Superheroes: Has Anybody Tried It For Real?

[ethanehunt]

we saw this muppet on the local news the other night

 

[MrRING]

There was a little piece about a long form written piece on Phoenix Jones on Bleeding Cool that had this little interesting tidbit:

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2011/11/14/the-police-stole-my-super-suit-jon-ronson-and-phoenix-jones/

“While the Real-Life Superhero Movement (RLSM) traces its origins all the way back to 1985, when a silver-suited young man calling himself Master Legend began patrolling the streets of Winter Park, Florida, the phenomenon got a considerable boost in January 2011, when a CNN report on Seattle’s Phoenix Jones went viral and captured the imagination of an incredulous public. Though the segment offered only a fleeting glance at Jones, it resulted in his rapid ascent to the forefront of the now 200-person strong movement. Ronson’s piece picks up where the CNN report left off, offering the most complete portrait to date of Jones and the costume-clad troops of the RLSM

The odd thing is he seems to just be a contemporary hero, as opposed to one in 1985 - anybody have any reports from 1985 placing him as being active then?
http://www.reallifesuperheroes.org/wiki/master-legend/

 

[MrRING]

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2011/11/17/batman-vs-paedophiles-videos-back-online/

Batman Vs Paedophiles Videos Back Online
Submitted by Rich Johnston on November 17, 2011 – 1:52 pm (0) comments

God bless the internet. Canadian police may have persuaded the teenagers who set up meeting with online paedophile predators, then confronted them dressed as Batman or The Flash, to take their voideos down from YouTube, but fans of the series disagree. And have begun reuploading them, outside of the police’s jurisdiction, on YouTube.

It’s a hard subject – there’s the fear that the teenagers are putting themselves in danger, there’s the problem that they are acting outside of the law, that they are rousing up feelings that may have been supressed otherwise, and they may be encouraging online gawking at the freakshow – but there’s also the admiration in what they are doing and the responsibility they are taking upon themselves – and the ridiculous imagery they are using in the process.

What do you think?

 

[poozler]

Merry Christmas everyone!

Here's some more on the US superheroes, from the New York Times:

December 25, 2011
Crusaders Take Page, and Outfits, From Comics
By KIRK JOHNSON

SALT LAKE CITY — Red Voltage and two of his masked crime-fighting colleagues were approaching an intersection here in Utah’s capital on a recent evening, walking night patrol on foot, when a car suddenly slowed next to them. The night was bitterly cold, laced with a wispy stew of fog that might or might not conceal a thousand dangers. The car’s window rolled down.

“Hi, superheroes!” a woman shouted from within. “I’m in love with you guys!”

Eat your heart out, Batman. In a niche of urban life that has evolved in recent years somewhere between comic-book fantasy and the Boy Scout oath, a cadre of self-cast crusaders — some with capes, some without, all with something to prove — are on the march.

They prowl the night in Boston, in San Francisco, in Milwaukee, in Minneapolis, even as far away as Australia. Whether they are making the world safer or just weirder remains an open question.

Some go out armed with gear like mace, pepper spray or police batons; others say they carry only cellphones, aiming to be eyes and ears for the police, who in most cities, including Salt Lake City, are keeping a wary distance.

“We’re not endorsing them, supporting them, condemning them or anything else — we’re staying neutral and out of it,” said Detective Joshua Ashdown, a spokesman for the Salt Lake City Police Department. “The ones we endorse are the ones we have trained.”

Red Voltage, who in mild-mannered daytime life is a 23-year-old residential leasing manager named Roman Daniels, casually waved a gloved hand to his female drive-by fan. Clad head to toe in a red-and-black leather suit, his face covered by spandex, he is, he said, a different man when the mask goes on — a better man.

“But there are times when I’m putting the suit on, and I’m just like, ‘How crazy am I to do this?’ I do feel odd and out of the box,” said Mr. Daniels, who took over leadership of the group here, called the Black Monday Society, about six months ago, after two years of patrols. “But it’s good,” he added. “It feels really good — for the most part.”

