Real life Kickass is bad-ass

Anyone remember the movie Kickass? It was a film following the story of regular people.. who became super.  A fun and entertaining film concept to be sure, but what if it were real life??  I first heard about this hero collective awhile back, but only thought to now to share this rather extraordinary group of people here.

The Real Life Super Hero Project is pretty self-explanatory. Apparently, this rag-tag band of modern day superheroes has been around for years, loosely connected by the Internet, but it  really took off when photographer Peter Tangen got involved and started documenting a series of featurettes on the heroes.

Let it be known that none of these people have superpowers (although a few have some neat gadgets and martial arts skills).  They could be your neighbour, your coworker, your friend.  What makes them special is their uniquely fierce drive to make a difference - even at the risk of their own lives.  In an age where people don't even want to share their anything, this kind of selflessness is quite shocking.

Reading each profile is inspiring in itself, and also quite engrossing as you learn about just why someone would don spandex other than during Halloween.  Are these people heroic vigilantes, or misguided fools?  It's a question I'm not sure I have an answer for. While definitely possessing a healthy dose of kooky, there's also something romantically epic about their alter egos.  As much as I want to see them kicking ass and taking names, I'm also quite scared for their well-being.  Do any of them even carry weapons?  Either way, I hope to catch a glance of these of these heroes one day!

"The night has many faces, but none more intriguing that that of Nyx, a Real Life Superhero who is active in and around the New York City and Northern New Jersey areas. Clad in black, with striped leggings and a distinctive red mask, Nyx sets out to do her patrols and homeless outreach in a mysterious, stealth-like manner. “Like the night, I cannot be proven or disproven to certain degrees; and also much like the night, when morning comes, there will be no trace of me.”

"In the Real Life Superhero community, Urban Avenger stands tall among equals. And for more than the most obvious of reasons. 'I’m on patrol, even when I’m not on patrol,' the San Diego, California-based hero states, 'even when I’m not in my costume as a visual deterrent for crime, if I see something going down, I will act. Anytime, anywhere.'"

"There are good reasons to be afraid of the dark, but Thanatos, The Dark Avenger, isn’t one of them...He regularly plunges headlong into a pitched battle he characterizes as “a war for good against evil,” in the whirling vortex that is Vancouver, B.C.’s notorious intersection of Hastings and Main streets. The name Thanatos comes from ancient Greek mythology, the personification of Death itself, a rather dark choice for someone who leaves such light in his wake. “I have taken on the persona of death,” Thanatos explains, “because I was told by a police officer that all the people living on the street had nothing better to look forward to than death. So if that’s the case, maybe death ought to start taking care of these people"

Check out all the heroes...