Metahuman Registration Begins in Seattle

[CaptainChewbacca]

No official response from Electron Boy's press office

Police alerted to 'superheroes' patrolling Seattle

By CASEY MCNERTHNEY
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF
photo
A man who identifies himself as Phoenix Jones the Guardian of Seattle, part of the Rain City Superhero Movement, poses with an unidentified Seattle police officer. Department officials alerted officers to the self-described superhero, who said his new costume will be more elaborate.

Vigilante justice has come to Seattle, and the caped crusaders drive a Kia.

Seattle police say a group of self-described superheroes have been patrolling the streets at night trying to save people from crime. They call themselves the Rain City Superhero Movement and say they're part of a nationwide movement of real-life crime fighters.

The national website -- cited in a police bulletin sent to Seattle officers Wednesday -- states "a Real Life Superhero is whoever chooses to embody the values presented in super heroic comic books, not only by donning a mask/costume, but also performing good deeds for the communitarian place whom he inhabits."

Police say the "costume-wearing complainants" are lucky they haven't been hurt.

In one instance, police say a caped crusader dressed in black was nearly shot when he came running out of a dark park. In another case, a witness on Capitol Hill saw the crusaders wearing ski masks in a car parked at a Shell station and thought they were going to rob the place.

Police got the license plate and found those masked characters drove a Kia Fate registered to one of the character's godmothers, department staff said. She told police her godson goes around doing good deeds.

Costume includes ballistic cup

Investigators identified nine people dressed in costume going around Seattle after dark. A police source said the characters go by Thorn, Buster Doe, Green Reaper, Gemini, No Name, Catastrophe, Thunder 88, Penelope and Phoenix Jones the Guardian of Seattle.

But don't listen to Captain Ozone or Knight Owl, police were told. They're apparently not part of the group.

Officers have learned the true identity of Phoenix -- a 22-year-old man whose costume includes a black cape, black fedora, blue tights, white belt and mask. Police say he's often driven by a young woman not in costume.

Officers say she usually doesn't get out of the car, instead letting the "superhero" do his thing.

Phoenix was interviewed by detectives this month and came to police headquarters dressed in most of his costume, police said.

"(Phoenix) apologized for not being in full costume, as it was being repaired after (he) was stabbed while trying to intervene with a drug dealer and a citizen," the police bulletin stated, according to a police source.

The man was not seriously wounded during the incident under Interstate 5, and police say he may not have actually been wounded.

Now, police were told Phoenix wears body armor, a ballistic vest, arm and leg trauma plates -- and a ballistic cup. Police were apparently told that bulletproof vest helped stop a bullet during an incident in Tacoma a year ago.

Others are expected to be at police headquarters this week for identification.

"I don't condone people walking around on the street with masks," said the man who called himself Phoenix Jones. "Everyone on my team either has a military background or a mixed martial arts background, and we're well aware of what its costs to do what we do."

Jones said he would talk in greater detail after a television news story is broadcast this weekend by our news partner, KOMO/4.

Keeping in superhero fashion, he didn't leave a return number.

Police say another incident with the self-proclaimed superheroes came about 3 a.m. Nov. 4 at Sixth Avenue and South King Street in the International District.

Police responded to a harassment complaint and found Phoenix the Guardian of Seattle dressed in a "black colored Batman costume and a black ski mask," department spokesman Jeff Kappel said.

He was standing with four other men and one woman, all in costume with their faces covered by ski masks and bandanas. They were dealing a man making threatening statements and swinging a golf club.

Police took the golf club as evidence. The "costume-wearing complainants" refused to press charges because they didn't want to identify themselves to officers, Kappel said. So the suspect walked.

Dangers of vigilante justice

"There's nothing wrong with citizens getting involved with the criminal justice process -- as long as they follow it all the way through," Kappel said, adding they want people to call 911 and be good witnesses, even if a case goes to court.

Police say they don't want people who aren't sworn officers putting themselves in danger.

