Tag rain city superhero movement

Originally posted: http://geeks.thedailywh.at/tag/real-life-superheroes/
IRL Superhero of the Day: Real life superhero Red Dragon of Seattle’s Rain City Superhero movement answered Reddit users’ questions in an AMA (Ask Me Anything) post today. Although he wouldn’t reveal his secret identity, he did give some insight into the life of a superhero.
Red Dragon patrols the streets of Seattle with Phoenix Jones and other Rain City Superheroes, confronting criminals and turning them in to the police. Unlike the fictional costumed amateurs in Kick Ass, he isn’t spoiling for a fight and doesn’t have (or want) an archenemy.
“There are no super powers. It’s not a comic, it’s not a game or a movie. I can’t fly or shoot spiderwebs from my hands. No heat vision. Nothing. I get shot or stabbed in a place that doesn’t have armor…I end up in the hospital like everyone else. Or worse,” he told Reddit.
Red Dragon’s biggest accomplishment as a superhero, other than lowering the overall crime rate in the areas he and his colleagues patrol, is chasing down a sex offender who flashed a high school student on a bus. And that time, he wasn’t even in costume.

Originally posted: http://www.seattlecrime.com/2011/05/04/cops-superheroes-looking-for-arson-suspect-in-the-university-district
By Jonah Spangenthal-Lee
Seattle police and several members of the Rain City Superhero Movement are searching the University District this morning, looking for an arson suspect.
Just before 1:00 am, fire crews were called to 45th and University after a man apparently set a newspaper box on fire.
According to local masked do-gooder Phoenix Jones—who was patrolling the University District with his comrades Ghost and Pitch Black when the fires were set—the suspect may have also torched a newspaper box at 43rd and University, and started a small blaze in a dumpster in an alleyway off the Ave.
When we spoke with Jones just after 1:00 AM, he and his crew of caped crusaders were driving up and down the Ave looking for the suspect.
Fire at 43/University. Pictures courtesy Phoenix Jones
Police say the suspect was wearing a gold baseball cap and a purple UW jacket.
It’s not clear whether police made an arrest.
Officers at the scene notified the department’s Arson/Bomb Squad about the fires. The Seattle Fire Department’s arson investigator was also called out.

