Category Articles 2010

Originally posted: http://blog.moviefone.com/2010/11/19/real-life-superheroes/

A group of caped crusaders with names like Thorn, Green Reaper, Penelope, and Phoenix Jones have sprung up in Seattle. These masked vigilantes say they’re part of the Rain City Superhero Movement — self-described superheroes who patrol the streets at night and fight crime. They’re part of a larger movement of crime fighters who host this website for the Real Life Superhero community — giving tips to Regular Joes and Janes who want to take to the streets and perform “good deeds for the communitarian place whom he inhabits.” Someone’s been watching too much ‘Kick-Ass.’
Seattle police are getting a bit antsy about people putting themselves in unnecessary danger. A group of superheroes outside a gas station in ski masks didn’t bode well with authorities, and one dressed in all black was almost shot running out of a dark park. Phoenix claims he was stabbed “while trying to intervene with a drug dealer and a citizen.” Why do they risk it? “Because someone’s gotta do something,” the author of RLSH says.
These heroes don’t carry automatic weapons — opting for Tasers, nightsticks, and pepper spray instead — and Phoenix doesn’t think just anyone with a mask should be wandering the streets. “Everyone on my team either has a military background or a mixed martial arts background, and we’re well aware of what its costs to do what we do.” His costume includes a black cape, black fedora, blue tights, white belt and mask. His sidekick? A woman not in costume who usually drives him around to do his thing. So far, no confirmation if this is actually his mom.
A department spokesperson, Jeff Kappel, doesn’t seem to be having the same reaction to the group that former NYC mayor Ed Koch had to the Guardian Angels in the late ’70s. “There’s nothing wrong with citizens getting involved with the criminal justice process — as long as they follow it all the way through.” Kappel still recommends calling good old 911.
[via seattlepi.com]

