{"id":4614,"date":"2010-07-16T23:17:59","date_gmt":"2010-07-17T07:17:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/reallifesuperheroes.org\/?p=4614"},"modified":"2010-07-16T23:17:59","modified_gmt":"2010-07-17T07:17:59","slug":"wired-magazine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rlsh.net\/archive\/2010\/07\/16\/wired-magazine\/","title":{"rendered":"Wired Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

Originally posted: http:\/\/www.wired.com\/dangerroom\/2010\/07\/real-life-superheroes-gear-up-with-ninja-throwing-stars-ax-handles-stun-knuckles\/
\nReal Life Superheroes Gear Up With Ninja Throwing Stars, Ax Handles, \u2018Stun Knuckles\u2019<\/strong>
\nBy Spencer Ackerman<\/em>
\nRead More http:\/\/www.wired.com\/dangerroom\/2010\/07\/real-life-superheroes-gear-up-with-ninja-throwing-stars-ax-handles-stun-knuckles\/#ixzz0tuSJuC19
\nMark Millar and John Romita Jr. asked a simple question in their 2008 comic book (and 2010 movie) Kick-Ass: Why don\u2019t fanboys actually suit up and try their hand at being superheroes? As it turns out, a bunch of fanboys are in fact suiting up. Hundreds of them. Face front, true believer.
\nCosplay is nothing new. Its variant, Real Life Superheroes, are somewhat next-level. Check out TheRLSH.net, a message board where aspiring supes \u2014 costumed adventurers who describe themselves as doing \u201chumanitarian work\u201d or otherwise generically helping those in distress \u2014 can discuss tradecraft, assemble into makeshift Avengers and escalate misunderstandings into internet brawls ahead of the inevitable team-up.
\nSeriously. On this thread, for instance, a crimefighter called the Dark Ghost rallied his fellow champions of the innocent to find a seven-month old baby kidnapped in Tennessee. Amazonia, the Minuteman, Gadgetastic and the Sparrow pledged support. (As it turned out, the vigilante community didn\u2019t need to get involved, as law enforcement found young Drake Boyd\u2019s abductor in Florida.)
\nNow, obviously these dudes don\u2019t have superpowers. But come on \u2014 neither does Batman. So like Batman, what they lack in meta-human ability, they make up for in weaponry.
\nTake, for instance, a Brooklyn team called the New York Initiative, profiled this week in New York Press. The four members of the Initiative \u2013a reference to Tony Stark\u2019s post-Civil War, pre-Secret Invasion efforts to put a superhero squad in each of the 50 states? \u2014 act like bodybuilders with a purpose. And then they pack (non-lethal) heat.
\nInitiative member Z brandishes \u201cgiant ax handles bound with duck tape\u201d and a cane that doubles as a club. He\u2019s also got \u2014 in reserve \u2014 a legally dubious arsenal that includes ninja throwing stars and what author Tea Krulos describes as \u201cstun knuckles (that make a loud zapping sound), throwing knives and spiky hand guards that look like something Genghis Khan would brawl in.\u201d A battle ax appears to be merely for display.
\nThe team\u2019s gadget whiz, who goes by the unfortunate name Victim, is testing out some polycarbonate squares for durability against knives. Because being a hero means you\u2019re going to get stabbed.
\nFactoring out the body armor, it appears to be a fairly cost-effective approach to adventuring. Take Z\u2019s stun knuckles. Zapping someone with 950,000 volts in the course of a single punch should run you around $50.
\nPlus, that is, whatever legal costs you incur after your supervillain sues you. Chances are your local municipality doesn\u2019t look kindly on vigilantism, and less so on vigilantism armed with zappers. What\u2019s more, courts haven\u2019t been so keen on police use of non-lethal weapons like Tasers, and you\u2019re sure not an officer of the law.
\nSpeaking of the cops: According to Krulos\u2019s piece, when the New York Initiative asks the police if they can set up a patrol by downtown Brooklyn\u2019s Fulton Mall, a member of New York\u2019s finest tells them, \u201cNaw, fuhgetabout that. You\u2019ll get shot. The guys in this neighborhood, they\u2019ll shoot you and no one will tell us who did it. There\u2019s a strong \u2018no snitching\u2019 rule out here.\u201d We know that in the comics as honor among thieves.
\nSo, be careful out there, champions of right: Come strapped and stay on the right side of the law.
\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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