Why are there no real superheros?

[DarkCrisis]

And no I don't mean Superman type heros.

I mean more like Batman.

Athletic people who put on kevlar and a mask and go beat up criminals?

I think a Batman type hero could really exist if someone actually tried it.

Of course the cops would arrest them but then again... the cops are after Bats to....

[webhead817]

I think if there were a real "Batman-type" guy...and if that guy was any good, we wouldn't even know he existed. :)

[Kal - El II]

I watched the Incredibles the day b4 yesterday and was wondering the same thing.

I rationalized that there is too much risk. Bats (and the bats family) are awfully luckiy dodging all those bullets.

[Socko]

His name is JacinB!




no really though, that'd be cool.

I'd be his sidekick. you know why?

I called dibs.

[EmperorNorton]

Originally posted by webhead817
I think if there were a real "Batman-type" guy...and if that guy was any good, we wouldn't even know he existed. :)

I think webbie knows something we don't...

[church of xorn]

Originally posted by webhead817
I think if there were a real "Batman-type" guy...and if that guy was any good, we wouldn't even know he existed. :)

I think it would happen slowly, like a rumor. then maybe a blurry photo/video clip (a la hellboy). then newspaper stuff like daredevil/spidey. have to see it with your own eyes to believe it kind of stuff.

[coleman]

kind of reminds me of that movie Mystery Men that i watched the other day, Great and funny movie.

"Im the Shoveler"
"what are your powers?"
"Im really good at Shoveling"

I highly recommend this movie if you want some good laughs.

[Ghost Ripper]

It would have to be a genius billionare, or someone who has a lot of money to invest in gadgets, ala James Bond and U.S. special ops. Money needed for information, computers and technology outfittings. Also a person that has had extensive military special ops training or X-CIA, someone like Jason Bourne could very well be a Super-Hero. Throw in a small amount of brainwashing for effect on the previously stated and you have your Super-Hero w/ Flaw and all.

[EmperorNorton]

Originally posted by Ghost Ripper
It would have to be a genius billionare, or someone who has a lot of money to invest in gadgets, ala James Bond and U.S. special ops. Money needed for information, computers and technology outfittings.

Can you imagine what Bill Gates' costume would look like?

[DarkCrisis]

A giant dollar sign or a Windows symbol I'm guessing.

[Ghost Ripper]

Nahhh. . . he's to old.

[Rokk_Krinn]

Because I'm pretty sure the police showed up at an alley and found some grown man in a skintight costume with a plethora of GSW's, the news would not be treating it as a "fallen hero" but "nutcase gets gunned down" story. :)

Hey, I love Batman but let's be honest here - while we might have all dreamed it would be possible to become him (c'mon, who didn't train tons and study lots hoping to be like him at some point?) - the second we realized you can't dodge all the bullets five punks with guns will be spraying at you, well, it puts the kibosh. :)

That being said there are plenty of RL "super"-heroes out there. Everytime a firefighter climbs through an inferno or a policeman stands in front of innocents, I count that just as good as Batman. (Mind you as a Ground Zero responder, I'm a bit prejudiced here :) )

[church of xorn]

It would be cool if cops dressed up like superheros.

[SofaKingWhat]

My shop was robbed at gunpoint a month ago. The assailant got me down on all fours proclaiming he should pop me right now. That's when I realized I had the advantage and bum rushed him with a chair. I wrestled with his gun while pulling off his ski mask with my other hand. I never knew I had it in me. If this qualifies then call me ChairMan, or Poor judgement guy, or or Over reactor.

[bootkneelee]

I think the "real" superheroes that exist out there are more like Punisher than Bastman, although I don't think they wear a big Skull on their chest. But dress like more like Grifter. Or Even Neo in the Matrix.... lots of black!

But I could this person or these people [gotta be a bunch in each state] going around and shooting criminals. You'd have to be a vigilante cause you are taking the law into your hands.