Mike Gailey, a burly former bouncer at a strip club whose crime-fighting persona is called Asylum, said that for him, joining the Black Monday Society was partly about making amends for things in his past, like the time he spent collecting debts for drug dealers.

“I was a thug,” said Mr. Gailey, 31. “There are a lot of guys like me that have pasts they’re trying to make up for.”

Another Black Monday patroller described himself as a former gang member. The group’s co-founder, Dave Montgomery, a tattoo artist known in the street as the black-leather-clad Nihilist, said he was a former alcoholic who put on the mask when he stopped drinking.

That crime fighters would have issues is, of course, a time-honored tradition, too. Superman was sent to Earth by his parents. The X-Men are ostracized mutants. And let’s not even get started on the wealthy Bruce Wayne — he of the Bat Cave and Boy Wonder sidekick.

Some crime fighters have run afoul of authority. In Seattle, for example, a man in a muscle suit, Phoenix Jones, was arrested in October after the police said he pepper-sprayed some people while trying to break up a street fight.

Other masked avengers, past and present, have had very specific agendas in fighting societal ills. In the early 2000s, for example, a woman in New York, whose persona was Terrifica, took to patrolling pick-up bars in pink and purple spandex.

“She had apparently had some bad experiences with men,” said Tea Krulos, a writer in Milwaukee who is researching a book on what he and others call the “real-life superhero movement.” “Her mission was to warn drunk women that they might not be making good decisions.”

New attitudes about the police might also be affecting how the crime fighters are perceived. Here in Salt Lake City, for example, a Black Monday patrol going past the Occupy Salt Lake City encampment in a downtown plaza on a recent night was greeted very warmly. A nonpolice crime watch, several protesters said, is more than welcome these days.

“This is this exactly what needs to happen in the world — you know, why do we need police when we can help each other out?” said Poyce Denikma, 21, a former construction worker who is now a protester. “They’re setting an example, an amazing example, for what needs to happen.”

Other people who encountered the patrol were not so sure.

“I’m still thinking about it,” said Rebecca Vest, a Seattle resident who was in Salt Lake City for a friend’s wedding and had gone out for a walk. Ms. Vest said the incident in her city involving the superhero with the pepper spray had raised some worries.

“But I think sometimes just the presence of people helps, and they’re certainly not hiding in the woodwork,” she said, after posing for a photograph with the Black Monday patrol. “They’re right out there, going, ‘Hey, here we are.’ ”

Mr. Montgomery, or Nihilist, said masks were everywhere once you started to look. What is hidden and what is revealed by disguise, he said, is the basic psychology of a superhero’s life.

“It’s almost Freudian,” he said. “When you wear a mask, you’re actually able to become who you really are. It becomes kind of like a drug.”

He acknowledged that dressing up in what some might see as Halloween attire has at times made Black Monday patrollers a target for crime themselves, or at least abuse. But he said that intelligence and reason almost always defuse the occasional tension with drunks or other toughs who might see the patrollers as targets to be bullied.

“Once we start talking, they don’t really see us as chumps or dorks in suits,” he said.

Lately, though, Mr. Montgomery has been patrolling less and parenting more.

He has joint custody with his ex-wife of their 5-year-old daughter, Frankie, and Frankie stays with her father most nights. But on Thursdays and Fridays, she goes to her mother’s, leaving two nights off for suiting up and going on patrol.

“Got your blankey?” he asked her as they prepared to head to her kindergarten class on a recent morning. Inside, the children were preparing for a holiday party — each child assigned to prepare a secret gift for another student. Even before first grade, Frankie was working undercover.

“Remember, you’re a Secret Santa,” Mr. Montgomery whispered to her. “Don’t tell.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/26/us/cr ... ml?_r=1&hp

 

[TimBuck2]

wouldn't that incite people to cause mass disorder requiring the use of that machine though?

