitter.com/JbCPmqNJA7

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— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 3, 2024

Six nights ago, Nedoroscik nailed his routine — the very last of the night — to assure the United States its first team medal in men’s gymnastics in 16 years. On Monday, he spent the evening screaming for his teammates, cupping his mouth with his hands to make sure his support was heard. But on Saturday night, Nedoroscik sat at the end of the competition area alone. His head cast downward, staring at the floor, he didn’t so much as glance over as the first four gymnasts performed, let alone glance at the scoreboard.

In a script flip from the team final, Nedoroscik went smack dab in the middle, fifth out of eight gymnasts. He nailed a 15.300, slotting him in third place. Instead of waiting to compete, he had to wait to ensure he got on the podium. When South Korea’s Hur Woong fell off the apparatus, securing the bronze, Nedoroscik thrust his hands into the air, to the delight of the crowd.

“It’s definitely not the best scenario to be in, when there’s a few more gymnasts to go and you’re sitting in third,’’ Nedoroscik said. “It’s a little bit of a nail-biter, but I was confident that my score was maybe good enough to hold.’’

It is that confidence that maybe has been unappreciated in this whole nerd-to-champion run. Nedoroscik did not happen onto the Olympic stage accidentally. He is a 2021 World Champion and a two-time NCAA Champion. He was intentionally put on the U.S. squad to ensure a better team score. Men’s gymnastics purposefully opted away from the more subjective selection process that the women used, opting instead to run the numbers and see what spits out the best score. In every scenario, adding Nedoroscik made sense.

But let’s be serious. No one cares about any of that. The joy of the Olympics comes as much from the unexpected as the impressive. Simone Biles, who secured her seventh gold medal just a few minutes before Nedoroscik competed, is inevitable. Nedoroscik is Everyman, relatable thanks to his ordinariness outside of his pommel horse extraordinariness. He is not someone that you would stop and stare at if he were to walk down the street; he does not scream Olympic athlete.

And so when he of all people became an Olympic hero, he walked straight into the vortex of American fame, an underdog turned into a champion, winning one for the U.S. of A. Nedoroscik exploded as only one can in today’s social media world. His is now a face that launched a thousand memes, plenty Nedoroscik has seen himself. An eyewear company, eyebobs, cleverly launched a marketing campaign around his specs, renaming — or reframing as it were — one of their designs into “the Stephen.’’ At 11:16 a.m, ET, the time Nedoroscik was slated to compete, people could try to claim a free pair. The New York Post’s Page Six and US Weekly did a blurb about his girlfriend.

Nedorosock has been both delightfully amused by all of it — “Really? She was? I didn’t know that,’’ Nedoroscik said about the insta-fame of Tess McCracken, his girlfriend. “Go Tess,’’ — and delightfully amusing. Asked who was the most famous person to reach out to him on social media, Nedoroscik said, “The guy that wrote “Fault in Our Stars” tweeted about me. That was insane.’’ That would be John Green, author of the melodrama about two terminally ill teenagers.

But he also knew that, despite what people said about him after the team final, he did not just have one job to do; he had two. He wanted an event final medal as well, and the competition, he knew would be fierce. Rhys McClenaghan, who would win the gold for Ireland, is a two-time World Champion; Max Whitlock, from Great Britain, won the last two Olympic medals on pommel horse, and the gap between first and sixth in qualifying was as measly .200.

So after enjoying his 15 minutes of fame for a handful of days, Nedoroscik purposefully turned off his notifications. He wanted to quiet the noise. Nedoroscik owns an electrical engineering degree from Penn State and his coach, Randy Jespon, told The Athletic that he’s extremely analytical. He likes routine, and so in an Olympic village devoid of his teammates, who already finished competing, he hunkered down. He tinkered with his Rubik’s Cube, trying to beat his under-10-second goal. He listened to music. He ate his apples and his muffin.

Nedoroscik tinkered with changing his routine, maybe adding difficulty in response to the talented field. He tried a few alternatives, but didn’t like how they felt, and as he said after the team final, his routine is “all by feel.’’

So he went with what felt right.

