Originally posted: http://www.phillyburbs.com/blogs/reality/the-world-could-use-a-few-more-real-life-superheroes/article_5f96cf0a-ed8c-5cdc-89a6-34d33f5d2296.html
By Olivia Wright
Ben Franklin Freshman Academy

The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.”
There’s an Einstein quote for you. Maybe something you’d find on a daily calendar, or during any basic late-night boredom Google exploration. It’s also how the HBO documentary “Superheroes” starts out.
For those of you out there who know me on any level, you’re probably thinking something along the lines of “dear mother of God, here she goes with that comic book stuff again.” I promise you, this time, there’s more to it than that.
I’m not a huge documentary fan, only when the subject interests me, or if it presses that little “I read psychology journals for fun” button in my head. “Superheroes” manages to tickle both of those fancies, but I’m not writing this article, suddenly inspired at precisely 1:44 in the morning (Wait! It’s a weekend!), to talk about me. Shocking, I know.
Getting to the point, the film’s about real-life superheroes.
And just like any comic-verse, these guys vary in just about every sense imaginable. Some look like they’d be taken pretty seriously. They’ve got their gear, they’ve got the masks that could make you flinch if you ran into them in a dark alley, not to mention seriously legit training and strategy. Their reasons for fighting the good fight tend toward a chance to redeem their past criminal lifestyles, or as an outlet for rage and violence. Coincidentally, most of those types happen to operate in New York City.
Mixed in are those whose appearance happens to be, to put it kindly, less than intimidating. Not much threat goin’ on. Motivation ranges from comic-hero inspiration to being wronged themselves. Most of the time, these “novelty heroes” seem to be more of a photo op for passersby than a scourge to crime.
Please, do not get me wrong here.
All of the superheroes featured in this documentary, every single one of them, could teach us a little something about society.
They aren’t sitting by and letting, for lack of a better term, evil get the best of us all. Refusing to ignore the injustice in the world is a common theme across the board, be it kicking some drug dealer/mugger/rapist butt and getting them locked up, or simply helping out those who need it with a donation of food, maybe just being someone to talk to.
Further research shows that Harrisburg even has its own super-team, the Keystone Crusaders, who at one point had lived with next to nothing and still found the will to help out the city.
That’s selflessness at its best.
It kind of makes you wonder how much of a pit humanity has dug itself into that we need to actually have people wearing masks and worrying about getting attacked themselves in order to do what any decent person should.
This is what the Justice League does, guys. In comics. Fiction. But nowadays, people seem to find it necessary to translate it to reality.
That’s sad.
That’s sad that, to some members of planet Earth, that’s what things have come to.
I commend these guys. They’re doing what quite a few of us ignore, and that’s something I like a lot.
No, I’m not saying you need to toss on your Six Flags Batman cape and go out to destroy neighborhood crime. There’s serious personal risk to that, and I’m pretty sure it’s illegal to an extent, unless you’re in law enforcement (again, I commend you).
Real-life superheroes are trained in self-defense, but just as that. Defense. It’s a matter of being aware of the law, abiding by it, and helping to deter crime, not being the criminal in the first place.
But don’t turn the other way when you see something that could end badly if let go. I’m a girl who would say that’s something Superman would frown upon.
Speaking of the guy . . . is this a job for Superman? I don’t think so. Sadly, he’s not real. But the rest of us . . . we could stand to let ourselves have a superhero moment every now and then. Really, we could. No need for patrols. Or alter egos.
Just what society seems to dangerously lack anymore.
Simple human decency.
Currently, an organized group of these heroes is helping deliver clean water to Liberia. If you’d like to find out how to donate, or just get more information on these men and women themselves, go to
www.reallifesuperheroes.com.