Jenny Kuglin, Director of Social Media
Friday, November 19th, 12:31pm

Phoenix Jones is a superhero.
He has a day job but wears a costume underneath his street clothes in case he encounters crime. He carries a “net gun” and has a sidekick named Buster Doe.
But this isn’t the plot from a Hollywood movie. There are no special effects. This is real-life and Phoenix patrols Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood every week- stopping fights, feeding the homeless and helping folks who have run out of gas.
Unlike most movie superheroes, Phoenix doesn’t have any super powers and he doesn’t need them. He is made of flesh and blood and has gotten hurt. He deals with real criminals and puts his life in danger nightly.
“Phoenix, some people might ask if you’re crazy. Are you crazy?” I asked during a recent phone interview.
“Have you ever seen something that you thought was wrong or not fair? That you wanted to change? And then you just thought about it for days or weeks?” He said.
“Of course.” I answered.
“Well I haven’t. I don’t stand by and watch things happen that are wrong. When I see it I fix it. Does that make me crazy?”
RAIN CITY SUPERHERO MOVEMENT
Phoenix is a part of the Rain City Superhero movement, a group of superheroes that patrols the streets of Seattle.
The group includes Phoenix Jones, Buster Doe, Thorn, Green Reaper, Gemini, No Name, Catastrophe, Thunder 88 and Penelope.
So is vigilante justice acceptable? Are the superheroes actually helping police fight crime?
Phoenix says police were extremely wary at first, but now accept his help. He says he calls them ahead of time to tell them which neighborhood he’ll be patrolling. He fills out police reports and gives witness testimony.
“Police have been super helpful. I’ll walk down the streets and they’ll get their loudspeaker out and say, ‘Hey, Phoenix! How are you doing?’ They’ll come over and shake my hand. They know that I’m for real.”
A police bulletin was sent to Seattle officers on Wednesday about the group.
Seattle police say there is nothing illegal about dressing up as a superhero, but it is dangerous and they do not encourage it.
They would rather the self-proclaimed superheroes acted as witnesses instead of inserting themselves into fights.
Police also say it can be a drain on resources when they have to field 911 calls about people afraid of “masked men.”
BECOMING A SUPERHERO
Phoenix Jones says he wanted to become a superhero after a few incidents changed his mind about Seattle.
The first involved a friend getting assaulted outside a bar. The friend was left with permanent facial damage.
“And I thought, why didn’t someone help him? There were seventy people outside that bar and no one did anything,” he said.
The second incident was when someone broke into his car and his son was injured by the broken glass. His son had to spend the night in the ER and get stitches. He was later told that several people saw the break-in happen, but didn’t do anything.
Phoenix said, “Teenagers are running down the street, breaking into cars, and no one does anything? Where’s the personal accountability?”
Phoenix decided he would be different than all of those people who just stood by, not helping.
He began stepping into fights and helping people in need. But soon, he was getting recognized across town as ‘the guy who stops fights.’ He realized he was putting himself in danger.
“They’d recognize me and pick me out. I couldn’t do regular, every-day things anymore. So I started wearing the mask,” he said.
Phoenix says his costume helps him fight crime.
He said, “Most of the time when people see me, they kind-of laugh. The reaction I get is exactly what I wanted when I made the suit. I made it kind-of comical. Because if I can stop a fight by simply showing up in a cape and saying ‘Hey, Stop!’ like a comic-book character, and they actually stop, then the problem is solved. And no one got hurt.”
But not everyone laughs. Phoenix has been injured, but wouldn’t give details.
“I can’t really give specifics of my injuries because there are hospital records and it might be obvious who I am. I can say I’ve been cut several different times. And there was an incident in Tacoma with a gun. I’m not going to say how far it went, but it was bad. Remember, I deal with real criminals.”
TOOLS OF THE TRADE
It takes a lot of tools to be a good superhero, and Phoenix has a lot of them.
He carries a taser nightstick, a net gun and a grappling hook. (Though he says the net gun and grappling hook are not very effective. The grappling hook was unable to support his body.) But he does not carry a gun or knife.
He drives a regular car, but has a sophisticated communication system. A computer inside his car prints any emails sent to his superhero email address: [email protected].
“Last night a guy emailed me saying he felt unsafe walking to his car. I was able to help him immediately. You know, if he called the police they wouldn’t be able to help him. But I am.”
Phoenix agreed to let KOMO News go out with him for a night of crime-fighting, but not before he got a bulletproof suit.
“After media attention, I might get shot at. I want to feel safe.”
We agreed to wait until he got the bulletproof suit and the story will air on KOMO-TV soon.
THE FUTURE
Phoenix Jones wants more superheroes to join the Rain City Superhero movement. But he says they must be qualified. And realistic.
Phoenix said, “I think people would find it’s far less romantic than it sounds. The hours aren’t so great. There’s no pay. That’s the reality.”
(GETTING AN INTERVIEW WITH A SUPERHERO)
There were no phone booths involved in my first communication with Phoenix Jones. Phoenix is a modern day superhero, so instead he uses Facebook.
His post on the KOMO News wall read:
“HELLO MY NAME IS PHOENIX. I’M A SUPERHERO. I FIGHT CRIME IN THE SEATTLE AREA. I HAVE HAD TROUBLE STOPPING ALL THE CRIME IN THE CITY CONSIDERING THERE ARE ONLY 5 MEMBERS OF MY CRIME FIGHTING TEAM.”
We get a lot of tips that don’t pan out, and I thought this was probably one of them. But his profile picture showed a man with a mask, cape and tights standing next to a Seattle police officer.
I was intrigued.
I looked at his Facebook page where all of his posts were about fighting crime. There were a lot of dark and fuzzy pictures of him in various poses around the city donning that same mask, cape and tights.
So I sent him an email saying I’d be interested to find out more about his superhero abilities. We traded emails back and forth and I learned that he was very serious about his job, that he’d been injured and gotten involved in stopping knife fights.
I wanted to talk to him by phone, but he wouldn’t give me his phone number.
“You’re a journalist. You’d find a way to trace me,” he said.
So we agreed to talk on a secret phone line where I had to punch in a secret code. After talking to him I realized this was a real story about a real guy doing really strange and amazing things.

