Right, saw Kick-ass last week, and it posed a good question; Why isn't there anybody out there really suiting up and trying to be a 'superhero'?
Odd as it seems, the movie has it wrong, there are certain people doing just that, and just as unsettling, some people got twisted enough to become the opposite; certified super-villains with dastardly evil plans and enough dangerous equipment to back them up.
My request, please post any story about Real Superheroes & Villains you know or can find so we can see how mad it really gets
and aside from it being impossible, if someone did pull it off, and started attacking organized crime/corruption
the way police, detectives and the media work in the real world pretty much ensures that the person would be identified within a month and, best case scenario, arrested, worst, their family and friends are murdered
Gender: Unspecified Location: With Cinderella and the 9 Dwarves
I don't know about the movie, but to me the comic basically answered the question with: "Cause it really, really sucks to get beat up and also you'll probably die".
You've got the wrong idea, this is not about 'what if', but about 'what some really did', mostly in organised groups like Sombra Negra, or solo oddballs like Jonathan Idema. & real supervilllains like Killdozer!
Rolling Stone magazine ran a fascinating article years ago on people who are real-life superheroes. Most are simply community activists with an alias and some notoriety, but a few actually work with local law enforcement on an unofficial basis and have helped with arrests and crackdowns and such. I'll try to find the link.
There's also a website devoted to cataloging superheroes, their status (active/retired) and their accomplishments. It included the few mentioned in the Stones article. Again, I'll try to find it, but may be unsuccessful
Suffice it to say, Kickass didn't invent this idea. It simply brought it into a more mainstream light.
Gender: Male Location: Welfare Kingdom of California
Re: Real Superheroes & Villains!
A good example are Firefighters. They fight disasters, save people, set an example for young people and throw awesome BBQ!
They suit up, keep themselves in shape, drive huge engines, and women buy their calendars.
Now, you could you say: "Oh, they get paid for the service" and I would say: "So? who says superheros can't make any money?" Not everybody is like Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark.
There you have it! Therefore WD salutes our Brave men and women in our Fire and Rescue Teams in whole wide world!
I actually (unrealistically) played with the idea of accruing martial arts training and unregistered weapons and fighting crime like a super hero but here's the problems that directly interfered with my ideas.
1. I don't see alot of crime. Hear about it, but don't see it. Chances are, if a crime is made known, the cops are going to be there FIRST. Not you. Unless you're there to witness the crime, in which case:
2. if your there to witness the crime, do you need an alias to stop it? say someone being mugged? I'd use every available power to stop a mugging if I saw it, cape or none.
3. Any real crime, believe it or not, you're not governed by an alternate law of gravity like batman. You fall that far, you're going to the hospital. You get shot, bullet proof vest or not, you're not going to keep walking. In order to pull off bullet-proofness like the movies you'd need a suit that would make walking impractical. It's why police officers practice avoiding getting shot. And, as in any real crime, they are going to have guns.