Phoenix Jones Sells Snake Oil, Calls It A Supersuit

I spent a long time thinking of the title for this. That’s about the best I could do.
http://www.facebook.com/guardianofseattle
Phoenix Jones has reached the point in his (in his head) celebrity status where he can solicit donations from his fans. Not for a charity, not for a worthy cause, or to help the homeless, or to feed starving children.
For a bulletproof suit, for himself.
You might think this is not such a bad idea, heck, you may even support it. Every superhero needs gear. I know I’ve put a fair amount of money into upgrading my gear over the two years I’ve been active. I’m sure Phoenix Jones has even spent some of his own money (some) into his gear.
But what does the average citizen superhero do to get the gear they need to do justice in their communities?
They work for it. They scrimp, they save, they work extra hours or second jobs.
Peter Parker, minus the powers, is probably the closest thing to an approachable RLSH you can get. He’s broke, he has responsibilities. He pays rent, he works a crappy job (I’ve worked some of the jobs he’s done). Yet he still manages to have the money to sew up his spandex suit and build web shooters.
But Phoenix Jones isn’t doing that this time. Because according to his Facebook page, he doesn’t want to be corrupted by corporate GREED. which is why he is asking for money from his fans. How much is he attempting to solicit, you ask?

$10,000

Yes, 10 grand. that’s more than a lot of people make in a year. That’s more than most people (like the homeless) will ever see in the rest of their lifetimes. But Phoenix Jones needs a custom built, bulletproof supersuit, with a live streaming HD camera built in (he already has a HD camera by the way).
Why? For what? So he can get arrested again and have it confiscated by the police again? So he can run into a volatile situation involving a handgun and tackle some armed nut job in the middle of a crowded Seattle street? It’s happened before.
But I ask you, is this really necessary?
Do you really want to help?
Do you want to make a difference?
Giving Phoenix Jones your money is not the solution to a problem. It’s a WASTE is what it is. Phoenix Jones could easily take this kind of money and transform his team, the Rain City Superhero Movement into a completely trained, certified Non Profit Organization complete with all bulletproof gear, change the face of Seattle as a crime fighting organization and charity and raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for worthy causes. He could help start a homeless shelter or a new soup kitchen. If the RCSM was a NPO they could easily solicit donations from major corporations (who get a tax write off anyway) and really, truly change their community.
But why NOT put this money into the RCSM Jones? Why not put this into your team mates? into something BIGGER than YOURSELF.
Because that’s not the point. The point is to make himself look good. that’s ALL that matters to him.
I’ve collected some links to gear that can achieve pretty much exactly what PJ wants, and for a lot less than 10 G’s. Kevlar Helmet, Bullet Resistant Vest, Bullet Proof Mask, Ballistic Athletic Cup, Ballistic Neck & Shoulder Protection, Live Streaming HD Camera.
See Phoenix Jones? All that hardware could be yours for the low low price of a lot less than 10 grand. But that’s not the point, is it?
See, Phoenix Jones surprisingly has a lot of pull. He should use it to pull his head out of his ass.
But Phoenix Jones doesn’t want to do that. That doesn’t help make Phoenix Jones a better superhero, let alone a better person. It makes him what he proves himself to be time, and time again. An egocentric glory hound, who really only wants to propel himself further into the limelight. In the comics, superheroes make headlines, good or bad. That’s exactly what he wants, and all he wants. This is his ticket to that level of fame.
This is nothing more than a self service to him. Who benefits from this other than Phoenix Jones? NO ONE! PJ is the ONLY person that will benefit from YOU giving Phoenix Jones TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS. Not the city, not the homeless, not victims of domestic violence or starving children who sleep in the cold all night because they are homeless and HAVE NO MONEY THEMSELVES.
I could go on and on, I think I’ve made my point, and if anyone cannot ereally grasp what I am getting at here, then I don’t know what else to do.
I’m not opposed to Phoenix Jones soliciting funds for a worthy cause, a charity. Hell, if he did any of the things I mentioned above I’d honestly throw a few bones his way.
I am not opposed to Phoenix Jones creating a new supersuit. He used to wear a balaclava and MMA shorts and a cape. His rubber suit, was (somewhat :/) of an upgrade. I looked into those xtremedesignfx suits before Peej got his and thought they looked dumb, in my opinion, but I digress.
What I disagree with completely is his soliciting funds to buy himself a new bulletproof suit, and such an absurd amount at that!
Go make a POSITIVE CONSTRUCTIVE change in your environment. The COSTUME DOES NOT DEFINE THE SUPERHERO. It does NOT make you a better crime fighter, it does NOT make you more effective. This is not Iron Man, this is not a comic book, or a movie. This is REALITY, something you obviously fail to grasp. Get with it dude, seriously.
And for the record, Phoenix Jones, I want you to be a BETTER superhero, a GOOD superhero. Not the next Booster Gold, which by the way, in personality and style,. you two are half brothers.


