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Superheroes: Has Anybody Tried It For Real?

"Spider-Men" take over Peru university

Mon Jul 19,11:17 PM ET

LIMA, Peru (Reuters) - Dozens of students wearing red "Spider-Man" masks have taken over buildings at Peru's National Engineering University to demand the removal of the dean, whom they accuse of mishandling funds, a radio station reports.

The mask wearers -- students just like the shy Peter Parker whose exploits as a superhero are the subject of the hit movie "Spider-Man 2" -- hid their faces so as not to be picked up by police or security cameras at the National Engineering University, RPP radio reported.

"The university has been taken over by 50 masked delinquents, who have broken doors," Dean Roberto Morales told the radio station.

"We're trying to get rid of them and to reorganise the university," one of the students, wearing the red mask printed with a black spider's web, told RPP.

The peaceful standoff continued and police were standing by.

With the Spider-Man craze sweeping Lima, the masks are on sale at roadsides and cinemas for about .
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Source
 
Man In Superman Costume Attacks Motorists

Attack Reportedly Leads To Street Brawl

POSTED: 7:30 p.m. EDT July 19, 2004
UPDATED: 7:52 p.m. EDT July 19, 2004

Police say a 21-year-old man dressed as Superman attacked some motorists in Ann Arbor early Sunday.

A group of men stopped their car to talk to some friends outside an Ann Arbor home when the alleged attacker jumped out from behind some bushes and into the vehicle, Local 4 reported.

"I guess this young man jumped in the back seat of the victim's vehicle and just started hitting him and when the victim attempted to call using his cell phone, (Superman) grabbed the cell phone and he stomped on it," said Sgt. Angella Abrams, of the Ann Arbor Police Department.

The victims said when they got out of the car, people from the house party came toward the car, and a large street fight broke out, according to The Ann Arbor News.

No one was fighting when officers arrived, but two witnesses were able to show digital pictures they took of the alleged attacker, police told the paper.

Officers spotted the man in the crowd -- wearing a red spandex Superman costume -- and arrested him, the paper reported.

"He was in costume, and it was a pretty terrible Superman costume at that," said Mark Majewski, who witnessed the incident.

The motive for the attack was not known, according to police.

The identity of the man wearing the Superman costume was being withheld pending possible charges of assault and battery.
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http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/3548529/detail.html
 
Last Updated: Friday, 17 September, 2004, 07:36 GMT 08:36 UK

Mystery 'hero' hands out kindness


A self-styled superhero has been walking the streets of Brighton carrying out random acts of kindness.

Ivan Man, who refuses to reveal his true identity, carries out his mission wearing a mask and a cape.

The mystery man has been seen bounding up to people in the Sussex city, giving them flowers or cash, and offering to buy them cups of coffee.

He says he is doing it on behalf of another person, who is "very wealthy", but declines to say who it is.

He also offers to assist people with directions, and in one case he even bought a watch for a man who had been looking at it in a shop window.

Ivan Man says he enjoys the element of surprise.

"I do it just to bring a lot of happiness, a lot of joy. I get great pleasure out of giving people gifts in the street randomly," he said.

He said the person paying his way was "very generous", and "you've probably heard of them".

He also denies it is just a publicity stunt, and promises that all will be revealed in a few weeks.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/southern_counties/3664996.stm
 
That bloody Abramovich gets everywhere doesn't he. Why can't he be more like Bill Gates and just do his spending on the QT?
 
Lifted from Today's telegraph, have included a photo, to show his very fetching outfit, and also the fact he's a filthy ginner

http://www.telegraph.co.uk

Bryony Gordon meets a very modern superhero

Look, there he is. You can spot him a mile off. He's standing in the middle of Brighton railway station dressed in a red spandex top and a pair of white Lycra hot-pants that cling a little too tightly over his black leggings.

His huge, blue cape flaps about in the breeze, while a Zorro mask placed over his heavily-kohled eyes protects his identity. Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's Ivanman, a 33-year-old who has become something of a "superhero" on the streets of Brighton and Hove. And his special powers? Random acts of generosity.
For the past fortnight, Ivanman has taken to the streets every two days armed with large amounts of cash (real cash, not Monopoly money) that he hands out to complete strangers. He has bought a family's weekly shopping at Tesco, paid for a pensioner's blue rinse, and handed out umbrellas on the sea front when it started to pour with rain.