Orignially posted: http://akzia.ru/lifestyle/14-03-2011/2876.html

English Translation
by Daniel Nash on Friday, March 11, 2011 at 12:37am
I was really excited to see this published after writing it last month. The PDF of my interview with Phoenix Jones was posted online yesterday. But if you don’t know Russian, there’s no easy way to translate it. So here is the English version. It’s severely cut down considering the length of our conversation: this is probably 10 minutes of an hour-and-a-half long interview, not counting almost three hours patrol time. Additionally, the information that did make the cut is pretty basic if you have followed the American coverage, but I wanted to make sure this was a solid introduction of who Phoenix is to an overseas audience. I’m trying to find the time to transcribe the whole interview so I can try to sell a fuller version of this story to an American publication.
Some of the answers are cut down, but I tried to avoid cutting in such a way that the quotes would lose context. I eliminated some questions and answers I really wanted to include because I couldn’t minimize them without losing the spirit of the answer.
The version published in Akzia included some mini-profiles of other superheroes, such as KnightOwl of Oregon, Geist of Minnesota, Nyx of New Jersey, etc. Since I didn’t write that portion, I don’t have the English immediately at hand, but I’ll try to translate it over the weekend as a courtesy to the superheroes who appear.
Hope you all enjoy.
Curriculum Vitae
Name: Phoenix Jones
Secret Identity: Withheld
Age: 22
Occupation: Fighter
Tools: 10,000-volt stun baton, pepper spray, tear gas, Bluetooth phone.
Phoenix Jones is a real life superhero living in Seattle, Washington. Five nights a week, he patrols the streets looking for crimes not already being handled by police, joined by any number of the other 10 members of the Rain City Superhero Movement he founded.
Guardian of Seattle
By Daniel Nash
I was met by superheroes Ghost and Pitch Black just inside the entrance of Trabant Coffee and Chai in the University District. They demanded my name and press affiliation. I told them, and offered them a seat.
Ghost waved my suggestion away: “Phoenix will decide all that when he gets here.”
When Phoenix arrived moments later, he explained his colleagues were ensuring his safety against anyone who might use an interview as a ruse to attack him.
On patrol with the Rain City Superheroes, there was no denying that public response was mixed enough to make security understandable. Many passersby asked to take a photo with Phoenix, a request to which he readily obliged. Some laughed at the novelty of a man walking the street in a rubber suit, while others openly shouted “You’re not a superhero,” or, “You’re a fraud.”
Whether hero, novelty or overzealous attention seeker, what follows is Seattle’s superhero in his own words.
AKZIA: I know you have a day job, and you get out on patrol five nights a week. I guess my first question is, when do you find time to sleep?
PHOENIX JONES: I take naps. Lots of naps. I get off patrol maybe five in the morning, and I don’t start work until about eight-ish (8 a.m.) so I’ll get some time in there, and I get off around four, so I’ll sleep a little bit there. But I try to spend as much time with my kids as I can. And I get to bed about eight, so from 8:15 p.m. to midnight I usually sleep.
A: You’ve mentioned in the past that your kids are part of the inspiration for how you got into this. I remember you specifically mentioned a car break-in that occurred, and the glass hurt your son.
P: Yes. I went to Wild Waves [water park] and we didn’t have anything that we took… just [swim] shorts. We go running back to the car and as we go back, he slips and falls in glass near my car. And he cut his knee open pretty bad. I didn’t realize where the glass was coming from at first, so I just held his leg shut, saying “Someone call 911.” I looked up and realized my car window [had been smashed]. Some guy comes running over to me with a phone. So I say “Call 911,” and he says “I can’t.” I say “Why?” and he says “It will ruin my YouTube video.” And I thought, does anyone help… anyone?
So I was cleaning the inside of my car and I find this rock inside a mask. And the mask is what [thieves] used to swing and break the window open. I kept it as a symbol that bad stuff happens, and I put it in my glove box and thought that would be that.
A week or so goes by and I’m at the club with my friend. A guy comes in and says, “Hey isn’t that your friend outside?” I say “Yeah, he’s out there, what’s going on?” and he says somebody hit him with a stick. I go out there and his nose is turned all the way sideways
The guy who did it had 50 friends with him. I go, “Great, nobody can do anything. It’s 50 to one.” I go back to my car to my glove box because I had a first aid kit and a couple other things there and I see the mask is still there. I picked it up and I kind of got this idea. No one knows who I am with the mask on, so I ditched the shirt, put the mask on, chased him around the block. The police pulled us both over and I was able to get him arrested. I asked if I needed to [be a] witness and they said “We don’t really need a witness, we have the guy assaulted and we have the other guy, so we don’t really need you, other than your name.” I asked “Does it matter what my name is?” They said, no not really, so I said, “My name’s Phoenix Jones.”
