The Story of Phoenix Jones — A Real Superhero of Seattle

Every city in this world needs heroes (and superheroes would even be better). Of course, not every city has them, but Seattle does! For several years, a real superhero named Phoenix Jones walked its streets.

He didn’t have superpowers, but he had a cool suit and combat skills. He also had pepper spray and a stun, and his suit was a metallic vest with strong plates sewn onto it. The real name of that hero was Benjamin John Francis Fodor. He was an ordinary guy, but, as often happens with superheroes, something terrible happened in his life that made him wear his black-gold suit.

One day, somebody broke the glass in his car. When Benjamin approached the place, his son fell down on the shards and got hurt. Several people saw that somebody had been trying to rob the vehicle, but no one intervened. But what finally convinced Benjamin to become a superhero was another incident.

He and his friend were leaving a bar in the evening when they met with some bad guys. They attacked his friend, and Benjamin called the police. While the officers were on their way, Jones put on a ski mask and repelled the attack of the hooligans. It struck him that day that no one had helped him, even though many witnesses had been around.

The guy decided to become a superhero to patrol the streets and fight bad people, such as car thieves, robbers, and swindlers. Benjamin created a suit with a metal vest and sharp spikes to increase his chances in fights. In addition to the stun and pepper spray, he took handcuffs and a first aid kit for each patrol.

So, he became Phoenix Jones. Almost every night, he fought with thieves and stopped fights. He was in serious danger several times and risked losing his life, but he continued to clear the streets. Rumors about the Avenger quickly spread throughout the city.

Phoenix Jones inspired many people to become superheroes. And soon, the superhero organization Rain City appeared on the streets, and Phoenix was the leader there. The team existed from 2011 to 2014. And then, Phoenix Jones faced a real supervillain who jeopardized his superhero activities. That supervillain was himself.

When news about the Seattle superhero appeared in newspapers and on the Internet, one journalist decided to take a big interview with him for a podcast, so he spent a few days with Phoenix. Trying to get to know Jones better, the journalist started asking different people about him and found out that he was quite a controversial figure. The journalist began to suspect the superhero of lying. Phoenix Jones said one thing, and people claimed the exact opposite. But it didn’t matter.

The superhero’s real problems began when he started to break the law. He attacked a regular guy who hadn’t offended anyone. Phoenix Jones was a semi-professional mixed martial arts fighter who could easily defeat the opponent. The people who saw it condemned him because the duel had been unequal.

Then, he sprayed a group of people with pepper spray, saying he was trying to stop a fight. But the police later said it wasn’t a fight. Phoenix Jones made the main mistake in 2020 when he tried to sell something illegal to an undercover police officer. After that, the activity of Phoenix Jones ended. People no longer saw him patrolling the streets. Problems with the law defeated the superhero in him.

Superheroes exist not only in the United States but also in the UK. Meet Angle Grinder Man. People saw this guy in a weird suit several times when he removed clamps from cars after they had been banned for illegal parking. On the one hand, he violated the law because he released vehicles punished by official parking services.

But on the other hand, Angle Grinder Man gained love from ordinary people for his activities. He walked the streets with a grinder and cut the iron bars of clamps on parked cars. He was first spotted on the streets of London in July 2002. One local was driving and saw an incorrectly parked car with blocked wheels.

Then Angle Grinder Man asked, “What are you looking at?” After that, he began to remove the clips from the car’s wheels using a grinder. Traffic police officers tried to find this strange superhero but couldn’t. He was removing clips from cars all over the UK. And his identity still remains unknown.

There are strange and even funny superheroes. There are superheroes who have problems with the law. But some tough guys don’t chase fame and just fight bad people, risking their lives. One of them is Bromley Batman. He was the guardian of South London for about two years, saving people from robbers and hooligans.

He was a big, trained, bearded man around 30 years old, whose identity remains unknown. He wasn’t talkative and silently did his superhero job. One day, a man who called himself Bromley Batman told one publication that he hated his nickname. He preferred to be called “The Shadow.” The superhero saved several residents of London from attacks and then suddenly disappeared.

One worker Ken was grateful to Bromley Batman for saving his life. The guy met several robbers who wanted to take Ken’s things. But then a big guy in a black bandana, T-shirt, and army pants appeared in front of them. He easily defeated the biggest bandit and scared the others.

A guy and a girl were walking in Cornwall when a man attacked them. But then Bromley Batman appeared, twisted the attacker’s arm behind his back, and put him on the ground. The superhero ordered the couple to leave that place as soon as possible.

A similar incident occurred in Croydon when a married couple was celebrating their anniversary. Two robbers came on both sides of them and demanded they give up their belongings. The couple feared for their lives, but then Bromley Batman appeared out of nowhere. First, he neutralized one thief with a couple of blows. But then the other one jumped on the superhero’s back. Bromley Batman kept his cool and threw the attacker to the sidewalk.

In 2017, Bromley Batman saved a woman from being attacked by two thieves. 31-year-old Harriet was walking down the street when a car stopped next to her, and two young men got out of it. They tried to take her purse. The woman resisted and called for help, and Bromley Batman heard her call.

He handcuffed the robber who was holding the bag and dealt with the other one with one kick. There was someone else in the car. When they saw what the superhero had done to their friends, the driver pressed the gas pedal and drove away. Bromley Batman handcuffed the thief on the ground and gave the woman her purse.

The same year, another lady was returning from a pub when she came across a robber. He didn’t have time to grab her bag because the woman ran away. The attacker ran after her. She screamed and ran for a few seconds and then looked around and noticed a man dressed all in black.

He had already neutralized the bandit and was running after the woman to tell her that everything was fine. She later said his voice had been friendly. The woman asked his name, and he called himself “Guardian.” She asked if that was his real name. The superhero laughed in response and ran away.

Unfortunately, after 2017, people no longer saw this tough guy. Perhaps he just got tired of his superhero activities or went to another city. Or he crossed paths with someone very dangerous and paid for this. In any case, his example inspired many people and showed that anyone could become a superhero. People in superhero costumes are a common phenomenon in many countries.

Citizens who have decided to clear the streets and put on suits can be found in Canada, Australia, Argentina, France, Japan, and many other places. Basically, these people patrol the streets and inform the police if they see something suspicious. They inspire people to help each other — but don’t try to follow their example. Putting on a suit and wandering around at night in search of adventures is a very dangerous and bad idea.