By Joseph Peña, SDNN

It is a typical Sunday; launching a public awareness campaign to bring a home-invasion rapist to justice.

Well, maybe not a typical Sunday – at least, not for the average citizen. San Diego’s resident superhero Mr. Xtreme – as the missing vowel suggests – is far from average.

Think Superman, Spider-Man, Batman, or Mighty Morphin Power Rangers – just less … super. No high-flying, no web-slinging, no expensive gadgetry, no dino-morphing; essentially, none of the frills that make a superhero super.

That isn’t to say Mr. Xtreme isn’t super – or a hero. Quite the opposite, in fact. It takes an out-of-the-ordinary person to sacrifice his Sunday to hand out flyers warning women about a sexual assault suspect who has been on the loose since June 2008. And it takes an extraordinary person to offer an out-of-pocket $1,500 reward for information leading to the “evildoer’s” capture.

He must be brought to justice, Mr. Xtreme says, and he’s just doing his part to help.

The 30-something superhero has read news releases about a drop in crime in the county. He has no reason to believe crime is on the rise, but, he says, “Try to tell a victim’s family there’s been a drop in crime – they’ll tell you to get lost.”

“Victims of violent crimes shouldn’t be treated as a statistic,” says Mr. Xtreme, who asked we keep his identity a secret.

Sure, he talks a big game, but Mr. Xtreme has no illusions of grandeur; he isn’t secretly developing an Xtreme-mobile, or jumping from building to building in the East Village after dark.
It’s a pretty simple operation, to tell you the truth. He patrols neighborhoods in his costume – black cargo pants, a green “Xtreme Justice League” shirt, black boots and a camouflage lucha libre mask – and he wears a utility belt, equipped with a stun gun, 2.5 ounces of pepper spray, and a flashlight.

The Xtreme Justice League, the organization his shirt refers to, is a small, loose network of superheroes Mr. Xtreme works with to coordinate patrols and fight crime. Locally, he doesn’t have much help. He’s the most active, visible member of the local Real Life Superhero (RLS) community, which stays connected through sites like WorldSuperheroRegistry.com.

Mr. Xtreme’s primary goal is to be a visual deterrent to crime; a would-be evildoer, for example, might see the masked man patrolling, and rethink his malevolent misdeeds.

But, Mr. Xtreme said, if push comes to shove, he isn’t afraid to intervene in gang violence, a carjacking or a sexual assault.

“If someone’s safety is at stake, if a victim’s life is at stake, I’ll step in no matter how dangerous the situation and risk getting injured, or even risk losing my life to save the day,” he deadpans.
OK. Hmmm. That may be a little beyond the call of duty. But, it’s all in a day’s work, the superhero says.

Every now and then, Mr. Xtreme delivers a line or uses a phrase that borders on melodramatics. And, in part, that’s the purpose. He enjoys the theatrics.

He’s a building security manager by day. So, I ask him: Why not work with a community patrol group that collaborates with the police department? Instead, he operates independently, a pariah at public forums (he’s often asked to leave) and a nuisance to the cops. Sure, with an organized community patrol, he’d have more status in neighborhoods. But, he’d be missing the theatrics – missing the fun.

“I grew up in a household of abuse, I was bullied in school, and I see all the apathy and indifference in society,” he says. “It really strikes a nerve with me. I looked up to superheroes when I was a child; they were role models. And they’re still role models today.”

“I have so much respect for what community patrols do, but I want to be out and interact with the community,” he says. “I couldn’t do that from a car. And being a real-life superhero is really a symbol to illustrate my commitment to an ideal, and it can inspire people … I want to send a message to youth. You can live an ‘extreme’ lifestyle and you don’t have to be a killer or a gang member or a thug or a waste of human life or a parasite.”

So, for the time being, Mr. Xtreme doesn’t mind being an outsider – just don’t call him a vigilante.

“I don’t condone vigilante behavior; I condemn it,” he says. “It’s an insult when someone calls me a vigilante. A vigilante wouldn’t try to go to community meetings to interact with the public. A vigilante wouldn’t try to work with police.”

The superhero hopes to build a working rapport with the police. It doesn’t seem likely, but he’s hopeful. He seems eternally optimistic; that he can build bridges in communities; that he can prevent crime; that he can make a difference in the world. He may not have a super-utility belt, or a super-power, but this superhero’s heart is in the right place.

