Tag real life superheroes

Originally posted: http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/63950
Real World Superheroes of the South
by Miss Cellania – August 17, 2010 – 10:59 AM
Alternate universes and super powers may be limited to comic books, but costumed crusaders are everywhere in the real world. If they aren’t fighting crime, they’re doing good deeds, raising awareness, helping the downtrodden, setting an example, steering kids in the right direction, and generally making the world a better place, each in their own strange way. Here are a few that are based in the southern part of the United States.

Master Legend

Orlando, Florida

Master Legend goes on missions to find and help the homeless of Orlando. He began his superhero career in Winter Park, Florida. He works together with other Florida superheroes in both his missions and his music, as several heroes has formed a band called the Justice Force. The article The Legend of Master Legend was printed in Rolling Stone in 2008 and is reposted online at Real Life Superheroes. See a video featuring Master Legend at vimeo.

Danger Woman

Atlanta, Georgia

Danger Woman calls herself a “karaoke crimefighter”. She’s also a disability rights activist. Danger Woman is autistic and use her trusty microphone to give evil a headache with her singing. Her life and crusade against disaba-phobia (the fear of disabled people) is the subject of a documentary calledDisabled But Able to Rock! Watch the trailer at YouTube (warning: singing). You can keep up with Danger Woman’s activities through her MySpace blog.

Superhero

Clearwater, Florida

Superhero may have a generic name, but he’s well known in Clearwater. A former professional wrestler, he roams the streets in his 1975 Corvette and helps stranded motorists. He also makes appearances to teach road safety and to raise money for various charities with a particular emphasis on helping the homeless.

Hardwire

Greensboro, North Carolina

There’s not a lot of information on Hardwire, except that he used to go by the name Point Guardian and he’s retired from the superhero scene. Hardwire appeared as himself in the 2008 movie Your Friendly Neighborhood Hero.

Daddy Man

Zachary, Louisiana

Daddy Man is a role model. His alternate identity is Ivy Butler of Zachary, Lousiana. He created the superhero persona first as an inspiration to his seven children, and became a hero to other children, then a role model for other fathers. You can keep up with Daddy Man’s activities on his blog. Butler is the subject of the book The Chronicles of Daddy Man. Hear what Daddy Man has to say at YouTube.

Enigma

San Antonio, Texas

Enigma patrols San Antonio looking for any opportunity to do good. He posts his exploits at MySpace, where you can read about an incident earlier this year where he stopped a pair of car thieves. Enigma also lends his powers to environmental causes.

The Viper

Columbia, Tennessee

The Viper is a 20-year-old college student who dresses in green and patrols the streets of Columbia, Tennessee. The local police aren’t impressed, and in fact warned him against wearing a mask in public. The Viper says, “I am just a guy trying to do what’s right in tights.” Columbia citizens think it’s kind of neat to have a superhero in their small town.

Amazonia

Ocala, Florida

Amazonia has been working as a superhero since 2002, beginning in Lowell, Massachusetts and worked in both New York City and Ocala, Florida. She is now based in an “undisclosed location”. Amazonia patrols the streets looking for opportunities to help people and takes part in activities such as blood drives, helping the homeless, and environmental activism. Read more on her blog.

DC Guardian

Washington, DC

DC Guardian is part of the Capital City Super Squad, a group of nine superheroes who patrol Washington. An Air Force veteran, he hands out copies of the US Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and the Bill of Rights to remind everyone of what it means to be an American.

KnightVigil

Tampa, Florida

KnightVigil also goes by the name Darian VanLansing, although that’s not his true identity. He is a Christian superhero who works to provide needed food and clothing to the children of migrant workersin Florida.

The Crimson Fist

Atlanta, Georgia

The Crimson Fist turned to his superhero practice after years of drugs and alcohol. By day he’s an IT programmer; by night he spends his time helping the homeless of Atlanta. He patrols the streets and hands out supplies such as bottled water and socks to those in need, using his own funds. He wishes he could do more:

“I think for the most part, it makes me feel good to do it, as selfish as it sounds. The biggest motivation is just helping people, it’s enjoyable to me,” he says. “And if it means a little sacrifice, I’m OK with that. Because if I didn’t do it, I wouldn’t feel whole.”

