Keeping your streets safe...the real life superheroes

I see a lot of crazy things in security - both digital and physical. In this case, I really don't know where to begin so let's just jump right into it. You've seen the Guardian Angels and other such groups, right? Keeping the streets safe and all that jazz? Well, imagine if the streets were also patrolled by another force - a subversive, mind-blowingly insane attempt at cleaning up the mean streets. They're out there right now, without you even knowing about it. It just defies belief but I'll go ahead and say it - there's a worldwide army of people dressing up as self-styled "superheroes" patrolling the neighbourhood and righting wrongs. These people come fully equipped with pieces of kevlar under their "costumes", the occasional stungun and maybe even the odd invisible ink pen. Confused? Step right this way...

...into insanity. While following a tipoff involving a "superhero" themed virus (don't ask), I stumbled across this website - a "worldwide registry of superheroes" (best viewed in IE). Thrill to Angle Grinder Man (who slices open weheel-clamps)! Be staggered by Polar Man (who shovels the drives of the elderly, before patrolling the streets at night with his shovel. Um). Fall over in amazement at Doctor Discord, who says:

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.

...wait - this sounds a bit more hardcore than, say, doing a funrun or something. As these guys had Myspace profiles listed, I decided to take a look. Let's start with Doc Discord...or rather, let's not. Because I didn't find much more there than the bizarre mission statement for the "Justice League of Injustice" and a link to a guy called Mr Silent (warning - music will play) . Now this is where it gets interesting.

Turns out, this is far from a big joke - some of these guys are deadly serious about being superheroes, and the media has picked up on it...police are grateful for their assistance...and they happily walk around town dressed up in their costumes. Here's one of the numerous pieces I found on these guys - from the article:

"It was just a big experiment to see how people would react," he said. "We've gotten some good responses." Unlike Bruce Wayne, Mr. Silent's alter ego isn't a billionaire. He has a full-time job to tend to, so he only makes it out about once per week, cruising the alleys of Downtown after dark, looking to help where needed.

....anyone else think this is awesome yet?

There's clearly some element of roleplay involved in this - but there's definitely a creepy undercurrent of smack a punk-up going on. Responding to a post on a blog where one of these guys allegedly "stopped two guys beating up a homeless man", someone replied:

I take pepper spray, a cell phone, a flashlight and a taser as a bare minimum when I go patrolling.

....omfg yay? I found lots of these "reports" posted up - some clearly fictional, some truthful with clear "embellishments" and some that were just plain stupid. Check this out:

I had a bit of exercise tonight chasing a pick pocket but it all ended up ok , the kid was only 12 years old and just wanted some cash for some food *not sure whether he was telling the truth or not* i gave him a bit of cash then returned the wallet to the man he stole it from.

Nonono!! You just became the first superhero to have their own wallet stolen - voluntarily!

There's a bunch of forums where these guys hang out - the age range seems to be early twenties and up. They're rather insistent on the fact that this is not just roleplay - as the news pieces attest, they actually go out and do this on a daily basis. In fact, some of them are (amazingly) police sanctioned. I mean - wow. The forums also carry some slightly disturbing elements, and stuff that's just plain wrong:

Reason for WANTING TO BE A MEMBER:
my home town has gone to crap and i intend to bring it back to be a safe place for kids and adults to walk around without feeling in danger

Suit: A BLACK BALACLAVA AND BLACK CLOTHES

That's right kids, it's Captain Serial Rapist! All he needs to complete his costume is a machete, for God's sake. There's a group called the Boise Brigade in Ohio who ride around in some kind of wagon, all kitted out in their gear, looking for crime and (hopefully) punishment. There's groups and individuals from all over the globe, many decked out in "stab vests" (as they call them), kevlar under their clothing and (as one guy put it) he's "working on a rather special helmet".

Heh.

Many of these people seem to be ex-police / military, with an assortment of rather creative student types from all walks of life - their common goal is simply to make things a little more colourful and (possibly) a little safer for people going about their daily business. I was delighted to see some of them were trying to "make the Internet safer" too - a nice idea. I'm still trying to get my head round the fact that while I'm in bed, it's quite possible there's small bands of Urban Militias going about their business just down the road. It's also likely that at some point in the near future, you'll hear about some guy shot to pieces while wearing a Captain Spandex costume. But until then...to the Batmobile, Robin!