Has a challenge for the City of Vancouver
Originally posted: http://www.news1130.com/news/local/article/246361–meet-vancouver-s-very-own-superhero
By News1130 Staff
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – He takes care of those who live in the city’s dark places, defending and helping people on the mean streets of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.  News1130‘s Mike Lloyd is revealing the details of a clandestine meeting with the man who calls himself Thanatos, The Dark Avenger.
“I’m a real life superhero here in Vancouver.  I take care of those who really need help the most.  I take care of those in the street, I watch out for them, I defend them, and I help them out.  I do monthly hand-outs of food, blankets and necessities.  I patrol the [Downtown] Eastside and keep my eye on things.  When I see things I report them to the police.”
On a stormy afternoon, Thanatos strides between the gravestones of Mountain View Cemetery, cloaked in black with a wide-brimmed hat and masked behind a twisted, iridescent skull.
Why the dramatic backdrop?  “This is an appropriate place to meet Death.  Where else would you meet him?  At McDonalds?”
Thanatos is the Greek God of Death, and the man behind the mask says he took on the persona after a conversation with a police officer.
“I was told people on the street had nothing better to look forward to than death.  That really stung me.  I thought if that’s the case, Death had better get out there and start taking care of these people.  I originally came up with the idea of going out with the robe and scythe but I realized that would be impractical.”
Instead, he ended up in black overcoat and hat, body armour underneath, and masked behind a green skull-face.
“I started researching and found out other people were using the same idea to draw attention to what they were doing.  So, being a comic book geek at heart, I fell back on that and redesigned the figure of death.  I’m based on The Green Hornet, The Shadow, The Spirit, a bit of Doc Savage and a bit of Batman.  The persona works.”
Thanatos stresses he is not a vigilante. “Swinging in on a rope, beating up the drug dealer, leaving him tied up for police looks good in the movies, but this is the real world and you can’t do that.  It doesn’t work.  It’s a bigger problem than just trying to take criminals off the street one at a time.  It’s a social issue and society has to change to stop people from landing on the street and getting swept up into the drugs and crime down there.”
This is certainly no game for the costumed man as he asks to be tapped on his chest.
“Feel that?  I wear a level 3A bullet proof vest.  It is dangerous.  Some of the people I encounter are coming down off methamphetamine or coming off other drugs.  The drug dealers and gangs are also quite dangerous.  I’ve had guns flashed at me.  I’ve seen guns down there ranging from small handguns to AK-47s.  I’ve had knives flashed at me.  I had someone try to stick me with a [sharpened] bicycle spoke and when you stick that into someone it usually catches something vital.  I’ve had someone throw a bullet at me from across the street.”
As the wind whips and the clouds darken, Thanatos says he feels the need to continue his work.  “I’ve helped out over the years as myself.  No one remembers.  No one cares.  The idea of real life superheroes using costumes is to draw attention to what we’re doing.  That draws attention to the problem.”
And there are others, many of them chronicled in the Real Life Superhero Project.
“We are all over the world.  Right now there are probably 300 of us who are active and out trying to actually help the world be a batter place.  Most are in North America, but we have people in Asia, people in the Mid-East and we have quite a few in Europe and Great Britain.  There are a few of us in Canada.”
As the meeting draws to a close, Thanatos has one last thing to add, a challenge to the city.
“We have had terrible riots here in Vancouver.  We had a great outpouring of emotion shown on the plywood, people saying ‘I love you,’ we need to do something, we need to better our city.  So, I’m issuing a challenge to the city of Vancouver.  Everyone go out and help 10 people before the end of July, anything they can do.  If they can keep someone alive on the Downtown Eastside for a day, give them water, give them cereal bars, give them whatever.  If all they can do is stop for five minutes and talk to these people and give them time, that’s fine, too.”
With that, the meeting ends.  Thanatos turns, disappearing deeper into Mountain View, preparing for another night of trying to help Vancouver’s vulnerable and, hopefully, inspiring others to do the same.

