Tag dark guardian

Originally posted: http://www.wired.com/underwire/2011/01/slamdance-superheroes/
By Hugh Hart
They might look like comical Comic-Con exhibitionists as they patrol the streets of U.S. cities garbed in utility belts, homemade capes and jerry-rigged masks, but it’s no joke: The crime-fighters portrayed in new documentary Superheroes offer serious threats to urban troublemakers across the country.
Director Michael Barnett and producer Theodore James’ movie, which premieres Friday at the Slamdance Film Festival, sheds light on secretive guardians of the community like Zetaman, Dark Guardian, Master Legend, Lucid and Zimmer.
The clip above offers a glimpse of a San Diego-based caped crusader who goes by the name of Mr. Xtreme. Superheroes gets an encore Slamdance showing in Park City, Utah, on Wednesday.

 
It’s Friday evening in New York, and I’m sitting in the secret base of the city’s pre-eminent superhero, which looks deceptively like the bottom floor apartment of a multifamily house in a quite section of Staten Island. Then again, who would ever suspect that beneath stately Wayne Manor sites the Bat cave?
Image file from Black Belt magazine:

By Mark Jacobs
From my seat at what appears to be a normal kitchen table, I watch as mild-mannered martial arts instructor Chris Pollak transforms into his nighttime alter ego, the Dark Guardian, donning a Lycra pullover with his trademark “DG” logo and a spiffy black and red motorcycle jacket. Then he fastens on what I can only thing of as his “utility belt” filled with first-aid supplies, pepper spray and a thigh holster container a heavy duty flashlight in preparation for one of his regular nocturnal forays.
Being that this will be a standard safety patrol of some local area in Staten Island, hardly New York’s roughest borough, the Dark Guardian has decided to dispense with this full costume. That comes out only for larger operations, such as the time he and several superhero colleagues invaded Manhattan’s drug infested Washington Square Park, forcing a tense standoff with local dealers until the evildoers finally fled back to their lairs. Thus, he leaves his more eye-catching gear, including a bulletproof vest and matching leather motorcycle pants, at home this night. He says he gave up wearing a mask in public several years ago because it seemed to make him less accessible to people.
“Super-villains hunting me down in my real identity isn’t a big concern,” he admits.
This isn’t fantasy, nor is it the acting out of a disturbed soul. “Real-Life superheroes,” as costumed avengers now preferred to be called, is a growing movement of individuals- anywhere from 50 to 100- scattered across the country, people who dress up in secret identities and take to the streets to combat evil. (Reallifesuperheroes.com)
All right, none of them has super-powers (as far as I know), and most of them spend their time making public appearances and encouraging people to do things like recycle, rather than taking on criminal gangs. But a handful, including the Dark Guardian, carry the RLSH movement to its logical extreme, actually seeking to stop crime. Admittedly, this is something that’s probably best not taken up by the average person in spandex. But the Dark Guardian, or rather Chris Pollak, is a full-time martial arts instructor and amateur kick boxer. He’s also smart enough not to place himself in danger if there’s no need.
“If I don’t have to intervene in something, I try not to,” he says. “I’ll call the police, and they can intervene. My thing is, just don’t look the other way. I want to be a drastic example for people to know they can do little things to make a difference out there.”
In the seminal graphic novel Watchman, the costumed vigilante Rorschach observes: “We do not do this thing because it is permitted. We do it because we have to.” While he might have been talking about the need in a degenerating society for superheroes to fight crime, he was also likely speaking about the need certain individuals have to recreate themselves as heroic figures.
Pollak admits to having had a trouble youth in which he had little contact with his father- and even wandered into juvenile delinquency at one point. But as a child hold fascination with the martial arts let him to a local school that taught kenpo and kajukenbo. He says the training turned his life around and made him a better person.
This is not an unusual story. Many get involved with the martial arts out of a desire to develop larger-than life physical powers and improve themselves as individuals. But most stop there. Pollak simply took his youthful fascination with powerful heroes to the next level. Having heard there were some people out there dressing up and performing feats of community activism around the country, he mad et he decision to become one of them eight years ago.
“I started off in plain clothes, doing community patrols and handing out. Food to the homeless- things like that,” he says. “But then I talked with others who were doing the superhero thing or wanted to do it, and I liked the idea of becoming a symbol and being able to reach out to people.
While it might be easy to dismiss the Dark Guardian and his colleagues   as random crazies, when you talk to him about the superhero business, he makes it seem not only normal but also noble. He’s quiet and subdue most of the time, particularly as I ride the train across Staten Island with him. We walk the length of the train just checking on things, and, in his less-formal uniform, no one seems to pay him any notice- which appears fine with the Dark Guardian.
“Only one in 10 or 20 patrols will anything actually happen,” he says. And typically, the “action” comes from handing out a blanket to a homeless person or helping someone who’s locked out of his car.
Pollak’s never had to use his martial arts skills in his crime-fighting persona. The tensest moment he’s encountered was the standoff in Washington Square Park, where one of the dealers flashed a gun at the assembled superheroes. Although none of them was bulletproof, the heroes stood their ground until the dealers drifted off.
Sometime after that, on another patrol of the park, the police approached him and took him to the station. At first thinking they were going to harass him, the Dark Guardian was pleasantly surprised to find they just wanted to give him a personal intelligence briefing on whom to watch out for and suggest that if he had trouble, he should call and let them handle it. It wasn’t exactly Commissioner Gordon using the bat signal, but in the world of real-life superheroes, it was close enough.