People who start and join Neighboorhood Watch Groups are superheroes! ;)

[bootkneelee]

Bastman = Batman :confused:

I guess I'm not Letterman, or am I, are my typos just my alter ego?:cross-eye

[DOOMSTRIKER]

i always thought real life super heros would be awesome (not cops, because i dont care what anyone says, those ego maniacs are never around when you need them, and when they are around there just harrasing you) but anywho, i beat 3, well, thugs i guess, with a bat for trying to take money from an elderly gentlemen of middle eastern descent (they were white power, skin head kids)
but anyway that kinda made me feel like a hero, for a little while, then i realised without spandex i was kinda like them:confused:

[Bob]

I've actually wondered the same thing about super villains.

Many already wear masks to protect their identity. Why not a garish costume to complete the outfit? Outfit it with some kind of Kevlar for protection and add some already high-tech equipment and you are all set.

People would be so fixated on the costume that they wouldn't remember any real details of the person wearing it. Dump the costume when you are done and you are practically invisible...

[Wyldstaar]

The reason that there are no superheros about (with or without spandex) is rather simple. Timing. Plenty of police officers retire after 30 years on the job without once ever drawing their weapons outside the firing range or to clean them. Superheroes in comic books are always stumbling across crimes in progress. This doesn't happen in real life. This ties in to the earlier analogy, in that there's never a cop around when you need one. It's up to you to deal with the situation presented to you. A confrontation with a criminal doesn't generally occur on a daily basis. It's usually a once in a lifetime situation. I had a roommate in college who'd been training in martial arts since he was 10. He'd go wandering around downtown late at night looking for an opportunity to smack down a drug dealer or other such miscreant. He never found anyone. Crimes occur in front of people who aren't expecting them, not those who go looking for them. Just ask Chair-Man.

There's also a major problem with many of the people who go looking for crimes to foil. They often are more bark than bite. I was living in Seattle while those guys with the red berret's (I can't remember their names, Street Angels maybe?) were patroling. They were a complete joke. They'd walk up and down Broadway at night and harrass the homeless kids, and pretend not to notice the drug dealers as they walked past them. They were pathetic.

[bootkneelee]

Posers....they ain't nothing worse in this world than a poser. If those "Guardian Angles" were gonna do the real deal then that's a good thing, but I hate it when people fake the funk [THE FUNK IS NOT TO BE FAKED!]

[Wyldstaar]

THAT'S it, the Guardian Angels. Yeah, they're a huge waste. Maybe they started out with the idea of doing some good, but if you don't have the stones to do more than wear a silly looking hat and bother the homeless, go away!

[bootkneelee]

They originated in New York back in the early 80's and they were the real deal.
They rode subways and did detered would be criminals

Here's a write up and they get my vote for "real life superheroes"

Guardian Angels began twenty-four years ago, on February 13, 1979. In the years prior to the Guardian Angels launch, Curtis Sliwa had become famous for his neighborhood clean-up and beautification projects in the South Bronx. Using his co-workers at the Fordham Road McDonalds, where he was the night manager, Curtis formed the "Rock Brigade." The Rock Brigade received accolades and a full wall of awards from community and governmental groups around the city. Planting and cleaning up vacant lots, boarding up bombed-out buildings, they managed to make this notorious inner-city neighborhood more beautiful. But it wasn't any safer, notwithstanding how well-swept the sidewalks were.
The elderly sought refuge in the McDonalds, knowing that Curtis would walk them home safely, along with his coworkers. When one retired transit worker pleaded with Curtis to do something about the muggers and street thugs, Curtis decided to expand his neighborhood cleanup and pride program - to patrol the subway, then known as the "Muggers Express."
He recruited a multi-racial team of volunteers, largely gleaned from his employees at the McDonalds. It started out with Curtis and twelve volunteers. They were known initially as the "Magnificent Thirteen." They agreed to ride the subways between the toughest stops, without weapons, to find the gang members who had been mugging the straphangers in the subway and detain them for the police to arrest.
It was a dark time in New York, with massive budget deficits, law enforcement layoffs and increasing crime. There was no funding for much needed law enforcement either from within or from without New York. Neighborhood watch groups were desperately needed, but they were not universally welcomed.