The similarities are disturbing.
But if Phoenix Jones wants money for crazy new gear, there’s already programs in place of that. Phoenix Jones believes he’s too big to fail, which is why he needs a new supersuit, luckily the government offers bailout programs like the grants listed on this page.
UPDATE:
According to the Community Guidelines set forth by Kickstarter.com Jones’ new suit violates “Fund my life” under Prohibited Causes.
Kickstarter Community Guidelines

PHOENIX JONES; RACE & BEING A REAL LIFE SUPERHERO ( RLSH ).

Phoenix Jones is a young Black man and self-proclaimed crime fighter in a socially progressive city ( Seattle ). He famously has a two-fisted approach to stopping urban crime.
To his credit he’s living proof that all young Black men aren’t what I call “chocolate klanmen” thugging their way through life.
As an older Black man who’s also in what the media calls the ” real life superhero ( RLSH ) ” community I’ve marveled at Jones’ color blind acceptance from the press, liberal and conservative. This argues well for where America is since its most famous costumed crusader is also part of the late Trayvon Martin’s generation.
I’d assume ( thank God ) Phoenix didn’t grow up under Jim Crow-lite like I did. His biography shows challenges in his upbringing which are indicative of our era.
My acute concern as a RLSH while Black is that Phoenix needs to be very, very careful during his interventions. Already arrested once ( case dropped ) local police are not exactly thrilled with his activities. While no racial angle has emerged it’s worth noting nonetheless.
He’s still a Black man using force and detaining White people- even in the liberal Pacific Northwest that’s risky.  The same caveat applies to Black suspects he encounters. One biased cop; upset complainants   plus one biased prosecutor equals life changing potential trouble for this young man.
My analysis might be a little too Old School for Phoenix reality but is offered anyway. As a Southern RLSH activist who began in progress-challenged Savannah, GA., being Black while wearing a mask ( “superhero” or not ) would have created more problems than it would have solved- like being mistaken for a criminal and shot by police! ( LOL ).
Phoenix Jones is the flip side of the Trayvon Martin tragedy: instead of a victim or too often for young brothers; a suspect, Jones is a self-appointed crime fighter or vigilante depending upon opinion. Should scores of other Black men follow his example will society be so accommadating?
Black while wearing a mask Jones isn’t a ” Black “activist vocally focused upon racial issues. He’s no cowled Al Sharpton and thus accepted much more readily. His brand is simple: red-blooded American male decides to do something about crime beyond fuming or dialing 911.
All I’m saying is, ” Be careful brother. ”
People have mostly accepted you for what you say you are but beware those who can’t accept America’s number one “real life superhero” being Black. Look at the grief President Obama gets in some quarters and learn.
My duty as a fellow anti crime activist while Black and male is to pass this unsolicited advice along to Phoenix Jones.

Phoenix Jones; race and being a real life superhero has yet to become a viral debate topic. Perhaps it never will.