He has bought fistfuls of postcards and Brighton rock for bemused tourists. He frequently buys people their lunch, he bought a £40 watch for one local gentleman, lottery scratchcards for the homeless and rounds of drinks for grateful students in pubs. So far, he has spent around £2,000, but he thinks he will put some money aside and buy one lucky person a holiday.
When I meet him, he hands me an enormous bunch of flowers, before taking me to the pub and buying me a pint of lager and a packet of crisps. This, from my experience with men, seems an extremely generous gesture indeed.

"I'm thinking of buying a whole load of these flowers and taking them up to the hospital to give to the nurses," he says, sipping his pint, oblivious to the stares of the other drinkers.
Ivanman has become quite the local celebrity. A group of students who have read about him in the Brighton Argus ask for his autograph. A man excitedly takes his photograph and a young woman cycles up to tell him that DJs were talking about him on the radio this morning.

Just three weeks ago, Ivanman was plain, unemployed Ivan Boneyard, a drummer in an unsigned indie band. How he ended up donning his mask and cape is, like the best superhero stories, surrounded in mystery.

He says "a friend of a friend" got in touch on behalf of a rich, anonymous benefactor who was looking to hire someone to wander around Brighton committing acts of kindness. Ivan liked the idea and, a few days later, his costume arrived in the post – then, several hundred pounds were wired into his bank account.
Ivanman says he can't reveal who the benefactor is because he doesn't know himself. "All I know is that it's an internationally famous person, though they're not from round here. It's just someone with a lot of money who wants to spread what they have." According to Ivan, there will soon be more superheroes like him popping up around the country. He has no idea when the money will stop arriving.

Am I being too cynical, or does this have all the hallmarks of a trendy, guerrilla-style publicity stunt? Are we going to find out soon that the benefactor is a mobile phone company or that Ivanman is promoting a new soft drink? He is taken aback at my suggestion. It's not about the publicity, he says. "If it was for some big corporate thing, I wouldn't want their money, I promise."

Sensing that I'm still not convinced, he reluctantly tells me that his contact works at Virgin Records. So his benefactor could be an international artist signed to Virgin, then?
"Well yes, it could be a musician, I suppose."
Who might it be? Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones are signed to Virgin. Maybe Janet Jackson? Joss Stone? Lenny Kravitz? Surely not Iggy Pop?

A spokesman for Virgin Records can't enlighten me. "I haven't a clue who this man is," he says.
However, spending the day with Ivanman, watching the glee with which people respond to his gestures, you soon realise that it doesn't matter if it is a corporate publicity stunt or not. The kindness is real. At the station, he pays for a woman's ticket to London. She blushes and stammers: "I... I don't know what to say." The entire queue smiles, and a man in his seventies tells Ivanman: "You've made my month".

In the Lanes, he walks up to a young couple in a vintage clothes boutique. "Whatever you want in this shop is yours," he says, as they jump about and hug each other. "That's really, really sweet of you! You just don't get people like you nowadays," says Vic McMullen, 24. She selects a studded belt (£16.50), and declares that she will commit an act of random kindness herself as a way of saying thank you.

But not everybody has been so open to Ivanman's generosity. Many seem deeply suspicious that a stranger should want to be nice to them for no reason and expect nothing in return. When he tries to hand out Belgian chocolate cookies in the street, passers-by shake their heads and look at him as if he is mad, as if there must be a catch – perhaps the cookies are poisoned?
"Aren't enough men dressing up as superheroes and causing trouble as it is, without you joining in?" spits a young mother as she pushes a buggy.

"Weirdo," mutters a schoolgirl, who is puffing on a cigarette.
He has been chased down the street by children and been called all sorts of names. "I was quite nervous when I started doing it, but it's been great fun and it's really rewarding."

Most of the time, that is. A day after we meet, he is pulled over by the police and given a warning while buying an elderly couple a cream tea. "There we were, in a tea room, and it was all very tranquil – then, suddenly, they pulled up outside, Starsky & Hutch style. They said they thought I was a member of Fathers 4 Justice."
 