They point to an unrelated case earlier this year in Maple Leaf. A man in his late 40s was working on his rental property near Northeast 77th Street and 16th Avenue Northeast when he saw men prowling his vehicle.

The man fought the prowlers and was winning, but one was able to inflict two knife wounds 3-inches deep. Large amounts of blood covered his clothes when medics arrived, and police say the man nearly died.

In another Northgate case from 2008, a man shot a car prowler who was trying to steal his stereo. The prowler died, and the suspect was charged with manslaughter. He's out now, but was sentenced to nine months in prison.

A member of the Rain City Superhero Movement told police the "superheroes" carry Tasers, nightsticks, pepper spray, but no firearms.

Police say they hope the self-proclaimed superheroes act as good witnesses instead of putting themselves in danger. The bulletin said a KOMO/4 news crew plans to follow the caped crusaders Friday night.

According to the national superhero website, the characters don't have to engage in violent fights to be a crime fighter, but should embody the values presented in super heroic comic books.

"Inspiration plays a major role in this, of course," character Entomo wrote on the page. "You can inspire people to believe in a symbol.

"You can inspire people to believe they can CREATE themselves a symbol and embody it --- and it's not a lie."

Honestly, I'm surprised it took this long for actual super-hero vigilante groups to get started. I can only hope nobody gets seriously hurt and these guys continue to make the world more awesome.

[TithonusSyndrome]

One of them is called "Thunder 88"? Great, one can only wonder what he considers "criminal" and moves to interfere with.

[CaptainChewbacca]

One of them is called "Thunder 88"? Great, one can only wonder what he considers "criminal" and moves to interfere with.

I'm sorry, could you elaborate? I don't know what 'thunder 88' refers to aside from this guy's identity/name.

[TithonusSyndrome]

"88" is a NS cypher that refers to the eighth letter of the alphabet appearing twice - "HH", for "Heil Hitler". If you see it in someone's username on a board or anything like that, chances are they're at the very least an NS sympathizer. Makes me wonder if this guy put on a costume to beat up the foul darkies making America go to hell in a handbasket.

[Phantasee]

H is the 8th letter of the alphabet. 88 means HH—Heil Hitler. I'm not sure if Thunder has any neo Nazi meaning, though.

These people are fucking idiots, though. It's not like there's a huge need for vigilantes in Seattle. Crime rates have been going down for decades now. And refusing to identify themselves when the police need a witness kinda undermines their intent, no? They're nothing more than grown ass men playing dress up.

[Thanas]

One can also use it for Heinrich Himmler.

Other nazi cryptology includes:

14 = 14 words (We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children)
18= AH = Adolf Hitler
28= BH=Blood and Honour
1347 = MDG = Mit deutschem Gruße = Hitler Salute

[TithonusSyndrome]

H is the 8th letter of the alphabet. 88 means HH—Heil Hitler. I'm not sure if Thunder has any neo Nazi meaning, though.

Thunder imagery is incredibly common in skinhead lore, they LOVE to cloak their garbage in innocuous-sounding nature-worship and most modern neo-Nazis who aren't totally braindead try to intellectually justify their stances by identifying themselves as "eco-facists" or something absurd like that. "Stormfront" is named thusly for a reason.

[CaptainChewbacca]

Well, aside from 1 possible skinhead the rest of the names don't seem too bad.

Edit: Looking at some other pictures of Phoenix Jones, he appears to be black.

[bilateralrope]

This is the part that worries me:

He was standing with four other men and one woman, all in costume with their faces covered by ski masks and bandanas. They were dealing a man making threatening statements and swinging a golf club.

Police took the golf club as evidence. The "costume-wearing complainants" refused to press charges because they didn't want to identify themselves to officers, Kappel said. So the suspect walked.

Why don't they want the cops knowing who they are ?

How far will they go to keep their identities a secret ?
Refusing to press charges is fair enough. But what will happen when one of them is a witness it isn't their choice to not press charges ?

[Liberty]

That and it's only a matter of time until one of them gets shot, or makes a situation worse. Police are identified as police and trained as such for a reason.

