Archives October 2011

Masked ‘superheroes’ patrol Utah streets for crime

Originally posted: http://thegazette.com/2011/10/13/masked-superheroes-patrol-utah-streets-for-crime/

“Asylum”: Those movies have done more damage to the real-life superhero community than anything else

by Associated Press  ::  UPDATED: 13 October 2011 | 11:54 am  ::  in News Hawk by John McGlothlen  ::  No Comments
SHEENA MCFARLAND, The Salt Lake Tribune
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Dusk is descending upon Salt Lake City.

As the shadows elongate and the sun sinks behind the Oquirrh Mountains, they take to the streets.
The costumed avengers start at the Salt Lake City Library and fan out. Always in groups of at least two, they are on the lookout for trouble.
They happen upon a mother and grown son in a screaming match on their front lawn.
Calmly, the masked men walk into the fray, saying nothing.
The son backs down, gets in his car, and tells his mother he’ll be back later.
They’re not millionaires out to avenge their parents’ deaths and none of them has been bitten by a radioactive spider. Nevertheless, they say they are helping in situations like the one they described above.
Most of them are tattoo artists from Ogden who claim they are atoning for past lives that include alcoholism, gang life and being the muscle for drug dealers. Others say they do social work or lease apartments and just wanted a unique way to do service.
The group, called the Black Monday Society, formed about five years ago when founder Dave Montgomery, who started calling himself Insignis but recently has changed to Nihilist, had stopped drinking for about six months. He found the members of the Society through a website claiming to bring together real-life superheroes and met with some who lived in Utah. Within six weeks, they were roaming the streets.
“It was as addictive as any drug,” said Montgomery, who dresses in black leather with silver studs. “You fall into a whole other self.”
The name comes from the idea of being able to turn someone’s bad day into a good day, he said.
The group started with just two people, but quickly grew, peaking at 19 members, all of whom came with their own uniforms, superhero name and backstory worthy of any comic book. Nearly everyone in the society has a tattoo that’s given after completing a certain number of patrols.
But when it’s real life — balancing families, significant others and jobs — the burnout rate is high.
The group now has nine men who patrol downtown Salt Lake City at least a couple of times a month, but they are careful to distinguish themselves from what people see in the new Batman series or the movies “Kick-Ass” and “Watchmen.”
“Those movies have done more damage to the real-life superhero community than anything else,” said Mike Gailey, a 6-foot-1-inch, 245-pound man who goes by the name Asylum. “You can’t just go out and beat someone up for jaywalking.”
In the five years they’ve been together, they’ve never come to blows with anyone, they said. A check of Utah court records shows no criminal history for any of the members in the state.
Usually, they say, just their presence is enough to startle someone into thinking clearly again or calm down a situation where people are engaged in a shouting match or fighting. Much of the time, they’re helping a person passed out from too much drinking find his way home or bringing food to homeless people.
Gailey says the group serves as an extra set of eyes and ears for the police. They do carry pepper spray, high-decibel whistles and Tasers, but they’ve never had to use any of them, he said.
The Salt Lake City Police Department is familiar with the society and the work it members do. The department doesn’t look at them as criminals or vigilantes, said Detective Dennis McGowan, but also can’t vouch for them because they have not received the training that, for example, conventional Neighborhood Watch groups have received.
“We’ve never had a problem with the Black Monday Society, but it’s our watch groups that we know are properly trained and know how to alert police to a problem,” McGowan said.
Gailey claims he joined after serving as a man who collected debts across the state “one way or another” for drug dealers. After being the one called in to identify the bodies of three close friends who died in drug-related incidents, and losing a few more, he said he realized he needed to change. He made some of those changes, including starting a family, and began working with Montgomery at Frankie’s Tattoo Parlor in Clearfield, which serves as the group’s de facto Batcave, about the same time he joined the society.
“It’s my way to give back to people I had helped hold back,” he said.
Wally Gutierrez claims he left behind the gang life as a teenager in Kansas after his friend was stabbed multiple times and his mother decided to uproot him and his younger brother for a new start in Utah. The now-30-year-old has four kids and doesn’t see much time as Fool King anymore. The same goes for some of the other original members.
That’s where the younger generation comes in to play.
They are about half the size of their mentors, and they don’t share their troubled pasts. They just wanted to find a way to express themselves while giving back to their community, said Roman Daniels, who dresses his 5-foot-7, 150-pound frame as Red Voltage.
“We’re trying to do some good out there,” said the 23-year-old Sandy resident, who began patrolling April 2010 and often totes bags of bottled water, snacks and toiletries. He is now the official leader of Black Monday Society.
Another member, who didn’t want to be named for fear of reprisal at his job where he works with disabled adults, but dresses as Iron Head for his patrols, said he also will remove graffiti in his neighborhood in Kearns.
“A lot of us got into it because we’re trying to make up for something in our past,” Gailey said. “These guys got into it because they have a love of justice. They’re just great, pure-hearted guys.”
Daniels and his fellow society members have broken up their share of fights, including times when he’s had to call police to report a crime and detaining people who have committed crimes.
But alerting police to a problem as they patrol random streets is no longer enough for some members of the society.
About a month ago, Montgomery started what he calls a more “vengeance-based, tactical” branch named Doomwatch. They’re working with an official bounty hunter to learn laws and tactics, and they plan to be in high-crime areas so they can “take a more hands-on approach” and intervene in more altercations.
“I don’t want heroes just to be an urban legend,” Montgomery said. “I want people to see us and say there are real superheroes in the world.”
___
Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune, http://www.sltrib.com