I wonder if this is connected:

OUR KIND OF SUPERHERO!


BY JON DI PAOLO

10:30 - 23 September 2004

It's the company that likes to quote you happy - but Norwich Union staff found they were the ones left smiling after a visit from a mystery caped crusader.

The catsuit-wearing woman - who also wears a mask and spangly blue cape - carried in a box full of sandwiches, cakes and crisps for astonished workers.

The superhero strolled into the busy Regent Road offices and announced she was carrying out another "random act of kindness".

Insurance underwriter Zoe Brown said: "She just came in and said something about a random act of kindness, that she was delivering our lunch and told us to have a great day. As you can imagine, we were all a bit dumbstruck. We thought it was Wonderwoman!"

Sally Portsmouth, a trading underwriter, said there was also a certain amount of scepticism as to her motives. She said: "The buzz in the office is that there has to be something commercial behind it. Nobody does anything for free these days."

After the incident, on Tuesday lunchtime, the Mercury received an anonymous call from someone saying the woman would carry out another "random act of kindness" at Woolworth's this week, and that he had a budget of £500 for her. When asked for more details, he hung up.

In the past fortnight the woman has paid grocery bills, handed out flowers at a hospital, and given chocolates out at a cafe - and so far no-one has a clue why. She has only said she was working for someone, and that all would be revealed soon.

It was thought she may be part of an internet cult called Join Me, whose members carry out random acts of kindness on a Friday. But the caped crusader has struck on several other days of the week.

Prof Martin Parker, professor of Organisation and Culture at Leicester University, is stumped by the possible motives.

He said: "It just sounds like a good thing, and I wish her the best of luck. I'll be very disappointed if it turns out to be something commercial."

The mystery deepends

The catsuit-wearing mystery woman made her first appearance at Leicester General Hospital on Thursday, September 9.

Dressed in her distinctive mask and cape, she handed out bunches of flowers.

The next day, she stunned shoppers and staff at Asda in Oadby, by appearing at the checkouts and paying for people's shopping.

Again wearing a superhero outfit to conceal her identity, she spent about £300 paying off grocery bills for several lucky customers.

She chatted briefly to shop staff and was caught on in-store CCTV cameras before disappearing.

Then, on Tuesday, September 14, she called in to Oadby Baptist Church's Fair Trade Cafe and handed out boxes of chocolates, called Cadbury's Miniature Heroes, to staff and customers.

The caped crusader insisted on leaving £20 in the till to pay for everyone's tea and cake, but once again refused to reveal her identity.
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Source
 
Terrifica is STILL at it! And she has a super-car!

The Anti-Cupid
Able to stop an ill-advised hookup in a single bound.

By Grant Stoddard

Every superhero has a tragic creation myth. Bruce Wayne witnessed the killing of his parents and became the crime-fighter Batman. A young Brooklynite named Sarah got mercilessly dumped by her boyfriend and became Terrifica, a heroine whose mission is to prevent men from taking advantage of women. Men, she says, will use a deadly cocktail of “lies and drinks” to get a woman into bed. So she patrols the city’s parties, bars, and clubs, intervening when she spots a sketchy seduction in progress.

On a recent Saturday night in Park Slope, Terrifica bursts through the door of a bar called Commonwealth. She is resplendent in red spandex, scarlet boots, and red plastic overcoat. She wears no cape or mask—tonight is an “undercover” operation. She makes a beeline to a dark corner where a couple looks poised to canoodle. After speaking to them quietly, she opens her utility belt—referring to it as a fanny pack will not endear you to Terrifica—and gives them a pair of gold lamé fortune cards. When Terrifica moves on to another couple, I ask what happened. “She asked if we were going to hook up tonight,” says Lauren, a 24-year-old painter. (“We’re just good friends,” interjects her buddy Justin.) “She offered us a condom and said that if I was going to be tricked into having sex, at least it should be safe.”

Terrifica is already running off to her next location. “How do you know where to go?” I pant, two strides behind her. “Do you sense impending danger, like Spiderman?”

Terrifica spins around: “Um, I don’t have any superpowers. I’m not crazy, you know.”

“Well, you claim to be a superhuman.”