Originally posted: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1364664/The-superheroes-patrol-streets-help-needy.html
By Mark Duell
Irene Thomas is part of the Real Life Superhero Project organisation
They aim to bring help, compassion and crime prevention to the streets
By day Irene Thomas says she is a ‘boring’ accountant who lives in a cramped New Jersey flat.
By night she puts on a black catsuit and mask with a red belt, gloves and boots, gets into her Honda Accord car and comes out the other side of the Lincoln Tunnel in Manhattan as ‘Nyx’.
The 21-year-old is just one member of the Real Life Superhero Project, a group of humans who aim to bring a helping hand to people everywhere and thwart crime on city streets.

‘Nyx’: Irene Thomas, 21, of New Jersey, is far from a ‘boring’ accountant when she puts on a black catsuit and mask with a red belt, gloves and boots to become a New York superhero

Mission: The Real Life Superhero Project aims to bring a helping hand to people everywhere and thwart crime

Most superheroes in the project want to cut down citizen apathy by modelling ‘superhero’ virtues and encourage others to do the same, reported People magazine.
Nyx, who shares her name with the Greek goddess of night, gives food and clothes to the homeless of New York. She hopes ‘other people notice and are maybe motivated to help too’.
She said on the Real Life Superheroes website: ‘Like the night, I cannot be proven or disproven to certain degrees – and also much like the night, when morning comes, there will be no trace of me.’
Production manager Chaim Lazaros, 26, dons a black hat, mask and waistcoat to become ‘Life’ when he patrols the New York streets by night.
‘I just feel like I’m walking on air after I’ve helped 30 people,’ he told People magazine.

‘Motor Mouth’: The ninja-like San Francisco superhero, who is known only as a 30-year-old teacher and will not reveal his identity, told People magazine: ‘If you live this kind of life, you can’t take yourself entirely seriously’

Many homeless and vulnerable people are pleased to receive the superheroes’ help, but the reaction is not always positive.
One teenage homeless girl in San Francisco smirked when ninja-like ‘Motor Mouth’ handed her a bag of food, but this did not worry him.
‘(I don’t mind) a million people snickering behind my back as long as there is the possibility to help,’ he said.

Other stars: Samaritan joins New York superheroes Dark Guardian and Phantom Zero on the streets

‘If you live this kind of life, you can’t take yourself entirely seriously,’ he added.
Motor Mouth won’t reveal his true identity but said he is a 30-year-old teacher.
Many of those involved in the project are believed to be comic-book geeks.
Other New York superheroes include martial arts instructor Dark Guardian, 22, 34-year-old computer technician Phantom Zero, and Samaritan, who lives and works in the city.

Phoenix Jones: The 22-year-old from Seattle is one of America’s most famous ‘superheroes’ and claims to have broken up knife fights, caught drug dealers and been stabbed in the line of duty

One of America’s most famous ‘superheroes’ is Seattle-based Phoenix Jones, 22, who claims to have broken up knife fights, caught drug dealers and been stabbed.
He is part of a group called the Rain City Superhero Movement, which tries to keep the streets safe and has received the backing of the Seattle police department.