But, you never know what direction this stuff can take- esepcially if people begin plotting against you for whatever reason.
NADRA ENZI AKA CAPT BLACK promotes creative crime prevention and homeless outreach. (504) 214-3082
NADRA ENZI AKA CAPT BLACK
ANTI-CRIME ACTIVIST
CHOCOLATE KLANSMEN ALERT! SPEAKER
http://moveonup.ning.com/profiles/blogs/chocolate-klansmen-alert-speaking-tour
 

Seattle 'superhero' avoids charges in crime-fighting fracas

Originally posted:
By Douglas Stanglin, USA TODAY
Nov 25, 2011
Phoenix Jones, a self-proclaimed superhero who roams Seattle streets to fight crime will not be charged for pepper-spraying a group he said he thought was fighting, The Seattle Timesreports.
Jones, who calls himself the leader of the Rain City Superhero Movement, faced a possible misdemeanor assault charge after the people he sprayed said they were dancing, not fighting.
Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes said one factor in the decision not to prosecute is a state law allowing a person to use force if they reasonably believe another person is about to be injured, The Times reports.
In addition, two of the alleged victims fled the scene and have not been located and interviewed, Holmes said.
As for the mission of the 23-year-old masked crusader, whose real name is Benjamin Fodor, Holmes said he “is no hero, just a deeply misguided individual.”
Jones, whose comments appear on his Facebook page Phoenix Jones & the Rain City Superhero Movement, says, ?”I symbolize that the average person doesn’t have to walk around and see bad things and do nothing.”
Jones could still face civil charges, the newspaper notes.

