RLSHs have had stories on them in the New York Times, CNN, Rolling Stone and media around the world. They've made appearances on the local news and morning talk shows. But on American Idol?
Well, not exactly- a knockoff from the great country of Australia.
And if it's wild and Australian, there can only be one man involved- that's right, Captain Australia. It's been awhile since we've heard from the Captain. Heroes in the Night hosted a discussion in which Captain A asked for advice in how to deal with a gang of bikers HERE.
You can imagine my surprise when I found that the defender of Brisbane (and Australia in general)was not only still active but will make an appearance on Australian television...singing. It's for an American Idol style show called X-Factor.
I e-mailed the Captain and asked him what song selection he chose.
"I sang Tina Turner's 'We Dont Need Another Hero." The Captain replied. "The show should air one evening next week. Basically a young man from Sydney named Rodney (who I met while on patrol at the Gold Coast) challenged me to do it, and given that it was also a chance to get some exposure, I jumped on it. I'll make sure the video gets updated to the web."
But why wait when you can see the Captain kicking out the jams on a blog entry on his website? You can see him practicing the Tina Turner hit in a video at the end of a blog entry HERE. How does it sound?...it's...er...enthusiastic... and it even features a brief harmonica solo!
Now some of you are probably thinking this is way off the charts but think about it- X-Factor's viewership is millions and millions of people. I think it's inevitable that a certain percentage will say "who was that masked man?" and will put an effort into finding out more about him. THE SINGING SUPERHEROINE
Captain Australia isn't the only superhero songbird- Danger Woman loves to sing and hails from Atlanta, Georgia.
The autistic superhero calls herself a "songbird of justice" and will star in a documentary titled Disabled but Able to Rock! You can check out the documentary website, including a trailer HERE.
Danger Woman's story even inspired The Aquabats to write a song dedicated to her, as cataloged in The Aquabats wiki. Danger Woman introduces the RLSH house band, The Aquabats
RLSH IDOL
If there was to ever be a RLSH themed Idol show, I'd like to help out now by suggesting a few numbers for performances. We are talking solid gold here, folks!
-I'm actually not kidding about this one- I've heard Civitron do a killer rendition of "Rebel Yell" (Billy Idol)
-And speaking of killer, how about "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" (Blue Oyster Cult) as performed by Thanatos?
-The Watchman could wow the crowds with a version of "All Along the Watchtower" (written by Bob Dylan, famously covered by the Jimi Hendrix Experience)
-A shoo in for the final round would be Apocalypse Meow doing a soulful, Aretha Franklin style take on the "Meow Mix Jingle" (written by Shelly Palmer)
-Metadata acts as an oracle, providing info for RLSH over the phone, so I think it would be fitting for her to throw down "Telephone" (by Lady Gaga, featuring Beyonce- a song that once got stuck in my head for a week)
-In a surprise duet from the future, time travelling villainess Agent Beryllium could hit the high notes while Captain Ozone could hit the low notes on "The Time Warp" (from the Rocky Horror Picture Show)
-Lastly, I would suggest Phantom Zero lead a chorus of other ghostly themed RLSH in an operatic version of "Ghostbusters" (by Ray Parker, Jr.)
Imagine what Simon Cowell would have to say on that one!
Operates out of: Washington state/ Pennsylvania (seasonal) Activities: Patrols, hand outs, charity Blog: www.maskedmusings.blogspot.com
Quote: "Stay frosty, everyone."
Author's notes: Mr. Jack is living the grand RLSH adventures, meeting up with his fellow heroes in Portland and Seattle, doing water handouts, battling Bag Monsters (VIDEO HERE-you don't see that everyday!) and detailing his thoughts on his blog. I haven't met Mr. Jack, but did talk with him for awhile on the phone and my impression is that he is armed with three important things;a thoughtful demeanor, a good sense of humor, and a sharp looking suit.
Here is Milwaukee's Watchman posing with a statue of Arthur Fonzarelli, commonly called the "Bronze Fonz" and...hey, I took this picture! Mental_Floss is a magazine "where knowledge junkies get their fix" and one of their bloggers, Miss Cellania (sounds like an RLSH name to me) has been fixin' to write a series on RLSH, taking a geographical approach. Her blog is titled Miss Cellania's Files, and her first entry was a look at "Real Life Superheroes of the South" on Aug. 17 which rounded up Master Legend, Danger Woman, Superhero, Hardwire, Daddy Man (?!), Enigma, Viper, Amazonia, DC's Guardian, Knight Vigil, and The Crimson Fist. Links within the post lead to Hero Profiles I wrote on Superhero, Amazonia, and Viper.
Moving along, Miss Cellania followed up two days later with "Real Life Superheroes of the Midwest" and included in the round up are Shadow Hare (who disappeared last year after intense media snark and it's after effects) Geist, Razorhawk, Foxfire (who disappeared after claiming to be fighting supernatural forces in the deserts of Utah), Mr. Silent and Dr. Discord (who simply disappeared), Captain Jackson and the Queen of Hearts (who you would have thought disappeared by now but haven't) and The Watchman.
Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson began his term in November 2008. According to the City of Vancouver website, "He was elected on a platform of ending street homelessness in the City of Vancouver by 2015, and making Vancouver the greenest city in the world."
Thanatos, the Dark Avenger of Vancouver, thinks he can do more. He has offered an online video challenge for the Mayor Robertson to join forces with him to help Vancouver's large homeless population.
"He really isn't a bad mayor and he has tried to do a lot for the homeless problem. I think he can do more. I can." Thanatos wrote online on a forum.