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.

Woman who hit Phoenix Jones: 'Nothing gives him a right to do that'

Originally posted: http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Woman-who-hit-Phoenix-Jones-Nothing-gives-him-a-2214912.php
A woman who admits she hit self-proclaimed superhero Phoenix Jones with a shoe says he used pepper spray on her friends for no reason.
It was “the most horrifying experience in my life,” she told Mynorthwest.com.
The incident early Sunday has been investigated by police, who arrested and jailed Jones, whose real name is Benjamin Fodor.
City prosecutors are supposed to decide this week whether to charge Fodor with assault in the incident.
Police say Fodor, 23, used pepper spray on a group of men and women early Sunday near the Alaskan Way Viaduct. Video of the incident shows two women chasing after Fodor and a man with face paint, hitting them and telling the self-proclaimed superheroes to leave.
Fodor says he was a victim in the case.
Now one of the women who was with the group under the viaduct has told her story.
“We were just walking down to our parking lot after having a good time in Seattle, when a little argument broke out between our group and the other group, and all of a sudden we were attacked. I turn around and we’re being attacked by these guys wearing Halloween costumes,” she told Mynorthwest.com
The woman, identified only as Maria, told KING/5 that the man declared himself to be a superhero.
“He says, ‘I’m a superhero’ and sprays everyone,” she said. “Nothing gives him a right to do that. That’s harassment and assault.”
She acknowledged in the interview that she hit Fodor with her shoe.
“I started hitting him, saying, ‘Who are you? What are you doing? Leave us alone, we didn’t do anything!” said Maria.

'Batman' sentenced to probation, not to wear costumes

Originally posted: http://www.petoskeynews.com/news/courtscrime/pnr-batman-sentenced-to-probation-not-to-wear-costumes-20111018,0,701647.story
By Heather Lockwood
Mark Wayne Williams, 31, of Harbor Springs, is to appear in court for sentencing Monday, Oct. 17, and all other charges in the case have been dismissed, per a plea agreement, Linderman said. Attempted resisting, obstructing a police officer is a one-year misdemeanor, he said.[/caption]
Mark Wayne Williams, the so-called “Petoskey Batman,” has been sentenced to six months probation and is not to wear any costumes during that time, including the one he was wearing when he was arrested in May.
“Mr. Williams completely understands 100 percent why he’s here,” his attorney Bryan Klawuhn told the court during his sentencing hearing in Emmet County’s 57th Circuit Court Monday, Oct. 17. Klawuhn emphasized that Williams did not intend to use the weapons he possessed the night of his arrest and never intended to harm anyone.
Williams, 32, of Harbor Springs, was arrested May 11 after the Petoskey Department of Public Safety received a report of a man on the roof of a downtown business, located in the 400 block of East Mitchell Street, about 12:40 a.m., according to a Petoskey Department of Public Safety news release. Additional information supplied by central dispatch included the fact that the man was dressed as Batman.
Responding officers, including Michigan State Police troopers, saw “a male subject, dressed in a Batman costume, hanging off the western wall of the building,” according to the release. The officers got onto the roof and pulled the man back onto it.
Officers detained the man and located a baton-type striking weapon, a can of chemical irritant spray and a pair of Sap (sand-filled) gloves, according to the release. The suspect was arrested for trespassing and possession of dangerous weapons.