State keeping 'superhero' away from disabled kids

Originally posted: http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/State-keeping-superhero-away-from-disabled-kids-2249423.php
Seattle’s self-proclaimed superhero Phoenix Jones lost his job working with disabled children after his arrest for investigation of assault.
On Oct. 11, two days after he was arrested by Seattle police, the Department of Social and Health Services alerted his employer about the case, said DSHS spokeswoman Sherry Hill, who handles children’s administration.
“The provider was asked to remove him from any cases that we had,” Hill said. DSHS asked that he not be around vulnerable children while the case was pending, she said.
That caused Jones — whose real name is Ben Fodor — to lose his job working with autistic kids ranging from age 4 to 18, according to Publicola. “I had to leave work in the middle of the day,” he told the website. “It was embarrassing.”
Hill clarified that Fodor is not permanently disqualified from working with kids, but the agency wanted to “err on the side of caution” by telling his employer about the assault investigation.
Fodor, 23, was arrested the morning of Oct. 9 after police said he interjected himself into a crowd near the Alaskan Way Viaduct and pepper-sprayed innocent people. Fodor, who speaks to media as Phoenix Jones, has said he was trying to break up a fight and was later assaulted.
Fodor was released on bond just after noon the day he was arrested. On Oct. 13, he said he was not guilty of a crime. He has not been charged in the case.
But Fodor could still be charged with assault, and a spokeswoman for City Attorney Pete Holmes, Kimberly Mills, said this week that a final decision has not been made. People who are convicted of assault are prohibited by law from jobs working with vulnerable adults and children.
Employers are required to background-check people who work with developmentally disabled children and adults. People who do not pass the background check are put on a state list disqualifying them from such jobs.
Fodor could go back to his job if the case is dropped and he is not convicted, Hill said.
Often an attention seeker, Fodor went to his Oct. 13 court hearing with a mask, but had to take it off inside the courtroom. He revealed himself outside court as television cameras rolled, but didn’t talk then about the alleged assaults.
“I think I have to look toward the future and see what I can do to help the city,” he told reporters.
Police say he should not interject himself in situations, but should call 911. Fodor promised he’d be back on “patrol” soon.
Fodor also goes by “Flattop” when he fights in the local mixed martial arts scene.
Speaking as the costumed Phoenix Jones Guardian of Seattle, Fodor has told reporters he was breaking up a fight during the Oct. 9 incident.
Police say he barged into the situation — something they say he’s done in several other cases — and assaulted the women and men with pepper spray.
Video of the incident shows two women chasing Fodor and a man with face paint, hitting them and telling the self-proclaimed superheroes to leave.
A woman in the group admitted she hit him, but only after he used pepper spray on her friends for no reason, she said.
“He says, ‘I’m a superhero’ and sprays everyone,” the woman told KING/5. “Nothing gives him a right to do that. That’s harassment and assault.”
Seattle firefighters were called to treat those affected by the pepper spray during the incident. Fodor has said he is the actual victim.
While dressed as Phoenix Jones at an August Belltown community meeting, Fodor promoted the use of pepper spray for self defense.
A spokesman for Phoenix Jones, Peter Tangen, said last month that it appears the officer who arrested Jones had an agenda and that, when Jones said he was assaulted, the officer laughed at him. He also said police have refused to take statements from two people who were following Jones.
“I think the biggest story here is that the SPD didn’t really follow protocol in any way, shape or form,” Fodor told KOMO/4 as Phoenix Jones last month.
A police incident report shows police spoke to two people who were with Fodor at the scene.
At least one cameraman typically follows Fodor as he walks around Seattle in his black and yellow costume, and both people were said to have been there to document the self-proclaimed superhero’s activities.
“That video began in the area of 1 Av/Columbia St looking to the west,” the report from Officer Hosea Crumpton states. “On the video a group of people could be seen on Columbia St looking to the west. The group was gathered, but there did not appear to be a fight. A/Fodor could be seen running into the group and engaging the subjects. A/Fodor could be seen pepper spraying several individuals in the group. People in the group then turned on A/Fodor and chased him away.”
The cameraman who took that video, Ryan McNamee, initially told seattlepi.com in an email that “police have not contacted me for a statement and has not shown any interest in my footage or what the other journalist and I saw.”
Asked about the police report in which officers describe the video, McNamee said that “police glanced at my camera for a couple of seconds but didn’t examine the footage or ask to see it in any detail.”
However, based on the time-stamp on the footage, the police report describes about a minute of the video, which McNamee posted online.
Download a PDF copy of the Seattle police incident report.
Fodor is also known as the mixed martial arts fighter “Flatttop.” According to mixedmartialarts.com, Fodor’s won his first official amateur fight in December 2006 and had his last win in July 2010. His record is 11-0, and his last fight ended in a two-round TKO.
A Seattle Twitter account, @FlattopFodor, describes Fodor as the current two-time Ax Lightweight Champion and current welterweight champion in Washington. The last tweet from the account was Aug. 5, 2010.
As Phoenix Jones, Fodor “has a history of injecting himself in these incidents,” Crumpton wrote in the alleged assault report. “Recently there have been reports of citizens being pepper-sprayed by (him) and his group. Although (the man) has been advised to observe and report incidents to 911, he continues to try and resolve things on his own.
“There was a report earlier in the night in which several nightclub patrons had been reportedly been pepper-sprayed by (him) during some type of disturbance. Those people left the area before they could be contacted by police. Officers arriving on that call noted the odor of pepper spray was still in the air.”
In November 2010, Seattle police officers were alerted to Phoenix Jones and other self-described superheroes, after officers were confused by their presence at crime scenes.
Officers had learned the identity of Jones before the bulletin was distributed. The “superheroes’ ” story – often compared to the movie “Kick Ass” – exploded in popularity after seattlepi.com first reported on an internal police bulletin, which said the characters drove a Kia registered to one superhero’s godmother.
Seattlepi.com did not initially name Fodor because he wasn’t the subject of a criminal investigation. Fodor does not have any other criminal charges in Seattle. He was previously arrested in Washington after being stopped driving with a suspended license, according to court records.
For more Seattle police and crime news visit the front page of the Seattle 911 blog.