[Perfectstorm]

There is a reason i dont every want to see a superman in this world.

With superheros, come supervillians. A hero needs to wait for the villian to attack, while the villian gets to choose.

Heros need villians

[bootkneelee]

The Mystery Men covered that... Captain Amazing put all his enemies in jail thus he no longer was needed, and lost sponsors.... :(

That is why Batman and Superman and Spiderman don't kill their enemies.... JOB SECURITY!

:rolleyes:

[Hellboy_Hodge]

There is a superhero hes named Nick.;)

[PirateNinja]

Meh...I already made a thread about this.
Nick Cage would, of COURSE, support them.

[XocgX]

Well, realistically, no one could physically do it. Your only chance is someone like Frank Castle going apepoop with guns in the ghetto....the big thing is that people have too much to lose. If I went into Newark shooting up the dealers, I'd get killed. I have too much to lose. Maybe if I LIVED there it would be different, but you'd get recognized and jumped and killed.

Now for a Supervillain, who is dumb enough to associate themselves with crimes? Get picked up for 1 job, they'd know you did all those other ones too!

[JayThor]

Like the 2 idiots on Home Alone "the Wet Bandits"

[sychodog]

DOOMSTRIKER wrote:

" always thought real life super heros would be awesome (not cops, because i dont care what anyone says, those ego maniacs are never around when you need them, and when they are around there just harrasing you) but anywho, i beat 3, well, thugs i guess, with a bat for trying to take money from an elderly gentlemen of middle eastern descent (they were white power, skin head kids)
but anyway that kinda made me feel like a hero, for a little while, then i realised without spandex i was kinda like them."

Now as a real life cop I do take a little offense to DOOMSTRIKER's take on us ego maniacs. I haven't worked with, or met any more ego maniacs in the police business as opposed to the other jobs I have worked.

DS is right in that we don't come across too many crimes in progress, but we do on occasion. I would suggest that this is a combination of bad guys usually doing their crimes when they are 'certain' there are no witnesses. Other factors would include that there will never be enough police to be everywhere at once. Another consideration is that the legal system has effectively tied our hands in various ways, so that we spend a vast amount of our time doing paperwork, rather than patrolling. Also, the legal system does not allow us to effectively deal with criminals due to the criminals' 'rights.'

Now, I don't consider me or my fellow officers superheroes. Most of us are just guys and gals wanting to make the world a little better in whatever way we can.

I would be pretty amused to see some spandex clad dude show up at a crime scene. We would probably check to see if his mental state was normal.

I would suggest calling the police rather than getting involved if at all possible. Though sometimes you just have step up and do the right thing.

I don't think the whole superhero idea is a good one, unless you have real powers. As an example, on March 3rd, four Constables in our agency got murdered by one guy with a M-16 type rifle. These officers knew the risks involved and had our standard weapons and armor. Their equipment and training was not enough that day. This is why almost all superheroes would not last more than a few days against any dedicated supervillian.

I think this is why we like to read comics, to dream of what ifs.

DS kudos for sticking up for the guy, but don't become an ego maniac. ;)

As far us us harassing you, here's a tip you might want to remember; Don't do anything wrong and we won't harass you. Don't beat people up, don't steal stuff, don't speed, basically don't break the law. Then we don't have to single you out for harassment. This will let us get back to harassing criminals for breaking the law.

Peace out.

[bagman04]

vigilantisms is not legal. the closest legal way to do it with out being an officer is a bounty hunter and even then you have guide lines that you have to abide to. I know if i was magically endowed with powers out of the blue, i would definitely fight crime. but you don't have to be supes or batman to be a hero. whether your helping out a elderly person with a chore or teaching children to read or picking up litter off of a highway. your still being a hero by not only believing in what is right but actually having the merit to carry it out with a single thought of what you get out of it. i mean sure catching a bank robber and disarming him/her is heroic but it is also unlikely to happen on a consistent bassist to an average joe. that why we have police and other law enforcement to handle that stuff. i consider cops, firefighters, soldiers, nurses, doctors heroes. and yes there are dirty cops that give their fellow peers a bad name and thats a shame when people can't see beyond that.

also if you have a need to help your fellow man but don't want to have the tasks of the above mentioned professions, become a missionary, join habitat for humanity and etc.