[NOTE: There is some contention as to the exact details of Jones’s origin story as he has told it to the press. In a November interview with author Tea Krulos for his blog, Heroes In The Night, Jones stated he went looking for his friend’s attacker the night after the incident, but never found him. A story in the Capitol Hill blog of KOMO News reversed the car break-in and assault altogether.]
A: When you began intervening in crimes you did it as yourself at first, yes?
PJ: Yeah, that was way before Wild Waves. My brother and a couple friends liked to go down to drink at different clubs. I wasn’t 21 and I don’t drink anyway. So I decided I would go and charge them money to drive them downtown. I was kind of stuck there, though, depending on when they wanted to leave. So my friend goes, “Why don’t we just, you know, break up bar fights?” So we went around and broke up bar fights. But six months of doing that and people start recognizing your face. And you’re out there and people just try to attack you. My wife became pregnant at that point and I realized I need to quit this or I’m going to get in trouble. So that’s why, when the second part rolled around, I’ve been so careful about my identity and who I talk to.
A: How old were you?
PJ: I started at 18.
A: What made you decide on your current suit?
PJ: Mobility. When I first designed the suit, I really wanted a full rubber suit. But it was like wearing a rubber band; it just wasn’t practical. So I started cutting things off the original suit.
A: What’s your martial arts background?
PJ: Black belt in tae kwon do, black belt in judo. I should have a black belt in kendo, but I found out the teacher wasn’t accredited. But I fought other black belts and in kendo tournaments I did very well. I have over 30 mixed martial arts fights and I’ve won all of them but two, and I lost by [judge’s] decision. I’ve never submitted or finished. And then I have a couple years of ROTC.
A: How did you decide on the name Phoenix Jones?
PJ: My official answer is “Phoenix,” because it rises up from the ashes and I hope that if I stop doing this or something happens to me, someone else takes up the idea. And “Jones” because Jones was the most common last name the year I was born.
A: I want to talk a moment about your broken nose [in January].
PJ: That really made me mad when they played it that way in the press. Because there’s a whole other part of the story people don’t think about. Let’s review what we do know: My nose got broken by a guy with a gun in a parking lot. But let’s answer the questions: Why was I in a parking lot with a guy with a gun? Because he was assaulting citizens. I did what superheroes do. I ran in to stop the situation and I actually did. I effectively got the guy on the ground, I was holding him. I called the police and they didn’t show up for 17 minutes. The whole incident took 22 minutes and I was winning for 19 of them.
Then out of nowhere his friend comes up and draws on me. Everyone else is gone, so it’s just an ego situation. My ego, what am I going to do? [He imitates a gruff voice] “I’m not going to let him go!” Come on. At that point no one is in danger, so I let him go. When I did, he kicked me in the face and broke my nose.
A: Do you ever worry about your kids losing you?
PJ: I think about that sometimes, but you know what I think is worse? My kids being alive. They’re living in this world that no one seems to want to change. Everybody seems to be pretty happy with the way things are going. And I think that me attempting to change this is much more important than it would be for me to be around longer. Do you know what I mean? They’re going to be in a world that’s getting progressively worse. The urgency is so great that they maybe won’t grow old if I don’t do this.
A: You have a Bluetooth under your mask, don’t you?
PJ: Yes. [He laughs] A lot of people don’t get that. People always try to pick apart my story and ask “How can you hold a guy down and call 911?” [He points to his earpiece].
A: So as soon as you see a crime, you make the call, and then you intervene?
PJ: I try not to intervene most of the time. The best thing I can do is record it. And I have a headcam that goes on the [mask] right here. So a lot of the time I’ll see a crime and then I’ll just videotape it and wait for the police to show up. And if he tries to leave the scene or hurt people, then I jump in.
A: Do you have religious beliefs?
PJ: I do, and I believe in God, but I feel like it ruins the message of being a superhero. It’s interesting how religion was originally brought in to bring hope, but today a word like “mundane” comes to mind, or “fake.” When you see a Union Gospel mission bring food to the homeless, you think, “That’s for points in Sunday school,” or “That’s because you think you’re going to heaven and not because you’re a nice person.” But you see a dude just randomly giving stuff to the homeless you think, “Wow, that’s really nice.”