Originally posted: http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2010/11/rain_city_superhero_movement_d.php
>By Curtis Cartier, Fri., Nov. 19 2010 @ 6:00AM
Green Reaper, Penelope, Thorn, Thunder 88, Buster Doe, No Name, Catastrophe, Gemini and Phoenix Jones the Guardian of Seattle. These are the names of the costumed superheros who are now patrolling our city, ensuring your safety… I know. We’re excited too.
The PI reports late on Thursday that a group of masked vigilantes calling themselves the Rain City Superhero Movement has been patrolling Seattle streets for a few weeks now.
They wear costumes, they ride around in a Kia at night looking for trouble and occasionally, they get stabbed.
Seattle Police think they’re silly at best, dangerous at worst. They cite cases where one darkly clad crusader was nearly shot when he came running out of a park in the middle of the night, or when a woman saw a bunch of costumed freaks pull up to a gas station and thought they were there to rob the place.
“Phoenix Jones the Guardian of Seattle” seems to be the one member that the cops and the media have the most info on–and still, it’s not much.
We know he’s a 22-year-old man who met with police at the station last month in near full regalia: black cape, blue tights, black fedora, white belt and mask. He’d have brought the rest of his gear, he told them, but it was being repaired after he got stabbed trying to break up a drug buy.
But don’t worry. Jones tells the PI that he and his squad are professionals.

“I don’t condone people walking around on the street with masks. Everyone on my team either has a military background or a mixed martial arts background, and we’re well aware of what its costs to do what we do.”

The crew appears to draw a lot of its marching orders from the website reallifesuperheros.org.
That’s right, .org.
Also, another site noted by the police has an actual “manual” for becoming a super hero.
It’s packed with info on picking out fly crime fighting “threads” and weapons, assembling a kick-ass utility belt, keeping your “hero health” in tip-top shape and finding pressure points on your enemies that will render them incapacitated.
Nowhere on the site are any tips for finding a girlfriend or holding down a job.
It’s not clear how the Rain City Superhero Movement is alerted to crimes. They may have police scanners, they may have inside sources, or simply internet access to the SPD police blog. They don’t, at this point, have a skyward pointed spotlight of any kind or a direct line to Mayor McGinn.
But they do have our attention. And it’s likely that that’s all they wanted in the first place.

Originally posted: http://www.king5.com/news/local/Real-Life-Superheroes-Hit-Seattle-Streets-109317779.html

SEATTLE — They are a group of costumed and caped do-gooders out to fight crime, and now they’re on the streets of Seattle.
A handful of men and women say they’re part of a national group of “Real Life Superheroes” and locally they call themselves the Rain City Movement.
Their website says they embody the values presented in super heroic comic books. Now they’ve organized here and are patrolling Seattle streets at night.
But, police say these superheroes could cause harm. They carry Tasers, nightsticks and pepper spray, but they don’t carry guns.
At a Capitol Hill gas station last week, a bystander mistook a masked superhero for a masked robber. Police warn someone could get hurt.
“If you want to dress up as a superhero that’s great. Go to the conventions.” said Mark Jamieson, spokesman for the Seattle Police Department.

Originally posted: http://capitolhill.komonews.com/content/phoenix-jones-real-life-superhero

Originally Posted: http://www.seattlepi.com/local/430430_super19.html
By CASEY MCNERTHNEY
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