You'll note that I said the very edge of orgasm without the release of climax. Frustrating and incapacitating. I think only Masocists enjoy a plataue without a peak.

Cujo

I think our hero should consider cultivating the most extreme body odour possible so that anyone trying to resist would be crying and vomiting

 

[ramonmercado]

This time its real superhero stuff.

Skydiver Leaps From Stratosphere in 'Space Jump' Practice
http://www.space.com/14928-space-jump-s ... ctice.html
SPACE.com StaffDate: 15 March 2012 Time: 04:38 PM ET

Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner gets set to leap from his capsule at an altitude of roughly 71,500 feet on March 15, 2012.
CREDIT: Jay Nemeth/Red Bull Content Pool

A daredevil aiming to set the record for world's highest skydive moved one step closer to his goal today (March 15), completing a practice jump from more than 13 miles up in the stratosphere.

Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner stepped out of a custom-built capsule at an altitude of 71,581 feet (21,818 meters), officials with Red Bull Stratos — the name of Baumgartner's ambitious mission — announced today.

He plummeted to Earth in a freefall that lasted three minutes and 43 seconds, reaching a top speed of 364 mph (586 kph). Baumgartner deployed his parachute at 7,890 feet (2,405 m) and eventually landed safely about 30 miles (48 kilometers) from Roswell, N.M., project officials said.

Baumgartner had lifted off from Roswell in his capsule at about 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT), borne aloft rapidly by a balloon. Once he reached 71,581 feet, the 42-year-old daredevil ran through a 39-step safety checklist, depressurized the capsule and stepped out into the thin, frigid air of the stratosphere in his custom-made spacesuit.


From launch to touchdown, the entire test flight lasted just over eight minutes, officials said. According to Baumgartner, the toughest part of the leap was the extreme cold he experienced high up in Earth's atmosphere.

"I could hardly move my hands," the skydiver said in a statement. "We're going to have to do some work on that aspect."

Baumgartner is gearing up for an even bigger leap — his so-called "space jump" — from 120,000 feet (36,576 m) this summer. The current record for highest-altitude skydive is 102,800 feet (31,333 m), set in 1960 by U.S. Air Force Captain Joe Kittinger.

Baumgartner hopes his attempt will also set several other marks. He is chasing the record for longest freefall (estimated to be about 5 minutes and 30 seconds from 120,000 feet), and he hopes to become the first person to break the speed of sound during freefall.

Today's successful flight is a significant milestone, Red Bull Stratos officials said. It gave Baumgartner a taste of what he's in for with his record attempt, and it allowed the team to gauge how well his suit and other equipment held up.

Prior to today's jump, Baumgartner's highest-ever skydive was from 30,000 feet (9,144 m) up, according to team officials.

Baumgartner and his team had hoped to make his record jump in 2010, but they were delayed by a legal challengethat claimed the idea of the dive was earlier suggested to Red Bull by California promoter Daniel Hogan. That suit has now been settled out of court, and the Red Bull Stratos project is moving forward.

 

[MrRING]

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2012/04/28/real-life-superhero-beesting-charged-assault/

Real Life Superhero BeeSting Charged With Assault

Written on April 28, 2012 by Rich Johnston

Real Life Superhero BeeSting has been charged on two counts, felonious assault and wearing body armor during the commission of a violent crime.

Early this week, Adam Besso in his BeeSting identity, took on a man in a trailer park in Stirling Heights who, apparently, had a loud motorcycle. That was his crime.

There was a confronttation between the two, a scuffle, and BeeSting’s shotgun went off, hitting a (thankfully) empty trailer.

Besso has been bailed for $80,000. He was described as “wearing a tactical belt with pepper spray, handcuffs and scissors.”

Felow real life superheroes are meeting to expel him from their group, the Michigan Protectors, over his decision to carry a gun.