Phoenix Jones Fights Villains With a Taser, But Zetaman Thinks That’s None Too Safe
Originally posted: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703408604576164641263773656.html
By ASHBY JONES

“Superhero’ Phoenix Jones, top, uses a cell phone to help monitor possible crimes.

SEATTLE—Life isn’t easy for the self-proclaimed superhero who calls himself “Phoenix Jones, Guardian of Seattle.” A 22-year-old day-care worker by day, he dons a black-and-gold costume by night to harass drug dealers and break up street fights.
But he’s having a harder time dealing with his latest nemeses: members of the “Real Life Superhero” (RLSH) movement.
This world-wide collection mainly of grown men with names like Zetaman, Knight Owl, Dark Guardian, and Mr. Raven Blade, have taken to grumbling about Mr. Jones, who has recently been getting more publicity than they do, partly because of his aggressive style.
The RLSHers, many of whom stick to charitable works like delivering food to the homeless, are concerned that Mr. Jones’s physical approach might not reflect well on the superhero community, which has worked hard to convince people that it isn’t just a group of comic-book geeks with inflated notions of their own importance but, rather, a force for good in the world.
“For the first time, we have someone who agrees with our overall purpose but doesn’t agree with our methods,” says Knight Owl, a Portland, Ore., member of the RLSH world who, like the others, refuses to give out his real name.
“I suppose it was bound to happen, but it’s definitely a growing pain within the community.”
Mr. Jones, who declined to allow his real name to be published but whose back story checks out, dismisses the criticism. “I may be eccentric, but I’m not crazy,” he says. “I really am here to help the people of Seattle.”
Real Life Superheroes, who seem to favor masks and dark clothing—sometimes emblazoned with homemade logos (like the Superman “S”)—exist in pockets all over the world. Some, like Knight Owl and Thanatos, based in Vancouver, British Columbia, typically focus on charitable activities.
Others, such as New York’s Dark Guardian, patrol areas known for drug activity—a bit like the city’s old subway-riding Guardian Angels. Dark Guardian shines lights and takes videos to try to deter crime nonviolently, and he makes emergency calls to 911.
“Mostly, they’re relatively normal people trying to help out and have a little fun along the way,” says Tea Krulos, a Milwaukee writer working on a book about them.
Phoenix Jones is different. In the 10 months since he became prominent, he has shown a willingness to thrust himself into dangerous situations.
A mixed martial-arts fighter, he broke his nose last month while breaking up a fight, and he says he has been shot and stabbed, too. He often travels with a posse, sometimes carries a Taser nightstick and tear gas, and repeatedly has himself been mistaken for a criminal.
One Friday night, Mr. Jones and several sidekicks—two quiet men called Buster Doe and Pitch Black; a young woman named Blue Sparrow; and a superhero-in-training called Ski Man—spent several hours making the rounds on the streets of Seattle.
Mr. Jones posed for the occasional cellphone photo with revelers outside night spots in several popular neighborhoods. But, he says, the attention “distracts me from my mission.”
Outside a bar, Mr. Jones chastised a man for yelling at a downtrodden passerby.
“Let’s keep it cool; let’s all have a good night,” he said to the man, who quickly backed down.
From there, Mr. Jones chatted up late-night loiterers in areas known for drug dealing. “Stay safe tonight,” he said. “Stay warm.”
Later, the superheroes ran after a swerving car, suspecting a drunk driver, but the car raced away and, alas, they can’t fly. Capes, also, are unfashionable in the superhero world: “They get caught on everything,” says Mr. Raven Blade.
Little crime-fighting took place that night. “That’s the thing,” concedes Mr. Jones. “When there’s nothing going on, you feel pretty silly in this outfit,” he says, referring to his costume, which he says is equipped with the latest body armor.
Detective Mark Jamieson, spokesman for the Seattle Police Department, applauds citizens’ willingness to get involved in their communities and says the department has received 911 calls from Mr. Jones.
But he worries about things getting out of hand. “Our concern is that if it goes badly, then we wind up getting called anyway, and we may get additional victims.”
It’s that kind of scenario that frightens other RLSHers.
“Whether intentionally or not, he’s representing the [superhero] community now,” says Knight Owl. “And that makes some people nervous.”
Mr. Jones says the RLSH group initially resented his quick move into the spotlight, and blackballed him when he later tried to make nice. So Mr. Jones ultimately started his own group, called the Rain City Superheroes. He says the group’s mission is decidedly different from the agenda of the RLSH gang.
“Handing out food to the homeless is an entirely worthy thing to do,” he says. “But it’s not what superheroes do. If you’re going to drive a fire truck, people are going to expect you to put out fires. If you dress up like a superhero, people are going to expect you to fight crime.”
Last month, in an effort to patch things up, members of the two groups met up in Seattle and went on a late-night patrol of the city.
According to Mr. Jones and others present, the night didn’t go entirely smoothly. At a coffee shop following the patrol, Mr. Jones and Zetaman, a Portland superhero, argued over Mr. Jones’s approach. Zetaman declined to comment. But on his blog, he recounted telling Mr. Jones: “[A]ll of us are afraid of one day someone is going to get killed and it’ll be all over.”
Added Zetaman: “I don’t need this kind of macho c— in my life and I don’t need to prove myself to anyone, least of all to Phoenix Jones and his Rain City Superhero Movement.”
The night of the patrol, Zetaman left the group early and went back to his hotel.
Responds Mr. Jones: “I don’t see the point in handing sandwiches to homeless people in areas in which the homeless are getting abused, attacked, harassed by drug dealers.”
Since then, the two groups—the Rain City Superheroes and the Real Life Superheroes—have pretty much gone their separate ways.
“We’re not one giant family,” says Knight Owl. “After all, we’re a colorful collection of individuals. We’re superheroes.”
Write to Ashby Jones at [email protected]