Superheroes – Directed by Michael Barnett and produced by Theodore James.
Superheroes is a journey inside the world of real-life caped crusaders. From all over America, these everyday citizens don masks, homemade costumes and elaborate utility belts in an attempt to bring justice to evildoers everywhere.
This documentary is the definitive film on real life superheroes.  It features Mr. Extreme, Superhero, Master Legend, Zetaman, Z, Zimmer, Black Monday Society, Dark Guardian, Thanatos  and many more.
Superheroes will premiere January at Slamdance film festival.
Like it on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/pages/Superheroes-Documentary/125209937542451

Real Life Superheroes believe in working with the police.  They work to make a positive difference in their communities.   While many RLSH actively do safety patrols and neighborhood watch activities, they do not seek to act as a police officer.  Many real life superheroes have fought crime, but only within the confines of the law.   RLSH’s report suspicious activities and crime to the police.  They act as an extra set of ears and eyes for the police.  They only intervene if necessary.
Real life superheroes are about going out to make a positive difference in their communities.  The RLSH movement is based around altruism and community service.
We do not support vigilante justice.  We do not seek to hurt or scare anyone.  We can not control everyone who throws on a mask and goes out on the streets.  If anyone goes out seeking vigilante justice or puts innocent people in danger they are not accepted here.
 

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://www1.folha.uol.com.br/folhateen/805203-herois-sem-superpoderes-saem-as-ruas-nas-horas-vagas-para-fazer-o-bem.shtml
DIOGO BERCITO
SAO PAULO
À noite, Thanatos, 62, faz ronda nas ruas de Vancouver, no Canadá, vestindo sobretudo preto, chapéu e máscara verde cadavérica.
“Procuro mendigos à espera da morte e lhes dou mais um dia de vida”, diz à Folha por telefone, cheio de mistérios e sem revelar a verdadeira identidade.
Ele escolheu o codinome Thanatos há três anos, inspirado no deus grego da morte. Assim, entrou para a turma dos super-heróis da vida real, um grupo que se organizou nos EUA há dez anos.
Esses mascarados não têm poderes excepcionais, mas vão às ruas para ajudar quem precisa. Thanatos, por exemplo, distribui itens como garrafas de água e comida a moradores de rua.
A tarefa dele não envolve lutar com vilões maquiavélicos, o que não quer dizer que seja moleza. Ou seguro.
“Um traficante colocou uma arma no meu estômago”, conta Thanatos. “Eu estava com colete à prova de balas, então o desarmei.”
O nova-iorquino Dark Guardian, 26, passou por situações parecidas. Professor de artes marciais, ele patrulha a cidade, eventualmente lutando com gangues. “Sim, pode ficar bem perigoso.”
Como todo super-herói que se preze, Dark Guardian tem uma história decorada sobre sua origem. “Nunca tive modelos positivos, meu pai abusou de mim”, conta. “Quis ser um exemplo para os outros, como os personagens dos quadrinhos.”

