Friday Funny: Caped Crusaders Serving Cities

"His destination is in sight: People Serving People, a local homeless shelter. Geist strides boldly into the lobby—a cramped, noisy room where kids and adults mill about chatting—and heaves his stuffed paper bags onto the counter. 'I have some groceries to donate," he tells Dean, the blond-bearded security guard on duty, whose placid expression suggests superheroes pop in on a regular basis. "And I have an hour on the meter if there's anything I can do to help out.'"

"Wendy Darst, the volunteer coordinator, looks taken aback but gladly puts the superhero to work. Soon the Jade Justice finds himself hip-deep in a supply closet, piling books into a red Radio Flyer wagon. He wheels it back to the lobby, entreating the children to select a text. But the kids seem more interested in peppering him with questions. 'So are you a cowboy or something?' one boy asks."

"Geist kneels down to reply with a camera-ready grin, 'Maybe a super-secret, space-cowboy detective!'"

"Another kid, awed by the uniform, just stares silently. 'Hi,' Geist says with a smile, holding out his hand in greeting. 'I'm a real-life superhero.'"

"The kid grabs Geist's leather-clad mitt and grins back. 'I'm four!'"

"By most observers' reckoning, between 150 and 200 real-life superheroes, or 'Reals' as some call themselves, operate in the United States, with another 50 or so donning the cowl internationally. These crusaders range in age from 15 to 50 and patrol cities from Indianapolis to Cambridgeshire, England. They create heroic identities with names like Black Arrow, Green Scorpion, and Mr. Silent, and wear bright Superman spandex or black ninja suits. Almost all share two traits in common: a love of comic books and a desire to improve their communities."

"'We're basically normal people who just find an unusual way to do something good,' Geist says. 'Once you get suited up, you're a hero and you've got to act like one.'"

Check out the slideshow featuring some of these real-life superheroes, and view some videos in the expanded web content linked below.