Originally posted: http://oneplusonedirect.com/tag/phoenix-jones/
Seattle has a costumed superhero patrolling the streets of their city looking for crime and the criminals that commit them.
A vigilante by the name of Jones, wears a costume of gold and black, and walks a beat in Lynnwood, population 35,000. He costume consists of a bulletproof vest with stab shield beneath the outfit. He also wields pepper spray and a Taser stun gun.
His budget is much less than Batman and so he doesn’t have a bat mobile or other fancy vehicle. He is instead driven around in a Kia, by a faithful female sidekick who does not leave the vehicle.
Jones revealed to a local Television network that he started fighting crime about nine months ago and in that time he received stab wounds and had a gun pointed at him more than one time. However, he said, “When I walk into a neighbourhood, criminals leave because they see the suit. The average person doesn’t have to walk around and see bad things and do nothing.”
He just lately interrupted and diverted a car theft, and chased the criminal away who had been trying to break into the car. The car owner was shocked and said “From the right, this guy comes dashing in, wearing this black and gold suit, and starts chasing him away.”
Seattle Police comment that Phoenix Jones belongs to a nation-wide organization that call themselves the Rain City Superhero Movement. It has a website that says: “A real life superhero is whoever chooses to embody the values presented in super heroic comic books, not only by donning a mask and costume, but also performing good deeds.”
Police urge citizens to think twice about becoming vigilantes in comic book costumes, and they are extremely fortunate to not be mistaken as the very criminals they are trying to defend against. They add that it is extremely dangerous for citizens to place themselves in harms way by emulating comic book heroes.

Originally posted: http://www.newser.com/story/109534/thugs-beat-up-real-life-superhero.html
Life imitates Kick-Ass in Seattle

(Newser) – Self-proclaimed superhero Phoenix Jones could have used some superpowers, or at least some tools from Batman’s arsenal, over the weekend. The costumed vigilante, who patrols the streets of Seattle several times a week, had his nose broken and was threatened at gunpoint after he tried to break up a fight, the Telegraph reports.
Jones—leader of the real-life “Rain City Superheroes” group that also includes Buster Doe, Thorn, Green Reaper, Gemini, No Name, Catastrophe, Thunder 88 and Penelope—says the attack was no big deal, but police say that he and his fellow masked vigilantes should call 911 instead of taking on criminals. “They insert themselves into a potentially volatile situation and then they end up being victimized as well,” a police spokesman tells KOMO News.

Originally posted: http://www.kirotv.com/news/26452560/detail.html
SEATTLE — “Superheroes” from Seattle’s Rain City Superhero Movement have struck again, this time helping a stranded motorist.
Walter Gray and his daughter were stuck on the side of Interstate 5 in Shoreline after running out of gas, when Phoenix Jones, who KIRO 7 recently interviewed, and some of his partners showed up to help.
“This guy runs up, and I roll down the window, and he says, ‘Phoenix Jones,’ as he introduces himself, ‘Rain City Superhero,'” Gray said. “And he’s dressed up in this molded rubber suit and seriously looks like a superhero.”
The group was able to get Gray’s car started and they sent Gray and his daughter on their way.