The Sunday I tag along with Mr. Xtreme, we canvass shopping centers in Kearny Mesa, handing out “WANTED” flyers, with information about the sexual assault suspect. This case really irks him.

The home-made flyers are more eye-catching than your run of the mill posters. They say “WANTED” in bold, Sharpie’d letters. A sketch of the sexual assault suspect has the word evildoer written on it. The Xtreme Justice League logo is pasted at the top and a “no evil” logo is pasted near the bottom.

He approaches people in shopping centers to give them flyers. Surprisingly, very few dodge him. It may help he’s being followed by a reporter and a film crew, who is interested in making a documentary film about real-life superheroes.

By and large, the response to Mr. Xtreme’s effort is enthusiastic.

He greets one woman sweeping a sidewalk outside a big-box business.

“Hi ma’am, I’m with the Xtreme Justice League, and we’re looking for a rapist,” he says, handing her a flyer.

“For real? Him? Still?” the woman says. The suspect has been at large for a year.

“Yes ma’am,” he says.

“That son of a bitch. Well, I hope to God you find him. I warn my kids every day. If you have any other flyers, I’ll help put them up.”

Later, he meets another grateful citizen.

“You guys are doing good work,” the man says, taking a flyer from Mr. Xtreme. Mr. Xtreme thanks him and walks away. The man’s young daughter runs out of a nearby store to see what her dad is up to.

“Daddy, who are you talking … OH MY GOSH WHY IS THAT MAN …?” The little girl isn’t quite sure what to make of her father cavorting with Mr. Xtreme.

At a market down the road, our superhero greets a woman he’s met before in the restaurant she owns. She has his flyers posted there – but she has a question.
“Why do you have to have a mask on?” she asks.

“Well, it’s a part of my uniform,” he says. “I’m a superhero.”

“Oh …”

“Oh” seems to be the standard response, when Mr. Xtreme explains himself; it’s as if no one quite knows what to make of him, but aren’t comfortable prying, so they say, “Oh.”

For every passerby who seems a bit confused by the getup, there’s the driver who honks his horn, or waves. They might recognize him from television news spots, or the Union-Tribune story about him, or the cover of The San Diego Reader. He welcomes the media attention. After all, it makes his job crime fighting a little easier.

“Some superheroes think I do this for popularity,” he says. “That’s not the case. We’re trying to build community support to make our jobs easier.”

Despite the name recognition, it’s a lonely life, he says. “My social life is basically non-existent. That’s the sacrifice I choose to make so I can be able to do this. It can be difficult to get people to understand. I usually only speak in depth to folks who want to listen. If they’re going to come at me with a barrage of nonsense, I usually just walk away or ignore them. I just take things as they come and do my thing, and not care what people think if it’s negative. No time for negativity.”

Nope. No time for negativity for Mr. Xtreme. Saving the world, after all, is daunting task. Even for a superhero.

Joseph Peña is a contributing editor for San Diego News Network.

Tags: SDNN
Read more: http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2009-05-29/lifestyle/local-superhero-fights-crime-his-own-way#ixzz0Vm4t6HOd

BY VANESSA TYLER | wpix.com Staff reporter

NEW YORK (WPIX) -

“I’m the “Dark Guardian,” Chris Pollak tells PIX News as he stands in his black and red leather costume. Pollak is a real life super hero, part of a growing movement of adults who dress up, fight crime and attempt to make society a better place.

PIX went along one night as Pollak, and his co-horts, “Life” and “Phantom Zero,” went out on their rounds. It was a dark and very stormy night and the trio chose to bring comfort to the homeless.

“Life,” whose costume is reminiscent of the Green Hornet, says, “The homeless, when you are going up to them and you’re giving food, vitamins, socks, and tooth brushes and razors, if you’re stark naked or wearing a clown suit. They are happy to get the stuff. They’re happy someone cares.” The gang also use their own money to buy those supplies.

The real life super hero movement has been growing since 9-11 and there is even a worldwide registry.

The “Dark Guardian” has made it his mission to rid Washington Square Park of drug dealers and some have even confronted him. He says, “We’ve had people flash a gun at us. But I’m not backing down.”