“I am a human, who just happens to be super.” She looks me up and down. “You are a human who is un-super.” She shrugs. “I assume the addresses come to me because Sarah knows about parties and bars.”

Terrifica doesn’t think much of her alter ego. “Sarah is a very weak woman,” she sneers. “Very needy, very insecure.”

Later, Sarah explains Terrifica’s vitriol. “I have loved two men in my life,” she says. “The first man dumped me when I moved to NYC. That was Terrifica’s birth. The second just dumped me. I thought that turning 30 and falling in love were signals for the retirement of Terrifica. But ever since I was dumped—in the most brutally humiliating of ways—I have felt compelled to put the stupid tights and wig back on. As soon as I pull on that mask, I feel really strong.”

Back on patrol, Terrifica surveys a party in Park Slope. Acting as Robin to her Batman, I wander the floor trying to bring flirtatious couples to her attention. Finally, she swoops in to break up a passionate clinch. “Unsurprisingly, she is much more invested in the relationship than he is,” she scoffs. “She’ll learn the hard way.”

As we walk toward her “Carrific,” Terrifica announces that she’s ditching me. “I must go to a party on the Upper East Side,” she says. “Frat boys, Wall Street guys. It’s dangerous work that I must do alone.”
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http://newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/news/people/columns/intelligencer/10359/
 
A website now exists that is tracking the real-life superheroes:

http://xoomer.virgilio.it/amasoni2002/shl/indexreallife.htm

Here are the folks currently listed:

Angle Grinder Man (London, England)
Batman & Robin (Whitley, England)
Burgh Man (Pittsburgh, US)
Breathe Easy Man (Chicago, US)
Captain Beany (Cardiff, Wales)
Captain Jackson & the Crimefighter Corps (Jackson, US)
Flying Eagle (London, England)
Giftman (Newcastle, England)
The Big ''O'' (Tunbridge Wells - London, England)
PinkMan (Santa Monica, US)
Polarman (IQaluit, Canada)
Superataf (Florence, Italy)
Superbarrio (Mexico City, Mexico)
Terrifica (New York, US)
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Actully Captain Beany is not form Cardiff but Port Talbot near Swansea, where he runs a small baked bean museum.

Baked bean museum opens in Port Talbot Jan 26 2005




Robin Turner, Western Mail


THE world's only museum dedicated to the culinary delights of the humble baked bean has been opened - in a Port Talbot council flat.

Eccentric veteran parliamentary candidate and fundraiser Captain Beany has filled his two-bedroom, second-floor flat on the Aberavon seafront with shelves full of tins of beans, memorabilia, bean money-boxes and posters.

Every day for the past two decades the bald-headed former BP Chemicals factory worker has donned orange face and head paint, a cape, green pants and an orange jumpsuit to become his alter ego, Captain Beany.

After his "beanmobile" rusted so badly it was towed away by Neath Port Talbot Council staff some years ago he has travelled by bus, arousing plenty of stares.

Last month, however, he bought an aging Mini Metro with the number plate H57 (reminiscent of Heinz 57) for £47 on eBay.

It inspired him to turn his flat into "The Baked Bean Museum of Excellence".

The shelves of the museum, which sit on orange carpets, surrounded by bright orange wallpaper, broken up only by orange curtains and the odd photograph of beans, contain hundreds of exhibits.

The shelves are dominated by a low, bright orange ceiling.

The exhibits range from tins of Heinz beans (bought from a supermarket because Heinz refused to donate them) to money boxes in the shape of baked beans to American Boston Beans sweets and bean-shaped mugs.

Captain Beany, who changed his name from plain Barry Kirk by deed poll in the 1980s said yesterday, "I have scoured the worldwide web and made hundreds of telephone inquiries.

"Nowhere else in the world is there a baked bean museum.

"Even Heinz, which used to have a showroom in its Pittsburgh factory does not have one any more after company changes.

"It's a private museum but anyone can visit by e-mailing the museum on [email protected].

"I've spent quite a bit on acquiring items. Although the tins of beans are quite cheap I had to part with £250 for a die-cast model of a Heinz Bean lorry.

"There are some bean money-boxes which are valuable too and a number of the bean posters are very rare."