Originally posted: http://www.realitysandwich.com/real_life_super_heroes
By Elliot Edge
Costumed activists are engaging ideas of self and community on the online Super Hero Academy taking place this month. The Real Life Super Hero Project is inspiring others to regain not only a moral sense of self, but also engage the question of identity very seriously. It has been a longstanding problem that society forces folk to conform to a rigid identity within the socioeconomic machinations or face alienation, despite the disempowering limitations such prefabricated notions of the self offers. This is no doubt why video games, virtual communities, social networks, hyperindividualization have become the new empires: In real life, folk are doomed by their local consensus reality regardless of it’s observable stagnation, pathologies, obsolesce, and soullessness. Though these self-made heroes and heroines seem to be putting McKenna’s line, “You don’t have to be a victim of your culture,” into real world practice. We don’t and these people are the active proof.
Kevin Kelly, author of Out of Control and What Technology Wants “The major theme of this coming decade is going to be identity of self. Every time computers get more powerful they basically threaten our established understanding of our selves both in terms of who we are or who we could be…So I think the self is really going to undergo some transformation or expansion in the coming decade and we see that with like online games where the identity that people have with these personas and avatars is very intense in the sense of this being real a place that they come to for many hours a day may be realer…It’s very, very, very, very powerful evidence that our notions of self are under transition right now.”
Birthed from a half-century-old history culture of comic book culture and combining it with LARPing (Live Action Role Playing, think a Civil War reenactment only with capes and masks) with active participation in the community; the Real Life Super Hero Project takes us past the mere culture of reaction (e.g. blogging) and flings us back into action with a soul-satisfying POW! that world society has been waiting for. Though they don’t actively seek the role of vigilantism, they are true to their word do-gooders: delivering relief supplies to flood victims, bringing food to the homeless, returning lost purses, and perhaps most importantly inspiring others, especially children—life can be fun and meaningful at the same time.
Though critics may regurgitate the problem of the spectacle, the reality of our time is in the fact that most human beings in the first world have no contact with reality at all and that there world has been replaced by a conceptual hyperreality. Thus the vehicle of the spectacle is still necessary to reach sleepwalkers. As consciousness pioneer Tom Campbell has said, “If you’re going to communicate with somebody you have to start from wherever they are, not from wherever you are.” Once again, the imagination reigns supreme. As the aptly named Super Hero stated, “People would say, ‘Why do you do this?’ And I would say, ‘Well I’m a symbol and I fight apathy and all this stuff,’ but after a while I stopped lying to myself and said, ‘The reason why I do this is because it’s hella fun.’”

Originally posted: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/5947490/finally_a_real_life_superhero.html?cat=49
By Chris Ware
This is one of the most amazing stories you will eve hear. You probably will not believe it. I can’t blame you for questioning it but it is all true. The world now has its very own real life flesh and blood superhero. This new superhero has arrived in Monrovia the capital of Liberia in Africa.
Lion Heart has been protecting the people in Monrovia and the surrounding villages for the last few weeks now. Lion Heart is involved in a number of different things. Most of what Lion Heart does is educate the local people. He does not teach them to read or write but he teaches them things they do not know that can save their life.
In many rural African villages people do not know they should boil their water before drinking the water they get from local streams. This is one of the largest causes of death in the world. He lets them know about this and they are now less likely to get sick and die. The children are the most likely to die from problems caused by drinking bad water.
Other things that seem simple the local villagers do not know. The sanitation conditions are terrible. Many families have sick members living with them and they do not know to cover their mouth when they cough. They will even eat and drink using the same cup and utensils as a sick person.
Some of the information he gives has been able to literally save the life of a person who was dying. Health related information is not the only information that he gives though. He also teaches about human trafficking so people will not be fooled and sent into slavery.
Over the last few weeks he has learned many things and found more problems and more solutions. He continues to improve what he has already been doing.
Lion Heart also has a small following. All the people he visits are told to teach others. Many teach family, friends, and some even teach the entire village they live in. A few people have even been taught by Lion Heart how they can help others too and are now doing the same things he is.
While it might be odd for an adult to run around in a cape and mask what he is doing is a great thing. There is no telling how many lives he will affect by what he is doing. It is likely we will be hearing more about this superhero soon.