The group says police are aware of their presence and worry for their safety since these real life super heroes say they are not armed, though “Life” does wear a bullet proof vest.

“Dark Phantom” who stands more than six feet tall and wears all black with a cape, a hood, and a white skull mask tells PIX News, “A lot of times I haven’t had trouble from the authorities with the sole exception of going into the subway wearing a mask.”

http://www.wpix.com/news/local/wpix-super-heroes-help-poor,0,7128849.story

In times of peril we at Asylum respond in the only way that real men can — we run and hide under our beds, put a Spider-Man DVD on really loud and hope everything turns out okay.

Luckily the world is not only made up of cowards who wish superheroes were real. There are also those prepared to do something about it. They are the champions who, by dressing up in fancy dress and making a MySpace page, transform their lives from the mundane to the marvellous — the Real Life Superheroes.

True, the extent to which these characters actually help people varies. Some, such as the UK’s Angle Grinder Man, take to the streets to save stricken cars from clamps. Others, like the USA’s Civitron, do charity work. Still more, like Hong Kong’s Red Arrow Man, just try to “become the salt and light of the world”… Er, cool?

Anyway, regardless of whether these heroes actually have superpowers or not, we salute them. We want to live in a world with heroes in Spandex tights, and if they’re the best we’ve got then so be it.

http://www.asylum.co.uk/2009/05/12/worlds-greatest-real-life-superheroes/

By Scott Wilson

Who knew Kansas City, Kansas, was a Triple-A farm club for superheroes? According to the World Superhero Registry, a woman crime fighter named Nyx guards the streets of KCK. But she’s about to go to the show: New York. (Staff writer Justin Kendall posted a video of Nyx along with his May 7 Plog entry about her.)

As though Gotham needs more costumed avengers.

It figures that our metro isn’t big enough for Nyx — she already has been three other people. She first called herself Hellcat, then Felinity and then Sphynx. Now she’s Nyx, named for the Greek goddess of the night, a beautiful and powerful but shadowy figure who gave birth to the gods of sleep and death.

Nyx’s MySpace profile is a little less classical and a little more Andrew Lloyd Webber:

“I am Nyx, masked protector of the night.

“Like the night, I cannot be proven or disproven to certain degrees; and also much like the night, when morning comes there will be no trace of me.

“It’s impossible to define but I feel a certain degree of loyalty to every being that inhabits this earth, a compulsion to watch — to help — to protect.

“I respect all RLSH [Real Life Super Heroes] of every sort, it’s not an easy life we’ve chosen but we’ve chosen it nonetheless.”

Nyx is a member of a superhero group called Vixens of Valour. (That’s the Queen’s English version of valor, not chicks in velour costumes. How disappointing.) Apparently, she’s also vice president of the Heroes Network and a member of the Signal of Light Foundation. No word on whether she’s a superfriend or a Rotarian.

Nothing in her bio suggests that she has found an archenemy, something every hero needs. If she can’t find one in New York, she’ll have to hang up her cowl. No, creditors who chase you out of the Big Apple and into your parents’ basement don’t count.

http://www.pitch.com/2009-05-14/news/low-rise

Damn, Gotham always steals the best heroes.

Nyx has had a bit of an identity crisis. She was formerly known as Hellcat, Felinity and Sphynx. In Greek mythology, Nyx was the goddess of the night, a beautiful and powerful but shadowy figure who mothered the gods of sleep and death.

Here’s a brief bio from Nyx’ MySpace profile:

“I am Nyx, masked protector of the night…

Like the night, I cannot be proven or disproven to certain degrees; and also much like the night, when morning comes there will be no trace of me.

It’s impossible to define but I feel a certain degree of loyalty to every being that inhabits this earth, a compulsion to watch — to help — to protect.

I respect all RLSH [Real Life Super Heroes] of every sort, it’s not an easy life we’ve chosen but we’ve chosen it nonetheless.”

After the jump, more about KCK’s mysterious hero — and she speaks!

Nyx is a member of the superhero group Vixens of Valour. She’s apparently vice president of the Heroes Network and a member of the Signal of Light Foundation. Ooh, superhero politics. 

Alas, what’s a hero without an arch nemesis? Sadly, Nyx’ profile says she has none.

Nyx has also posted videos on YouTube, but none record her heroics. This one is from October 2008.