Originally posted: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/dailybrew/real-life-superhero-stops-car-robbery-seattle-20110107-111314-082.html
By Michael Bolen | Daily Brew – Fri, 7 Jan 2:13 PM EST
If you thought superheroes were only found on the silver screen or in comic books, think again. Superheroes are real — just ask Phoenix Jones, the Guardian of Seattle. Phoenix, a costumed hero operating in Washington state, grabbed headlines this week after he stopped a car robbery in progress.
Operating out of a comic book shop, Phoenix is a member of the Rain City Superheroes, itself part of the wider real-life superhero movement.
That’s right, there are many people who dress in costumes and patrol the streets of their cities and towns. You can find a number of Canadian crime-fighters in the World Superhero Registry, including Vancouver’s Thanatos, who was profiled by The Globe and Mail in 2009.
According to Seattle police, the Rain City group includes Thorn, Buster Doe, Green Reaper, Gemini, No Name, Catastrophe, Thunder 88, Penelope and Phoenix Jones himself. A hero name Red Dragon has also appeared with the group.
Phoenix and his team have been garnering attention for months now. Back in November, online paper seattlepi.com reported that police were well aware of the operations of the band of heroes.
And while police are tolerating their actions, they warn that the heroes may be putting themselves in grave danger. Phoenix claims he has been stabbed in the line of work and the bullet proof vest he wears under his suit stopped a bullet during an incident in Tacoma, Wash. last year. Police have not confirmed his claims.
They have, however, determined Phoenix’s secret identity, but have so far declined to disclose it to the public. Phoenix and his group appear to have nothing but good things to say about the authorities.
In an interview today with Good Morning America, Phoenix said, “We want to have a great relationship with police and we also want to help them as much as possible.”

Originally posted: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1344136/Phoenix-Jones-Real-life-superhero-chases-car-thief-Seattle.html
. . . and the bullet-proof crimebuster isn’t alone – there are NINE of them patrolling streets!
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 3:29 PM on 6th January 2011
Residents of Lynnwood in Washington can sleep safely in their beds, knowing that their streets are being protected by… Phoenix Jones.
The city, just north of Seattle, is part of the patrolling zone of a self-styled superhero who roams the streets in search of injustice.
In a real-life version of the 2010 film Kick-Ass – where a mild-mannered school student transforms himself into a masked crusader – Phoenix Jones has taken the law into his own gloved hands and is spending his time cleaning up the suburban streets.
Rumours of the costumed crimefighter – and others like him – began to surface as residents spoke of unconfirmed sightings around the streets.
Then a Lynwood local, who only wanted to be identified as Dan, had a first-hand meeting.
Dan said he was returning to a parking lot on Sunday evening when he spotted a ‘bad guy’ trying to break in to his car with a piece of metal.
Dan said: ‘He started sticking it down between the window and the rubber strip.’
Dan said he started dialling 911 but – before he could even finish dialling the three-digit number – help arrived in the most unlikely form.
He said: ‘This guy comes dashing in, wearing this skin-tight rubber, black and gold suit, and starts chasing him away.’
Dan admitted that he had not heard of the strange avenger working Lynnwood’s streets, and also admitted that he didn’t want to report the sighting because his friends told him he must have been drunk.
But he is not the only one to have seen a real-life superhero – the comic-book vigilantes are known to police.
A Seattle Police Department spokesman confirmed that there is a band of do-gooders who are known as the Rain City Superhero Movement, and have identified at least nine members.
Phoenix Jones, who came to Dan’s aid, is just one member of the group. He is joined by – believe it or not – Thorn, Buster Doe, Green Reaper, Gemini, No Name, Catastrophe, Thunder 88 and Penelope.
In what could turn out to be the rise of the obligatory comic-book super villain, police have been told by the group to disregard Captain Ozone or Knight Owl – because they are not part of the movement.
And don’t get your hopes up about the gadget-bristling Jonesmobile either.
Police say Phoenix is driven around in a Kia – by a female sidekick who doesn’t get out of the vehicle.
Local KIRO 7 TV reporter Monique Ming Laven met Phoenix Jones, and there’s more to the anonymous crimefighter than just a snazzy pair of tights.
His suit incorporates a bulletproof vest, trauma plating on his arms and legs and other sensitive areas.
His utility belt, to borrow a phrase from fellow crimefighter Batman, includes a Taser, Mace and tear gas.
Phoenix said: ‘“When I walk into a neighbourhood, criminals leave because they see the suit.
‘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.
Police department spokesman Jeff Kappel said: ‘There’s nothing wrong with citizens getting involved with the criminal justice process – as long as they follow it all the way through.
He said police would prefer that people call 911 and be good witnesses, rather than getting involved personally and risk injury or death.
Phoenix Jones agreed, saying that crimefighting wasn’t for the weak-hearted.
He said: ‘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.’