Phoenix Jones Loses Job, Barred From Working With Children

Originally posted: http://publicola.com/2011/11/02/phoenix-jones-loses-job-barred-from-working-with-children/
By Jonah Spangenthal-Lee

Seattle’s most famous masked crusader, Phoenix Jones, is now an unemployed superhero after he was let go from his job teaching life skills to autistic kids, and told by the state that he is no longer allowed to work with vulnerable children or adults following his arrest last month, PubliCola has learned.
“I had to leave work in the middle of the day,” Jones says. “It was embarrassing.”
Jones explained that he has worked with five developmentally disabled autistic children—who ranged in age from four to 18 years old—for the last five years at their homes and state care facilities, going shopping with them, teaching them to balance checkbooks, and going for walks.
Jones’ latest troubles come weeks after he was arrested by Seattle police for allegedly pepper spraying a group of men and women near Pioneer Square. Jones claims he was breaking up a fight, but police arrested him for assault.  Following a court appearance in the case, Jones revealed his secret identity as 23-year-old mixed martial arts fighter Ben Fodor.
Prosecutors have not filed charges for the incident, and a spokeswoman for the city attorney’s office says the case is still being investigated.
Last week, Jones received a letter from the state Department of Social and Health Services, informing him he is no longer allowed to work with kids. PubliCola was not able to determine exactly why DSHS disqualified Jones from working with kids, but it appears to be due to his pending assault case.
When contacted for a comment, Jones said he had been advised not to speak extensively about the circumstances of his apparent termination, but confirmed he was no longer able to work with autistic children.
“They all knew I was Phoenix Jones,” he says.
Jones says that because of his arrest, he’s on “a list” that prohibits him from working with children, because he has “a history of interjecting myself into situations that are dangerous.”
Jones, naturally, disputes that characterization. “I would say I have a history of fighting crime,” he says. “The whole point of what I do is to keep people safe.”
Jones isn’t sure how he’ll pay the bills now. He says he’s received offers for fight bouts from the Strikeforce mixed martial arts organization, and plans to start fighting crime in the daytime, in addition to his night patrols around Seattle. Other than that, he says, “I really don’t know.”