Originally posted: http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/features/Feature-Modern-day-costume-heroes.6513746.jp
Published Date: 07 September 2010
By KATY ROSS
That’s what many 25-year-olds do when confronted with the monotony of the hamster wheel of life, when nothing matters but who you are going to the pub with at the weekend and whether you happen to get lucky. Instead, each night when he gets home from his job at an non-profit organisation in Brooklyn, he goes to his wardrobe and pulls on his superhero costume, then goes about the important business of saving the world, one step at a time.
He is not alone. Lazaros, or ‘Life’, to give him his superhero moniker, is one of a legion who make up the real-life superhero movement, a worldwide community of loosely affiliated individuals committed to a broadly defined ethos of making the world a better place.
These people may look as though they have jumped out of a comic book or Hollywood blockbuster, but they are all ordinary citizens who haven’t got a super power between them. What they share is an all too human ambition to help solve some of society’s most challenging problems by donning masks and costumes and venturing into their respective neighbourhoods to feed the hungry, comfort the sick and protect the innocent.
“We are just people who want to make a difference,” says Lazaros, who co-founded the New York-based website Superheroes Anonymous, to bring superhero groups together through outreach, education and creative community service. “We are not delusional – we know we’re humans with limited abilities. But inside every human is the capacity to do something kind, brave and strong for our fellow humans; some among us simply choose to do so in secret.”
But why the need for costumes? Would these good deeds not be equally welcomed if carried out in jeans and T-shirts? Working from the basic premise that the definition of a real-life superhero is someone who creates their unique persona to do good acts for others, Lazaros believes that “just because you are becoming something greater than yourself when you do these acts of good does not mean you have to be wearing a mask while doing them.
Nevertheless, the costumes do provide a universal symbol of good that people can recognise. When my father went out on the streets dressed as a Rabbi, people recognised him and trusted him. Dressing up in a superhero costume means something similar to me.”
The Real Life Superhero Project is photographer Peter Tangen’s attempt to document the work of the individuals who make up the movement. “They are some of the most amazing people I have ever met,” he says from his home in Los Angeles.
“As I researched the project I was struck by the irreverent and almost insulting tone of some of the reporting into these altruistic people who devote their time and effort into helping others. Their approach is very savvy though. In some ways they are marketing good deeds. They are drawing attention to personal power in an entirely unique way.”
Despite the hurdles the movement faces, its numbers are growing fast and are currently estimated to be in the region of 250 to 300 around the world. The work they do is varied; for example, The Cleanser will actively go out and clean the streets. Direction Man will go out and offer directions.
Other people have less specific personas and just aim to help. With great costumes, though, comes great responsibility, and while the superheroes are united in their aim to make the world a better place, their community has at times been divided on how that should be done.
Some members advocate a high-profile existence, helping the less fortunate through established non-profit organisations. Others want to fight the bad guys, vigilante-style, hiding in the shadows while supporting the work done by those in law enforcement.
Before moving to New Jersey to be with her boyfriend, 20-year-old Nyx, like Peter Parker in Spider-Man, prefered to keep her true identity secret. Living in Kansas, she would secretly take photographs of drug dens and send them to the authorities.
“It was dangerous work and I used to carry weapons. But I’m in New York now and things are different,” she says.
“We need to remain focused about our aims. I ask myself how I can be most productive. I want to help people feel safer and happier, but the best way I can do that is by volunteering. So now I work with my boyfriend at a homeless shelter. Everyone has it in them to make a difference, and I think this is the best way I can help.”
In Atlanta, Crimson Fist, a compact 5ft 6in, admits on his first night patrol it was the shock of seeing a man in a red and white cape and mask that scared off the two men he had confronted in an alley for attacking one another.
With a history of substance abuse, he says his superhero work is an attempt to make up for treating people poorly in the past.
“Generally when I go out on patrols I pack up a backpack with different supplies – in the summer I hand out bottled water, in the colder months, I give them clean shirts and socks and things like that.”
Citizen Prime, real name Jim, works for an unnamed financial institution by day and is one of the most respected members of the superhero community. Recently retired, he is consulted by many of the other super- heroes for advice. Prime distributed literature on drugs and crime and boasted a $4,000 custom-made outfit with breast armour.
On reflection, he likes to think his humour was his key weapon in diffusing awkward situations as he patrolled the streets of Arizona.
It would be easy to assume the actions of these members, and the many others committed to the movement, stem from a sense of disillusionment with society’s limitations, and that the new breed of superheroes are simply looking to find purpose in their lives. This isn’t always the case though.
Many of these people come from extremely successful backgrounds. Some are employed by non-profit organisations but others work on Wall Street or in politics.
As Peter Tangen puts it: “These people come from all walks of life. The organisation is very focused but it isn’t political. There are committed Democrats, Republicans, the whole spectrum of society is included. These are people with relationships, families, successful lives.
“They are not people who are lacking. They are people who are doing what they can to make a difference to the world they live in.”
For Lazaros, the motivation to get into the movement wasn’t through some sense of disillusionment, but more a desire to share his good fortune. Raised in the Jewish tradition of leaving the world a better place than the way he found it, he was imbued at an early age with strong values of charity, courtesy and kindness, modelled for him by his Hassidic parents, who always gave to others, even when it was hard to do so.
This moral code, underscored with a powerful sense of social justice, led him to his work with the homeless and disenfranchised.
Now minimally costumed in a mask, tie and jacket, he sets out every day with a backpack brimming with toothbrushes, lotions, soaps, even sweets, delivering the smaller necessities of life that fill in the gaps left by the NYC Department of Homeless Services.
The challenge, as Lazaros sees it, is to find people who are creative and altruistic and encourage them to express those charitable impulses in ways that may range from the subtle to the extreme. It is also what he sees as the ultimate mission of Superheroes Anonymous. “If I can inspire someone to do even the littlest of things to help others, and they in turn can do the same, think of how many thousands can be helped.”
www.reallifesuperheroes.com
This article was first published in Scotland On Sunday on Sunday, 5 September, 2010