[m_holden]

Super villians are real check this out.
http://guide.tenuae.com/living/dubai/the_world_islands.php

Villians lair if I ever heard of one.

[freakazoid_x]

I'm sort of one. I choose not to wear a costume but I have been in a right time/place scenario on more than one occasion.

[bootkneelee]

Originally posted by m_holden
Super villians are real check this out.
http://guide.tenuae.com/living/dubai/the_world_islands.php

Villians lair if I ever heard of one.



THAT IS WAY COOL!!!!!!!!! If I were gonna be a villian [and who would not want to be a villian?] I'd definitly get me some island made up like that, but I'd have mine in the form ofa dollar sign!

[Hellboy_Hodge]

Someone would get discoverd and there life would be a living hell because they would get sent to jail (because of vigilantism.) They would be the only ones doin the right thing and end up being punished for it. A guy earlier said that he beat up these guys with a bat (rock on by the way) just do that stay armed if u see someone doin somthin illegal beat them up do the right thing and dont end up going to jail.

[The_Lone_Wolf]

why do you guys think that only men can be suer heroes? us girls are tough too at times... i lived at a martial arts school in japan for 9 years of my life before coming to usa... i trained to be the best warrior at the school... and yes i am a girl... you sexist pigs... and you dont have to have a lot of money in order to become a superhero...

[DOOMSTRIKER]

look who's being a sexist!, i dont think anyone here said "yeah why are there no GUY superheros, because WOMAN super hero's wouldn't work"
man, i hate it when woman feel inferior for no reason, "MOST" people nowa' days are treated pretty equal, I'm a dude and i don't think I'm better than any woman just because there female, so stop feeling offended for no reason

unless that was some kinda joke, calling us all sexist, in which case

HA (you see woman can have a sense of humor:p )

[SolidAsSnake]

Originally posted by The_Lone_Wolf
why do you guys think that only men can be suer heroes? us girls are tough too at times... i lived at a martial arts school in japan for 9 years of my life before coming to usa... i trained to be the best warrior at the school... and yes i am a girl... you sexist pigs... and you dont have to have a lot of money in order to become a superhero...

Whoa, I just finished reading this whole thread and I don't know how it seemed like they meant just men. They weren't sexist, they're comic fans dammit, lol. They're just saying what they know from comics or saying what they think a real hero is. No need to get angry buddy.

[Bluebeard]

Why are there no real superheroes? Because then comic books would be about a crazy world WITHOUT superheroes! How would you guys like to read about the day to day trials of accountantman, and unemployed lad?

[DOOMSTRIKER]

thats me, unemployed lad

[JayThor]

I think several people here are confusing superheroes and vigilantes. Superheroes, by name are SUPER, meaning most have some power/powers (or billions in bankroll, and an unerring knack for dodging bullets that normal folks just can't possess). Our world is full of heroes. Teachers, Policeman, Fireman, military service people, people who work with the Big Brothers/Big Sisters, etc are true heroes.

Hero=someone who puts others, be it physical, emotional, or intellectual well-being, before their own.

Vigilantes, on the otherhand, are folks who try to play God. They think they have the right as an individual to decide whether another individual should live or die. That doesn't work, because often the person deciding isn't up to making that decision, not being omnipotent. It is best left to the justice system, flawed though it may be.

[DOOMSTRIKER]

so are you saying if you see someone in danger and your the only one around you would walk away and say "well better let the cops handle that" and not even attempt to help? if so thats disgusting, so many people today are cowards, or just dont care about there fellow man

[Wyldstaar]

That' isn't even CLOSE to what JayThor said! Are you just looking to start a flame war or something? JayThor is simply against the idea of being a vigillante. Spotting someone in danger and taking appropriate action isn't being a vigillante. It's defending yourself or others, and is protected by the constitution. Vigillantism is when you go LOOKING for a criminal to trash, and don't let little things like the constitution get in your way when handing out your own form of justice. Try actually READING the posts before jumping to absurd conclusions.