Batman

Mark Wayne Williams, a.k.a. Michigan’s “Batman.” (Image via YouTube)


In September, Williams pleaded guilty to one count of attempted resisting, obstructing a police officer in Emmet County’s 57th Circuit Court and all other charges in the case were dismissed, per a plea agreement, Emmet County prosecutor Jim Linderman previously told the Petoskey News-Review.
Williams originally faced one count of carrying a concealed weapon, for allegedly carrying Freeze Plus P, a felony offense, which carries a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison or a $2,500 fine; one count of carrying a concealed weapon, for allegedly carrying a folding steel baton or bludgeon, a felony offense, which carries a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison or a $2,500 fine; one count of carrying a concealed weapon, for allegedly carrying weighted Sap (sand filled) gloves, a felony offense, which carries a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison or a $2,500 fine; one count of dangerous weapon — gas ejective device, a felony offense, which carries a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison and, or a $2,500 fine; one count of dangerous weapon — miscellaneous, for allegedly possessing a bludgeon, a felony offense, which carries a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison and, or a $2,500 fine; one count of dangerous weapon — miscellaneous, for allegedly possessing a sand bag, a felony offense, which carries a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison and, or a $2,500 fine; and one count of disturbing the peace, a misdemeanor offense with a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail and, or a $500 fine.
Williams experienced a streak of fame after word of his arrest and the circumstances surrounding it spread throughout the community and area businesses touted Batman related promotions and products.
Klawuhn previously told the Petoskey News-Review his client is “harmless.”
Emmet County chief assistant prosecutor Duane Beach did not make light of the case, however.
“The conduct in this case caused the Petoskey Department of Public Safety to take this case very seriously,” he said.
Williams said he was inspired by a movement of citizens who dress up in super hero costumes and attempt to prevent crime and reach out to the homeless.
“I’m definitely not the only person that does it,” he said.
Adding, “I understand I made a big mistake with carrying the items I was carrying. I’m not a violent person at all and I did not intend to use them.”
Williams also told the Petoskey News-Review the reason he climbed onto the roof of the downtown Petoskey business that night was because he was being chased by a group of people and was trying to evade them.
“I just didn’t want to deal with the harassment, so I hid on the roof,” he said.
Circuit court judge Charles Johnson sentenced Williams to six months probation and a condition of that probation is that he is not to wear any costumes. The sentence also included six months in jail, two days forthwith, with credit for two days served, and the remainder held in abeyance.
“You’ve had your 15 minutes of fame and it’s time for you to put it behind you,” Johnson told Williams. “Your actions were certainly blown out of proportion in the media in certain ways.”
After the hearing Klawuhn said, “We’re just happy it’s over. … I think the sentencing is entirely appropriate.”
Williams, who considers himself a costumed activist and has been involved with a group of like-minded people called The Michigan Protectors, said the costumes are intended to draw attention to the cause.
“It’s just a way to draw attention to what we’re trying to do,” he said. “Make people pay attention to what’s going on in their community.”

Real-life superhero movement growing, but not getting warm reception from police

Originally posted:

When Seattle-based masked crusader Phoenix Jones was arrested last week for pepper spraying a group of people he claims were fighting, he piqued the curiosity of thousands across the nation. A real-life superhero? Stopping crime in the dark of night? Suit, boots, mask and all?
It turns out Jones isn’t the only ordinary guy whose nighttime is filled with crime-fighting, caped adventures. The Web site RealLifeSuperheroes.orgboasts 720 members. Posts on the site suggest there are dozens, if not hundreds, of real-life superheroes currently in action in St. Petersburg, Fla., New York City and Milwaukee, among other cities.
But though these superheroes have attracted thousands of adoring fans, city cops don’t count themselves among them.
“Just because he’s dressed up in costume, it doesn’t mean he’s in special consideration or above the law,” Seattle police spokesman Detective Mark Jamieson said of Jones.
Other police say vigilantes like Jones risk hurting themselves and others.