Vigilantes como Thanatos e Dark Guardian ganharam destaque no ano passado, quando o fotógrafo norte-americano Peter Tangen leu sobre eles em uma revista.
Acostumado a fotografar para pôsteres de filmes como “Homem-Aranha” e “Batman Begins”, Peter ficou surpreso ao saber que havia, fora do cinema, quem se vestisse para ajudar os outros.
“A necessidade do mundo por super-heróis motivou tanto os filmes quanto essas pessoas”, sugere Peter, que montou o Real Life Super Hero Project (bit.ly/rlshero), com fotos desses vigilantes.
O nova-iorquino Life, 25, pensa de maneira afim. “São tempos difíceis, e as pessoas precisam de modelos.”
A explicação para a necessidade de fazer isso vestindo máscaras varia de um herói para o outro. “Se eu não me fantasiasse, não me sentiria tão poderoso”, afirma Life.
Já Nyx, 20, não se vê como uma personagem. A garota é heroica desde os 16 anos e diz que o uniforme é “uma extensão” de si mesma.
No Brasil, com exceção do Ciclista Prateado, o movimento não vingou.
“O super-herói é um empreendedor, um indivíduo. Essa é a história dos EUA, nosso sonho”, teoriza Life.
DENUNCIAR CRIMES E COBRAR O GOVERNO É MAIS PRODUTIVO
Enquanto os super-heróis da vida real agem como voluntários de boas ações, tudo bem. Mas combate ao crime ou ao tráfico é complicado.
“Há o risco de que se torne um “vigilantismo”, um instrumento de vingança”, afirma Renato Lima, secretário-geral do Fórum Brasileiro de Segurança Pública.
A segurança pública, aliás, é uma responsabilidade do Estado, alerta Lima. Assim como o uso da força.
“Quem é que vai definir o que é certo e o que é errado? Os heróis?”, pergunta-se.
Segundo Lima, a população pode ajudar de outras maneiras -por exemplo, cobrar seus governantes.
PERFIS HEROICOS

Nyx
20 anos
“Tenho compulsão por moradores de rua.
Perdi meus pais quando pequena, então
quis melhorar a vida dos outros”

Thanatos
62 anos
“A razão pela qual me fantasio é que
o que estou fazendo é mais importante
do que quem eu sou na vida real”

Dark Guardian
26 anos
“A melhor parte de NY é que você pode
andar fantasiado na rua e isso não vai
ter nada de excepcional”

Life
25 anos
“Super-heróis começaram nos quadrinhos,
viraram filmes e então videogames. Tornarem-se
reais é sua evolução natural”
English Translation
At night, Thanatos, 62, is round the streets of Vancouver, Canada, wearing black coat, hat and green mask mortis.
“Looking beggars waiting to die and give them one more day of life,” the Folha by phone, full of mysteries and without revealing their true identity.
He chose the codename Thanatos three years ago, inspired by the Greek god of death. So, he joined the gang of superheroes in real life, a group that was organized in the U.S. ten years ago.
These exceptional powers are not masked, but will hit the streets to help those in need. Thanatos, for example, distributes items such as bottled water and food to homeless people.
His task does not involve Machiavellian villains to fight, which does not mean it’s easy. Or safe.
“A dealer put a gun in my stomach,” said Thanatos. “I was bulletproof vest, then disarmed.”
The New Yorker Dark Guardian, 26, went through similar situations. Martial arts teacher, he patrols the city, where fighting with gangs. “Yes, it can be really dangerous.”
Like any superhero worth its salt, Dark Guardian has a decorated history of its origin. “I never had positive role models, my father abused me,” he says. “I wanted to be an example to others, like the characters in comics.”
Peter Tangen
The real-life superpowered, photographed by Peter Tangen
Vigilantes as Thanatos Dark Guardian and gained prominence last year when the American photographer Peter Tangen read about them in a magazine.
Accustomed to shooting the movie posters like “Spider-Man” and “Batman Begins,” Peter was surprised to learn that there was, outside the cinema, who were dressed to help others.
“The world’s need for superhero movies as much motivated these people,” suggests Peter, who rode Real Life Super Hero Project (bit.ly / rlshero) with pictures of these vigilantes.
The New York Life, 25, thinks so order. “These are difficult times, and people need role models.”
The explanation for the need to do this wearing masks varies from one hero to another. “If I do not fantasize, I do not feel so powerful,” says Life.
Already Nyx, 20, is not seen as a character. The girl is 16 years since the heroic and says the uniform is “an extension” of itself.
In Brazil, except for Silver Rider, the movement lost steam.
“The superhero is an entrepreneur, an individual. This is the story of the U.S., our dream,” theorizes Life.
Editorial / Art Folhapress
–
REPORTING CRIMES AND CHARGE THE GOVERNMENT IS MORE PRODUCTIVE
While the super-heroes in real life act as voluntary good deeds, fine. But fighting crime or the traffic is complicated.
“There is a risk that it becomes a” vigilantism, “an instrument of revenge,” said Renato Lima, general secretary of the Brazilian Forum of Public Security.
Public safety, incidentally, is a state responsibility, warns Lee. As the use of force.
“Who will define what is right and what is wrong?” Heroes? “He asks himself.
According to Lima, the public can help in other ways-for example, charge their rulers.
–
Heroic profiles