Joshua Lowery, better known as Arsenal is quoted as saying “We don’t want to be considered vigilantes as much as we want to be considered (to be) helping others.”

BeeSting’s website entry describes him with the following attributes.

Attributes/Training: Motivational, Direct, and Deliberate. Combat Veteran (Combat Arms), Combat Lifesaver, Advanced first aid/CPR, Jujitsu. Military occupational specialties in Urban warfare, counter insurgency, military police procedures (including detainee operations), communications, aircraft and vehicle maintenance. Situational awareness, disaster mitigation and disaster scene management.

Gear: Level 4 bulletproof vest, armored jacket/pants/gloves. Pepper spray, dropleg holster with sidearm, tonfa, handcuffs, first aid trauma kit, video camera, flashlight.

BeeSting spent years training and operating in the defense of his fellow brothers-in-arms. After recovering from his injuries following his deployment to Iraq, and a little soul-searching, he realized that the person he had become was not for his own personal benefit, but for the benefit of others. Taking on a modified Army Cavalry logo, and a utilitarian-based “costume”, he now helps others to set up their own neighborhood crime watches in some of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the country.

 

[ramonmercado]

Hes going even higher this time. Images at link.

Skydiver Aims to Smash Record, Sound Barrier in 23-Mile Jump
http://www.wired.com/playbook/2012/06/r ... stratos-2/
By Jakob SchillerEmail Author June 4, 2012 | 6:30 am |

Later this summer, Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner will ascend to 120,000 feet in a pressurized capsule and, wearing only a spacesuit, jump.

As he plummets 23 miles in the highest skydive ever, Baumgartner will become the first person to break the sound barrier in free fall. That’s the plan, anyway. To even attempt this will expose him to many challenges, including the risk that water in his body could vaporize. But one challenge in particular is foremost in everyone’s mind: What happens when Baumgartner encounters the shock waves that invariably occur when something exceeds the speed of sound?

No one really knows.

"Until you do it, it's still an unknown," says Jonathan Clark, the medical director for Red Bull Stratos, the team assembled to help Baumgartner reach his lofty goal.

Above: Felix Baumgartner, stepping into the void from 71,580 feet during a test jump in March. Photo: Jay Nemeth/Red Bull Content Pool

 

[Mythopoeika]

I hope his pressure suit can withstand the shock waves. Scary!
If he does it, it could mean a whole new way of rescuing astronauts.

 

[Spudrick68]

I read 'Jonathon Creek then. :?

 

[Mythopoeika]

I read 'Jonathon Creek then. :?

 

[Spudrick68]

From the article:

"Until you do it, it's still an unknown," says Jonathan Clark, the medical director for Red Bull Stratos, the team assembled to help Baumgartner reach his lofty goal."
Jonathan Clark.

 

[sherbetbizarre]

Meanwhile...

Batman Scientists Answer the Most Important Question of All

Well, it seems that one common argument between Batman fanboys has been settled. Science has spoken. Batman could realistically fly.

Unfortunately, he could not realistically land and also remain alive.

A group of students from the University of Leicester have run the numbers and determined that the wingspan of Bruce Nolan’s Batman’s rigid cape is large enough that he could fly. They also determined that the mechanism of the specially-designed cape would allow it to function similarly to a wingsuit.

These revelations were published in a paper hilariously titled, Trajectory of a Falling Batman.

The scientists confirmed that the wingsuit-like properties of the cape (which is about half the width of a hang glider) would allow Batman to glide 1,148 feet from a height of 492 feet. Realistically, this would allow him to jump off a tall building and glide around, looking for crime, with no problem, provided he didn’t run into any buildings.

And then he would hit the ground with such force that he would be lucky to remain alive. It would be the equivalent of being hit by a car going 50 miles per hour.

The team suggested that the Dark Knight might want to consider jet propulsion, a parachute, a bigger cape, or piles of strategically-placed boxes.

http://www.manolith.com/2012/07/10/batm ... on-of-all/

 

[Kondoru]

We have needed to know this for so many decades...