Captain Beany, who has a long list of TV appearances on shows such as Strangest Ever Obsessions (Five), the Linda Lusardi-fronted It's Bizarre (Channel Four) and Great British Eccentrics (BBC World), is hoping a celebrity will officially open the museum.

He has been trying to contact opera singer Katherine Jenkins to "do the honours" but yesterday the star's agent remained tightlipped when asked by the Western Mail if she would be prepared to do it.

Captain Beany said, "I think my favourite exhibit is the 2ft-tall bean money-box. I've got a wide range of tins from HP, Bush's from the USA to supermarket brands, and I also have a clock advertising a brand of baked beans."

Captain Beany is not concerned that his council landlords might raise an eyebrow at the new venture. He said, "It's not commercial and there are no structural alternations, just shelves all over the place. I'm going to ask people when they come if they want to make a donation to charity.

"I'm expecting to get a wide range of people in. There are lots of people out there fascinated by baked beans."

Captain Beany plans to stand in the Cardiff Central constituency during this year's parliamentary elections. He said, "I normally stand in Aberavon but I've decided to go for the big boys."

Captain Beany has never kept his deposit.

Bean around

Modern baked beans were first created by Henry J Heinz in the US in 1895.

The Iroquois Indians developed maple syrup which they used to cook beans in but European settlers used meat then tomato sauces;

The first cans of baked beans were made in Britain in 1928;

1.2 million cans are eaten every week in the UK;

Baked beans are low in fat and are full of protein and fibre;

They also provide important vitamins and minerals, including iron, folic acid, zinc and potassium;

Research done in the USA found that the nutrients found in many vegetables, fruits, and red wine are also found in the skin of beans;

Australian cricketer Shane Warne is a self-confessed baked bean addict and soccer star Alan Shearer always eats chicken and baked beans before matches;

January 6 is national bean day in America;

The average British person eats more than 15lbs of beans each year;

In 2002 Heinz chefs came up with the perfect formula for cooking baked beans which recommends cooking the beans at 147F (64C).

Source
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[Emp edit: Fixing big link]
 
*wheeeee* Terrifica!

Though we're still convinced she's a TV bloke.
 
SUPERHUMAN: the Real-Life Superhero site:

http://www.superhuman.futurius.net/

SUPERHUMAN: THE ONLINE RESOURCE FOR REAL-LIFE SUPERHEROES was created in 2004 by Daniel Lundie.

Its mission statement is to provide a public resource center for individuals interested in the fantastic, the supernatural, the scientific and the spiritual, as well as for adventurers and those interested in bettering their local or global community.
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Oh snap! Terrifica's got a website now!

http://www.terrifica.net/terrifica/questions2.html
I protect the single gal living in the big city. I protect average females from making mistakes they will regret in the morning. I protect them from the men who would seduce them with lies or with drinks. I protect them from going home with men who would hurt them – emotionally or physically.

I live on the front lines. I walk in the danger zone. I patrol the city’s streets, bars, nightclubs, and private household parties alone. I look for females who need my help and for the unscrupulous males who would do their best to compromise female virtue. I put myself in harm’s way in order to ensure that females everywhere avoid heartache, embarrassment, and hangovers.

To females everywhere, I say, “No male will ever save you. He will only seek to possess you (either for a night or a lifetime.) No male will ever love you as well as you can love yourself. Follow me.”

To males everywhere, I say, “I will destroy you! You will no longer dominate the females of your species with your lies, oppression, and conventions of femininity.”

I protect human females from need. I stop them from seeking love from an other. I help them to quit mistaking sex for love. I teach them to overcome their vulgar, biological yearnings. I release them from their weakling status. I free them of their loneliness.

My strength comes from self-love and commitment to goodness. I strive for nothing other than virtue. I have transcended that which is commonly decreed as acceptably human and become superhuman.

Some people call me a superhero. I am not a hero. I am merely committed to a mission that is larger than myself. It is my job. I have shed the oppression of tendencies that corrupt the human soul. I am virtue. And, I am always here. I see you. And, I will never stop patrolling the city’s dark streets as long as there are lonely, needy females who need my protection, wisdom, and salvation.
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Terrifica seems to make the assumption that all men are evil and not to be trusted, and that all women are innocent victims in the dating game.