Originally posted: http://www.sundaypaper.com/More/Archives/tabid/98/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/5904/Real-life-superheroes.aspx
Costumed crusaders shine a light on Atlanta’s homeless situation
On a Friday afternoon in a Downtown Atlanta parking garage, a couple of superheroes step out of an SUV and prepare to embark on their latest mission. They look as if they’ve stepped out of a comic book, ready to storm a supervillain’s hideout. But today’s objective doesn’t involve death rays or alien invasions. Instead, they’re about to walk through Woodruff Park and check on the many homeless Atlantans who congregate there.
Just another day on the job for the Crimson Fist and his sidekick, Metadata.
When The Sunday Paper tags along, summer temperatures are still causing dehydration on the Downtown streets, so the dynamic due brings four cases of bottled water.
“And then I believe 80 packs of crackers, and something like 48 packs of fruit snacks to hand out,” the Fist says, adding that as they distribute the water and food, they’ll  “just walk around, talk to people, make sure everyone’s doing OK.”
They hoist shopping bags filled with bottles and snack packages over their shoulders and set off for the park.  When the bags are empty, they’ll return to the parking garage to restock and make another circuit.
The Crimson Fist’s maroon-and-white uniform draws a few stares as they begin the two-block walk, as much for the striking logo—a red fist inside a black star—as for the incongruous pairing of red gloves and sneakers. Metadata collects a few look-overs of her own, clad in a form-fitting Lycra bodysuit and huge black lace-up boots.
The Crimson Fist—named for a comic book he created as a child—doesn’t mind. A little gawking comes with the territory.
Since he first began, “people have kind of warmed up to the idea,” he says. “Especially in areas like this, areas that I go to quite a bit, they get used to seeing me. I mean, it’s Atlanta, so you get used to the weird stuff after awhile.”
SECRET ORIGINS
The pair are part of a loose-knit community of real-life superheroes that stretches across the country and as far as Mexico, Brazil and the United Kingdom, keeping in contact via sites like reallifesuperheroes.org and heroesnetwork.net.
These heroes refer to themselves as crime-fighters, activists or, in the Crimson Fist’s case. humanitarians. Some, like Atlanta fixture Danger Woman, advocate for a particular cause (she champions the rights of the disabled). Others simply act as a kind of colorful neighborhood watch, armed with first aid kits and video cameras—and maybe some pepper spray for protection. Still others work to, say, drive drug dealers out of local parks. Almost all engage in some form of public service—whether it’s visiting children’s hospitals, collecting items for toy drives or reaching out to the homeless.
The Crimson Fist has tried the crime-fighter-on-patrol route, but “I don’t focus on it as much anymore, because I’m a lot more focused on trying to be more on the humanitarian side of things,” he says. “I try to make sure I stay on my side of the fence as much as possible. I find that I just get more out of helping people than hurting people.”
He knows a thing or two about the latter. “I did a lot of things in my life I wasn’t necessarily proud of, did a lot of bad things and hurt a lot of people. So I kind of decided to try to give back, to try and help stop the problem that affected me when I was younger.”
Once that decision was made, his evolution a couple of years ago into the Crimson Fist “just kind of came naturally. As a kid I wanted to be a superhero, you know? And I just one day decided, I might as well bite the bullet and just go for it. And it worked out a lot better than I expected.”
His partner, a recent college graduate and freelance artist, is new to Atlanta; this is her first time going on a handout with the Crimson Fist. She started out in another city, volunteering for other real-life superheroes as an operator, or “Oracle,” named for the support role assumed by comic-book character Barbara Gordon (Batgirl) after she was shot by the Joker. Just as Oracle helps  Batman behind the scenes, Metadata, in real life, helped heroes with directions or other remote assistance as they conducted handouts or patrols.
“I had heard about real life superheroes in a psychology class,” she says. “I did a little research on it and really liked what I was hearing from people, and I really wanted to help.”
“IT’S OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS”
It’s taken a bit of negotiation to allow a reporter and photographer to come along. The Crimson Fist knows his outfit attracts attention—that’s why he wears it, after all—but he’s been disappointed by media reports on his work in the past. His hope is that the sight of a man in a colorful costume will inspire onlookers to explore what they can do for others.
“I fully understand that there’s a bit of silliness to the superhero thing,” he says. “But there’s much more important things to focus on than how silly I look in the costume.”
Atlanta’s homeless population is what he’s chosen to focus on. It’s certainly a community in need of help. According to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs 2009 Report on Homelessness, on one night in January of that year, about 21,000 people were homeless in Georgia—and more than half didn’t even have a place to stay in a shelter, or were in peril of not having shelter space. The Metro Atlanta Tri-Jurisdictional Collaborative on Homelessness, which surveyed the city of Atlanta, DeKalb County and Fulton County, found 7,019 sheltered and unsheltered homeless people, accounting for at least a third of the state’s homeless population. of those, 87 percent—6,131 people—were located in Atlanta. About 2,000 were on the streets.