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

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

Originally posted: http://modestneeds.typepad.com/modestneeds/2010/08/real-life-superheroeswith-capes.html

In North America exists a team of superheroes. They don’t have their own comic book or 3D movie or long running TV series, but what they do have is the drive help those around them. They are on a mission of “activism and altruism.” In crazy costumes.
They are the The Real Life Superheroes, and they roam the streets of New York bestowing good deeds on those who need them.
There is Nyx, who focuses her efforts on aiding the homeless in New Jersey.
There is The Crimson Fist who tends to addicts in Atlanta.
And there is Life, my personal favorite, who hands out essential toiletries like toothbrushes to those on the streets of Manhattan. He is also the co-founder of Real Life Superheroes.
Here’s a short clip with Life, who explains why he does what he does. Mask and all:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LLlY8UYiyU

This is such a fantastic idea, and one that could very easily be a project for children. Who better to participate in such a project than kids who are already way into superheroes, but also the perfect age to establish a lifelong trend of philanthropy. Your little caped crusaders could volunteer to walk dogs at the local shelter. Your daughter could register to run a fundraiser-for-charity 5K and run it in a mask and cape. The possibilities are innumerable, and what a fun way to instill a charitable mindest in a child.
Who knows, maybe for Halloween your second grader will want to be Connie the Canned Food Collecting Crusader.
LITTLE REMINDER: Modest Needs is in 4th place in the Pepsi Refresh Project, and your daily vote will be the only way we can move up and secure $250K for the unemployed Gulf oil spill victims. A click and you’re out. Thanks so much for your time and support!

Originally posted: http://www.comicvine.com/news/real-life-superheroes-assemble/141832/

By Tom Pinchuk
The number of Real Life Superheroes popping up throughout the country is making for a veritable movement at this point. It was only a matter of time before this movement got properly documented. Hence… the Real Life Superheroes Project, a sort-of multi media essay about these altruists who’ve given their everyday charity a creative flourish. You might recall the piece we ran in April about some of these characters who’ve been using costume personas to feed the homeless and counsel wayward teens amongst other charitable efforts. Well, this Project marks the first gathering of these heroes on this scale, making it something of a true-to-life equivalent to the founding of the JUSTICE LEAGUE.
The whole project’s a pro-bono effort from Peter Tangen, a photographer whose work includes all those memorable posters for the first new SPIDER-MAN and BATMAN movies, as well as the revivals of A NIGHTMARE ON ELM ST. and FRIDAY THE 13 (all of which you can see on his website.) This project of his puts all these heroes into set-ups that could easily be posted up in your movie theater’s poster gallery. He’s even got an ensemble portrait of the 20-odd heroes that pays homage to the poses Alex Ross used so memorably for the covers of KINGDOM COME and JUSTICE (which, as an aside, I’ll say is actually pretty surreal to witness.)
These costumes range from looking professionally-designed to cobbled together, but Tangen’s photography makes them all look impressively iconic. Bleeding Cool got wind of this recently, but the project’s continuing to expand. I’ve included only a couple mages here, but there’s a whole host of posters, portraits and videos on the project’s website. Seriously, it looks like they’re launching a whole imprint here.  Anyway, check it out and found out all there is to know about these heroes. You might even get some ideas on how to bring this brand of creative altruism to your own community.
Tom Pinchuk’s the writer of HYBRID BASTARDS! & UNIMAGINABLE. Order them on Amazon here & here.

Originally posted: http://www.sunjournal.com/city/story/844777
By Kathryn Skelton, Staff Writer
Her mom thought she was doing drugs, slipping out at night, wandering the streets.
Mom didn’t realize her little girl was actually busy atoning and avenging.
As the self-styled superhero “Dreizehn” (that’s the number 13 in German), she’d slip out and look for trouble, interrupting drug deals and vehicle break-ins. Think “Kick-Ass,” but in real life. Sometimes it worked, sometimes the teenager got beaten up, badly.
Dreizehn moved to Maine from a big city outside New England a few months ago to join her similarly self-styled superhero boyfriend, “Slapjack.” Several nights a week they walk Lewiston-Auburn for hours on end as roving Good Samaritans, looking for trouble.