RUNNING AFTER PHOENIX JONES – A Man On The Street Report

Originally posted: http://www.forcesofgeek.com/2011/10/running-after-phoenix-jones-man-on.html
By Tea Krulos
Editor’s note: Tea Krulos regularly wrote about RLSH for FOG! before stepping back to concentrate on his book.  He was with Phoenix Jones during his arrest last weekend and shared his experience with Forces of Geek.
At some point last year, I felt like I was pretty much done with travel and research for my upcoming book, Heroes in the Night. I kicked my feet up on my desk and reflected on all the interesting things that had happened to me- over a dozen patrols in Milwaukee, two trips to Minneapolis, a Real Life Super Hero (RLSH) conference in New Bedford, Massachusetts. I went to Brooklyn and met the New York Initiative and traveled to Vancouver for a meet up during the Winter Olympics. It was an adventure.
But last November there was a big development to the story. A costumed crime fighter had emerged in Seattle named Phoenix Jones, leader of the Rain City Superhero Movement (RCSM). Jones began grabbing a lot of media attention, which became perpetual as more and more wild stories about him came in- Phoenix Jones got his nose broken in a fight, Phoenix Jones stopped a car break in, Phoenix Jones let Rainn Wilson taze him to show he could take a taze.
With all of this attention, I soon realized that readers would expect me to write about this individual, that a serious book on the subject of RLSHs could not bypass the road to Phoenix Jones. I established contact with him and did an interview with him via phone for the Heroes in the Night blog.
I realized that in order to do a proper job writing about him, I would have to take a trip to Seattle to hit the streets with Jones in person.
Last week, I flew to Portland, where I met some of the local RLSH. I then took a train up to Seattle for the weekend. On Friday night I was picked up from a friend’s house by Phoenix Jones and his team mate, Mist. Jones was wearing a baseball cap and sweatshirt over his “super suit” (as he calls it) to disguise his disguise while driving. We drove to the University District where his team mates Ghost and Pitch Black joined us. Also along for the patrol- Seattle writer A.J. Roberts and Ryan McNamee, who shot video.
The patrol was a long night of walking around, and somewhat uneventful. In the U-District he was mobbed for pictures everywhere he went. He encountered a man so drunk he couldn’t really stand, so he flagged down a taxi and got the man into it. We all parted ways around 3AM. There had been no action.
Saturday night was different.
I met up with Jones around 8PM at the Space Needle. We walked around the area near the Space Needle and I recorded an interview with him as we walked. After that, we headed to a café to have a meeting with his wife, Purple Reign, who gave us a crime report based on crime stats she had found online. Jones also showed me some bullet proof shields and collapsible batons he had, unfurling them with a loud SNIK sound. It raised a few eyebrows in the café.
We then headed out to patrol. McNamee joined us again in the Pioneer Square area- an area I gathered is known to have problems with brawling outside of its bars. We encountered our first incident of the night pretty quickly.
I saw a crowd commotion in front of a bar and yelled to Jones that there was a fight. He immediately barreled into the crowd towards two men fighting. I lost him for a few moments so it isn’t clear to me if he pepper sprayed the men or if the club bouncer did or if both did. Jones took a man sprayed in the face to a nearby food stand, bought a bottle of water and poured it on the man’s eyes, instructing him to blink.
The other man had been sprayed on his shirt and took it off and was extremely irate at Jones. He was across the street yelling- “YOU AIN’T NO REAL(N-bomb)- YOU WILL NEVER BE A REAL (N-bomb)!” He yelled this several times and then switched his mantra to “GET OUT OF HERE YOU WANNABE SPAWN-ASS (expletive)!” and then to “STAN LEE NEVER DREW YOUR BLACK ASS, YOU FAKE ASS SUPERHERO!” At one point he yelled simply, “I (expletive) HATE SUPERHEROES!”
Police arrived and were clearly familiar with Jones. They detained the man for questioning. Later, outside the same club, Jones pepper sprayed another group of men who were fighting- one was bleeding down his face. There were some moments of chaos and the police, who were nearby, showed up quickly. They spoke to Jones and the men fighting and told everyone to go.
We walked around without incident, but then around 1:30 or 2AM, Jones decided to hang around near a suspicious looking group of males that looked kind of gangster. One of them said something about him being a “fake ass Batman” and something along the lines of “you think I care about your pepper spray- look what I got.” He lifted his shirt to show a gun he had in his waistband. Jones got us out of the area and then ran across the street to tell police. Police detained the man.
The famous incident of the night happened around 2:30AM. This has been reported on in news sources around the world, and I gave a detailed report on my blog. Basically, we saw a fight and Jones ran into it. He pepper sprayed a couple of the men fighting, but pepper spray is not an exact science. Others nearby felt the spray and it made them very angry. One woman hit him repeatedly with her shoe. The men grouped together to try to attack him and he pepper sprayed them again. They even jumped into their Escalade and tried to run him down before the police showed up. When they arrived they detained Jones and he spent the night in a holding cell, charged with assault. They confiscated his “super suit.”
On Thursday he made a court appearance in his spare super suit. The prosecution did not file charges, but still could at a future date.
None of this has deterred Phoenix Jones. He has continued to patrol and on Saturday, Oct. 15, he led a community patrol inviting the public to walk alongside him.
Jones has long been a controversial member of the Real Life Super Hero world and it looks like it will remain that way.

Unmasked: The Detailed Account Of Phoenix Jones By Ken Goldstein Debuts At WizardWorld.com Wednesday

