# Can't swing a dead cat without hitting a super hero. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 28, 2012, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-swing-a-dead-cat-without-hitting-a-super-hero/620227 "2012-04-28T13:09:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-swing-a-dead-cat-without-hitting-a-super-hero/620227/1 "2012-04-28T13:09:44Z")
If you had asked me how many super heroes reside in the U.S. I likely would have said 0. :dubious: But apparently there are four of them living within driving distance of just this one trailer park. [http://www.freep.com/article/20120427/NEWS04/120427051/Sterling-Heights-superhero-BeeSting-trailer-park?odyssey=tab](http://www.freep.com/article/20120427/NEWS04/120427051/Sterling-Heights-superhero-BeeSting-trailer-park?odyssey=tab) > [@](#): > > And now Adam Besso, 36, a.k.a. BeeSting, is on the wrong side of the law after the shotgun he was carrying while on patrol in a Burton trailer park discharged while he was confronting a man with a loud motorcycle, police said. > … > The owner of the trailer park had authorized one superhero to patrol the park, but that person was unavailable, paving the way for BeeSting and two other masked crusaders, although Odette said the others were not involved in the incident. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2012, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-swing-a-dead-cat-without-hitting-a-super-hero/620227/2 "2012-04-29T06:10:09Z")
It’s amazing how misguided some people can be. Adam Besso. Besso. With that name, he was clearly meant to call himself “Kiss of Death.” Which is a super-_villain_ name. Dude’s in the wrong line of work is all. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2012, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-swing-a-dead-cat-without-hitting-a-super-hero/620227/3 "2012-04-29T17:16:26Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > If you had asked me how many super heroes reside in the U.S. I likely would have said 0. :dubious Shoot, Phoenix Jones has been patrolling Seattle for several years now, and recently the media reported that a woman who goes by the moniker Purpkle Reign was also working the turf there. [cite](http://blog.seattlepi.com/davidnelson/2012/02/08/meet-seattles-female-superhero-purple-reign/) I think since the movie _Kick-Ass_ came out, some people are feeling like they can maybe do some good in the same way. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-swing-a-dead-cat-without-hitting-a-super-hero/620227/4 "2012-04-30T16:12:03Z")
super? Really? Don’t you have to have exhibited some sort of power or uncanny ability to carry that adjective? ETA: I don’t think a costume qualifies. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-swing-a-dead-cat-without-hitting-a-super-hero/620227/5 "2012-04-30T16:26:24Z")
[Here’s a Wikipedia article on "real life superheroes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real-life_superhero). There’s a bunch of 'em, and Seattle has a whole movement called [the Rain City Superhero Movement](http://www.facebook.com/pages/Phoenix-Jones-Rain-City-Superhero-Crime-Fighting-Movement/173088299395323), with at least 10 “superhero” members. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2012, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-swing-a-dead-cat-without-hitting-a-super-hero/620227/6 "2012-04-30T16:59:31Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > [Here’s a Wikipedia article on "real life superheroes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real-life_superhero). There’s a bunch of 'em, and Seattle has a whole movement called [the Rain City Superhero Movement](http://www.facebook.com/pages/Phoenix-Jones-Rain-City-Superhero-Crime-Fighting-Movement/173088299395323), with at least 10 “superhero” members. Wow, that’s… different. According to Wikipedia the police aren’t too happy about these guys and I can understand why. Feeding the homeless and things like that are fantastic, and if the superhero personae gets more interest and more volunteers then I’m all for it. Playing costumed vigilante? That’s a different story. As the story I posted in the OP shows; somebody is going to get hurt. And it won’t necessarily be a bad guy. It could be an innocent person, or it could be one of these “superheroes”. I do recall reading about Phoenix Jones, now that he’s been mentioned. The story I read described him pepper spraying a bunch of apparently innocent clubbers who were a little too raucus. It culminated with a young woman chasing him down the street while repeatedly hitting him with her purse. I’m not sure that’s the guy I want coming to my rescue. 😛