Of course I'd heard about Phoenix Jones who wears a costume and does his part to fight crime in the Seattle area-- I know my initial reaction to Jones was that he looked foolish in his Batman-ish costume but Jones HAS actually stopped some crimes including-
Foiling a would be car thief while the owner stood around in shock.
Stopping a man from stealing a bus.
Preventing a drunk from driving his car.
Following a suspect in a stabbing case until Police could intercede.
Jones has also had his share of controversy, including several arrests for "questionable" use of Pepper Spray.
Jones is not welcomed or condoned by the Seattle Police and the City Attorney has called him a "deeply misguided individual".
Still, Jones has apparently had an impact, at least in stopping a handful of crimes.
Jones has mixed martial arts training with an amatuer fight record of 11-0-0 and a Pro record of 4-0-0 which means at least he can back up what he says.
I'm not so sure that can be said of THE REAL LIFE SUPERHERO Project members whose goal seems to be to send water to Africa and get their pictures taken by professional photographer Peter Tangen who often does the same thing for Hollywood Blockbusters. Their site says to explore and discover their mission but I couldn't find much other than bios for characters like Mr. Extreme or The Crimson Fist which conjure up images of Ben Stiller's MYSTERY MEN movie from a dozen or so years ago (great movie by the way).
If these folks are going to suit up and do some community service I applaud them. It's a step above Cosplay I imagine, taking your costume to the next level and actually doing something with it. But if they are actually planning on going out and fighting crime I'd suggest re-thinking that. If you honestly want to fight crime apply to the Police Academy and get yourself in shape. Running around with a bag-like Mask over your head isn't going to give you a long shelf life on the street.
