by Ben Goldby, Sunday Mercury
\nIS it a bird? Is it a plane?
\nNo it\u2019s a portly middle-aged businessman in a mask and cape.
\nBirmingham has its very own superhero patrolling the streets, and he is out to tackle the city\u2019s toughest criminals.
\nCaptain Britain, as he likes to be called, promises that he is \u201cthe protector of this Blessed Isle and all who live here\u201d.
\nThe brave Brummie is part of a new online fad which sees comic book fans carry out real-life crimefighting deeds dressed as their own Superhero alter egos.
\nThe World Superhero Registry site boasts scores of characters, from across the globe, many of whom post videos of their heroic acts and pictures of their bizarre costumes.
\nWhile Captain Britain remains elusive, some of the \u201cSuperheroes\u201d on the site have gained notoriety in their communities, and have even been pressured to reveal their secret identities.
\nShadow Hare, 21, who \u201cprotects\u201d the US city of Cincinnati, featured on his local TV news channel and has been battling to maintain his anonymity ever since.
\n\u201cDespite the coverage I have been patrolling just as usual,\u201d he wrote on his blog.
\n\u201cI\u2019ve heard about the lame bounty on my identity. Who cares? It doesn\u2019t distract me from the people out there that I need to help.
\n\u201cBesides, anyone can give you people a name. If they do, does that mean you will give them money? Nice try guys.\u201d
\nAnd Shadow Hare is not the only real life superhero to hit the headlines.
\nCalifornia-based crimefighter The Eye, 50, has become a legend in his home state, and uses social networking site Myspace to promote his skills.
\n\u201cI am a street-level, practical crime fighter and Neighborhood Watch Block Captain who uses various self-created electronic devices and other means to prevent crime, and help others in need whenever and wherever possible,\u201d the Eye writes.
\n\u201cMy background as a certified private investigator as well as over 25 years of electronics expertise have aided me well in these efforts, and will continue to do so.
\n\u201cI am also trained to mastery in the style of Kung-Fu known as Northern Shaolin Praying Mantis.\u201d
\nBritain boasts five other crimefighting comic book stars, based in Leeds, Newcastle, Manchester, Edinburgh and Whitley, on the ouskirts of Reading.
\nScottish superhero Seagull Man has targeted his feathered foes in a campaign to: \u201cKeep the city clear of the vermin that live on our streets\u201d.
\nAnd Whitley\u2019s Batman and Robin are also tackling the lighter side of superhero duties.
\nDressed as the famous dark knight and his sidekick, the Reading crimefighters are attracting more laughs than plaudits from the public.
\nOne damsel in distress said: \u201cThey just appeared. I saw them running down the road in Batman and Robin outfits \u2013 I was laughing so much.
\n\u201cIt was like a scene out of Only Fools and Horses and they stayed in character the whole time.\u201d
\nben.goldby@sundaymercury.net
\nhttp:\/\/www.sundaymercury.net\/news\/midlands-news\/2009\/09\/20\/meet-the-real-life-registered-superhero-66331-24742662\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Ben Goldby, Sunday Mercury IS it a bird? Is it a plane? No it\u2019s a portly middle-aged businessman in a mask and cape. Birmingham has its very own superhero patrolling the streets, and he is out to tackle the city\u2019s toughest criminals. Captain Britain, as he likes to be called, promises that he is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9467,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8],"tags":[287,384,443,533,1456,2181,2332,2376,2548,2663,2933,2987],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rlsh.net\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rlsh.net\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rlsh.net\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rlsh.net\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rlsh.net\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=122"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rlsh.net\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rlsh.net\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rlsh.net\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rlsh.net\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rlsh.net\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}