(Possibly since Icarus.)

 

[Anome]

I think they've rather missed the point. Batman wears the cape to instill fear in the superstitious criminal classes. Any assistance towards flying or not falling quite so fast is incidental.

 

[Mythopoeika]

I always thought that Batman didn't actually fly, he swung around on a rope that he'd secured with a bat-shaped piton missile. The cape was mostly for effect and doubled up as armour or fireproof covering.

 

[Sergeant_Pluck]

Anyone ever wondered who'd win a fight between Batfink and Batman?

 

[GNC]

I always thought that Batman didn't actually fly, he swung around on a rope that he'd secured with a bat-shaped piton missile. The cape was mostly for effect and doubled up as armour or fireproof covering.

In the current movie franchise, Batman uses his cape to fly as with a hang glider.

 

[Mythopoeika]

I always thought that Batman didn't actually fly, he swung around on a rope that he'd secured with a bat-shaped piton missile. The cape was mostly for effect and doubled up as armour or fireproof covering.

In the current movie franchise, Batman uses his cape to fly as with a hang glider.

Yeah, they made that little... embellishment.

 

[Haarp]

I thought this story was quite endearing...

http://www.lbc.co.uk/kids-hospital-wind ... rman-57515

Go Spidey !

 

[ramonmercado]

The amazing Felix has done it again!

Skydiver Fearless Felix jumps from 18 miles up
July 25th, 2012 in Space & Earth / Space Exploration


In this Thursday, March 15, 2012 photo provided by Red Bull Stratos, Felix Baumgartner prepares to jump during the first manned test flight for Red Bull Stratos over Roswell, N.M. On Wednesday, July 25, 2012, the 43-year-old Austrian plunged to Earth from an altitude of more than 18 miles landing safely near Roswell, N.M. It's was second stratospheric leap for "Fearless Felix." He's aiming for a record-breaking jump from 125,000 feet, or 23 miles, in another month. He hopes to go supersonic, breaking the speed of sound with just his body. (AP Photo/Red Bull Stratos, Jay Nemeth)

Skydiver "Fearless Felix" Baumgartner has done it again.

On Wednesday, Baumgartner took another stratospheric leap, this time from an altitude of more than 18 miles (29 kilometers) — an estimated 96,640 feet (29,456 meters), nearly three times higher than cruising jetliners. He landed safely near Roswell, New Mexico. His top speed was an estimated 536 mph (862.5 kph), said Brian Utley, an official observer on site.

It's the second test jump for the Austrian-born Baumgartner from such extreme heights and a personal best. He's aiming for a record-breaking jump from 125,000 feet (38,100 meters), or 23 miles (37 kilometers), in another month. He hopes to go supersonic then, breaking the speed of sound with just his body.

"It has always been a dream of mine," Baumgartner said in a statement following Wednesday's feat. "Only one more step to go."

Longtime record-holder Joe Kittinger jumped from 102,800 feet (31,333 meters) — 19.5 miles (31.38 kilometers) — in 1960 for the Air Force. Kittinger monitored Wednesday's dry run from a mini Mission Control in Roswell.

As he did in March, the 43-year-old ascended alone in an enclosed capsule lifted by a giant helium balloon that took off from Roswell. He wore a full-pressure suit equipped with parachutes and an oxygen supply — there's virtually no atmosphere that far up.

It took about 1½ hours to reach his target altitude. He was in free fall for an estimated three minutes and 48 seconds before opening his parachutes.
"It felt completely different at 90,000 feet," Baumgartner noted. "There is no control when you exit the capsule. There is no way to get stable."

In March, Baumgartner jumped from 71,581 feet (21,818 meters), more than 13 miles (20.9 kilometers), saluting before stepping from the capsule. Bad weather earlier this week delayed the second test jump until Wednesday.