Originally posted: http://www.openpr.com/news/197842/Unmasked-The-Detailed-Account-Of-Phoenix-Jones-By-Ken-Goldstein-Debuts-At-WizardWorld-com-Wednesday.html
phoenixjones(openPR) – Phoenix Jones, the “citizen superhero” who has gained fame for his efforts in fighting crime in the streets of Seattle while dressed as a masked crusader, will reveal his true story for the first time in an expansive interview with author Ken Goldstein, exclusively at WizardWorld.com, on Wednesday. The site will also feature exclusive video excerpts from the interview and the debut of the first official photo of Benjamin Fodor by noted movie photographer Peter Tangen.
Tangen is among the most renowned entertainment publicity photographers in the world, having photographed one sheets from the three SPIDERMAN films, BATMAN BEGINS, HELLBOY, QUEEN OF THE DAMNED and other blockbusters.
“Unmasked: The Detailed Account of Phoenix Jones by Ken Goldstein,” a first-of-its-kind interview, details Jones’ motivation for creating the character and aspects of his life that have never before been told. The wide-ranging discussion, according to Goldstein (author of “The Way of the Nerd” series) has an intense feel reminiscent of the famed “Frost-Nixon” interviews of the 1970s.
“Many aspects of Phoenix’s personality come through in the interviews,” said Goldstein, who as a confident of Jones prior to his unmasking on October 6 in Seattle was able to extract many intimate details of his subject’s life. “He is Phoenix Jones the superhero, Benjamin Foder the husband and father, and ‘Flattop’ the MMA fighter. The real man is way cooler than just Phoenix Jones.”
“This is the kind of story that gets me really excited to be in the superhero business. Phoenix is a real life version of what we’ve been reading about for decades,” said Gareb Shamus, Wizard World CEO.
Goldstein was also able to speak with Purple Reign, Jones’ wife, also a member of the Rain City Superhero Movement in the Emerald City. This is the first in-depth sit down interview with Purple, who speaks directly to the Wizard fan base.
Wizard World produces Comic Cons and pop culture conventions across North America that celebrate graphic novels, comic books, movies, TV shows, gaming, technology, toys and social networking. The events often feature celebrities from movies and TV, artists and writers, and events such as premieres, gaming tournaments, panels, and costume contests. Wizard World also produces Wizard World Digital, an online publication covering new and upcoming products and talents in the pop culture world, and is distributed on a weekly basis to online and iPad users worldwide.
The full Wizard World event schedule can be found at www.wizardworld.com.
1350 Ave of the Americas, 2nd Fl.
New York, NY 10019
Jerry Milani, Wizard World, 646-380-2479 [email protected]

OPA Investigated Leak of Phoenix Jones’ Info

Originally posted: http://publicola.com/2011/10/25/opa-investigated-leak-of-phoenix-jones-info/
By Jonah Spangenthal-Lee

The Seattle Police Department’s Office of Professional Accountability opened an internal investigation earlier this year into officers leaking info about Seattle’s (in)famous masked crusader, Phoenix Jones, according to internal police records.
An OPA case log says Jones—who dramatically revealed his secret identity as Ben Fodor in front of reporters after he was arrested earlier this month—contacted the department in March, filing an online complaint ”alleging there is someone in our administration who is leaking information to the media.”
An OPA investigator emailed Fodor, informing him “the matter is already under investigation.”
OPA case reports released since Fodor filed his complaint in March don’t appear to indicate the result of the department’s internal investigation, so PubliCola contacted Fodor to ask about the complaint.
“I was upset that my name was printed on a piece of paper,” Fodor says, referring to an informational bulletin distributed within the department, warning officers about Fodor’s crew of caped crusaders. Several reporters obtained the bulletin, and used the information to track down Fodor.
“[The department] told me the information was being passed around, and it was sewed up,” Fodor says.
A department spokesman did not have information on the status of OPA’s investigation into Fodor’s complaint.