The Collaborative’s survey shows  a 6.5 percent increase in homelessness over the last six years, even as DeKalb and Fulton Counties’ populations grew by about 17 percent over the same period, with more respondents without a full-time job in 2009 than in previous years.
“A lack of affordable housing in our area contributes to the issue,” says Vince Smith, executive director of the Gateway Center, a homeless services center that provides housing and programs to help get people out of homelessness. “With job losses and foreclosures, many people we’re seeing now are homeless that have never experienced homelessness before. With this Great Recession we’ve been in, there’s also more stresses on familes and individuals, and that’s certainly true of my colleagues at other agencies that deal with homelessness, as well; the stress level is extremely high.”
On the bright side, Smith says, hard times have encouraged others in the community to get involved.
“Anecdotally, I have seen an increase in the community’s response to the needs of others,” he says. “I can tell you that my phone rings more frequently now than it did three years ago with people wanting to do something to help others.” And local agencies, he says, “are working together more collaboratively with the community at large today than in recent history.
“Homelessness isn’t some ethereal concept,” he continues. “It’s our brothers and sisters, our nieces and nephews, our children and parents. It is us. The community response has been overwhelmingly encouraging.”
“JUST HELP PEOPLE OUT”
Back in Woodruff Park, the homeless response to the curious-looking do-gooders in their midst is a mixture of gratitude and wariness. Cries of “Hey, superhero!” precede requests for water. Several onlookers take pictures with their phones. One shabby-looking individual asks for an autograph. “I’m not tripping, right?” he asks.
Metadata approaches clusters of wary men with a water bottle and an engaging smile. More than a few times, a small crowd gathers around her. But she’s not fazed.
“They just want a little help,” she says. “I don’t see anyone attacking me for bottled water or a fruit snack. When you get down to it, they’re just people.”
The Crimson Fist acknowledges that approaching destitute strangers can be a foolhardy endeavor, especially dressing the way he does. “I mean, there’s always a risk,” he says. “That’s why I carry some protection, just in case something should happen. But I care enough about the people out here to take that risk.”
Not everyone in the park this afternoon is homeless or even destitute, but the heroes don’t discriminate. “You never can tell who needs help,” Crimson Fist says. Still, he makes a point of asking each person if they’re OK or if they need anything. “It’s a sensitive situation for some people. Sometimes they can get offended if they don’t need help. But generally speaking, most people are just happy to have something.”
“Can I join your organization?” someone calls as they pass.
“Just help people out,” the Crimson Fist replies. “That’s all you gotta do.”
“I don’t want to hold you up,” one grateful man says. “I know there’s a lot more people that have to be saved.”
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
By 2:30 p.m.—two hours after they’ve started—140 bottles of water have been handed out, and the snacks are all but gone.
“It went really well,” Metadata says of her first Atlanta outing. “I’m glad we got as much as we did. I wish we had enough to give to everyone.”
The Crimson Fist says he attempts to conduct handouts about once a month, setting aside money when he can to devote to supplies—something that became harder due to a recent stretch of unemployment.
“I think we spent about $40 today,” he says. “If I’m out here by myself, I’ll usually spend $25 or $30.” During the summer, that money largely goes to bottled water. But in the colder months, he expands his focus to clothing, blankets and other ways to keep warm, rummaging through thrift stores and even going through his own clothes to see what he can afford to give away. “I just save as much as I can, try to find the best deals I can,” he says.
No matter how much he saves, “I always think I’ve brought enough stuff, and there’s never enough. It’s overwhelming sometimes to see just how big a problem there is, but it’s always nice to help at least a small portion of that.”
Both agree that while they enjoy the one-on-one interaction, their ambitions go beyond handouts.
“I like being able to directly hand something to somebody when they need it,” the Crimson Fist says. “But you always want to do more.”
Metadata adds that they’re aspiring to more than distributing food and water.
“We’re also trying to get a community outreach going, get other people involved, get businesses involved,” she says. “We want to make sure that years from now, when maybe we’re starting to get to a point where we can’t do it anymore, like on a physical level even, that the community can take care of itself.
“It’s just a matter of connecting with people and saying, ‘This is what we’re about,’” she continues. “‘It’s not about going out and dressing up, it’s really about helping people, and here’s how you can do it and here’s how you can reach us.’”
The Fist sums up: “It’s not so much that we want to draw attention to us doing [this], as we want to draw attention to the problem and to show people that anybody can do this. It doesn’t take an actual superman to help solve the problem.” SP