NASA is paying close attention to this Red Bull-funded project dubbed Stratos, short for stratosphere. The space agency wants to learn all it can about potential escape systems for future rocketships.

Baumgartner won't come close to space, even on the ultimate jump that's planned for late August or early September. Space officially begins at 100 kilometers, or 62 miles — more than 328,000 feet.

Baumgartner, a former military parachutist and extreme athlete, has jumped more than 2,500 times from planes and helicopters, as well as from skyscrapers and landmarks, including the 101-story Taipei 101 in Taiwan.

Kittinger, who turns 84 on Friday, was an Air Force captain when he made his historic jump for what was called Project Excelsior. He reached 614 mph (988 kph) on that dive, equivalent to Mach 0.9, just shy of the sound barrier.
Baumgartner expects to accelerate to 690 mph (1,110 kph) on his final plunge.

More information:
Red Bull Stratos: www.redbullstratos.com/

National Museum of the U.S. Air Force: tinyurl.com/2dsnn6
.
"Skydiver Fearless Felix jumps from 18 miles up." July 25th, 2012. http://phys.org/news/2012-07-parachutis ... heric.html

 

[ramonmercado]

Jump delayed until October.

Skydiver's Record-Breaking 'Space Jump' Delayed by Damaged Capsule
http://www.space.com/17105-space-jump-r ... layed.html
by SPACE.com StaffDate: 14 August 2012 Time: 03:22 PM ET

Felix Baumgartner completes final test jump from 97,145.7 feet/29,610 meters on July 25, 2012, for the Red Bull Stratos mission, which aims to set the world record for highest skydiver by leaping from 120,000 feet and breaking the sound barrier.
CREDIT: Jay Nemeth/Red Bull Content Pool

A daring supersonic "space jump" that would shatter the world record for the highest skydive in history has been delayed until October due to a damaged balloon capsule, project organizers say.

Austrian daredevil skydiver Felix Baumgartner, 43, was expected to make the historic skydive sometime this month over the New Mexico desert as part of the Red Bull Stratos project. The dive, which organizers have dubbed a "space jump," will send Baumgartner more than 120,000 feet (36,575 meters) up by balloon so he could leap into the sky from a custom-built capsule.

The jump is aimed at breaking the current world record for the highest skydive — 102,800 feet (31,333 m) — set in 1960 by U.S. Air Force Capt. Joe Kittinger, who is an adviser on the Red Bull Stratos mission.

Baumgartner tested the capsule (and his nerves) in a rehearsal skydive last month, when he jumped from a height of 97,145.7 feet (29,610 m) over Roswell, N.M. While the July 25 skydive itself was a success, when recovery crews retrieved Baumgartner's balloon capsule, they found that it had been damaged during its long descent back to Earth. [Photos of Baumgartner's 2nd 'Space Jump' Test Dive]

Crew members recover the capsule in the desert after the successfully compleated second manned test flight for Red Bull Stratos in Roswell, New Mexico, USA on July 25, 2012.

CREDIT: Damaged Red Bull Stratos Capsule Liftened
View full size image

"After Baumgartner jumped from the capsule, it was detached from the balloon shortly before it would have drifted into U.S. military airspace southwest of Roswell," Red Bull Stratos officials explained in a statement. "However, after descending under parachute it landed on a rocky, uneven surface and was thrown onto its side."

The result: damage to the capsule's outer shell, framework and other vital components, Red Bull Stratos officials said. After its recovery, the capsule was transported to Sage Cheshire Aerospace in Lancaster, Calif., for more testing.

The capsule's vital inner pressure sphere, which houses Baumgartner during his ascent, is intact, but several life support system components are being replaced as a precaution, project officials said.

"The outer shell will be exchanged, using materials from a reserve capsule," Red Bull Stratos officials added.

The repaired capsule will undergo another safety test in an altitude chamber, currently slated for Sept. 24 or so, in San Antonio, Texas, to make sure it can withstand the stratospheric environment.