Batman

Mark Wayne Williams, a.k.a. Michigan’s “Batman.” (Image via YouTube)


When Michigan resident Mark Wayne Williams was caught in May hanging from a building wearing a Batman outfit, police promptly arrested him for trespassing and possession of dangerous weapons, according to Michigan’s Petoskey News-Review.
As part of his probation, Williams, a member of the so-called “Michigan Protectors,” is not allowed to wear any more costumes. That includes his baton, chemical spray, and weighted gloves.
And yet the movement keeps growing. Last year’s hit movie “Kick-Ass,” which follows a kid without special powers who decides to be a superhero, and the recent HBO documentary called “Superheroes,” may have given the movement a push.
The drama that accompanies real-life superheroes has likely also helped the cause. When summoned to court last week, Jones whipped off his normal clothing to reveal a flashy gold and black costume beneath. He also gave an impassioned speech outside the court, designed to appeal to any citizen with a sense of justice:

I will continue to patrol with my team, probably tonight. … In addition to being Phoenix Jones, I am also Ben Fodor, father and brother. I am just like everybody else. The only difference is that I try to stop crime in my neighborhood and everywhere else.

As the movement has grown, it has also sought to become more organized, with some members proposing a uniform set of standards, others publishing tutorials on how people can join, and a few even considering a sanctioning body to oversee it.
There are now many sub-movements within the movement, such as the Rain City Superhero Movement in Seattle, of which Phoenix Jones is the leader.
“The movement has grown majorly,” Edward Stinson, a Florida-based writer who advises real-life superheroes, told MSNBC. “What I tell these guys is, ‘You’re no longer in the shadows. You’re in a new era. … Build trust. Set standards. Make the real-life superheroes work to earn that title and take some kind of oath.’ ”

Address to RLSH and Lurker alike.

Attention ‘RLSH’
Need I remind you all, we are on reallifesuperheroes.org? We need the organization! A RLSH is about serving the community, not the number of convictions or notches on your belt!
Why are you doing this?
Why are you going around in costume? Is it to attract attention to yourself, or your deeds?
Why are you helping those who can’t help themselves? If you are doing it for the Kudos, take off the costume and volunteer for a charity!
Why are you ‘defending’ the weak?  If you are doing it for the admiration take off the costume and do something beneficial!
Why are you ‘joining in’ a fight? To prove your ‘Martial prowess’ or to separate the sides involved?
These are the questions I want each one of you to answer. I will most likely get the banhammer for stepping on The Watchman’s toes by saying this, but if I don’t say this, there will be no-more need for this site:
If you want to go gung-ho “Beat’em up” and act as judge, jury, executioner and PR show-pony, please leave and join the Rain City Superheroes (RCS). No hard feelings, just please clarify the difference between RCS and RLSH when you get into trouble.
Thank you very much;
Grey Guardian.
PS: To the reporters, the headline makers are hopefully heading off to the RCS forums, so for the front page scoop, you’d be better to head there… If you are just after a gap-filling Human Interest Story, feel free to lurk here, just please have your press-pass on you visible at all times. My PC’s mic is down ATM, so skype is not really viable, but I am willing to do email interviews;
[email][email protected][/email]
 