NYX
20 years
“I’m craving homeless.
I lost my parents when small, then
wanted to improve the lives of others ”

THANATOS
62 years
“The reason is that I fantasize
what I’m doing is more important
that’s who I am in real life ”

DARK GUARDIAN
26 years
“The best part about NY is that you can
floor dressed in the street and it will not
having nothing exceptional ”

LIFE
25 years
“Superheroes began in comics,
then turned into movies and video games. Become
its natural evolution is real

From Dark Guardian
It was a beautiful April Night. It was clear and warm. A perfect spring night, possibly the nicest day of the year.  On this great night I decided to take on the drug dealers of Washington Square Park. I had been going up against them for some time now.  I had been calling and reporting them to the police and even taking it to the level of direct confrontation.  I was going up to them and kicking them out of the park.  When doing so I would make sure to have at least a small group of people with me and some lights and cameras to deter violence.
This night I was going to make a big statement, not only to the drug dealers, but to my community and the public at large.  I was going to take the park back from the dealers and let everyone around know the dealign will not be tolerated anymore.  This is something I could not do alone, so I got a whole group of real life superheroes together for it.  Many real life superheroes traveled in to back me up and help out.

Every time I go in and do something against the dealers I make sure they are selling.  I send in someone undercover to make sure they are dealers and to find out what exactly they are selling.  This night we sent someone in and they got them offering to sell them eight balls of coke.  A pretty big order to be selling outside in a park.  We scope out the operation they have out there and we were looking at a twenty plus person operation that night.  We know they are dealing and we know who they are.  A group of us gather together getting ready to swarm the park, take it back from the dealers, and kick them out.
As we get ready to go in I hear someone say, “hey you we want to talk to you”.  Two police officers are walking over to me.  I say yes officer, they say they want to speak with me.  I explain to them that I do not break any laws and they tell me that I am not in any trouble, but the Lieutenant wants to speak to me.  They asked that Cameraman and I come down to the precinct.  I comply with the officers request.  We get in their car and drive off to the precinct.  We chat with the officers about the dealers and the problem in the park.  They explain that that they try hard to get the dealers out.  They arrest them constantly and have undercover ops in there.  They say they appreciate what I am doing but don’t want to things to get violent out there and do not want me or anyone else to get hurt.  They tell us they can’t just go in and pat the dealers down or just tell them to leave.  We had a good conversation with the officers.

We arrived at the precinct. It is the special operations precinct.  We walk in and everyone in the precinct knows who we are.  I get various comments like “look who it is”, “Superhero”, and a female officer says “I thought you were taller”.  Cameraman and I sit down in the office and we talked with an officer and the lieutenant.  They know who I am, they have seen videos of me, and know what I do. We talk about the park and the dealers.  There main concern is for my safety. They explain that they have arrested some of these guys 50-60 times and they are back out there.  The one big dealer Carmello who I had been up against was shot in the head before and is still out there.  He talked about how many of them carry weapons and guns.  We talk for a a bit about things.  I explained what I do and why I do it.  They respected what I was trying to do, but did not want to see me or anyone else get hurt.  They said I can contact them if I had any information.  I left them my information and got the lieutenants card.
Cameraman and I left the precinct and had to take a cab back to meet with the rest of the team.  I was a little shaken up after getting picked up by the police and brought in.  I was a little hesitant to get back out there.  I had all these people out here to get my back and help me out.  These dealers were out of control and brazen.  I knew I had to do it and still take on the dealers.  The team gets together and we head out to the park.