Originally posted: http://www.dogmaticblog.com/2010/08/31/the-real-life-super-hero-project/

Even for as far back as I can remember, I have always been fascinated by superheroes, comic books and the world of alter-egos and visual characters. That very fascination has moulded who and what I am today. The mystery surrounding a secret identity just astounds me and if it were at all humanly possible – I wish superheroes actually existed. And I wish I could be one!
Cue fanfare, whilst I don my dark shades, slip into my all-black garb and let the wind blow through my hair!
Now, an avenue exists for like-minded freaks, The Real Life Super Hero Project exists to collate this unique subculture of genuine heroes.
Anonymous and selfless, they choose every day, to make a difference in the world around them. Whether it be feeding the hungry, comforting the sick, or cleaning up their neighborhoods, they save real lives in very real ways. These are not “kooks in costumes,” as they may seem at first glance. They are, simply put, a radical response… to a radical problem.
So who are these modern day heroes? They are our neighbors, our friends, our family members. They are artists, musicians, athletes, and yes, politicians. Their actions serve as reminders that as most giving today has become reactive—digital and removed, temporarily soothing our guilt and feelings of helplessness—we have blinded ourselves to simple principles and practice of compassion and goodwill.
Photographer Peter Tangen has earned the trust of this loose network, to visually document the genuine power of these individuals—and in the process, reveal the soul behind their endeavor.
At first, The Real Life Superhero Project was conceived as an avenue to shine some light on this new breed of activism and altruism, through a photographic installation to benefit the established organizations the superheroes believe in. But as more people were brought into the wholly volunteer project, largely through Tangen’s infectious enthusiasm, the scope and purpose expanded exponentially.
Now, what began as a gallery exhibit, has come to serve as the launching pad of something far greater—a living, breathing community that inspires people to become the positive forces for change we all can be. To become more active, more involved, more committed, and perhaps, a little super in the process.
Check out the website here for more info.