Recap of Phoenix Jones’ return to the Belltown streets after his arrest

Originally posted: http://blog.seattlepi.com/insidebelltown/2011/10/17/recap-of-phoenix-jones-return-to-the-belltown-streets-after-his-arrest/
By DAVID NELSON, INSIDE BELLTOWN
As I mentioned in my “5 things to do in Belltown and Downtown Seattle” post last week, Phoenix Jones and the other Rain City Superheroes were going to walk around Belltown and Downtown Seattle at 10pm on Saturday night.
He hinted the walk outside of the courtroom last Thursday morning and confirmed the walk with me Friday morning moments before I posted the 5 things to do list.  I usually visit one of events I mention for my weekend posts, I decided to attend this event and support Phoenix and his return to the streets — after all, he’s supported everything I’ve ever approached him about including the Safety Meeting honoring Matt Hale.
As promised, he showed up at 1st and Pike at 10:01pm according to my watch.
Also with him were Purple Reign, Mist, No Name, Pitch Black, Aquarius Knight, Belltown Citizens on Patrol, and approximately 40 people who wanted to walk around Belltown and Downtown Seattle.
Phoenix Jones thanked the people for coming and reminded everyone to call 9-1-1 and not put them self in danger should they see a crime taking place.
We walked east on Pike St and while walking he informs me he wants to see the Occupy Seattle protest site at Westlake Park.  We arrive at the protest site and hundreds of people are repeating their chants, Phoenix Jones goes right in to the middle of the crowd with KOMO TV by his side.  He stands there, listens to the chants for a couple minutes while people yell at him to sit down, he wished all the protesters good luck with their protest and leaves the scene.
The walk then head west on Pike St and then north on 2nd Ave towards Belltown.  Along the way, Phoenix was advising the walkers of areas in Belltown to avoid at night; most of the places he advised were parking lots.
During this stretch down 2nd Ave, we share a laugh after he informed me that the Kid ‘n Play comments he gets now are endless; in reference to his hair being similar to “Kid’s” hair.
He also announces that Belltown Citizens on Patrol is the city’s best neighborhood walk program and advises everybody to join them.
While walking down 2nd Ave, I mention a bullet hole in a parking sign from the deadly shooting in June 2010.  He asks to see it, and after showing it to him, he asks me to tell the story of what happened that night to the walkers.
We continued to walk down 2nd Ave and then head west on Bell St, and then south on 1st Ave to head back to 1st and Pike.
During the entire walk, we were surrounded with cameras, picture requests, and people welcoming Phoenix Jones back to the streets. He was applauded by nearly everybody who passed him and returned countless waves from restaurant windows and passersby.
Once we got back to 1st and Pike, Phoenix Jones invited people to ask him questions and introduced all of his other superhero friends by name.
A person asked him how his life has changed since his arrest and how he’s protected his identity since being revealed.  He informed the crowd of a change of address, a change of schools, a change of car, and possibly a change of haircut.
Another person informed him that she’s a single woman in Beltown and asked him what he recommends for her to remain safe while walking the streets in Belltown.  He advised her to walk in groups of at least two, and to avoid walking during the late night, early morning hours alone.
Another person asked how a person could become a superhero and join him.  Phoenix Jones mentioned that there are things he requires to join him and his crew, including a special skillset that can be used during a dangerous time, and also a bullet-proof vest.
He then took pictures with all who wanted pictures and the night ended around 11:30pm.
He still plans on joining the Belltown Citizens on Patrol walks, if you want to see what he’s all about, meet him there — you won’t be disappointed.
Phoenix Jones and the other superheroes will continue to walk the streets in the late hours and risk their lives to keep our streets safe.
Welcome back Phoenix Jones.