The streets here? Much less mean, in her limited experience.
Most nights their foot patrol means giving bottled water and granola bars to the homeless and maybe yelling at a graffiti artist, all the while costumed and armed with batons, knife-proof protective wear and brass knuckles electrified with Tasers.
Dreizehn and Slapjack are in their 20s. Their parents? They still have no clue.
“You kind of have to be a little unstable to do it,” Dreizehn said. “Going out at 2 a.m. with a mask on and thinking you’re going to save the world, it says a lot about you.”
Origin stories
They got started for different reasons. About four years ago, Slapjack said he read an article in VIBE magazine on the Real Life Superheroes movement, a worldwide community, to which they now belong, of people who dress up, assume names and do varying degrees of charity work and criminal deterrence.
Close friends of Slapjack had their home broken into. Another was hit by a drunk driver, part of Slapjack’s motivation now to hang outside bars. He calls police to report plate numbers when he sees people that he suspects have had too much to drink get behind the wheel.
“I believe in civilian patrols. The police can only be so many places at once, especially at night,” Slapjack said. “I think it’s everyone’s responsibility to keep an eye on their communities.”
He picked his code name from a favorite card game played with his grandmother.
The younger Dreizehn has been going out longer, since 2003.

“I started out, really, just bored, and didn’t want to cause trouble,” she said.
In looking to thwart mischief, there was also an element of making amends for her brother.
“He was robbing and completely destroying our family through his actions,” Dreizehn said. “It made me want to do something so nobody had to go through the pain I had to.”
She dresses to add bulk to her frame — a compressed chest, a man’s trench, men’s boots. Sometimes, in her experience, just walking up to someone is enough to make them stop whatever it is they’re doing, mainly because she appears to be a 200-plus-pound man wearing a full black and red mask with sheer white fabric eye holes.
Once on patrol, Slapjack found an unconscious man collapsed in the middle of the street and dragged him to the side of the road, potentially saving him from being run over.
But it doesn’t always go swimmingly.
“I got hit by a car,” Dreizehn said. And once, in what she believed was a meth buy, “I got ahold of what they were dealing. I ended up really taking a beating. I had my mask taken off. I managed to crawl and bite my way out of it. I had a death grip on (the meth).”
She picked her code name as a nod to her German heritage.
Why the names at all if everything’s on the up and up?
Their reasons are threefold. First, they say they don’t want their workplaces or families finding out, then worrying, questioning or demanding they give it up. Second, the couple doesn’t want to be harassed; they are, occasionally, snitches. A superhero named “Shadow Hare” began showing his face around Cincinnati too much and “the city completely turned on him,” Dreizehn said.
Lastly, putting on the costume, and wearing the name, is like becoming someone else.
“Your fear goes away,” Slapjack said.
Added his girlfriend, Dreizehn: “I wanted to be able to put a mask on so I could be somebody greater and better.”
They met through the Real Life Superheroes group. There aren’t too many others in Maine. He can name two, “The Beetle” and “Mrs. The Beetle.”
Taking it to the street
They go out on foot patrol two or three nights a week, often between roughly 11 p.m. and 3 a.m. She likes walking both cities. He prefers Lewiston.
Dreizehn and Slapjack cover about 5 miles at a stretch, carrying food, water, note pads, flashlights, cameras, night-vision goggles and cell phones. Ninety to 95 percent of the time, they’re just two people out for a walk. Two costumed, very prepared people.
If and when it comes to it, she’s clearly the scrapper. He’s never gotten in a physical confrontation.
“You’re McGruff; I’m the Punisher,” Dreizehn teased, walking through Kennedy Park on a Tuesday night in May.
Thursday, Friday and Saturday tend to be busiest, with more people on the street.
“But you never know; crime never takes a day off,” Slapjack said.
He keeps a map at home synced up to the local police crime bulletins, looking for neighborhoods or streets with patterns and familiarizing himself with people wanted on warrants.
Lewiston police Lt. Mark Cornelio checked around the station — no one he spoke with was aware of a pair of costumes on the street.
“Without knowing what their crime-fighting (is), it would be tough to say whether we agree with it or disagree with it,” Cornelio said. “My thing, I would rather have people be good witnesses.”
There’s also a reason for official police training and the lessons that come with it, he said.
Dreizehn and Slapjack said they were inspired to make themselves known now because of the “Kick-Ass” movie.
It’s not as easy as it looks on the screen.
“It was a funny little movie,” Dreizehn said. “But it’s completely disillusioned. It’s nothing like we do.”

