Please forgive the weirdness of this subject, but I always wondered why nobody in the real world has ever put a costume on and tried to fight crime(sans powers, of course Ala Batman, Captain America, etc...).
I know they'd probably have to be nuts, unbalanced, eccentric, not all there, etc..but doesn't it seem like some person would have....at some point in recent history?
I was thinking about this the other day and decided to post it. What do the rest of you think? Am I a kook for posting it?...LOL.
Dana
This message has been edited by cmdrkoenig67 on Feb 10, 2004 2:02 PM
If someone like Batman showed up in New York or Chicago the cops would be on him in a red hot minute. Plus, an IRS audit would expose a Bruce Wayne pretty quickly. Our Mysterious Midnight Avenger would be labeled "vigilante" or even "criminal" right away. (Much like Batman was in his first appearances.)
The only way it would work is if "The Midnight Avenger" worked in virtual anonymity. No notes left behind on trussed-up muggers or whispered warnings to saved civilians, "Tell everyone The Midnight Avenger will take back the streets." That being the case, a colorful, overt type like Captain America would never work at all.
Unless you wear a full face mask (like Spider-Man) masks don't really hide a person's identity much. People recognize voices and people also recognize body language as well.
That is why any attempt to bring Superheroes down to super realistic levels is futile to begin with. They would never exist or fit in with a "real world" setting, even if they didn't have costumes.
There was a guy I'll try and find the news article a bit later.
I think I know who you're trying to look for. I read about this guy in England who dresses up in his own superhero costume and helps people by taking the boot off of their cars! Made me laugh.
I think it could be possible, but it would be extremely difficult. In most places that I know of, it is possible to do a citizens arrest, and although it may fall into such a catagory, the police would undoubtedly label it as vigilantism. The problem would be to remain anonymus, secret, and definately more of a myth than reality. You would have to be a realative recluse, otherwise someone would recognize some part of you (voice,stature, body language, etc.), and of course you would need to be rich.
There is one other way to do it, and that would be under the guise of a private investigator.
Citizens' arrests are VERY difficult to do. You can be charged with unlawful imprisonment, kidnapping, assault, etc if you don't perform said arrest EXACTLY right.
And, y'know, as much as I like reading comics and stories about super-heroes and costumed crimefighters, my first reaction to a real-life Batman would more than likely not be, "COOL!" but, "My God. They'd better catch this nutcase."
This message has been edited by jstockwell on Feb 11, 2004 9:41 AM
There was a guy a few years ago, on Oprah, that dressed as Batman and fought crime in Chicago. He was on the show, in costume, and a wheel chair. He fell from a building while trying to apprehend a thief and was recovering from the incident. Never heard any more about him...
Don't forget about the French (iirc) guy who would dress up like Spider-man and climb buildings, but he was just in it for the publicity...I met the attorney who represented him after he climbed the Blue Cross building in Philly (the meeting was unrelated to the climbing guy and I didn't ask him about it).
I have personally stopped a rape and a party store robbery and most likely a murder in both cases. The last thing your thinking about in a life and death situation is how you are dressed.
The biggest obstacle for any would-be real-life superhero would be maintaining a secret identity. Even if he/she possessed some powers, they would still leave behind forensic evidence on the scene that investigators could use to help them identify said vigilante/superhero. Then there's satellite surveillance and a host of other tracking technology out there.
About the only superheroes who could pull off a secret identity in the real world indefinitely would be ones who are magical.
Edited to add: this is why I feel that making superheroes "more realistic" by changing their origins or what-not can be a very stupid risk. Beyond a certain point, you destroy the character and it can sometimes be tricky to know where exactly that certain point is.
DW
This message has been edited by DarinWagner on Feb 11, 2004 8:32 AM
Dunno about the States, but in those instances in the UK where someone has dressed up as a costumed superhero, whether one of the known ones or an "original", it has always been done with an underlying sense of irony ie. without any intention of being taken seriously.
I contrast this with the Dom DeLouise character in the Cannonball Run movies, who sincerely believed himself to be a superhero - and was completely barmy. I think anyone who plays the costumed superhero card straightfaced in real life must, almost by definition, have a bolt or two rattling about loose in the machinery somewhere.
I have personally stopped a rape and a party store robbery and most likely a murder in both cases. The last thing your thinking about in a life and death situation is how you are dressed.
Wait, so in either case you didn't run off to put on your mask and cape and then come back to stop it?
I think this is the guy mentioned in the angle-grinder man link. He removes wheelclamps from people's cars.
Yeah. Dave was just being silly. In the states we call those wheelclamps "boots" while in the UK a boot is the trunk of your car. At any rate, that's the guy I was talking about. Funny costume (funny = 70s era weird) but people seem to like the guy.