Parties interested in helping the Crimson Fist with his mission can contact him via e-mail at [email protected].
“I mean, it’s Atlanta, so you get used to the weird stuff after awhile.”—The Crimson Fist
“The community response has been overwhelmingly encouraging.”—Vince Smith, executive director of the Gateway Center
HOW TO HELP
Call 2-1-1 anywhere in Georgia to find or give help for homelessness and other problems, or visit www.211.org.
Gateway Center
275 Pryor St. SW
404-215-6600
www.gatewayctr.org
Hands on Atlanta
600 Means St., Suite 100
404-979-2800
www.handsonatlanta.org
Hosea Feed the Hungry and Homeless
1035 Donnelly Ave. SW
404-755-3353
www.hoseafeedthehungry.com
Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless
477 Peachtree St.
404-230-5000
www.homelesstaskforce.org

Originally published from http://www.valenciavoice.com
Copy of Valencia VoiceCopy of Valencia Voice
By Victor Ocasio
[email protected]
A masked man ducks and dodges between dingy streets and alleyways, seeking to vanquish evil wherever it appears. His gadgets  are ready, his fighting skills honed, and his costume complete. He is the superhero of Winter Park, Master Legend. But  unlike his inked counterparts of Marvel and DC, Master Legend is very real.
He is part of the growing international community of real life superheroes who have, in recent years, gained popularity due to the slew of comic movies that have been flooding the mainstream market. But the overall message of these masked heroes is much bigger than mere imitation and role-playing.
“The real life superhero thing is about getting out there, being ready to fight evil, jumping into action and putting your life on the line if you have to,” said Master Legend. “You have to accept that fact as a superhero.”
Originally from New Orleans, Louisiana, Master Legend has been a masked hero for well over 28 years, and in such time has managed to find the world’s first non-profit superhero organization, Team Justice, Inc.
His first act of super-heroics was in second-grade. In an attempt to stop a classroom bully while remaining anonymous, the prepubescent Master Legend fashioned together a mask and an emblem clad shirt and physically confronted the boy. After successfully vanquishing his first villain, Master Legend had found his calling as a masked crime fighter.
“I feel that this is the best way I can serve a good purpose in this life,” said Master Legend. A majority of the work he has done involves acts of community service and aid for the homeless, such as food, clothes and blanket donations and gift drives for children during the holiday season. But the work isn’t always easy for the 44-year-old hero.
“I’m the guy walking the streets in the dangerous parts of town with some food and a jacket for somebody,” he said. “I go to places scarier than you’ll see in the movies.” Claiming to have been in more than 1,000 fist fights, shot twice and involved in numerous gang battles, Master Legend is not your average volunteer and is certainly used to danger.
“Some people would be traumatized to have a knife pulled on them,” he said. “For me though, that’s just another day.”
Some may see his caped crusading as mere child’s play, but to him it’s all part of his daily life. His dedication to the superhero lifestyle makes it difficult to have a weekly scheduled job, so he makes his living doing property management and tree removal services.
He believes that a regular job would hinder him from being able to help the community when disaster strikes and villains appear. Master Legend doesn’t hesitate to jump into action when and where he is needed.
In the end, that’s what it really is all about for this unconventional humanitarian.
“The world can see that there are people out there that really do care, and who are willing to fight evil,” said Master Legend. “Some people may laugh, but hey.”
Being a superhero has also affected his social life and personal relationships. Although many of his close friends believe in his cause, he has lost friends and family who could not understand or accept his calling, including his former wife, who
divorced the crime fighter more than 12 years ago.
“I have a 16 year-old daughter,” said Master Legend. “She really doesn’t have much to do with me. She doesn’t really know much about what I do. Her mama has made it so I hardly get to see her anymore.”
Unlike other superheroes, Master Legend believes he has a very clear message about the direction society has taken and that society’s biggest problem is “the greed of the rich.”
Although not against the idea of physical confrontation, as evident by the many tools and gadgets he has madeincluding the Iron Fist, the Master Blaster and the Legend Bomb, Master Legend believes that there are better alternatives to dealing with his community’s problems.
“One of the best ways to prevent crime is to prevent desperation,” said Master Legend. “That’s one of the reasons why I help the homeless so much.”
Life isn’t all about disposing of drug dealers and corralling crack-heads for this superhero. When not on patrol, Master Legend enjoys playing guitar, dancing with pretty women, eating crawfish and having a few beers.
“I may be a superhero, but I’m not perfect!”
Despite what some may think, Master Legend has truly made an impact on his community and has even been commemorated for his actions by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. And although he does not know where his heroics will take him, he is confident he will always do his part. “I’m the hero of the people. The voice of the silenced!”
Winter Park rests easy under superhero’s watch