She should get over it and stop interfering! :roll:
 
“Um, I don’t have any superpowers. I’m not crazy, you know.”
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Terrifica doesn’t think much of her alter ego. “Sarah is a very weak woman,” she sneers. “Very needy, very insecure.”
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:lol:



Great thread btw.
 
Believe It or Not... Strange tales from the police log: Spider-Man slings web of mystery over schools

Thursday, June 9, 2005
By JOHN BRANTON, Columbian staff writer

When a masked person clad in blue-and-red tights with a web motif showed up Wednesday on the grounds of Pacific Middle School, the visitor didn't say, "Hi, I'm your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man."

In fact, the visitor didn't say anything, but simply walked away when a school employee approached.

And that's why school officials and Clark County Sheriff's Office deputies are puzzled by two such visits this week while school was in session on the grounds of Pacific and its next-door neighbor, Harmony Elementary School.

"It's a big mystery," sheriff's Sgt. Mike Cooke said Wednesday after someone spotted the person at Pacific and called 911 about 2 p.m. "It might be someone just playing a gag and trying to get someone's attention."

"It's making some of the parents a little nervous," said Carol Fenstermacher, a spokeswoman for Evergreen Public Schools.

So far, officials said, the visitor isn't known to have spoken to any children or done anything wrong. And Cooke said he doesn't think any deputy has even seen the person.

Indeed, since the web-slinging, wall-crawling visitor wore a mask, Fenstermacher said she's not sure whether it's a male or female.

And no, The Columbian, unlike the Daily Bugle, doesn't have anyone named Peter Parker working as a free-lance photographer these days.

On the other hand, there is an upcoming sequel, "Spider-Man 3," that's supposed to come out in 2007. So, maybe it's a publicity stunt staged two years in advance.

Whatever is going on, school officials hope the masked mystery will start following school district protocol on any future visits.

Even Spider-Man has to check in at the office.
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www.columbian.com/06092005/clark_co/285183.cfm
 
While at lunch today, Batman himself was roaming the streets
of downtown Minneapolis, followed by an entourage of press
photo/videographers. Mothers were trying to get
their children to "go say Hi to him", but the little ones were scared sh*tless. It was the new dark black suit from the movie that
open today, so I couldn't blame them.

You couldn't pay me enough to wear that in today's heat.

I wonder if he'll be around tonight after dark... hmmm...
FTMB's first exclusive video of crimefighting in action!

TVgeek
 
In the town I used to live in there is a fellow who is a few fries short of a Happy Meal....he has a Superman costume and walks around town in it. If there happens to be a parade, he will just get in it and walk along.

And while we're on the topic, when I was about 8 or 9, I used to pretend I was the Bionic woman. I sooooo wanted to be her!!!!
 
Redhead said:
In the town I used to live in there is a fellow who is a few fries short of a Happy Meal....he has a Superman costume and walks around town in it. If there happens to be a parade, he will just get in it and walk along.
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St. Cloud?
 
A friend of mine (pre mental breakdown, but alright now) is/was a former special forces soldier. Having had enough of two ass clowns attempting to strip off in a very posh restaurant, leapt over the table in a single bound, brought them both to the ground and restrained them with some nasty holds. In the spirit of his insanity, I bought him a cape... :twisted: :D
 
We need someone with superpowers, or at least Batman-level craziness. And, of course, the gadgets.
 
Looks like Doctor DiscorD is allegedly patroling the streets...

LINK WARNING: SOME RAW LANGUAGE
I got tired of the CRIME.
I got tired of the CORRUPTION and FEAR.
These things won't go away on their own.

Some say "are you joking?" to which i can only say,
CRIME IS NO LAUGHING MATTER.

what do we consider "CRIME" you might ask...we dont care about victimless crime like drug use or people buying prostitutes. the kind of CRIME we're talking about is the kind that makes little old ladies afraid to leave their houses.
the kind of CRIME that makes single mothers afraid to walk to their cars at night.

We urge you all to don the mask and make a stand against CRIMINALITY.
Start patrols in your neighborhood with some friends,but be sure to wear a mask...you probably don't want LOW LIFE CRIMINALS to recognize your face and follow you home to endanger your family/friends.

