Is Super-Heroism Possible?

[BattleCat]

I'd like to see how you'd fare in a fight with either one of them.

Me too.

 

[Thundarr]

Me too.

Why? Do you hold belts in karate or aikido?

 

[echostation]

It isn't plausible to be a superhero... if you tried to be a super hero you need to be super and that can't happen as Police would find and arrest you and then savage you up real good so you won't be any super thing any more.

Just don't be in a blue costume... that would be a silly and a rip off in Ilahi Abdul's name

 

[CJ]

There are real life superheroes. Check out www.reallifesuperheroes.org.

Wow. A lot of the "Superheroes" on that website appear as though they're only doing it so they can look cool and garner praise from people. Some of the poses they make look so un-natural and comic-booky.

I won't deny there's probably some good-hearted people who just want to do the right thing and help people, but a lot of them either read too many comics or saw too many comic-book movies and just want the fame and admiration that comes with being a hero. If you want to be a superhero, just go out there and help people. Don't waste hours of your time and hundreds of dollars designing a costume and coming up with a "cool" name just so you can be famous and admired.

But back to the question at hand: Is SuperHero-ism possible? Probably. Not to the extent of Batman or Spider-Man, but vigilantes who help the homeless and fight off thugs that are hurting innocent people? Yeah, that's definitely possible.

 

[Microchip]

I'm not sure who are the most realistic mainstream superheroes. For DC, Batman, for Marvel, the Punisher?

To be Batman, you need to be incredibly intelligent, possess world-class fighting abilities and boast numerous martial arts, have access to enormous wealth and power so you can buy off people necessary to keep your secret and pay your expenses, and to top it all off, make most of the stuff yourself because otherwise people will find out. TBH, it's not worth it when you can help out society in other, more traditional ways. But yes, possible. Incredibly unlikely though.

To be the Punisher you have to be a dangerous, huge physical specimen that can take a bullet and not blink, while rifling back shot after shot on target. You again have to be very cunning, because you'd need to outsmart and outfight some of the worst people imaginable. Most likely, no matter how good you are you'd end up dead sooner or later. However people like him do exist on smaller scales. Wyatt Earp-type figures.

All in all, being a superhero isn't that great of a gig, and that's why people don't do it. If you've got the time and resources to become one, you're probably going to be motivated to put those skills to more self-centered uses, naturally.

 

[Thundarr]

I'm not sure who are the most realistic mainstream superheroes. For DC, Batman, for Marvel, the Punisher?

To be Batman, you need to be incredibly intelligent, possess world-class fighting abilities and boast numerous martial arts, have access to enormous wealth and power so you can buy off people necessary to keep your secret and pay your expenses, and to top it all off, make most of the stuff yourself because otherwise people will find out. TBH, it's not worth it when you can help out society in other, more traditional ways. But yes, possible. Incredibly unlikely though.

To be the Punisher you have to be a dangerous, huge physical specimen that can take a bullet and not blink, while rifling back shot after shot on target. You again have to be very cunning, because you'd need to outsmart and outfight some of the worst people imaginable. Most likely, no matter how good you are you'd end up dead sooner or later. However people like him do exist on smaller scales. Wyatt Earp-type figures.

All in all, being a superhero isn't that great of a gig, and that's why people don't do it. If you've got the time and resources to become one, you're probably going to be motivated to put those skills to more self-centered uses, naturally.

Very true. Being a Real Life Superhero is certainly POSSIBLE (there's one right here in Vancouver BC), but it's not exactly practical. So any good you might do will go virtually unnoticed, except by the people that you helped. The only way one could make a REAL difference is to form a Super Team of like minded individuals (Like Justice Forever in KA2, or The Watchmen). Basically, they would be like The Guardian Angels down in the States, but with colourful tights, masks, and secret identities. In that sense, superheroism is not only POSSIBLE, it's also very PLAUSIBLE as well as being very USEFUL and PRACTICAL.

 

[Thundarr]

It isn't plausible to be a superhero... if you tried to be a super hero you need to be super and that can't happen as Police would find and arrest you and then savage you up real good so you won't be any super thing any more.

Just don't be in a blue costume... that would be a silly and a rip off in Ilahi Abdul's name

Actually, RLSH's have more to fear from street level criminals than from police. Most police kinda laugh at the silly costumes, but admire what the RLSH's are doing. Some of the RLSH's even go into areas where the cops won't go unless it's an emergency.

​

Take Vancouver's Thanatos (pictured above) for example. He patrols Vancouver's Downtown East Side, which is one of the worst crime areas in all of North America. Most of what he does is hand out food and water to he homeless. Bring them blankets and warm clothing during the winter months when it gets really cold and wet (like now). And his "crime fighting" is mostly restricted to "observe & report", like a security guard in a Halloween costume. Pretty much the only time he ever gets physical with the criminal element is in self defense, in which he is highly skilled (he's ex-military and an expert in a variety of martial arts). This area is heavily patrolled by police, so they are very much aware of his existence. They leave him be to do his thing, help him when they can, and appreciate whatever reports he brings them on the criminal activity in the area.

 

[Microchip]

He's you, isn't he? Only Thanatos could have so much inside information on Thanatos... he needs a supervillain who goes around in the downtown eastside and litters and makes fun of the homeless. I've actually never heard of this guy before. What part of the DTES is he usually in? Chinatown, Gastown, or that scuzzy area by the new SFU?

 

[Microchip]

His arch-rival shall be "The Litterbug" and will wear this costume:

His goal will be to make the downtown eastside even grosser, even messier and even less livable.

 

[mano012sg]

Yeah, photo's would be sweet, my friend and I looked into something like being superheros once. We wanted to do it so bad, but the location in which we had picked out to do it at, was almost a perfect place just about no crime. I think the biggest thing that happened there in a while was a kid stole a few jolly ranchers from the candy shop, so we decided to not be superheros because there was no point. Also with the technology of today and a fat check u can become a superhero in no time flat.

wow a superhero with photos on this site, with all vital stats about him.
SUPER

 

[Thundarr]

He's you, isn't he? Only Thanatos could have so much inside information on Thanatos... he needs a supervillain who goes around in the downtown eastside and litters and makes fun of the homeless. I've actually never heard of this guy before. What part of the DTES is he usually in? Chinatown, Gastown, or that scuzzy area by the new SFU?

1) No, I'm not Thanatos. I have friended him on Facebook though.

2) The reason I know so much about him is because I saw an interview with him on TV, and have since then looked him up on the internet.

3) I don't know exactly which part of the DTES he patrols. I think he keeps mainly in the area between Main & Hastings and The Astoria Hotel. He might patrol farther west than Main and farther east than The Astoria, but that's where things begin to get nicer. I think I read somewhere that he mostly comes out late at night, when most of the people he'll encounter are simply homeless and hungry.

 

[Thundarr]

His arch-rival shall be "The Litterbug" and will wear this costume:

His goal will be to make the downtown eastside even grosser, even messier and even less livable.

Gordon Campbell beat him to it.