{"id":32212,"date":"2010-05-13T23:28:13","date_gmt":"2010-05-14T06:28:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/reallifesuperheroes.org\/?p=3714"},"modified":"2010-05-13T23:28:13","modified_gmt":"2010-05-14T06:28:13","slug":"superheroes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rlsh.net\/archive\/2010\/05\/13\/superheroes\/","title":{"rendered":"Superheroes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Orignially posted: http:\/\/www.gaugemagazine.org\/_articles\/superheroes\/super1.html<\/a>
\nBy Even Allen
\nCivitron steps out of a blue Honda Civic in the dark parking lot of an old converted factory building in New Bedford. More than six feet tall, he\u2019s wearing a skintight red spandex bodysuit with a blazing orange \u2018C\u2019 on his chest. White sunglasses. Combat boots. A utility belt and improvised arm guards\u2014as he strides into the light of a single bulb hanging in front of the door to the factory, the Nike swoosh of a soccer shin guard is visible on his forearm. He is a Real Life Superhero, and the factory\u2014which looks abandoned with its rough bricks and huge murky windows\u2014contains his lair: Rebelo\u2019s Kenpo Karate Studio<\/a>. Here, surrounded by multi-colored punching dummies, he trains in Northern Style Praying Mantis Kung Fu.
\nTo protect his civilian identity, Civitron will not allow his real name to be used. He is a twenty-nine year old husband and father, and by day, he works at a program for adults with autism. His dark hair is moussed pompadour-style, and he has a wide, easy grin, his front teeth just a little bit crooked. When he\u2019s not fighting for truth and justice, he\u2019s a normal guy\u2014he even irons his superhero suit.
\n\u2018Civitron\u2019 means \u2018power of the people\u2019\u2014this is also his cause. His superpowers include helping the homeless, raising money for children\u2019s charities, and distributing water bottles to people enjoying the summer sun without proper hydration. He is one of a growing number of people across America creating superhero identities, donning homemade costumes, and going out into the night to do good. \u201cIt\u2019s about standing up for what you believe in and taking action,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s actually being the change you want to see in the world, to quote Ghandi.\u201d
\nA Real Life Superhero starts with a fantasy from childhood. \u201cIt\u2019s just a seed that gets planted within a lot of people,\u201d says Civitron. \u201cAs you grow up, you lose that fantastic part of it.\u201d But Real Life Superheroes are reclaiming that Saturday morning cartoon world, taking the myth of the superhero and putting it into action in the real world: hyper-altruism decked out in bright colors.
\nIt\u2019s not exactly the Pow!-Kabam!-crime fighting that Batman practiced. \u201cYou read comic books, and you see the example that\u2019s there\u2014this violent image of muscle-y guys and girls pounding people and jumping off rooftops\u2014and battling aliens, which you don\u2019t see.\u201d Civitron laughs. \u201cSo we kinda had to invent it ourselves.\u201d
\nThere are about 200 Real Life Superheroes<\/a> in America. Only about fifty are active\u2014meaning that they don\u2019t simply call themselves by a superhero name, but dress up and champion a cause in the real world. Many conduct homeless outreach, distributing food, jackets, and blankets; some focus on environmental cleanup. Terrifica, one of the early superheroes, helped drunk girls leaving the clubs in New York get home safely until her recent retirement. Foxfire in Michigan wears a black leather jacket and fox facemask\u2014her goal is to bring \u201cmagic, mystery, wonder, and awe back into the American psyche.\u201d Some superheroes, like Dark Guardian in New York City, patrol the streets fighting crime. \u201cWe\u2019re watching over people,\u201d says Civitron. \u201cAt least on a small scale.\u201d
\nUntil about three years ago, Real Life Superheroes existed as a loose affiliation of Myspace accounts\u2014people with superhero identities, some of whom actually lived as superheroes, and some of whom just talked about it. But Chaim \u201cLife\u201d Lazaros, 25, and Ben \u201cThe Cameraman\u201d Goldman, 23, both of New York City, brought this Internet subculture into the real world with Superheroes Anonymous<\/a>\u2014a now-annual gathering of superheroes from across America. Today, Lazaros and Goldman are working with Civitron to turn Superheroes Anonymous into a national nonprofit organization, with chapters all over the country.
\nWhen Lazaros and Goldman planned the first gathering, they were not superheroes\u2014they were documentary makers, interested in bringing together as many superheroes as they could to interview them. On October 7, 2007, superheroes from as far away as Minnesota converged in Times Square to pick up trash and help the homeless. In the process of documenting their stories, both Lazaros and Goldman became more than just filmmakers: they joined the movement.