Join the JSJ along side our numerous other heroes.
Mr. Silent
our hasidic rapper friend Dr. Dreidel and his sidekick The Kosher Kid
Liquid Courage
The Human Robot
The Apostolic Avenger
Cap'n Whiskey
The Hamburger Helper
Absurdo
The Plunisher
and the gynecological justice of The Green Discharge
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How does wearing a mask stop someone following you home?

Surely you need a secret base for that.
 
I don't care how superbly trained and athletic a "real" superhero might be, wouldn't jumping from roof to roof or from window ledge to window ledge while dragging around a long, thick, heavy CAPE eventually prove FATAL?

"Engine Company 59? Yeah, it's the Chartreuse Crusader again. He's hanging upside down by his cape from a flagpole on the 59th floor of the Circulation Building. You'll get to him in.....about three days? Hokay...."
 
Have you read Watchmen? In that the only superhero ever to wear a cape met an untimely end at the hands of a bank robber and a revolving door.
 
Looks like Lying in the Gutters has an interview with the Doktor:

http://www.comicbookresources.com/columns/?column=13
LITG: Last week I asked Mr Silent about comments Grant Morrison made when writing "New X-Men" - that we were about to see real superheroes - that the time and the influences were right. What is it that makes you create these superhero identities, rather than becoming, say, volunteer policemen?

DOKTOR: Well, this might just be me, but.....cops are assholes. no one likes you when you're a cop. they drive around with a superiority complex, getting fat on public funds and usually harass people who've done absolutely nothing besides being black, being young, and having fun...now this isn't all of them, i know. There are good cops out there, just not enough of them.

I became a superhero for a handful of reasons, but the main one is this: cops (here) are almost completely ineffective...while they're bothering people who aren't causing any harm, people are getting shot.

LITG: Mr Silent talked about an incident with an old lady... anything else been going down?

DOKTOR: Let's see, a few events have taken place. we've broken up a few fights and helped an old lady who's car was being fucked with by kids. i've yet to have to defend myself in a physical manner, thankfully...fighting is a last resort for us. many times our very presence is enough to disrupt the criminal activity.

LITG: And what is your official legal situation - have you had any reaction from traditional law keepers?

DOKTOR: the police have left us alone so far...one of the first nights the Justice Society of Justice (offering twice the Justice of the Leading Competitors) went out, we encountered a group of 3 drunk latinos outside the greyhound station. they were merely drunk and having fun, singing and etc. i have no problem with that sort of 'criminal' activity...we ran into them 2 hours later on patrol and they had turned against each other..all screaming in spanish and trying to fight each other. we tried to break it up and eventually the police pulled up...they sat there for 5 minutes just watching from inside their car and then drove away...how's that for proper conflict resolution procedure?...and people wonder why there's a need for us, sheesh.

LITG: Well maybe, I mean could your very presence create an equal and opposite - super villains?

DOKTOR: well, they are as inevitable as we were. there have already been a few..like that pussy who made the "killdozer"..good thing he's dead, but he would have been a perfect ally if say, zombies took over the earth.

LITG: Oookay. One common comment on message boards is that you'll likely find yourselves seriously wounded or killed. Is this a worry for you?

DOKTOR: these people have obviously never been to indianapolis...to be honest, we've only dealt with one guy with a gun but i said "do you really want to shoot somebody when you're in the center of the state capitol with cameras all over you and an undercover cop in that car behind me?"...his balls retracted and he lost his nerve, then left. some kids on DXM were watching and i told them afterwards "see kids, all you have to do is use people's inherent logic and need for self preservation against them and you won't have to fight."..i think they learned an important lesson when i said that because their faces lit up in recognition...but then again, they were all fucked up on dissociative drugs...if i would have said "gumball toothpaper gas" they would have probably done the same thing.

LITG: Your "Doktor DiscorD" identity reminds me of characters such as Big Ben, Spider Jerusalem, Grifter, and the Droogs from "Clockwork Orange." Do you have any specific influences in terms of superhero style?