There is no arguing that Nedoroscik would have loved a gold; the U.S. hasn’t won one in an individual event since 1984. But when the moderator at the post-meet news conference introduced McClenaghan explaining that it was Ireland’s first Olympic medal in gymnastics, the true to his nature Nedoroscik raised his eyebrows. “Dude, that is soooo cool,’’ he said, reaching over to give the Irishman a bro handshake.

The two exchange challenges, each referencing Los Angeles. Later Nedoroscik confirmed his future plans with no hesitation. “I’m definitely running it back in 2028,’’ he said. But that is for another day.

In the immediate, Nedoroscik was looking forward to reconnecting with his family, turning his notifications back on and resting his weary body. Even superheroes, after all, need a break.

Required reading

(Photo: Jamie Squire / Getty Images)

The opening ceremony of the Olympics was immediately under criticism, and it “saddened” Pope Francis.

A statement released by the Vatican Saturday evening said there should be “no allusions ridiculing the religious convictions of many people.”

“The Holy See was saddened by certain scenes during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games and can only join the voices that have been raised in recent days to deplore the offence caused to many Christians and believers of other religions,” the statement said.

“At a prestigious event where the whole world comes together to share common values, there should be no allusions ridiculing the religious convictions of many people. The freedom of expression, which is clearly not called into question here, is limited by respect for others.”

The ceremony turned heads when it included a headless Marie Antoinette early on, then a ménage à trois.

However, what made critics most angry was when the ceremony appeared to depict a mock Last Supper with people dressed in drag.

The performance took place during a floating parade on the Seine River last week and featured drag queens seated around a table with one person, painted blue, sitting atop the table. Many argue the display resembled the Da Vinci painting depicting a scene from the Gospel of John when Jesus announces that one of his apostles would betray him.

Some of the performers who appeared in the Last Supper depiction in the 2024 Paris Olympics’ opening ceremony.  (Reuters/Tingshu Wang)

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There’s been mixed messaging from Olympic organizers over what was behind the drag scene. One spokesperson reportedly admitted to the New York Post that creative director Thomas Jolly took inspiration from da Vinci’s painting, “The Last Supper.” Others have claimed no offense was intended, and it was merely a nod to Greek mythology.

Many Christian faith leaders and celebrities, like Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker, fitness guru Jillian Michaels, Elon Musk, actress Candace Cameron Bure and ex-transgender influencer Oli London, expressed disappointment in the depiction.

Delegations arrive at the Trocadero during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris July 26, 2024. (Loic Venance/Pool/AFP via Getty Images))

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.; Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene; Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini; conservative French politician and European Parliament member Marion Maréchal; and Hungary’s ambassador to the Vatican, Eduard Habsburg, are among officials who condemned the presentation.

Fox News’ Joseph A. Wulfsohn, Cortney O’Brien, Brian Flood, Ryan Gaydos and Greg Wehner contributed to this report.

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OAKLAND — There was no primal scream, no exaggerated fist pump, and very little outward emotion from the Dodgers’ newest pitcher.

Instead, in the defining moment of an auspicious team debut for Jack Flaherty on Saturday night at the Oakland Coliseum, the veteran pitcher simply tapped his glove, chewed on some gum and returned to his new team’s dugout with a confident nod of his head.

“I saw poise,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I liked that controlled emotion.”

Indeed, Flaherty provided the Dodgers with much-needed poise and control Saturday night, pitching six shutout innings in the team’s 10-0 win over the Oakland Athletics.

“I’ll take the time tonight and kind of soak it all in,” said Flaherty, whom the Dodgers acquired in a blockbuster deadline-day trade with the Detroit Tigers last Tuesday. “I’m just excited to be here and have a chance to help this team.”

The Dodgers needed it, riding Flaherty’s big start early on — before pulling away with an eight-run explosion late — to only their third win in their last nine games.

In the process, Flaherty racked up seven strikeouts and 16 swings and misses, flashing the kind of premium stuff the Dodgers hope will bolster a starting rotation battling injuries and searching for frontline pitching.

Most of all, with the Dodgers only up 2-0 in a bases-loaded, no-outs jam in the bottom of the sixth, the club put its trust in its newly-acquired 28-year-old pitcher.

Then, it watched him embrace the pressure with ease.

