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Originally posted: http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Strange-News/US-Real-Life-Superhero-Called-Phoenix-Jones-Helps-To-Make-Streets-Of-Seattle-Safer/Article/201101115882064?f=rss
11:11pm UK, Thursday January 06, 2011
Adam Arnold, Sky News Online
A real-life Superhero dressed in tights, a mask and a black and gold lycra suit, says he is helping to make the streets of Seattle safer by scaring away criminals.
The man, called Phoenix Jones, wears a bullet proof vest, and also has stab protection as well as being armed with a taser and tear gas.
He says when he walks into an area, criminals leave because they see the suit and do not want to take him on.
It is almost a case of Superman meets Batman as on most nights Phoenix walks into a comic store, enters a back room hidden behind shelves and is transformed into his character.
He has already managed to stop a man breaking into a car and possibly stealing it.
The would-be victim, known as Dan, was walking back to his vehicle in a car park when he saw a man with a metal strip trying to open his car.
Dan said: “He started sticking it down between the window and the rubber strip.”
Dan began to call 911, but said help arrived before he even finished dialling.
He explained: “From the right, this guy comes dashing in, wearing this skin-tight rubber, black and gold suit, and starts chasing him away.”
Phoenix is not the only costume-clad crime-fighter in Seattle.
There are eight other members of his Rain City Superhero group who also walk the streets, looking out for crime and prepared to fight it.
Since Phoenix started his crusade nine months ago, he has been stabbed and was threatened with a gun several times, but received no serious injuries.
Unfortunately, he did not find the man who was breaking into Dan’s car.
He told CBS: “When I walk into a neighbourhood, criminals leave because they see the suit.
“I symbolise that the average person doesn’t have to walk around and see bad things and do nothing.”

Originally posted: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20027464-504083.html
Posted by Crimesider Staff

LYNNWOOD, Wash. (CBS/KIRO) A Washington state man said he came within seconds of having his car broken into, and perhaps stolen, until a real-life “superhero” came to his aid, wearing tights, a mask and a skin-tight super suit.
The encounter started in Lynnwood Sunday evening when a man, who asked to be identified only as Dan, was walking back to his car in a parking lot when he saw a man with a metal strip trying to pry open his car, reports CBS affiliate KIRO.
“He started sticking it down between the window and the rubber strip,” said Dan.
Dan began to call 911, but said help arrived before he even finished dialing.
“From the right, this guy comes dashing in, wearing this skin-tight rubber, black and gold suit, and starts chasing him away,” said Dan.
What Dan didn’t know is that just about every night, an anonymous Seattle man strolls into a comic store, enters a hidden back room and emerges transformed.
KIRO reporter Monique Ming Laven met him.
“My name is Phoenix Jones,” said the man.
The man is the hero Dan’s been trying to tell his friends about.
“People are saying, ‘No way, dude, you were probably drunk,'” said Dan.
But the superhero sounded familiar to Ming Laven. She had heard about how he and the other eight members of his Rain City Superhero crime fighting movement walk the street, eyes out for crime and prepared to fight it.
On Monday night, the fully-clad superhero and Dan met.
“That’s crazy. Nice to meet you, brother. Nice to meet you. That’s insane,” said Dan, who finally got a close-up look at his savior.
“Phoenix” explained his whole super suit, including bullet-proof vest and stab plates, to Dan.
“That’s a Taser night stick. And I have Mace slash tear gas over here,” said Phoenix.
Then it was time for Phoenix to get back out on the streets, maybe not quite a super man, but an extraordinary one.
“So when I walk into a neighborhood, criminals leave because they see the suit,” said Phoenix. “I symbolize that the average person doesn’t have to walk around and see bad things and do nothing.”
Phoenix said since he started his crime-fighting crusade nine months ago, he’s been stabbed, and had a gun pulled on him a few times, but received no serious injuries.
Unfortunately, he didn’t catch up with the man who was breaking into Dan’s car.

Originally posted: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/06/11/earlyshow/main5080828.shtml
Average Citizens Become Caped Crusaders In The Battle Against Crime
NEW YORK
Superheroes Are Real!
Everyday citizens around the world are mimicking movie superheroes by fighting crime and helping the needy. Michelle Miller reports. Real-life superhero Citizen Prime discussed his double life.
(CBS) In closets around the world, their tights and capes are tucked away. They have day jobs and lives, but when night comes, they become…Dark Guardian! Life! Civitron! Citizen Prime! And many other superhero identities.
These people are average citizens-turned-crime fighters, regularly suiting up to do good deeds. CBS News correspondent Michelle Miller reported on The Early Show Thursday that there may be as many as 200 superheroes keeping watch in communities everywhere.
And they’re taking on crime right where it lives.
Dark Guardian, a real-life superhero, showed Miller how he’s is trying to rid New York City streets of drug dealers.
He walked up to someone he thought was a drug dealer and told him to leave a park
And though they don’t carry a badge, they are getting recognition for their work. Miller reported a superhero who calls himself Master Legend has been credited by police for rescuing people after Hurricane Charlie, and two other superheroes in England are being celebrated for defending two police officers under attack.
But these superheroes aren’t just taking down people they think are bad guys, they’re also doing outreach, such as feeding the homeless. And the superhero community is getting organized through New York-based initiative, Superheroes Anonymous, which documents the real-life superhero phenomenon.
Other superheroes are reaching out to children. One such superhero, Citizen Prime, joined The Early Show on Thursday.
Citizen Prime, an executive at a financial institution, said he’s giving back through outreach at schools. He works with Kid Heroes, performing with a team that teaches children about bullying, emergencies, encouragement and helping friends.
Citizen Prime, like many superheroes, said he keeps his professional life separate from his superhero life.
“I don’t have a secret identity per se, but I do have an alter ego,” he said. “…I think what Citizen Prime really represents is that hero inside all of us. When you find out who I am, it’s a whole lot less interesting than Citizen Prime.”
But do they really need the costume?
“It’s a way for me to be loud, to be something more, something super – and hopefully get the attention of people around me,” Civitron told Miller.
And they do get attention — some good, some bad.
“I’ve been threatened,” Dark Guardian told Miller. “People have put a gun on us, but I never back down.”
The only defense they have is pepper spray and sometimes a bullet-proof vest. Police discourage their work, but they’re still crusading for justice any way they can.
Dark Guardian said, “Somebody needs to stand up against the people who are doing wrong.”
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Want to learn more about being a superhero? Visit Real Life Superheroes or, click here to learn more about bringing out the superhero in you.

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http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/06/11/earlyshow/main5080828.shtml