DOKTOR: a lot of people say my crime fighting goggles are very reminiscent of spider jerusalem's glasses, but that's purely coincidental. i made them red and blue to go along with my name, you know..Doktor DiscorD?..3-D?...get it?...it's a sight gag, nothing more...heh, a goggle "sight gag"..fuck, who am i, professor pun?..seriously though, i just found some crap that was laying around my house and made a costume out of it, there was no real guidance..we dont have a wardrobe dept.....yet.

LITG: Again, I asked Mr Silent about superhero fiction clichés. Have any of the inner conflicts common in the superhero fictions come true for you? Do you feel a secret identity protects your loved ones? Do they know about your activities, or have you protected them from it as well? Are people trying to discover your identity? And have you been involved with any conversations with people about your superhero identities, without them realizing who you are?

DOKTOR: inner conflicts?..not really, i just see people screwing over others with a blatant disregard for all the good things in life and that shows me i should use the same disregard when considering their right to steal a woman's purse.... my secret identity does protect my friends and loved ones...you never know how many friends the perp might have, and think about it, indianapolis is a small city of 2 million. everyone knows everyone here. you see the same people every day. no sense in not taking precautions.

a few of my "non super" friends know what i'm doing, but they're supportive...i've tried to be as non-obvious as possible. i've talked to a few people that i know while patrolling but only one thought he knew who i was. i denied it completely, of course. most of the time when people talk about our doings while i'm around, i make typical cryptic batman statements like "he's obviously deranged" or some such comment.

the only people who are really trying to see my face are the fan girls who want to see if i'm as dreamy as i really am. all i can say is this, ladies..."wouldn't you like to know???"

LITG: I bet. Any last word for the great unwashed?

DOKTOR: godspeed, and for fuck's sake..let's clean up those streets!
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I've only just caught up with this thread!
MrRING said:
A website now exists that is tracking the real-life superheroes:

http://xoomer.virgilio.it/amasoni2002/shl/indexreallife.htm

Here are the folks currently listed:

....
The Big ''O'' (Tunbridge Wells - London, England)
....
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Tunbridge Wells? That hotbed of crime and super-villainy :rofl: . And the name - what does he do? Wearing raybans, go up to wrongdoers and sing falsetto at them?

As for Terrifica, bets on why she was dumped in the first place....?
 
Werner Herzog - superhero!

http://www.imdb.com/news/wenn/2006-02-03/
Herzog Helped Phoenix from Car Wreckage
Oscar-nominee Joaquin Phoenix was rescued from his car wreck last week by German cult director Werner Herzog. The 31-year-old Walk The Line star overturned his car on a canyon road above Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood after his brakes failed and he collided with another vehicle. Phoenix was saved because he was wearing his seat-belt, but has revealed he was helped from the wreckage by the 63-year-old, who has a home nearby. The actor says, "I remember this knocking on the passenger window. There was this German voice saying, 'Just relax.' There's the airbag, I can't see and I'm saying, 'I'm fine. I am relaxed. Finally, I rolled down the window and this head pops inside. And he said, 'No, you're not.' And suddenly I said to myself, 'That's Werner Herzog' There's something so calming and beautiful about Werner Herzog's voice. I felt completely fine and safe. I climbed out. I got out of the car and I said, 'Thank you,' and he was gone."
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Don't Like Fire Man

I can think of only one genuine real-life superhero, although there is no evidence that he used his superpowers more than once.

This was front-page news, for several days, 20 or 25 years ago:

It was one of our southern states, Georgia or Alabama. A man sat trapped in his burning automobile, while a circle of onlookers watched in horror from a safe distance. There was simply nothing these people could do.

But through the crowd stepped a giant Afro-American male. He walked to the car and with one hand ripped off the red-hot door and tossed it aside. He then reached into the burning automobile and with two hands BROKE OFF the steering column. He now quickly but gently removed the driver, laid him on the ground and extinguished the flames upon the driver's body. (The driver seems to have survived.)

Our superhero then quickly left the scene. There was afterwards a manhunt to track him down and give him a hero's medal and a reward.. The hunt was unsuccessful.

But he left behind these parting words: "I don't like fire. I've NEVER liked fire."
 
Maybe it was Bigfoot? That would explain why they never found him.
 
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