During a nine-pitch sequence, the right-hander induced a fielder’s choice grounder, a swing-and-miss strikeout and an inning-ending two-hopper back up the middle — giving the Dodgers both a tantalizing sample of his resurgent 2024 season, in which he is now 8-5 with a 2.80 ERA, and a much-needed, high-leverage, skid-snapping sigh of relief.

“It felt really good, Doc giving me the trust there in the sixth to find a way to get out of it,” Flaherty said.

“You learn what they’re made of pretty quick,” added catcher Will Smith. “Throw him in the fire, big situation, we’re up 2-0, but they were threatening. And he was able to get out of it.”

When the Dodgers landed Flaherty as the centerpiece of their trade deadline haul on Tuesday — acquiring what many believed was the best pitcher to be dealt on this year’s trade market — they immediately saddled the veteran right-hander with weighty late-season expectations.

The Dodgers needed Flaherty to be a top-of-the-rotation pitcher and solidify a rotation unsettled by key absences (including Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Walker Buehler) and recent underperformances (epitomized by clunkers from Clayton Kershaw and Gavin Stone earlier this week).

They were counting on him to be an October weapon, the kind they’d lacked too often in recent postseason failures.

And, right from the jump, they also needed a strong team debut out of the Harvard-Westlake product, hopeful Flaherty could halt a recent 2-6 skid that had eaten into Dodgers’ once-comfortable National League West lead.

“I’m looking forward to seeing Jack take the baseball,” manager Dave Roberts said Friday night on the eve of Flaherty’s first Dodgers start, “and be a stopper for us.”

In what was arguably the Dodgers’ best starting pitching performance since last month’s All-Star break, Flaherty proved to be just that — if not a little bit more.

With a 93-mph fastball and devastating duo of sliders and curveballs, the L.A. native mostly cruised through his first game with his hometown team. He worked around a pair of softly hit singles in the first inning, retiring the side with back-to-back strikeouts. He sat down 12 of 13 hitters between the second and fifth innings, with the lone base hit coming on a line drive that ricocheted off his lower right leg (after a quick check from the trainer, Flaherty stayed in the game).

The sixth-inning jam was hardly his fault, either, with Cavan Biggio committing a throwing error and JJ Bleday dropping a bloop single into left field before a Brent Rooker walk loaded the bags with no outs.

At that point, Flaherty had thrown 90 pitches. The Dodgers’ lead was only 2-0. And left-hander Alex Vesia was warming in the bullpen.

Roberts, however, stayed put in the dugout. Three batters later, his faith in Flaherty was rewarded.

“He earned an opportunity to take down a couple more hitters,” the manager said.

Three batters later, the faith in Flaherty was rewarded.

Saturday included other changes for the Dodgers — and not just because they grew their division lead (from four to 4½ games) for the first time in almost a week.

Athletics second baseman Darell Hernaiz (2) is unable to catch a throw from catcher Shea Langeliers as Dodger Shohei Ohtani (17) steals second during the ninth inning Saturday in Oakland.

(Godofredo A. Vásquez / Associated Press)

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Roberts mixed up his lineup pregame, flipping slumping Will Smith and steady Teoscar Hernández in the Nos. 2 and 4 spots of the batting order. The Dodgers’ shorthanded offense capitalized on several opportunities as well, getting a two-run, two-out single from Gavin Lux in the third inning before tacking on two insurance runs in the eighth and six more in the ninth.

“It just felt like the offense relaxed a little bit and passed the baton,” Roberts said. “I thought there were more team at-bats tonight.”

Shohei Ohtani reached another milestone in his monster season, too, stealing three bases to become the first Dodger with a 30-homer, 30-steal season since Matt Kemp in 2011, and just the third overall (Raul Mondesi did it twice in 1999 and 1997).

Amid all that, though, Flaherty’s dominance was the most encouraging storyline — providing the Dodgers exactly what they needed to end their recent slide, and an example of what they’ll want from their newest, veteran arm the rest of the season.

“For him to go six innings scoreless was a huge lift,” Roberts said. “If we’re expecting him to do what he expects into October, he’s got to be able to manage stress. And he did a fantastic job.”