Originally posted in the Valencia Voice at  http://www.valenciavoice.com/
Copy of Valencia Voice
Ben Goldman sets out to unmask real life community crusaders
By: Victor Ocasio
[email protected]
As children, so many wished for the chance to soar above the clouds like Superman, or take to the streets vanquishing evil like the dark knight Batman.
But what if that world of wonder and bat-shark repellent bat-spray wasn’t so distant?
For many around the world, who are part of the Real Life Superhero Movement, it isn’t.
They come from all over, don myriad unique costumes and all, in their own way, seek to better the community around them.
Many provide aid to the less fortunate through charity, while others still insist on ol’ fashioned street patrols to stop crime in its tracks.
In 2007, a project was started, in an effort to understand the realities of real life superheroism and to organize the first official gathering of these individuals in history.
Documentary film- maker Ben Goldman and co-director Chiam Lazaros set out to unmask the world of these real life community crusaders, in their first film, “Superheroes Anonymous.”
A Valencia Voice phone interview, with Goldman, offered in- sight into the ongoing project.

Originally posted: http://www.gizmag.com/real-life-superhero-gadgets/16862/
By Ben Coxworth

Yes, there are real-life superheroes. And no, we’re not just referring to firefighters, paramedics, and other heroic people who we’re used to seeing coming to the rescue of others. We’re talking about costume-wearing, identity-concealing, cool-name-having people who fight crime, pollution, or other evils in their own communities, on their own time, and at their own risk. Many of them actually patrol the city streets, ready to intervene if they see trouble brewing – and being ready includes having the right tools. Given that none of these people have Bruce Wayne’s budget, however, their gadgets tend to be less like Batmobile clones, and more like… well, read on and see for yourself.

Off-the-rack items

First of all, there are some household products that are popular in the RLSH (Real Life Superhero) community, including flashlights, first aid kits, mobile phones, cameras, and zip ties, to use as handcuffs. When it comes to preparing for physical confrontations, some not-so-household ready-made devices come into play, such as Kevlar vests, body armor, pepper spray, and telescoping batons. Moving up the ladder to the realm of “Is that even legal?”, a few RLSHs carry tasers, wrist rocket sling shots, and blast knuckles, which are shaped like brass knuckles and deliver an electric shock. Interestingly, we could only find one superhero who said they carry a firearm.

The Eye’s Custom Gear

Just as Spiderman is known for his web shooters and Wonder Woman for her golden lariat, so many RLSHs are known – at least within their community – for their custom-made gadgets. One in particular is The Eye, a kind of Dick Tracy-esque superhero who watches over the streets of Mountain View, California.
“Being a professional electronics tech from way back in my history, and being born and raised in Silicon Valley, I take great pleasure in the creation process, the sub-system testing, the final result, and a device’s final effective usage in the field,” he told Gizmag. His mostly light-based doo-dads have a decidedly steampunk appeal, and include things such as…