Arrest marks growing pains for superhero movement

Originally posted: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ix-PXiZOo4Z-N_Jx8NWWWs0zkwvQ?docId=a51a823c485c4474a79aa1c01b22ae96
By Gene Johnson, Associated Press
SEATTLE (AP) — Fabio Heuring was standing outside a Seattle nightclub on a Saturday night and smoking cigarettes with a friend when a man bolting from a bouncer ran into them. The enraged man ripped off his shirt in the middle of the street and prepared to give Heuring’s buddy a beating.
Just then, in swooped a bizarre sight: a self-proclaimed superhero in a black mask and matching muscle-suit. He doused the aggressor with pepper spray, much to Heuring’s shocked relief.
A couple hours later, though, the superhero ended up in jail for investigation of assault after using those tactics on another group of clubgoers, sending pangs of anxiety through the small, eccentric and mostly anonymous community of masked crime-fighters across the U.S.
The comic book-inspired patrolling of city streets by “real life super-heroes” has been getting more popular in recent years, thanks largely to mainstream attention in movies like last year’s “Kick-Ass” and the recent HBO documentary “Superheroes.” And as the ranks of the masked, caped and sometimes bullet-proof-vested avengers swell, many fret that even well-intentioned vigilantes risk hurting themselves, the public and the movement if they’re as aggressive as the crime-fighter in Seattle.
Some have gone so far as to propose a sanctioning body to ensure that high super-hero standards are maintained.
“The movement has grown majorly,” said Edward Stinson, a writer from Boca Raton, Fla., who advises real-life superheroes on a website devoted to the cause. “What I tell these guys is, ‘You’re no longer in the shadows. You’re in a new era. … Build trust. Set standards. Make the real-life superheroes work to earn that title and take some kind of oath.'”
It’s not clear how many costumed vigilantes there are in the U.S. The website www.reallifesuperheroes.org lists 660 members around the world. They range from members of the New York Initiative in New York City and the Shadow Corp in Saginaw, Mich., to a character named Nightbow who says he has patrolled the streets of Carlisle, England, for three years.
Some take on their fictional identities while doing charity work.
Benjamin Fodor, better known as Phoenix Jones, is the most prominent face of the Rain City Superhero Movement, a collection of vigilantes who appeared in Seattle over the past year. Early on Oct. 9, about two hours after he saved Heuring and his buddy, the 23-year-old man charged a group of people leaving a downtown nightclub as a videographer trailed him.
From the shaky camera work, it appeared there may have been some kind of disturbance in the group. Fodor insists he was breaking up a fight when he hit the crowd with pepper spray; the people who got sprayed told police there had been no fight. He was briefly booked into jail for investigation of assault, but prosecutors haven’t charged him yet. He appeared in court last week while wearing his superhero costume under a button-down shirt.
“Recently there have been increased reports of citizens being pepper sprayed by (Fodor) and his group,” the police report noted. “Although (Fodor) has been advised to observe and report incidents to 911, he continues to try to resolve things on his own.”
Fodor remained unapologetic after the court appearance, saying he’s just like anyone else except that “I decided to make a difference and stop crime in my neighborhood.” He invited members of the public to join him on patrol Saturday night.
Heuring, a 27-year-old shuttle driver from Auburn, is a fan.
“Without a question, there was a fight going to happen,” he said. “It could have ended ugly had he not come in. He used good judgment in our case. He saw who was instigating it and who he needed to defend.”
But many in the vigilante community point to Fodor’s arrest as a watershed moment: As more people — often, young people — fashion themselves into superheroes, they risk finding themselves in similar situations where they wind up hurting innocent members of the public or being shot, stabbed or beaten themselves. Such negative attention could doom the movement, they say.
Stinson, who is 40 and says he has a military background, said that if the movement is to continue to grow, it needs to do a better job policing itself. He envisions a nonprofit organization that would have departments devoted to fundraising and building community trust and alliances. He also thinks there should be tactical superhero training — including how to take control of a volatile situation and defuse it.
Filmmaker Michael Barnett followed 50 real-life crime fighters for 15 months for his documentary “Superheroes.” Many have great intentions, he said, but that doesn’t mean their methods are proper.
“The police by in large appreciate an extra set of eyes, but they really, really want these guys to do it according to the law,” Barnett said.
Masked crusaders began appearing in the 1970s with San Diego’s Captain Sticky, who used his Superman-like costume to fight against rental car rip-offs and for tenant rights, Barnett said. They spread throughout the country in the 1980s and 1990s, and became more popular thanks to the faster communications and online support communities of the Internet.
Barnett said he met plumbers, teachers, cashiers and firefighters who leave their day jobs behind every night in the name of security. Their weapons include pepper spray, stun guns and batons. Relatively few have any combat training or any formal knowledge of how to use their arsenal, he said.
That concerns the professional crime-fighters.
“If people want to dress up and walk around, knock yourself out,” said Seattle police spokesman Mark Jamieson. “Our concern is when you insert yourself into these situations without knowing the facts, it’s just not a smart thing to do. If you think a situation warrants calling 911, call 911.”
Not all of the vigilantes take a confrontational approach. A 53-year-old man in Mountain View, Calif., who calls himself “The Eye,” keeps a low-enough profile that officers there have never booked anyone arrested with his help.
“The only reason I know him is because he’s my neighbor,” said police spokeswoman Liz Wylie. “He’s a neighborhood watch block captain, a very good one at that.”