[DOOMSTRIKER]

settle down there bucko, i had no intension of coming back to this thread and starting any kind of argument with Jay, your assuming things about my intensions, and telling me what i did and didnt read, so it sounds to me like your the one trying to flame here, i did read the post, and thats what it sounded like to me, so you can drop it, or continue to try and flame me, but i wont respond to it.

[The_Lone_Wolf]

and i didnt get to finish cause my boyfriend came to pick me up but... there are heroes all around us... sure they may not be super, but they are around us... when a doctor delivers a baby for a mother in pain for contractions, he/she is a hero... and with this thread we belittle those that are out there doing good things everyday... they dont have kewl gadgets or spandex costumes but they are heroes nonetheless.... YOU GUYS ARE SO MEAN NOT RECOGNIZING THE TRUE HEROES....

BTW... the calling you guys sexist thing was in need a joke.... :P TE HE HE HE HE HE

[The_Lone_Wolf]

indeed******

[NEVERMORE]

I read this great story about why right is no superheroes. In the story the hero is getting sued and having to go to court so much that he can't fight crime. In one part a case is throw out becasue the hero won't tell is real name on the stand and he changed with unlawful arrest. It a pretty grim story.

[The_Lone_Wolf]

ha ha ha ha ha ha... DUDE, THATS SO FUNNY GUY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i can actually imagine that... people are so ####in stupid now a days... i swear, they are about as smart as a brick in a plastic bag...( which i must say is very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very DUMB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) they will sue each other for stupid reasons.... like a few weeks ago, some idiot backed into my car at the school parking lot... my car wasnt damaged much... but his car was F ed up... so he tried to sue me....

[NEVERMORE]

I think about this. You see all the time Spider-Man or Batman leave the criminal tied to lamp post with the money or whatever at their feet. Imagine the criminal lawyer " but your honor. My client was just walking a long and this crazy mask man beat him up and tied him to a post and planted the evidence."

[The_Lone_Wolf]

THIS IS WHY I HAVE A BIG TIME HATE FOR PEOPLE THAT ARE STUPID, MORONS AND CHATTERBOXES
(stupid: see above... with the brick thing...
morons: anyone that has common sense and doesnt use it, or doesnt have common sense
Chatterbox: anyone that doesnt know when to shut up, giggles at everylittle thing they hear, and turns any legit conversation into something sexual....)

[MangaFox]

Super heroes and Super villians do exist already, they just dont wear costumes. Firemen that jump into a burning building to save somebody are superheroes. Pablo Escobar was a true to life supervillian. That guy was assassinating presidential candidates! How about those guys that robbed that bank in L.A. (i think) a few years back. They had body armor and masks and AK-47's, though the police eventually took them down.

Our problem is our definition of super, i dont think one must neccessarily have powers in order to be super. In a way i guess that comics and other forms of entertainment have sort of de-sensitized us as far as recognizing really extraordinary feats and abilities. I read in some fitness magazine the other day that some guy benchpressed over 1000 lbs in a wieght lifting competition! Special bench press outfit notwithstanding, how crazy is that! Definitely deserving of the super moniker in my eyes.

But there are some problems with becoming a superhero in the "batman" sense:

One problem is how our legal system works. Vigilantism is illegal. You go around kicking criminal butt and sooner or later your gonna find yourself in the same prison as the folks you put in jail, that is if they ever even went to jail in the first place.

Also that batman i mentioned earlier would have a hell of a time disarming a group of bad guys. In comics and movies the good guy is always beating the #### outta legions of badguy lackies. In real life, i dont care how much of a martial arts master you are, 5 grown men jump you, your goin down. Its just not that easy to KO or immobalize a grown man without using lethal force.

Finally, you just cant dodge bullets. Body armor isnt 100% and it cant protect everything without becoming very combersome.