(May 11)– You’d probably expect me to rip on real-life people who don spandex and head out into their fair cities to help the citizenry and fight crime.
After all, to norms, these people are nothing more than carbon copies of the Star Wars Kid, flipping a broom handle around like it’s a light saber.

But no. I actually think these guys are cool as hell. They’re doing precisely what I wish I could have done as a teenager, and what I wish I had the courage to do today.
Sure, their heroism isn’t quite up to the vigilante standards of Batman or the Punisher, but hell, helping bring awareness to hunger and homelessness, and cutting off annoying parking predators’ wheel boots, scores them an “A” in my book.
You go, heroes.
-Joe Peacock-
http://www.aolnews.com/weird-news/article/superheroes-anonymous-features-real-life-do-gooders-who-do-good/19473097

Originally posted: http://www.jsonline.com/entertainment/90806899.html
By By Steve Ramos, Special to the Journal Sentinel

Shadow Hare has a catchy theme song, courtesy of an Internet radio station. He has a secret headquarters on the border of Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood – or, at least, it functions as one when shop workers aren’t busy selling Segways. He even has a pretty female sidekick named Silver Moon.
Donning black handmade tights and a lightweight ski mask and hitting the streets via a zipping Segway to fight crime, Shadow Hare, like the rest of the growing number of costumed heroes around the country from Utah to Ohio to Wisconsin, is about more than dressing up as a favorite fantasy character.
He’s a real crime-fighter. So is Watchman, who patrols Milwaukee’s Riverwest neighborhood and other parts of the city in a red mask and loose black trench coat that help hide his identity, although the bold “W” insignia on his sweatshirt and his red latex clothes identify him as a member of Real Life Superheroes, a Web-based group with the aim of supporting and inspiring street-level efforts to make a difference – in costume or not.
These costumed crime-fighters have their share of fans: A pair of news clips about Shadow Hare on YouTube each have had more than 500,000 views.

Movie version

Now, on the eve of the movie “Kick-Ass” – a violent action comedy based on a graphic novel about real people dressing up as superheroes and fighting crime, opening in theaters Friday – Shadow Hare and his real-life costumed-hero counterparts face a new threat: company from copycats.
“Based on the previous history of superhero-related movie releases, I expect a large influx of people to join the movement,” Watchman said via e-mail. “Many of them won’t stick around for long as the novelty wears off quickly. Those who stay on will be a mixture of people who think it’s cool and those truly wishing to make a difference in society.
“But the difference with ‘Kick-Ass’ is that it’s sort of being promoted as real life. Because of that, there is a general fear that some people may try to mimic the violence displayed in the movie. I think I speak for most, if not all, people within the movement when saying we do not condone those types of actions.”
Tea Krulos, a Milwaukee writer and creator of the real-life superheroes blog Heroes in the Night (heroesinthenight.blogspot.com/), has called Riverwest home since he was 18 and acts somewhat as a personal historian to Watchman and other costumed heroes. Krulos, who is working on turning his blog into a book about the real-life superhero movement, frequently travels around the country to meet with other real-life heroes.
“A director came to town shooting footage for a proposed TV reality show on real-life superheroes and called me the Jimmy Olsen to Watchman and the heroes, which I thought was cool,” Krulos said. “One of the Real-Life Superheroes told me that I should put on a costume and join them, but I think the best way I can help them is to write about them.”

Online stores, reality TV

They’re already pretty organized. The World Superhero Registry offers a 12-step guide for new heroes and advice about whether one should include a cape in one’s costume (the consensus: capes get in the way). And there are other groups, including the Heroes Network, Superheroes Anonymous and the Great Lakes Heroes Guild, that use the Web to talk shop and coordinate community and charity efforts.
One hero, Captain Ozone, sells merchandise online, including boxer shorts and a $8 thong with his logo. Razorhawk, from Minneapolis, runs the Web site Hero-Gear.net, a business where “real-life superheroes” can buy their fighting togs.