Phoenix Jones back on patrol after his dramatic unveiling

Originally posted: http://www.komonews.com/news/local/131945518.html
By Lindsay Cohen
SEATTLE – An extra set of eyes is watching the streets of downtown Seattle, as self-styled superhero Phoenix Jones returned to his patrol after enduring a week filled with controversy.
ones, whose real name is Benjamin Fodor, was back walking the streets of Seattle on Saturday night. He patrolled with other members of the Rain City Super Heroes, as well as regular citizens he invited to tag along.
The group left from Pike Place Market around 10 p.m. and made a stop at Occupy Seattle before heading to Belltown.
Fodor says he wants to clear up confusion about his role and continue his mission.
“Theres been a lot of confusion about people thinking, like, I’m delusional or I’m crazy or that I don’t understand what I’m doing,” he says. “And I wanted people to walk around and understand what it is I’m doing.”
He says last week started off as one of his worst ever, but then quickly became liberating.
He was arrested early on the morning of Oct. 9, after an alleged fight that was caught on video by a friend.
On the videotape, Fodor runs up to a crowd while dressed in his superhero outfit, pulls out a can of pepper spray and appears to shoot it at several people.
He was arrested on suspicion of assault, but prosecutors earlier this week declined to file charges.
Outside court on Thursday, he dramatically took off his mask and revealed his true identity – and said he plans to keep fighting crime on the streets of Seattle, as he did Saturday night.
In fact, it’s something that everyone can do, in his or her own way, he says.
“Everyone’s doing it – they just don’t know,” says Fodor. “If you walk from your car to a show and back to your car, that’s being on patrol. The only difference is, when I see crime, I call 911 first, wait, and when it gets dangerous I step in. And I feel like every citizen could do that.”
Fodor adds that he’s in a backup suit, because what he calls his “super suit” was taken into evidence by police, after last week’s arrest.