We first get in and confront the dealer.  We actually have a conversation about the drug problem out there.  I get on my bull horn and start calling out over it “NO MORE DRUGS IN THE PARK”, “THIS IS NOT YOUR PARK”.  We work our way to the center area of where the dealers were selling.  They back away from us, some start yelling and cursing at us. One dealers starts yelling at us in Jamaican.  We force the dealers out of the park and onto the streets.  Some leave and walk away, many hang out at the outskirts of the park talking with each other, looking over at us, and threatening us.
We took their spot and were out there with cameras, lights, and a bullhorn.  We were messing up their business on a real good night to sell.  We probably cost them thousands of dollars that night.  It got so bad for them that we witnessed their leadership come out.  A man came out and started yelling at the dealers who were forced out of the park.  He was yelling “What the f**k is going on out here”, “You going to let these people bitch you like this”.  He looked over at us yelling threats. We held steady control over our area of the park. A dealer from afar lifts up his shirt flashing a gun at us.  We do not move and he walks away.  We were out there for hours locking down the park and hurting their business.  Most the dealers had left the area. We decided after while to leave.  We had made a big statement and hurt their business bad that night.  We cautiously exited the park as a group.  We walked through the city for a while making sure we were not being followed.

A couple of us hung out for a while after.  This was one of the craziest nights for me in being a real life superhero.  We took a stand against against the dealers and hurt their business bad for the night.  We also called attention to the problem in the park. I’m happy to report that those dealers are not in the park anymore.  I am thankful to everyone who helped out that night. They had my back, put themselves in danger, risked serious injury, and even death to come out and make a difference.

Real Life Superheores are growing. It is becoming more popular and becoming more mainstream. The media is getting more and more interested in the idea. There are news reports, news aticles, books, photoshoots, magazine articles, talk of TV shows, and more.
I have been a real life superhero for about 8 years now. I did this when there was seriously only a handful of people doing this. I was out patrolling 3-5 times a week for the first few years. I did this for years before I did a news article.
I have spent thousands of dollars doing this of which the majority was spent on food, water, clothes, pillows, blankets, neccesities for the homeless, school supplies for underprivleged kids, donations, presents for sick children, and more. I have reported crime and faced criminals. I have had my life threatened by actual criminals. I have done the little things like picking up trash and removing grafitti. I have a long history of training. I teach martial arts as my job. I have fought amateur kickboxing. I have taken a cpr/first aid course. I have studied private investigation, surveillance, even majored in criminal justice for a while.
I’m not listing things to go wow look how cool I am. I’m showing my history and qualifications in doing this and my dedication.
I see new people coming around looking to be famous. I see people who just put on a costume and are talking about how they should be on a TV show. People doing this for a couple months and acting like they are someone special. I don’t think I’m all that special. I see people talking about fighting criminals with no real training.
I did this, just to do it. I did this to help make a difference. My own little way of trying to change the world and make up for past mistakes.
I never expected to be on TV or in the newspaper. It was the furthest thing from my mind. My focus was on helping people and making a positive impact. The TV and news stuff wound up coming because of the work I have done. I have never pursued a news story or article. In fact I turn down media all the time. The only reason I do TV or news stuff is to spread a positive and inspiring message and to hopefully get more people involved not just in being rlsh but getting everybody a little more involved and aware in their communities.
I titled this article why the hell are you doing this. And that is a question you should constantly be asking yourself as a real life superhero. If you are here to get famous or be in a newspaper, you shouldn’t be doing this. If you are doing this because you want to beat up criminals, you shouldn’t be doign this. If you are here to make a postive difference and hopefully inspire some other people to do good, you are doing the right thing. If you are doing this because it is a fun way to do some positive things, you are doing it for the right reasons.
Please constantly reevaluate why you are doing this and keep working to make a positive change.
I believe in real life superheores and the positive change this idea can bring. Let’s work together and create that change.