Creating a stir

And even before the hype surrounding “Kick-Ass” started surfacing, the buzz has been building around the movie’s real-life equivalents.
Ben Goldman and Chaim Lazaros are working on a documentary about real-life heroes in New York and New Orleans. Two production companies are competing to set up a reality TV series about real-life heroes. A comedy called “Super” is in postproduction, with Rainn Wilson as an average guy who becomes a superhero called The Crimson Bolt to save his wife from a drug dealer.
What’s driving art – and real life – to everyday super-herodom?
“I think the most common theme that has inspired people in this movement is the general state in which we see our world,” Watchman said. “It is all of the bad things we see repeatedly, day in and day out. We are sick of it and we no longer wish to sit by and do nothing. This is our way of making a stand.”

Finding inspiration

“As far as the costumes,” Watchman said, “it’s difficult to pinpoint specifics on inspiration for our choice of attire, but most of us have been inspired by fictional superheroes of one type or another.”
In “Kick-Ass,” the characters show little reservation – if not always skill – in using violence. In real life, the reaction isn’t so uniform.
Amateur heroes use Tasers, handcuffs and pepper spray instead of super powers.
Krulos said a couple of amateur heroes have left organizations such as the Heroes Network over disagreements about the use of violence when fighting crime.

Missing in action?

Other heroes, such as Salt Lake City’s Captain Prime, who sports an elaborate rubber suit similar to the “Kick-Ass” character Big Daddy, have retired. Shadow Hare, too, has been missing in action lately, although some speculate he hung up his tights to attend college full time.
But the biggest threat facing real-life superheroes may be that few seem to take them seriously.
By By Steve Ramos, Special to the Journal Sentinel

On a warm spring afternoon in Milford, Ohio, a small town east of Cincinnati that Shadow Hare identifies as his hometown on his Facebook page, most shopkeepers say they’ve never heard of him. If you watch news reports on him and other costumed heroes – including one by WITI-TV (Channel 6) last winter on Watchman that’s available on YouTube – they’re shown as curiosities more than crime-fighters.
The release of “Kick-Ass” could put them into a brighter spotlight.
 