Thanatos does monthly hand outs of water, food, tarps, blankets, and other supplies. I myself rode along with him as he did an early morning handout to homeless along with others during the 2010 Winter Olympics. It was very clear that he had a working knowledge of where to find Vancouver's homeless and how to approach them, even while wearing a green skull mask.
Thanatos knew the names of many he encountered, and in return many knew his name and recognized him as a friend. On his most recent mission, Thanatos handed out 70 bottles of water on a hot evening.
Heroes in the Night has issued a media request to Mayor Robertson's office asking if they plan on responding to Thanatos. Any response will be reported here.
Activities: Community Service and Homeless Relief Crimson Fist quote: "I can't save the world, but I'd like to inspire the world to save itself." Crimson Fist's poster for Peter Tangen's Real Life Superhero Project
Metadata quote: "I'd hate to think we'll still be here ten years from now only handing out bottles of water." The marvelous Metadata visits Florida
Author's notes: Atlanta has a dynamic duo trying to make the world a better place. Metadata, well known for being a RLSH oracle (someone who stays online and communicates with RLSH on the street) has recently debuted her persona on street level, helping Symbiote and Master Legend with a water handout.
Crimson Fist has been active within the RLSH world for quite sometime and the two heroes hope their combined efforts can make an impact.
RLSH have now long known Peter Tangen as "that guy who is making us look awesome with his incredibly well produced movie posters" and Tea Krulos as "that suspicious character who is scrutinizing us." And so it's inevitable that our paths have crossed several times.
When I first heard about Peter's LA shoot for his Real Life Superhero Project I said "He did what?!" and was amazed then, as I still am today, by the scope of his project.
Peter Tangen is a real life superhero visionary.
Besides the project itself, Peter has used the project to get a lot of positive press for real life superheroes in general, as well as participating in RLSH projects other than his own.
That is what led him to Milwaukee. Peter has signed on to help with a documentary being produced in LA and has been hard at work helping with the film. The documentary crew has been touring the country and when they heard Peter would be shooting a job on location in Detroit, and then heading to Peter's home state of Minnesota, they all said, "hey wait, doesn't that suspicious character Tea Krulos live somewhere in between? Isn't he working on some sort of RLSH book?"
And so you see, I got the news that Peter Tangen was coming to Milwaukee to film me for possible use in the film and to meet our local RLSH. "Now that is pretty sweet." I thought. And it was. The interviewing went well, the only issue we were frustrated with was background noise. Peter (and I) both wanted me to be interviewed in my office, which made sense since my office is set up as a RLSH headquarters, as you can see from this photograph revealing it for the first time. Towards the top:framed pictures of RLSH at Superheroes Anonymous 3, Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman (my patron saint for this book project),and Thomas Jefferson as well as the clocks of justice. Middle: A Calendar(one of my most important tools), bulletin board, and a US map pinpointing RLSH I've interviewed (although it badly needs to be updated). Bottom: Framed articles I've written on RLSH, messy desk, messy shelves. Far right: Another bulletin board with press I've gotten for the book so far. Far left: dart board.
Although the background was a good visual, the noise level was not. You see, my neighborhood is very noisy on a hot Sunday afternoon- kids yelling and jumping in kiddie pools, dogs, lawnmowers, car vacuums, babies, engine revving, sirens, etc. So we struggled frequently with outbursts of noise interrupting. Also, I live without air conditioning so my office got to be pretty stuffy.
Still, we kept at it and got it done. After that we had a long discussion at my kitchen table with Watchman and Blackbird. I'd like to point out that this kitchen table has so far hosted RLSH meet ups with not only a local photographer, but RLSH seekers from Paris and Los Angeles now! Not too shabby for a small upper flat in Riverwest.
We had a great conversation with Peter about his project and developements of where it might go in the future, as well as some stories from his photo shoots for the Spiderman movies and Batman Begins, and Watchman and Blackbird got to share their stories with him. Peter then hit the road, trying to get a couple hours start on his trip to Minnesota, where he was going to visit family as well as Geist and Razorhawk.
It was a great meeting and I am glad to support Peter in any way I can.
My name is Tea Krulos and I'm a freelance writer from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I was introduced to the Real Life Super Hero(RLSH) story in late February, 2009. As a lifelong fan of comic books and unusual and unique people and subcultures, I was immediately hooked.
I was determined to find a local RLSH if there was one and found The Watchman, a man who dons a red rubber mask, suit, and trenchcoat and patrols the streets of Milwaukee. I had a long, fascinating interview with him in person one night and determined that the short magazine piece I had successfully pitched did not scratch the surface of the story and decided to write a book. After a few months I also established this blog- both the book and the blog are titled Heroes in the Night.
My book is based on extensive research, interviewing, and field work. I have traveled to meet RLSH in Minneapolis, Rochester (Minnesota), Brooklyn, Vancouver, Portland, Seattle, San Diego, New Bedford (Massachusetts) , and Washington DC, as well as meeting regularly with the Milwaukee crew.
I have been quoted as an expert on the subject in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, People magazine, Seattle Weekly, Scientific American, io9.com, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and dozens of other newspapers, magazines, websites around the world. I've also made appearances on a dozen radio shows and have been filmed for three different RLSH documentaries.
I have written articles on the subject for Milwaukee magazine, the Boston Phoenix, New York Press, Forces of Geek, Riverwest Currents, and Delayed Gratification.
Heroes in the Night will be published in Fall 2013 by Chicago Review Press.
Tea Krulos is an award winning freelance writer from Milwaukee, WI. His first book is titled Heroes in the Night: Inside the Real Life Super Hero Movement.