But, i dont know, some one with near inexhaustable resources and a special ops background in the military could probobly pull it off. Heres what he would need:

1. Police connections. He would need a way to find out about wanted criminals, current cases, gang activity, etc. without exposing his identity too much.

2. Size. This guys gotta be big, but not too big. Hes gonna have to be light enough to pull his own wieght up buildings and so on so forth, yet hed still have to be big enough to have KO potential in every punch. Plus he's gotta be very fast, agile, and light on his feet. Id say a guy around 6' 0", 240 lbs lean would fit.

3. Next generation armor. Very light and flexible, and yet capable of stopping bullets at point blank. Must cover all vital areas of his body and yet not hinder his movement. Im not sure if kevlar can do this. Maybe armor made of carbon nano tubes or some other futuristic material. Also the armor must be able to block his body heat from search helicopters and the such.

4. Infra red goggles. He'd have to work in the darkness of night most of the time.

5. Non-lethal weaponry.

6. Intelligence. Real life is a heck of a lot more brutal and unforgiving than comics. This guy will have to plan ahead extensively and be able to think on his feet when the action begins.

7. Criminal Connections. The cops wont know everything.

8. Supporting Cast. Im talking a whole clocktower-esque mission control center. Hes probobly gonna need assistence on the ground level too.

Thats all i can think of right know.

Peace.

[JayThor]

Originally posted by DOOMSTRIKER
settle down there bucko, i had no intension of coming back to this thread and starting any kind of argument with Jay, your assuming things about my intensions, and telling me what i did and didnt read, so it sounds to me like your the one trying to flame here, i did read the post, and thats what it sounded like to me, so you can drop it, or continue to try and flame me, but i wont respond to it. You did come off a little intense, but no harm done. I do think there are other situations of heroism. A person saving a child from a rabid dog or cougar, a person repulsing a mugger from an old lady (or young one for that matter) and the such, where the threat is happening, are truly heroic situations. It is as I said, where a person puts the needs of others before their own there is heroism.

[DOOMSTRIKER]

allright i understand what your saying i guess, and i agree with you pretty much, people who run around looking for "bad guys" to beat up, are not to smart and probably going to get killed, but its a heroic thing to help people out if there in need

[JayThor]

Exactly my point.

[Wolverine_Hulk]

Look at my sig.

[The_Lone_Wolf]

actually manga... there is a weak point on your left arm that just needs to be pressed a little to totally immobalize your left side... same with the right... and as i mentioned earlier... i went to a martial arts school for 9 years, and there we were taught millions of ways to take down a whole group using just your body, or things you would carry around in normal life...( and i dont mean normal life as in for bats who is a paranoid freakity freak-freak... i mean normal people like us... such as pens, cards( credit cards, debit cards) keys( and i dont mean jab someone with your key... i mean use it tactfully so that you dont leave any bruises or anything...).... any how, what i am trying to get to is that taking down 5 guys when they jump you is very possible... i picked a fight with 6 football players and won!! yes there are limits, but it all depends on YOUR own personal limits...

[The_Lone_Wolf]

and how far you are willing to go when you want to fight for what you believe....

[StilettoHawaii]

Search the web under Angle Grinder Man. Not sure if this is a hero, but he made some news sites...

[DOOMSTRIKER]

ANGLE GRINDER MAN!!!!!

he's my hero!:p

[sychodog]

The Lone Wolf wrote:
"i picked a fight with 6 football players and won!! yes there are limits, but it all depends on YOUR own personal limits..."

How very supervillianish of you. I would imagine this goes against the tenets of most martial arts teachings.

[The_Lone_Wolf]

yeah... but the situation called for it...
i was walking to my car with my boyfriend, and one of them (football players) started hitting on me, my boyfriend told him to bug off and leave us alone, so 3 of the guys grabbed him and started beating on him so i had to step in to help my boyfriend.... it was funny... i made one of them cry by twisting his hand behind his back from above, pushing him into the ground and immobilizing him...

[The_Lone_Wolf]

BTW... the site for that angle grinder man is this
WWW.anglegrinderman.org