I Support Phoenix Jones, America's First Costumed Crime Fighter

Originally posted: http://news.yahoo.com/support-phoenix-jones-americas-first-costumed-crime-fighter-191900549.html
By Donald Pennington
It just goes to show what police consider a priority. A real-world costumed crime fighter breaks up a crowd of people reportedly ganging up on two others, one in the crowd reacts violently by hitting him over the head with a shoe and the police arrest the odd-looking guy? Are the police there to enforce the law or aren’t they? Is hitting someone over the head with a shoe not assault if you’re hot?
America’s first costumed crime fighter goes by the title of “Phoenix Jones,” but his real name is Benjamin Francis Fodor, a 23-year-old husband and father. Apparently, he’s taken up this cause after his own son was a crime victim. Face it. The police are only human too. They can’t be everywhere at all times.
In spite of allegations of spraying folks with pepper spray, not everyone is down on the man. In an interview on Fox News, Jones explains his side of the incident, stating he opted to let the un-named woman assault him with a shoe, rather than exert his physical strength against a woman smaller than himself. He also explains that when he enters the situation, he instructs his cohorts to call 911, then takes action. The more I hear from this man, the more I like him.
Hold it! Did I just say “cohorts?” Why, yes I did. It seems Jones is not only gutsy enough to don a crime fighter’s costume and show troublemakers a bit of vigilante action, he’s not alone. One quick trip to Facebook reveals That Jones is the leader of what’s called the “Rain City Superhero Movement.” On their info page we find the quote “I symbolize that the average person doesn’t have to walk around and see bad things and do nothing.” Odd-looking? Yes. He may even be crazy. Aren’t the greatest people in history always called crazy? His point is valid. As long as nobody’s rights are violated, I’m on his side. Besides, what’s so crazy about encouraging people to report crime?
While I won’t call him a “Superhero” (Superheroes have super-powers and only exist in comic books, after all.) I will agree that it most certainly is time for people to take action when they see bad things happening. We don’t need to dress up, but we all would do well to emulate his courage. Thank you, Phoenix Jones, for reminding us.

Gives us a superhero, spare the outfit

Originally posted: http://www.depauliaonline.com/opinions/gives-us-a-superhero-spare-the-outfit-1.2660760#.TqYq23KaKSo

Occupy movement could learn from tacky vigilante, ‘ Pheonix Jones

By Peter Dziedzic
Last week, a self-proclaimed superhero, Phoenix Jones (also known by his birth name, Benjamin Fodor), was arrested in Seattle after an alleged pepper spray attack against four people exiting a Seattle nightclub. Clad in a latex superhero costume and mask, Jones claimed that his attack against these individuals was a response to crime rates in his neighborhood. Identifying these individuals as instigators of violence in his community, he decided to take matters into his own hands.
Jones’ story, albeit rather comical and a bit embarrassing, offers a rare jewel of wisdom. While his context and approach was pathetic, poorly executed and ill-informed, Jones’ attack on the four individuals speaks to a very deep-seated issue of our time. That issue is individual and collective apathy, and it’s a pervading reality for many individuals of the modern world.
I do not agree with Jones’ attack, but I admire his spirit of assertiveness and action. In a world where many people feel their issues and identity are lost in a profound system of anonymity and inhumanity, we have often succumbed to believing that taking matters into our own hands will lead us down the proverbial labyrinth of failure. Jones directly challenges this mode of thought by asserting his agency as an individual who is weary of a lack of change in his community. He denied the apathy that was expected of him.
Jones’ situation can also be easily related to the Occupy movement that is sweeping across many American cities. The Occupy movement is allegorically represented by a pre-meditating Jones about five minutes before his attack. He has his pepper spray in hand, his anger’s fed and reassured and he’s carefully watching the opposition, ready to strike. The Occupy movement is at a very critical juncture in its journey. It has the opportunity to turn into a flurry of blind rage expressed through uncoordinated efforts, cyclical efforts of various committees, and uncoordinated dance parties and love fests. It also has the opportunity to meditate and calculate and seek a bold and reasoned response to the seething waves of angst that are propelling the groups forward.
The Occupy movement must carry out its mission of social and economic change with tact and care. We can’t have mobs of Joneses that are blindly attacking the bulwark of corruption in the world. We must not let the spirit of misguided angst and apathy that has become so prevalent in our world become the guiding spirit of this movement and the spirit of the generation that is seeking a different world.
We must make sure that we recognize and contextualize our deep, profound sources of our angst. We must confront it, embrace it, and handle it with immense responsibility and care. While we must continue to be bold in our attempts, our rebuffs and challenges to critics and our presence in our city streets, we must also embody a responsibly coordinated boldness. We must foster a spirit of sincere, perceptive community. We must recognize our limitations, our presence and our power.
In doing so, we embody the courage of Phoenix Jones, but we deny the lust of blind rage and force that accompanied his attack. In this spirit, the Occupy movement will develop a more solid existential base, embrace the diversity of people who have accepted the call to democratic involvement and avoid the employment of metaphorical (and perhaps even literal) tacky latex superhero outfits.