I sent Nyx a message on MySpace, but she has yet to respond. I understand. A hero’s journey leaves little time for self-promotion.

http://blogs.pitch.com/plog/2009/05/kck_has_a_superhero_named_nyx.php

Shadow Hare and Dark Guardian ... just two of the masked men and women seeking to fight for justice and the American way.

ARJUN RAMACHANDRAN

It’s certainly not a bird, or a speeding bullet, or a plane. It looks more like a guy in a silly lycra outfit.

Wearing masks and the full superhero get-up, a band of “real life superheroes” are patrolling the world’s cities trying to clean up the streets.

So claim the comic book-like crime-fighters, a loose association of costumed do-gooders who say they are taking up the fight for justice for ordinary people.

Boasting names like Dark Guardian, Citizen Prime, and Green Scorpion, the mainly US-based characters say they need to wear outfits to protect their identities from the evil-doers they attack.

Most have MySpace pages where they reveal the philosophy of their superheroism.

Florida superhero Amazonia wrote why she was prompted to strap on the black Zorro-like mask and defend her city, Ocala:

“I finally had enough of seeing the gangs terrorizing the downtown section of my city. They would mug, beat and otherwise harass senior citizens and women.

“So I took up the mantle of Firebird and set out to do what I could to help others.”

Many of the superheroes say they are armed with weapons such as stun guns, which can be legally carried in the US.

“Shadow Hare”, a 1.7 metre, slight-of-stature 21-year-old Cincinnati resident who carries handcuffs, a stun-gun and pepper spray, boasts: “I’ve stopped many evil doers … such as drug dealers, muggers, rapists, and crazy hobos with pipes.”

Many of the superheroes’ good deeds are of a civic nature – such as volunteering with charities or feeding the homeless.

But some make more bolder claims of actual crime-fighting.

Shadow Hare said he dislocated his shoulder two years ago while helping a woman who was being attacked.

He also said he was working with a San Diego-based superhero called Mr Extreme to “track down a rapist”.

On his MySpace page, Dark Guardian writes of the moment he saw two men with baseball bats waiting to beat someone up outside their house late at night.

“I park across the street from them. I wait and watch them. I make sure they see me so they know someone is watching, soon after they leave.

“I didn’t have to go and fight two guys with bats to stop a crime. I just made my presence known and they decided to stop what they were trying to do.”

On another occasion he writes of confronting a deranged man trashing a store.

“I stood in front of him and made sure everyone got out of the store. I tried talking him down. The store had already called the cops.

“Once the police came he cooperated and was hauled away. If he came at me or anyone else this story would end differently and I would have been in court myself because I had my knife at the ready.

“Glad it ended the way it did.”

Some superheroes also formed together under different banners to tackle crimes in unison, such as the Allegiance of Heroes.

One such group, titled the Justice Society Of Justice, claims to offer “twice the JUSTICE as the leading competitors!”.

An online “Superhero Registry” lists members of the “the Real-Life Superhero community”, outlining their speciality (for example public service or crime-fighting), where they patrol, whether their identity is secret and if their status as a superhero has been confirmed.

The website states the superheroes are not just role-playing, but that this is “a movement among ordinary people to make the world a better place in an extraordinary way”.

“There are always those who will take something less seriously, but the Real-Life Superhero community is generally composed of sincere, well meaning people who have finally decided to go out and make a difference.”

The heroes wear costumes to inspire others, protect their privacy, and “conceal vulnerabilities in one’s protective gear”, the site says.

People can also make their own submissions to be added to the registry but acceptance usually requires evidence of heroic activities through “media documentation of such activities, or testimonials from established Real-Life Superheroes”.

On his MySpace page, superhero Dark Guardian also writes of the weight of expectation on real superheroes.

“What I got most out of being a Real Life Superhero is living up to the name. I have to be the living embodiment of a superhero. With that comes great responsibility.

“I have walked away from being a Real Life Superhero before , but I couldn’t give it up. It is who I am. It is what I believe in.

“And it will help change the world.”

But police appear not to have warmed to the idea.

“We expect people to report crime to the police and not put themselves in jeopardy,” New York Police Department spokesman Deputy Police Commissioner Paul Browne said in an article about the “superheroes” last year.

By Jake Clapp