• The Wrist Blaster: a wrist-mounted and -activated camera strobe, which temporarily blinds assailants when fired at night (a similar device, The Eyeluminator, incorporates a five-LED flashlight)
• Finger Devices: these include a finger-mounted butane torch, laser pointers, and the Dragon’s Eye Ring, which contains a high-intensity white LED
• Sonic Screamer Tube: this one uses the electronics from a personal body alarm, transferred into a sound-concentrating steel tube
• Laser Wand: a toy Harry Potter wand, retrofitted with a 95mW green laser module – useful for pointing things out to the police, or letting troublemakers know they’re being watched
• The Nightmare Cane: inspired by a cane used by TV vampire Barnabas Collins, it sports an LED light, rare earth neodymium magnets for picking up metallic objects, a retractable claw hand for grabbing other items, and a video camera mount for peeking over obstacles

Master Legend and the Master Blaster

Over on the Southeastern U.S., Master Legend patrols the streets of Orlando, Florida. One of his trademark gadgets is a handheld cannon known as the Master Blaster. “The Master Blaster will shoot so high in the sky you won’t see it come down,” he told us. “It can also blow a hole through a door. I can put anything in it that fits.”
He also uses custom body armor plates made from steel plating, and a closed-ended steel cylinder that slips over his hand and forearm, which he calls the Iron Fist. According to Master Legend, the device is capable of hurting somebody, or smashing a door down – not that he necessarily wants to hurt anybody. “Scaring someone is better than beating them up” he said.

Artisteroi – Just tell him what you need

Unlike The Eye and Master Blaster, the gadgets that Artisteroi makes aren’t for his own use. He has a degree in mechanical engineering, develops engineering software for a living, and has become one of a select group of people whom other superheroes turn to when it comes to getting devices made.
He is currently chief engineer on the Iron Rad suit project, in which several RLSH “gadgeteers” are collaborating on developing a sort of real life Iron Man suit. Mega-Rad, one of their fellow superheroes, is funding the project. According to him, some of the key features of the suit will include ballistic protection, light weight, strength amplification, sensory enhancement and non-lethal weaponry.
“Iron Rad is a bid to function in reality as a full time superhero, actually rescuing people, disrupting violent crimes, and doing some form of outreach toward the next generation of people (who could become bad guys) to try and help motivate them to become constructive and awesome members of society instead” he told us.
Right now, the suit is still largely on the drawing board. “All the parts of the Iron Rad suit are essentially existing tech that we intend to repurpose and shoehorn together into one system,” Artisteroi said. “We are just finishing up the ideation phase and beginning design and prototyping.”
Some of Artisteroi’s recent projects have included a fog gun, and a fighting staff that folds down into a compact carrying case. He is currently working on the Mega Claw, a spring-loaded mechanical hand for use in Iron Rad, that will be controlled by Mega-Rad’s own hand via cables attached to a control glove.

Putting it all to use

It’s obviously a lot of fun acquiring and/or fabricating these gadgets, but… do they actually end up seeing any use?
According to The Eye, absolutely. “My cane, the Fedora Light, the Eyeluminator, and the Dragon’s Eye ring are common-wear items, that I wear/use some combination of on every night patrol,” he said. “The Laser Wand I once used to spook some public park vandals away, by scanning it near their location.”
“As for the more offensive but legal items that I often carry, that I did not create, such as stun guns and pepper spray and such, I certainly hope I never have to use them, but am glad they are there if needed… I am always more pleased when my photonic, self-created devices are able to diffuse a situation before it escalates.”
Geist, a RLSH based out of Rochester, Minnesota, told us “I use a cell phone, flashlight and a can of gray spray paint all the time. The spray paint is to paint a neutral color over gang graffiti, thus reclaiming the neighborhood for the people and not the gangs. It’s supposed to be a lethal insult to the gang (meaning they have the ‘right’ to kill you for doing it.).”
“I’ve not used my offensive or defensive weaponry and prefer I never do. I’ve talked down a lot of tense situations using diplomacy and reason. I’d really prefer that everyone just goes home and sobers up, rather than anyone going to jail.”
Artisteroi believes that the consumer products such as flashlights and body armor find use quite often, but the more exotic stuff – not so much. “That is a good thing, really,” he added. “The real world is a lot more stable than the chaos of the comics. If we had to use these expensive tools all the time, being a superhero would cost a fortune.”
Special thanks to the administrators and forum members of Real Life Superheroes.org for their help with this article.