Phoenix Jones/ Jack Havoc and Why Life imitates Art

    • My name is The Ded Beat I am the Drummer/Manager from The Real Life Superhero Metal Band Jack Havoc. We have considered ourselves Superheroes pretty much after we read about Master Legend in Rolling stone a few years back. I also own a comic company called Your Mom Comics that I made to release my comic Big Bad Odd Job and to support our band when we are on tour. We attend almost all comic or horror conventions in our area. We also have played countless shows for any charity, and have raised money to help with anything from cancer to even the Tsunami relief /Haitian earthquake benefits. “I guess we all Fight in our own way.”
  • Now that you have our background let me begin. We have known Phoenix Jones for a little over a year now. When I first heard of him I was star struck, he hit the media like some sort of Booster Gold, but still kept stern like Batman. He has come to two of our Conventions just to help us out, and even though he can be hard as fuck to get a hold of sometimes… is an all around great guy. I know, I Know, another Phoenix lover getting his back, but I don’t think of it quite like that. You see when I heard about the incident that took place with the pepper spray I looked into every bit of evidence I could find, and did countless hours of research. At one point I was even confused and asked myself honestly “Do you think he acted in the right?” I do and here is why. First off I watched a video where Phoenix did what everyone has told him to do. CALL 911. He also told the attackers to back up several times. The girls who got supposedly “Pepper Sprayed” said he said nothing before hand; the same girls have changed their story twice and do not even have the same story. one says they were arguing with another group, the other says it was two other groups fighting, and before these stories they were ‘ Dancing’ Now here is a little side story to back up the’ pepper sprayed girls not on purpose’ theory of mine. My lead singer The Jack Havoc himself was at a Presidents of the United States Concert once on New Years. A huge Fight broke out almost a riot. After getting his girlfriend to safety went back to help a man and break up the out skirts of the fight. Without warning he and all the others were pepper sprayed, he wasn’t even direct hit he was just in the area and he got a contact spray. Rather than flip out he told the cops that he was just helping out, and they apologized and said thanks , because he CHOSE to get involved……… To me, these girls got the contact spray from their attacking boyfriend’s actions. . Meaning that these girls CHOSE to be involved in the altercation
    o Next if the group of males were worried with their girlfriends why did only the girls walk across the street to attack Phoenix? I know I wouldn’tJack Havoc, Your Mom Comics Crew, and The Rain City Hero Movement  let my girlfriend confront her would be attacker alone. It seems the police want you to call 911 and watch someone be beaten or killed rather than intervene, what if it was a woman being raped, is Phoenix supposed to just watch. Shame on the police and media, if you have more armor than King Arthur and you see someone getting beaten HELP THEM PLEASE. I don’t want to live in a world where the police say call them, so they can take a half hour, and tell us no one is allowed to help… The list goes on and on. But hey that’s just my opinion. Everyone should have theirs. I also think my point was proven when the police did not file any charges, and I believe they won’t.Moving on into why none of this bothers us. Because we called it. Actually Grant Morrison called it. See he thinks whatever happens in comics, movies, etc. will eventually happen. Example, he started to write his character in to getting depressed and sick, later he got sick and some sort of cancerous lump on his face….or some shit like that. Then he wrote that a character got happily married, so did he in real life. Then the company he was writing for told him to get rid of the girl in the comic, his marriage failed and ever since he has been trying to write in his new flame….weird right? So what I’m getting at is this, look at The Watchmen, at first in the 40’s the superheroes were a joke and no one cared, then it built up more and more before people were being saved, taking photos with the superheroes, etc. Than the super heroes advanced got more hi tech gear (just like in real life), and the people got bitter and there was a line drawn between people who thought we needed to be saved and those who thought it should be left to the police….. (JUST LIKE RIGHT NOW) it’s all very exciting whether you agree or disagree this is the beginning, and it will only get more real. Marvel” civil War” describes Iron Man in a fight with Captain America over whether or not Super Heroes should be registered. You see sometimes right and wrong can just be as simple as someone disagreeing. What’s good? What’s Evil? It all depends on who you ask, and yeah I will mention how Dark Guardian always has a poor Comment about Phoenix Jones, because sometimes Heroes don’t agree. While we’re on the subject I think if Dark Guardian would just talk to Phoenix about their methods of crime fighting rather than tweeting bullshit about him the whole time, he would get a lot further…but that’s just my opinion you don’t have to agree with it. Some People think that occupy Wall Street is good others like News Channels and stuff don’t. I’m all for occupy by the way “You guys are making a huge difference in my eyes.”Some People in Gotham think Batman’s methods are too harsh, the same goes with Seattle and Phoenix. Neither one is wrong they just stand up for what they think they are doing is right. That is all we can ask, Phoenix or ourselves are not perfect and are still getting used to the very idea of being a superhero. If you want to write me and tell me I’m not a real superhero and that were all full of shit that’s fine, but here is a ‘Get Fucked and not bought Dinner” ahead of time in case you do. Regardless of what you think, I know in my heart this is leading to something big….a world WITH superheroes?
The Ded Beat

Drummer / Manager – Jack Havoc Real Life SuperHero Metal Band
President / Owner – Your Mom Comics

 

Phoenix Jones Says He’s Training a Replacement Hero, Nightstick.

Originally posted: http://publicola.com/2011/10/14/phoenix-jones-says-hes-training-a-replacement-hero-nightstick/
By Jonah Spangenthal-Lee

After dramatically revealing his secret identity to a crowd of reporters following his court hearing at the county jail Thursday morning, Phoenix Jones—legal name: Ben Fodor—tells PubliCola he plans to continue patrolling Seattle’s streets, but also says he’s “training a replacement.”
Fodor says his replacement, known as Nightstick, is the strong silent type.
Fodor says Nightstick—a friend of Fodor’s from the mixed martial arts fighting world—is more interested in going out and thwomping bad guys than calling 911 and waiting for police. Fodor says Nightstick is already meting out street justice in Seattle, breaking up “six or seven crimes,” and recently left a drug dealer handcuffed to a light pole.
Fodor says ultimately he’s hoping Nightstick becomes “a guy that can function the way [he] did before [he] was outed before the Seattle Police Department.” (Though Fodor, aka Phoenix Jones, says he won’t slowing down his own crime fighting.)
Fodor would not provide any details about Nightstick’s true identity, but said he his a “mixed martial artist” who wears “head-to-toe covered gear” and “doesn’t do interviews.”