[Rabid]

Pro :

- Awesome
- Awesome
- Awesome

Con :

- Wait a bit longer, and we'll see « supervillain » rise from this. That's seems logical.
- I'm not a big fan of people going in the streets and doing the work of the police, while being just non controlled civils. Things can turn bad pretty fast in these conditions. There are plenty of example of what can happen in these conditions pretty everywhere where a local militia try to do the job of the police. Generally, they involve extra-judicial execution and things like that...
- Wouldn't it be more productive to create a legal militia (militia are legal in the US, aren't they ?) dedicated to monitoring the various neighborhood they patrol ? To involve the inhabitants of theses neighborhoods in their own protection ? Yeah, that's a bit less glamorous, but it's also more effective, in the long term, I think.


I understand the whole “create a symbol peoples can inspire themselves from” thingy, but to me it seems a bit... I'll say lame/idiotic/displaced, for a lack of a better word. There are better way to act against criminality, but sadly, they require work. And implication. From the part of everyone in the community.

So, yeah, maybe what they are doing will result in some good, maybe they will succed in implying the community in its own protection. But in my view, right now, they are just a Gang – with good intention (so far) and fancy costumes, but a Gang nonetheless.

Anyway, there's no doubt The Authority (joke, ah ah...) already know their identity, or will know very soon, so, from that point of view, if they were to evolve out of control, the police will know where to look.
After all, they say that all their members have police or military training, so, that give already a good idea of were to look !


You know what will be funny ? When advanced nano-technology will become more or less available for the common people... Now there is a chance we'll see people with real super-human abilities roaming the streets, spreading mayhem around them !


EDIT :

Police are identified as police and trained as such for a reason.

Just what I was trying to say. Just leave the real work to the police - they are trained for the job, and things turn bad reallyy fast when people begin to make justice by themselves.
What people can do is being vigilant (not Vigilante), organize themselves, and take care of each other, like good neighbors are supposed to do.

[xerex]

huh.

I thought Thunder 88 would have been a reference to Pink Floyd.

Delicate Sound of Thunder was released in 1988.


Add: also Didnt KickAss already explain why real life superheroes dont work?

[lance]

I'm thinking if there mostly observe& report, and only get involved when another persons life/health is at risk, then they are all right. Maybe shouting stop I've called the police.

[Mr. Coffee]

With the number of people in the Seattle area that have CCWs it's only a matter of time before one of these nerdsfatty nerdswannabe superheros gets shot dead by an actual law abiding citizen. When that happens I'm probably going to laugh and not feel a damned bit of sympathy for these jackasses. Seriously, leave "crime fighting" to the professionals, stop reading comic books so much, get a fucking job, and stop looking for ways to win a Darwin Award.

Shit like this is why I left that town. To many weirdos up there.

[Mayabird]

Speak for yourself. Being stuck in boring-ass Iowa* now, I miss the wackiness of that place. Crazy people, the coffee, bus systems that go everywhere and actually work somewhat, the ridiculous geography, those guys who sell halibut out of their pickups, that giant stratovolcano that looms over the horizon, all that. Yeah, it'll probably go badly eventually, but for the moment I'm going to laugh very hard and blame the caffeine and nine months of drizzle.


*It's still better than georgia.

[Mr. Coffee]

Speak for yourself. Being stuck in boring-ass Iowa* now, I miss the wackiness of that place. Crazy people, the coffee, bus systems that go everywhere and actually work somewhat, the ridiculous geography, those guys who sell halibut out of their pickups, that giant stratovolcano that looms over the horizon, all that. Yeah, it'll probably go badly eventually, but for the moment I'm going to laugh very hard and blame the caffeine and nine months of drizzle.

I loved the coffee, I dug the mountains trees and shit, the seafood was outstanding, but the bulk of the inhabitants made me glad I was armed.

*It's still better than georgia.