People who go out in a unique persona to help others and fight crime are called real life superheroes. Much like their comic book counter-parts they actively seek people to help, people to defend, wrongs to right, and ways to make their communities better. They are not like the superheroes of the comics, but they are the closest thing there is.

In the word real life superheroes we need to put some emphasis on the word REAL. This is real life and not the comic books. If real life was like the comics, the world would be one crazy and scary place. Fortunately for us we don’t have to worry about aliens, superpowers, and super-villains.
In the comics superheroes just run into crime. Real life is nothing like that. There are a hell of a lot more police then real life superheroes and a lot of their job is reacting to crime after it has happened. As a real life superhero you can not expect to just patrol a couple hours and run into crime. I know from many many many hours of patrolling. I was patrolling 4-5 nights a week for 3-6 hours a night. Every once and a while you will come across something. You will rarely ever stumble across a mugging, rape, or robbery. Most of the time though you can at least find a way to help someone or your community while out on patrol.
Beating up a criminal, tieing them to a pole, and calling the police works in the comics, but not in real life. If a real life superhero did that they would be considered the criminal. The actual criminal will not get arrested and will not go to jail for their crimes. The real world does not work like the comic books. If you are going to stop a criminal you need to call the police and detain the person until they get there so you can actually serve justice. If you are uneccesarily rough or have no evidence of a crime you are going to be the one in trouble.
So let’s talk about the notion of a hero hiding in the shadows taking on criminals and gangs. In the comics it’s a great story, but in real life you will either get killed or arrested. If the criminals don’t kill you, the cops will find you and arrest you. No matter how much skill, money, or technology you have; you will not last. Batman is one of the most realistic comic book characters, but still very far from reality. You can not be Batman, so please don’t try.
Dont end up like this
                    
I’m not telling you a real life superhero can not fight crime. They most certainly can. Many real life superheores have succesfully fought and prevented crime.

You can deter crime, create a presence in your community, help those in need, investigate things, set up neighborhhood wathes & patrols, do surviellance work, get evidence that leads to arrests, and defend others. You can actually fight crime but it is nothing like the comics.  When you are out there please remember to keep it real.

Originally posted: http://kotaku.com/5611331/nerdy-real-life-superheroes-to-keep-city-safe-from-bullies-jocks

They walk among us—average citizens who don capes and masks at night to battle evil-doers. They call themselves Real Life Superheroes, and they are, of course, deeply nerdy.
A visit to the World Superhero Registry – the apparent home of this movement on the web – reveals images of adult men and women in full-on superhero garb with invented monikers like “Death’s Head Moth”, “Master Legend” and “Dark Guardian”. Their mission? To rid the city of crime and help those in need. Honorable goals, but they seem to be most successful at taking themselves waayyy too seriously and confusing the hell out of the criminals they encounter.
Dark Guardian, for example – whose only superpower seems to be his heavy Staten Island accent – records an encounter where he attempts to chase a hulking drug dealer out of Washington Square Park. When it is revealed that Dark Guardian isn’t actually a cop nor does he possess any sort of legal authority to tell the guy to move, things get kinddaaaa awkward. It’s like he’s just come to the stunned realization that he can’t shoot laser beams out of his eyes, and the drug dealer, towering over Dark Guardian, feels too bad for him to even bother roughing him up.
Then there’s Shadow Hare, a 21-year-old whose intimidating Venom-style getup is belied by some B-roll footage of our hero flouncing down a fire escape. Such is the problem for real life superheroes: life is just a little too real sometimes to pull off wearing tights.
“Citizen Prime” spent $4,000 on his custom body armor suit – and spends most of the time wearing it doing common household chores like watering the lawn and vacuuming. He lives in a pretty quiet neighborhood, which reveals itself to be another obstacle for our real life superheroes.
But life isn’t always so cushy for our real life superheroes. “Master Legend” demonstrates his Iron Fist, for use when drastic measures need to be taken (against defenseless load-bearing walls):
Local news anchors, of course, love these sort of stories because they get to do the reports in that bemused, sing-songy tone that lets us know that this is a story about “colorful local oddballs” who shouldn’t be “taken too seriously”:
It’s sad and hilarious and kind of touching. I suppose they’re heroes, in a way. They’re not exactly rescuing people from burning buildings… but they are wearing capes. And that’s gotta count for something, right?