The capsule lies in the desert after a hard landing during the second manned test flight for Red Bull Stratos in Roswell, New Mexico, USA on July 25, 2012.
CREDIT: Jörg Mitter/Red Bull Content Pool
View full size image
"Once this test has been completed successfully … the craft will be certified safe to fly, with the final mission set for sometime in the first two weeks of October," officials said.

Baumgartner's July 25 practice jump was the second test skydive for the Red Bull Stratos mission, after a leap from 71,581 feet (21,818 m) this past March. Prior to that jump, the highest leap for Baumgartner was from an altitude of 30,000 feet (9,144 m).

“The more practice you have, the more confidence you have," Baumgartner said just after the latest test jump. "We now have a good feeling of what to expect and are ready to go."

Meanwhile, Red Bull Stratos mission managers will keep an eye on changing weather conditions for Baumgartner's October jump window. Conditions must be safe not only for the skydive, but also for the long ride to jump height by Baumgartner's 55-story balloon, officials said.

"Early fall in New Mexico is one of the best times of year to launch stratospheric balloons," said Red Bull Stratos mission meteorologist Don Day.

 

[lordmongrove]

http://www.runcornandwidnesweeklynews.c ... -31821179/

Runcorn’s ‘red-eyed vigilante superhero’ strikes again
Sep 13 2012 by Daniel Mckenzie, Runcorn and Widnes Weekly News
A SECOND alleged sighting of a red-eyed vigilante has sparked rumours that a ‘superhero’ is fighting crime in Runcorn.
The Weekly News has now received two reports of a masked man dressed all in black with glowing red eyes coming to the rescue of victims of crime.
The latest report claims the mystery man stopped a gang of hooded youths from stealing a motorbike near Town Park on Friday night.
It follows a letter which alleged that a similar looking figure fought off two men who were hassling a woman near the Royal British Legion.

The latest anonymous letter said: “I was walking my dogs in Town Park this Friday when I saw a group of about six lads coming out of the trees.
“They were clearly intoxicated and looking for somebody and at least three had weapons – one had a large stick and the other two had golf clubs.

“It was pitch black and I feared for my safety,
“Then what happened was the weirdest thing I have seen in 52 years of living in Runcorn.
“A man with glowing red eyes dressed in all black, with a black SAS-style mask dropped down from a tree about 50ft ahead of me.
“Half of the group started running away but the three with weapons charged towards him and started swinging the golf clubs.
“Whoever he was, he had obviously had some kind of combat training because he moved so fast and disarmed all three of them in just few seconds.
“No sooner had it happened, the man just disappeared out of sight.
“It was exactly how the other woman described it.
“He was just like a superhero.”
Have you seen the masked superhero? Email [email protected]

 

[lordmongrove]

Whoever he is he sounds like he's got some martial arts training.
I think he needs an arch nemesis though. Any unemployed psychotic clowns out there?

 

[Bigphoot2]

Runcorn hmmmm...doesn't have quite the same ring as Gotham City or Metropolis.

 

[lordmongrove]

I think that makes it all the cooler. He's stamping out crime in a small northern town.

 

[Mythopoeika]

Batman is real!

That's...(overused term) awesome!

 

[JamesWhitehead]

I think Purple Aki is still locked up, but it used to be his stamping-ground.

"Hello, lads! You been working out then?" never fails to disperse gangs of boys, if you are purple - and 6'7"! :shock:

 

[lordmongrove]

He really needs a name The Runcorn Avenger just don't cut it. Any ideas? Perhapse we could run a competition.

 

[rynner2]

Austrian Felix Baumgartner set for skydive record attempt
By Jonathan Amos, Science correspondent, BBC News, Roswell

The Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner will attempt to become the first human to break the sound barrier unaided by a vehicle.
He is going to jump out of a balloon at more than 120,000ft (36.5km) above Roswell, New Mexico. :shock:
In the near vacuum at that altitude, he should accelerate beyond about 690mph (1,110km/h) within 40 seconds.
If all goes well, he will open a parachute near the ground to land softly in the desert, 10 minutes later.