It's not hard to be a better place to live than Georgia. Fuck, I'm in the state next door and it's better than Georgia. Also, make sure to head to Des Moines for the state fair at least once. Ya ain't lived in Iowa till ya been to the Iowa State Fair. Like the movie says, it's the best state fair in the state.

[Broomstick]

- Wouldn't it be more productive to create a legal militia (militia are legal in the US, aren't they ?) dedicated to monitoring the various neighborhood they patrol ? To involve the inhabitants of theses neighborhoods in their own protection ? Yeah, that's a bit less glamorous, but it's also more effective, in the long term, I think.

That's called a "neighborhood watch". They're not uncommon.

[FSTargetDrone]

That's called a "neighborhood watch". They're not uncommon.

Indeed. It's strange to not see them in towns.

[TithonusSyndrome]

I know my grandmother was a Block Parent, which is related in a sense. I just don't know how seriously neighborhood watches take their duties - you see that sign sitting there for 20 years or so without anything happening, you may just cease to give a shit or recognize what it stands for. I know I passed the neighborhood watch sign entering my neighborhood so often as a kid that it just sort of blended into the scenery due to overexposure. Are there any figures on the extent to which neighborhood watches have and continue to deter or catch crime?

[General Zod]

I know my grandmother was a Block Parent, which is related in a sense. I just don't know how seriously neighborhood watches take their duties - you see that sign sitting there for 20 years or so without anything happening, you may just cease to give a shit or recognize what it stands for. I know I passed the neighborhood watch sign entering my neighborhood so often as a kid that it just sort of blended into the scenery due to overexposure. Are there any figures on the extent to which neighborhood watches have and continue to deter or catch crime?

Denver has something like that. I haven't seen them out and about for a few years but they still seem to be exist.

[Simon_Jester]

One can also use it for Heinrich Himmler.

Other nazi cryptology includes:

14 = 14 words (We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children)
18= AH = Adolf Hitler
28= BH=Blood and Honour
1347 = MDG = Mit deutschem Gruße = Hitler Salute

Of course, the numbers "14," "18," and "28" are also fairly common small 'random' numbers: they might be someone's birthday, or their age, or simply chosen at random as part of a screenname for arbitrary reasons, as in "Shroom Man 777"

"1347..." less common. "88" also probably less common, especially since the only other thing the number is at all relevant for is German WWII artillery, also a possible sign of a disturbing Nazi fanboy.

[Phantasee]

Well, I imagine people born in 1988 (such as myself) would also use '88' outside of a neo-Nazi context.

At least, until we learn what the other meaning is.

[Broomstick]

If I recall, "8" is a number of significance in Chinese culture, sort of like "Lucky 7" in European cultures, and thus some of Chinese descent might use "88" with a completely different meaning than skinheads would.

Given that there are alternatives, I wouldn't be too hasty with the kneejerk "SKINHEAD!" reaction without more information.

[Soldier of Entropy]

Well, I imagine people born in 1988 (such as myself) would also use '88' outside of a neo-Nazi context.

At least, until we learn what the other meaning is.

If I recall, "8" is a number of significance in Chinese culture, sort of like "Lucky 7" in European cultures, and thus some of Chinese descent might use "88" with a completely different meaning than skinheads would.

Given that there are alternatives, I wouldn't be too hasty with the kneejerk "SKINHEAD!" reaction without more information.

Ah, but the name is 'Thunder 88'. As in, the twin thunderbolt-shaped 'S'es that the SS symbol looks like and is sometimes referred to (SS thunderbolts) as. Unless thunder also has a special meaning that might be used for such a purpose as this in one of the cultures which also has special significance for '8', I'd say the combination of the two greatly increases the likelihood that this is a neonazi reference. If it is a coincidence, then, of course, I've got nothing against this guy (at least due to his name), and I'd guess that he'd change his name upon finding out.

[Solauren]

You know what the real problem with this is?

They've just given someone some convient costums to copy while committing a crime. Now, the cops are looking for the would-be super heroes.

Really, unless you've got a real superpower, don't be a super hero.

Plus, you know, one of them is going to be shot.