Originally posted – http://www.fantasy.fr/articles/view/14021/decouvrez-les-vrais-super-heros

Découvrez les vrais super-héros

The Real Life Super Hero Project met des coups de projecteur sur les super-héros du quotidien.
Par Emmanuel Beiramar
28 juillet 2010 | Mis à jour 28 juillet 2010
Les super-héros se classent en plusieurs catégories :
Il y a les super-héros mutants comme Wolverine ou Magneto.
Il y a les super-héros extraterrestres ou venant d’autres dimensions comme Superman ou Thor.
Il y a les super-héros nés d’un accident comme Spider-Man ou Hulk.
Il y a les super-héros sans pouvoirs comme Batman, Iron Man, la plupart des Watchmen ou les héros de Kick-Ass.
Et il y a les super-héros du quotidien. Ceux qui existent vraiment et qui tentent d’aider leur prochain. Ils sont costumés, « Anonyme et désintéressés», nous explique le site de The Real Life Superhero Project. « ils choisissent tous les jours, de faire une différence dans le monde qui les entoure. Qu’il s’agisse de nourrir les affamés, réconforter les malades, ou nettoyer leur quartier, ils sauvent de vraies vies, de façon très concrète. Ce ne sont pas “des excentriques en costumes », comme on pourrait le croire au premier coup d’œil. Ils sont, tout simplement, une réponse radicale à un problème … radical. »
Le photographe Peter Tangen, dont on peut voir le travail sur des affiches de Batman Begins ou Spider-Man, a décidé de s’intéresser à ce mouvement particulier. Il a contacté 20n de ces super-héros du quotidien pour les prendre en photos, dans leur costume.
Conçu à la base comme une exposition, The Real Life Superhero Project a pris de l’ampleur et attire de plus en plus de personnes, qu’il s’agisse d’artistes, de musiciens, de sportifs ou même d’hommes politiques. Le projet leur donne envie de devenir plus actifs, plus impliqués, plus engagés, et peut-être, un peu plus « super » dans leur vie de tous les jours.
Pour plus d’informations, rendez-vous sur le site officiel de The Real Life Superhero Project.
Translation to English

Discover the real heroes

he Real Life Super Hero Project puts the spotlight on the heroes of everyday life.
by Emmanuel Beiramar
The superheroes fall into several categories:
There are superhero mutants like Wolverine or Magneto.
There are superheroes or aliens from other dimensions like Superman or Thor.
There are heroes born of an accident such as Spider-Man or Hulk.
There are superheroes without powers like Batman, Iron Man, most of the heroes of Watchmen or Kick-Ass.
And there are the heroes of everyday life. Those that do exist and trying to help others. They are dressed, “Anonymous and disinterested,” explains the website of The Real Life Superhero Project . “They choose every day to make a difference in the world around them.  Whether feeding the hungry, comforting the sick, or clean their neighborhood, they save real lives, in very concrete ways. These are not “eccentric costumes,” as it may seem at first glance. They are simply a radical response to a problem … radical. ”
Photographer Peter Tangen, which can be seen working on posters of Batman Begins or Spider-Man, has decided to focus on this particular movement.  He contacted 20n of these super-heroes of everyday life and take pictures in their costumes.
Designed from the ground like an exhibition, The Real Life Superhero Project has grown and attracted more and more people, whether artists, musicians, sportsmen and even politicians. The project makes them want to become more active, more involved, committed, and perhaps a little more “super” in their everyday life.
For more information, visit the official website of The Real Life Superhero Project .
 

Website documents life with real-life superheroes
Posted on June 21, 2010 – 01:09 PM by JK Parkin

No doubt you’ll remember the various news stories that started popping up over the last year or so about “real life superheroes” — nonfictional, Kick-Ass-esque folks donning costumes to help their communities and fight crime.
Photographer Peter Tangen started a site where he’s shining “some light on this new breed of activism and altruism” with a new website called “The Real Life Super Hero Project” that features videos, feature stories and Alex Ross-inspired portraits of the heroes.
“Now, what began as a gallery exhibit, has come to serve as the launching pad of something far greater—a living, breathing community that inspires people to become the positive forces for change we all can be. To become more active, more involved, more committed, and perhaps, a little super in the process,” the site reads. They also have an active Facebook page, and you can check out a trailer for the site after the jump.
Originally posted –http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2010/06/website-documents-life-with-real-life-superheroes/