By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Entertainment Editor
Huntington, WV (HNN) – Faster, flying, looking, chasing… in the fantasy worlds of Gotham City and Metropolis, individuals with super powers take on the bad guys missed by law enforcement. Believe it or not, costumed (and non-costumed) heroes have emerged in various global locations performing community service, indirectly assisting the police, and helping homeless.
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CNN recently featured a piece on heroes helping in hard times. Some go by comic book-like names (Mr. Ravenblade, Dark Guardian, Warrior Girl or Captain Safety ) and may wear a costume. Others may be a regular Joe or Jane. ( http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/06/04/real.life.superheroes/index.html )
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What prompted the real-life superhero movement?
Ben Goldman, a real-life superhero historian, who runs Superheroes Anonymous (http://superheroesanonymous.com) , stated to CNN: “A lot of them go through an existential crisis and have to discover who they are.” He continued, as people put more value on what they can do rather than the “stuff” in the house, “they realize that money is fleeting.”
Actually, the article suggests that the oddity grew past such efforts as the Guardian Angel citizen patrols (of the 80s). Admittedly, some of those adopting such a persona have to contend and balance communication , contact, and conduct with local law enforcement officers. Some of the real people have been shot at, arrested, and rebuked. Some have been called vigilantes. Others have won respect from short handed officers who welcome extra eyes and ears.
A press release at Real Life Superheroes explains the grassroots movement of people create a “superhero identity and work in a fun, exciting and inspirational fashion to make the world a better place. They are making an impact by doing civic activities, public safety patrols, crime fighting, charity work, school talks, hospital visits, helping the needy, and more acts to serve society. They are breaking the comic book barrier and bringing the ideals of superheroes into the real world. Real Life Superheroes create living positive role models which our children are in need of. The concept of a superhero, an individual who aspires to a higher moral code which benefits society, has a psychological impact on children, both appealing to their sense of fun as well as teach them important values.”
A woman known as Terrifica patrols the New York bar scene looking out for women who had too much to drink or may be in danger of male predators. According to the ABC TV report, “I protect the single girl living in the big city,” stated the now 35-year-old single woman clad in a blond Brunnhilde wig, golden mask and Valkyrie bra.
Actually, the web contains “tutorials” for heroes including first responder basics, self defense tips, legal considerations, and an article on “arrest proofing.” https://rlsh-manual.com/Resources.html and a social network, http://answerthecall.ning.com
Not all of the would-be heroes perform community service. Some have been the stars of fan-produced films, but others have gained semi-official endorsement from states, such as Breathe Easy Man who in Chicago educates citizens about reducing pollution and cleaning the air. And, Captain Clean (Maidstone, England) became a familiar face with the approval of council managers to clean up litter hot spots, passing out leaflets, and picking up abandoned vehicles, cleaning streets and hauling bulky refuse.
More and more real-life heroes use their costumes to take on social issues. For instance, Femme Fiscale and Golden Boy (from Manitoba, Canada) ventured to the legislature to advocate for the province’s most vulnerable citizens.
One a web site, the feisty Femme argued that “tax cuts are not free. I am concerned about how this will impact people who rely on government services.” When the budget contained no funds for low income housing, she lobbied the legislature on behalf of affordable low income housing.
You can check out some of the other national and international heroes at such sites as: http://www.superheroeslives.com/reallife/femme_fiscale_and_golden_boy_(2006).htm (for which we credit use of the photos); http://www.reallifesuperheroes.org/heroes.html; http://www.theblackghost.com/wallpapers.html (a New Orleans character known as the Black Ghost who inspires non-violent conflict resolution, which is © by I.C.E. Productions); http://www.skiffytownheroes.org/pics.htm (a national network of heroes who perform acts of community service or charity work, such as Dragonheart and Monkey Woman); http://www.herosyndicate.com/index.php?title=Main_Page (which shows active heroes, costume suppliers, and news stories)
EDITOR’S NOTE: Photos courtesy of individual “hero” or “heroine” unless otherwise stated.
Who are Huntington’s Hero Helpers?
My first choice for a “hero helpers” label happens to be a young woman who uses a camera and editing equipment to better the community. Francesca Karle decided to make a movie about the homeless living on the riverbank for a Girl Scout Project. “On the River’s Edge” contained stories of the lives of people living in a shack or tent. The film was premiered at the Keith Albee and attracted national attention. In addition, Ms. Karle produced “Back to the Bottle,” a 35-minute documentary on alcohol addiction. (http://www.huntingtonnews.net/local/080207-rutherford-localfilmfestivalbacktobottle.html )
We’d like you to nominate your own, but I’ll get the non-costumed party started by adding a couple more such as:
Anonymous Attorneys: You know who you are. You have devoted countless hours to “arming” those battered and bruised in the legal system with a weapon — you have helped teach “them” procedures, methods, and shown proper forms, headings and research methods for fighting for truth, justice and the American Way. The case may not have been financially worth litigating, but you transformed their frustrated bitterness into “pro se” jurisprudence.
Rev. Bob Bondurant: With his able “sidekick”/wife, Beth, Bob has prowled the halls of Marshall University, the Campus Christian Center, beach locations, and football fields dispensing the love of God. That meant loaning students a few dollars for their date, holding a hand during illness, stressing the similarities of various denominations and religions to encourage diversity (not condemnation) , and holding a mini-service for in-town PROWLers during non-university in session periods.
Now, it’s your turn. We’d like to run a continuing series of profiles of individuals worthy of a helper or hero title, be they “on the job” or “freelancing.”
Send your two paragraph nomination (with your e-mail address) to: [email protected] For that matter, check out our forum and start a sub –head posting.
http://www.huntingtonnews.net/local/090605-rutherford-localreallifehero.html

In times of peril we at Asylum respond in the only way that real men can — we run and hide under our beds, put a Spider-Man DVD on really loud and hope everything turns out okay.
Luckily the world is not only made up of cowards who wish superheroes were real. There are also those prepared to do something about it. They are the champions who, by dressing up in fancy dress and making a MySpace page, transform their lives from the mundane to the marvellous — the Real Life Superheroes.


True, the extent to which these characters actually help people varies. Some, such as the UK’s Angle Grinder Man, take to the streets to save stricken cars from clamps. Others, like the USA’s Civitron, do charity work. Still more, like Hong Kong’s Red Arrow Man, just try to “become the salt and light of the world”… Er, cool?
Anyway, regardless of whether these heroes actually have superpowers or not, we salute them. We want to live in a world with heroes in Spandex tights, and if they’re the best we’ve got then so be it.
http://www.asylum.co.uk/2009/05/12/worlds-greatest-real-life-superheroes/