Originally posted: http://southcapitolstreet.com/2011/01/05/real-life-superhero-breaks-up-carjacking-in-washington-state/
Evil villains looking to prey on the citizens of Lynnwood, Washington, beware: Phoenix Jones is watching.
KIRO Eyewitness News reports that a Lynnwood man, identified only as “Dan,” came “within seconds of having his car broken into” on Sunday when the alleged crook was chased off by a masked crusader. In an incident that local police couldn’t confirm to TPM, Dan told KIRO a man with a metal strip was trying to unlock his car in a parking lot when help showed up out of nowhere.
“From the right, this guy comes dashing in, wearing this skin-tight rubber, black and gold suit, and starts chasing him away,” Dan said.
Dan’s rescuer was Phoenix Jones, a.k.a. Phoenix Jones the Guardian of Seattle, a “Real Life Superhero” and leader of the Rain City Superhero Movement. Almost every night, the 22-year-old Jones, who keeps his real identity a secret, enters a secret compartment in the back of a Lynnwood comic book store and emerges, in uniform, to patrol the streets. (Watch video of Jones in action here.) His suit includes a bullet-proof vest and “stab plates,” and he carries a taser nightstick, mace and tear gas. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports that Jones also sports a “ballistic cup.”
“I symbolize that the average person doesn’t have to walk around and see bad things and do nothing,” Jones said. He told KIRO that since he began his patrols nine months ago, he has been stabbed and had guns drawn on him.
Jones isn’t alone in his crime-fighting enthusiasm. There’s an entire movement of Real Life Superheroes out there, across the country. Activities appear to range from handing homeless people water bottles to actually stepping in and trying to stop violent crime. The website rlsh-manual.com defines a Real Life Superhero as “whoever chooses to embody the values presented in superheroic comic books, not only by donning a mask/costume, but also performing good deeds for the communitarian place whom he inhabits.” Reallifesuperheroes.org urges visitors to “Let out your inner superhero and join or support our cause.”
But not everyone is ready to credit Jones with thwarting a Real Life Evildoer. When TPM contacted the Lynnwood Police Department, Public Information Officer Shannon Sessions said the department was aware of the “superheroes,” but could not confirm the incident this week.
“I know there was a story on it–but I can’t confirm that it’s true and that it actually happened,” Sessions said in an email. She even suggested that KIRO may have been “punked.”
A commenter on The Real Life Superhero Forum suggested the Lynnwood incident was staged.
“Staged… bunk,” wrote a member named Artisteroi in response to the Forum founder’s posting of the KIRO story. “[A]nd does anyone notice that his suit keeps getting more and more elaborate? Someone is funding this guy. That suit was made in Hollywood basement.”
Back in November, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported that the Seattle police had made contact with the Rain City Superhero Movement. A source gave the Post-Intelligencer the names of the eight other members of the Movement: Thorn, Buster Doe, Green Reaper, Gemini, No Name, Catastrophe, Thunder 88 and Penelope.

Police say the “costume-wearing complainants” are lucky they haven’t been hurt.
In one instance, police say a caped crusader dressed in black was nearly shot when he came running out of a dark park. In another case, a witness on Capitol Hill saw the crusaders wearing ski masks in a car parked at a Shell station and thought they were going to rob the place.

Seattle Police spokesman Jeff Kappel told the paper “[t]here’s nothing wrong with citizens getting involved with the criminal justice process — as long as they follow it all the way through.” But the article describes an incident on November 4 where police responded to a scene where Jones and other apparent Movement members were in a stand-off with a man making threatening statements and swinging a golf club. The “costume-wearing complainants” declined to press charges, to prevent revealing their secret identities. As a result, The Club Swinger walked.
TPM also found an interview Jones did in November with a blogger named Tea Krulos. In it, Jones describes his background in martial arts, and says the other members of the Rain City Superhero Movement “all have either military backgrounds or MMA training.”
“Phoenix Jones…people believe Phoenix Jones may help them,” Phoenix Jones told Krulos. “I mean they know they can’t count on it 100 percent, because it’s so random, but they know it is possible.”