The 43-year-old adventurer - famous for jumping off skyscrapers - is under no illusions about the dangers he faces.
Where he is going, the air pressure is less than 2% of what it is at sea level, and it is impossible to breathe without an oxygen supply.

Others who have tried to break the existing records for the highest, fastest and longest freefalls have lost their lives in the process.
"If something goes wrong, the only thing that might help you is God," says Baumgartner.
"Because if you run out of luck, if you run out of skills, there is nothing left and you have to really hope he is not going to let you down."

Weather permitting, lift-off from Roswell airport should occur about 0700 local time (1300 GMT; 1400BST).

The absolute mark for the highest skydive is held by retired US Air Force Col Joe Kittinger.
He leapt from a balloon at an altitude of 102,800ft (31.3km) in August 1960.
Now an octogenarian, Kittinger is part of Baumgartner's team and will be the only voice talking to him over the radio during the two-and-a-half hour ascent and the 10-minute descent.

Engineers have done everything possible to limit the risks. They have built the Austrian a special pressurised capsule to carry him under the helium balloon.
He will also be wearing a next-generation, full-pressure suit, an evolution of the orange protective clothing worn by shuttle astronauts on launch.

Although the jump has the appearance of another Baumgartner stunt, his team prefers to stress its high scientific relevance.
The researchers on the Red Bull Stratos project believe it will inform the development of new systems for emergency evacuation from high-performance, high-altitude vehicles. Nasa and its spacecraft manufacturers have asked to be kept informed.

There are a few examples of pilots being ejected in supersonic airflows when their planes broke apart in the sky, but there is no detailed data on what happens to the human body as it goes supersonic and then, as it slows, goes subsonic again.

The concern is that he might be destabilised by shockwaves passing over his body, and that these might throw him into an uncontrolled spin.
"It's very important he gets into a delta position," said Baumgartner's trainer, Luke Aikins. "This is hands at his side and his head low, ripping through the sky. This will be crucial to breaking the speed of sound and remaining stable."

Engineers have incorporated an automatic device in his gear that would deploy a drogue stabilisation chute if he gets into trouble. But the team's medical director, former shuttle flight surgeon Dr Jon Clark, hopes the stiffness of the pressure suit itself will suffice.
"We know that pressure suits limit mobility which we often consider as a bad thing, but in this scenario of going through the sound barrier, it actually adds a protection because it acts like an exoskeleton," he explained.
"We don't know what the human will endure accelerating through the sound barrier in coming back down without the aid of aircraft. And that is really the essence of the scientific goal of this mission."

There is high confidence Baumgartner will succeed in his quest. He has already completed practice jumps from 71,600ft (21.8km) and 97,100ft (29.6km).
The second of these jumps he described as an extraordinary experience.
"It's almost overwhelming," he said. "When you're standing there in a pressure suit, the only thing that you hear is yourself breathing, and you can see the curvature of the Earth; you can see the sky's totally black. It's kind of an awkward view because you've never seen a black sky. And at that moment, you realise you've accomplished something really big."

A suite of high-definition cameras will follow the action. Some of these will be attached to Baumgartner himself.
But wary of broadcasting a tragedy to worldwide TV audiences, the organisers will be putting a 20-second delay on the live video feed.

Four GPS systems in the suit will gather the dive data required to satisfy the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI) that records have indeed been broken.
"The data is recorded on an SD microcard in his chest pack," Brian Utley, who will file the official report to the FAI after the jump, told BBC News.
"I insert that card into the equipment. From that moment on, I have control over the equipment. I'm with it until Felix goes into the capsule, and when he lands I am the first person to approach him so I can take possession of that card again."

A BBC/National Geographic documentary is being made about the project and will probably be aired in November.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19860249