\nLazaros was a film student at Columbia University when he began organizing the project. \u201cI really devoted my life to [Superheroes Anonymous] for a very, very long time,\u201d he says. \u201cSo much so that I stopped going to school, stopped eating, stopped sleeping.\u201d He slowly realized that as he sacrificed more and more of his life and time to the Superheroes, he was becoming one. Two days before the meeting, in a moment of meditation, he saw that he was a \u201ccommunity crusader\u201d\u2014a less flashy superpower, perhaps, than X-Ray vision or flight, but the realization changed his life. \u201cOn the day of the meeting,\u201d he says, \u201cI declared myself as \u2018Life\u2019 and became a Real Life Superhero.\u201d
\nToday, as Life, Lazaros does homeless outreach. He goes out onto the streets at least once a week in full costume\u2014a \u201chipster militarized business suit\u201d consisting of a skinny black tie, a fedora, black S.W.A.T. pants, military boots, a military jacket, and, most importantly, a backpack full of hand-warmers, heating pads, Nutrigrain bars, toothbrushes, and clothing. For Lazaros, as for all superheroes, the costume is important. Not only does it draw attention to their cause, it symbolizes a moral calling. \u201cI believe I feel the same as when a priest puts on his collar or a police officer puts on his badge,\u201d says Lazaros. \u201cHe\u2019s now standing for something higher and he has to act that way.\u201d
\n\u2018Life\u2019 is his best self\u2014not an alternate self. For many superheroes, the identity is not one that can be shed\u2014It is not pretend, it is not an act. \u201cIt\u2019s less of a Clark Kent\/Superman kind of transformation, and more of a Punisher kind of thing,\u201d explains Ben Goldman. \u201cHe\u2019s kind of always The Punisher.\u201d
\nMore than three years after the first Superheroes Anonymous meet-up, Goldman is still documenting the stories of the superheroes\u2014and they\u2019ve given him his own superhero name: The Cameraman. In addition to making footage for his documentary, Goldman accompanies superheroes when they go out to fight crime. Dark Guardian patrols Washington Square Park in New York City, telling drug dealers to get out, and threatening to call the police. Goldman films these street patrols, both to deter and to record violence.
\nIn one clip, Dark Guardian, who wears a bullet- and stab-proof red and black suit, confronts a man sitting on a picnic table in the park at night, who he believes is selling drugs. \u201cYou gotta go!\u201d he yells, and the man stands up\u2014he towers over Dark Guardian. They go back and forth\u2014\u201cMind your fuckin\u2019 business,\u201d warns the man, shoving his hand in Dark Guardian\u2019s face, thumb cocked and index and middle fingers pointing straight ahead in the shape of a gun. He walks away cursing as Dark Guardian calls the police, and Dark Guardian turns to the camera. \u201cWhat was that like?\u201d asks Goldman. \u201cA little scary,\u201d says Dark Guardian. \u201cI was waiting for him to move towards me so I could fuckin\u2019 nail him in the throat.\u201d His bravado slips for just a second as his laugh cracks, high and panicky.
\nMany superheroes avoid crime fighting\u2014Civitron, despite holding an Orange belt in Kung Fu, does not go out on street patrols. \u201cThe cops\u2014that\u2019s their job,\u201d says Civitron.
\nThe cops agree. New Bedford Police Leiutenant Jeffrey Silva says that civilian crime fighting actually heightens the danger in any given situation \u2013 instead of one victim, police respond to two. \u201cIt\u2019s terrible any time there\u2019s a crime victim,\u201d he says. \u201cBut it would be particularly sad if someone trying to do a good thing and help others, because they\u2019re identifiable as a crime fighter, got hurt in the process.\u201d And if even if a superhero emerges from a fight unscathed, there is a fine line between making a citizen\u2019s arrest and committing a crime. If a superhero punches and pins a criminal, they could be charged with assault. Advises Silva: \u201cWe would respectfully remind [any] superheroes, actual or aspiring, that, as they say in Spider Man: With great power comes great responsibility.\u201d
\nSuperheroes Anonymous officially discourages crime fighting. For many superheroes\u2014including Civitron and Life\u2014crime fighting was something they did when they were first figuring out their superhero identities. \u201cThat\u2019s the example, you know?\u201d says Civitron. \u201cIn the comic books.\u201d In the early days of his superhero identity, Civitron wore grey and black and patrolled the streets from Beverly to downtown Salem every night, looking for signs of criminals\u2014he never saw any. \u201cI think my mission is a little different,\u201d he says. \u201cInjustice is not always necessarily crime.\u201d
\nCivitron is a social activist and a family man. His son is six, and has a superhero identity of his own: Mad Owl, protector of woodland creatures. Together, Civitron and Mad Owl raise money for St. Mary\u2019s Children\u2019s Hospital<\/a> in New York. St. Mary\u2019s is a center for terminally ill children, and the fundraiser was Mad Owl\u2019s idea: after saving $75 in pennies to go to Disney World, Mad Owl decided instead to use the money to buy toys for the children. This is Civitron\u2019s proudest achievement: inspiring his son to join the good fight. \u201cFor me\u2014for Civitron\u2026 It goes back to that power, that individual power.\u201d The power to change the world\u2014and to look flashy as hell doing it.
\n\u201cI want everybody to be a superhero,\u201d says Civitron, smiling. He turns to his karate instructor, Joe Rebelo. \u201cMr. Rebelo is a superhero,\u201d he says. \u201cI know <\/em>that. Is he actively pursuing the sort of set criteria for being a superhero? No. That\u2019s just his life, that\u2019s who he is. We\u2019re everywhere. That\u2019s what I mean. Everybody has that potential. Everybody can be a superhero.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
Tricked-Out Altruism: Real Life Superheros Patrol America\u00a0\u00a0\/\/\u00a0 Evan Allen<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gauge magazine interviews Civitron and Superheroes Anonymous in their spring 17th issue.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11214,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9],"tags":[259,288,427,490,551,590,690,1204,1508,1566,1841,2181,2183,2556,2630,2795,2894],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rlsh.net\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32212"}],"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=32212"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rlsh.net\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32212\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rlsh.net\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11214"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rlsh.net\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rlsh.net\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rlsh.net\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}