6: Kryptonite

Summary

Detailed Summary of "Kryptonite" – Episode 6 of The Superhero Complex

Episode Overview

In Episode 6, titled "Kryptonite," of The Superhero Complex podcast produced by Novel for iHeartRadio, journalist David Weinberg delves deep into the tumultuous journey of Phoenix Jones, a real-life superhero from Seattle. The episode intricately unpacks Phoenix's rise as a charismatic crime-fighter, the internal conflicts within his team, and the emergence of a formidable antagonist that ultimately leads to Phoenix's downfall.

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The Rise of Phoenix Jones and the Rain City Superheroes

Phoenix Jones, portrayed by Mike Washington, is introduced as a passionate cage fighter turned vigilante, committed to cleansing Seattle's streets of criminal elements. His dedication inspires a group of ordinary individuals who don costumes to join him in his quest, forming the Rain City Superheroes.

Key Points:

• Phoenix's leadership and charismatic influence attract a diverse team.
• The team's activities initially receive local media attention and community support.

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Introduction of Rex Velvet: Seattle’s Supervillain

The narrative takes a pivotal turn with the introduction of Rex Velvet, voiced by Ryan Corey, who positions himself as Seattle's premier real-life supervillain. Rex's flamboyant persona and high-production videos challenge Phoenix's methods, raising public skepticism about the effectiveness and authenticity of real-life superheroes.

Notable Quotes:

• Rex Velvet ([04:23]): “He’s the Social villain. He’s the culmination of all those old comic book villains that are part campy, part comically cowardly.”
• Rex Velvet ([05:45]): “If you believe Phoenix's side of the story, Rex Velvet is an opportunist who tried to make a buck or maybe just promote his work as a video producer.”

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Rising Tensions and Allegations

As Phoenix's activities continue, internal strife within the Rain City Superheroes surfaces. Team members begin to question Phoenix's financial decisions and leadership style. Accusations range from mismanagement of funds to ethical misconduct, planting seeds of distrust.

Key Points:

• Phoenix faces accusations of using his superhero identity for personal gain.
• Rex Velvet capitalizes on these tensions, further eroding Phoenix's reputation.

Notable Quotes:

• Ryan Corey ([08:11]): “Basically, that's not what he wanted to do. He wanted to sell T-shirts, go on a fake crime fighting tour and fight each other... That's what that dude wanted to do. That dude's a liar.”
• Phoenix Jones ([16:56]): “It's sort of, yeah, I definitely suggested that, but not in the mob shakedown way.”

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The May Day Debacle: A Turning Point

The climax of the episode centers around the May Day protests in Seattle, a significant event where Phoenix and his team attempt to patrol amidst escalating tensions. Phoenix's unconventional strategy on that day leads to disastrous outcomes, revealing deep fractures within the team.

Key Points:

• May Day protests become violent, with anarchists clashing with police.
• Phoenix's leadership falters as team members abandon the mission, leaving him isolated.
• The lack of coordinated response leads to chaos and public backlash against the Rain City Superheroes.

Notable Quotes:

• Ryan Corey ([31:32]): “There was 12 of us… Guess who shows up. El Caballero and Jack. That's it.”
• Phoenix Jones ([36:00]): “I am super mad. We see crime, we call police, and we stop people from getting hurt. That's not against the law.”

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Aftermath: Falling Out and Team Dissolution

Following the May Day incident, the consequences are severe. An independent police report criticizes the Rain City Superheroes, and public opinion turns sharply against Phoenix. Internal disputes intensify, leading to the departure of key team members like El Caballero and Phoenix's girlfriend, Purple Reign.

Key Points:

• Allegations of assaults and misconduct tarnish the team's image.
• Team members publicly accuse Phoenix of dishonesty and mismanagement.
• Phoenix's attempts to defend his actions on social media further alienate his supporters.

Notable Quotes:

• El Caballero ([49:20]): “I see loyalty is worth nothing to him. I feel betrayed by a man I called my brother.”
• Phoenix Jones ([37:57]): “I don't know how I associated with these clowns for so long.”

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The Final Straw and Phoenix's Resignation

The episode highlights Phoenix's eventual decision to disband the Rain City Superheroes. His resignation, marked by a publicly posted apology and rationale, signifies the end of an era for the team. Despite the disbandment, Phoenix continues his vigilante efforts solo, hinting at unresolved tensions and future challenges.

Key Points:

• Phoenix acknowledges the failure of the Rain City Superheroes in his resignation.
• Emphasis on professional standards and the need for accountability in real-life superhero activities.
• Reflection on leadership flaws and the impact of Phoenix's personal ambitions on the team's cohesion.

Notable Quotes:

• Phoenix Jones ([55:18]): “I was wrong… I will continue to patrol and help people. I just can't in good conscience continue.”
• David Weinberg ([60:31]): “It's clear that there's genuine hurt and betrayal behind Phoenix's anger.”

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Concluding Insights

"Kryptonite" serves as a profound exploration of the real-life implications of vigilantism and the complexities of maintaining unity within a diverse group. The episode underscores the fragile balance between idealism and practicality, showcasing how personal flaws and mismanagement can dismantle even the most passionate endeavors. Additionally, it reflects on the human emotions and conflicts that lie beneath the facade of superheroism, making the story relatable and thought-provoking for listeners.

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Production Credits

• Host & Writer: David Weinberg
• Reporters: Amalia Sortland and Caroline Thornham
• Executive Producers: Sean Glenn, Max O'Brien, and David Waters
• Fact Checking: Andrew Schwartz
• Sound Design & Music: Nicholas Alexander and Daniel Kempson
• Special Thanks To: Peter Tangen, Willard Boxton, Matt O'Meara, Katrina Norvell, Beth Ann Macaluso, Oren Rosenbaum, Shelby Shenkman, and the team at UTA.

For more episodes and content from The Superhero Complex, visit Novel Audio.

Transcript

[David Weinberg]

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[Danielle Fishel]

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[Ryan Corey]

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[David Weinberg]

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[Ryan Corey]

Hullah.

[Danielle Fishel]

We got one play.

[Ryan Corey]

Everything we work for comes down to this quick question.

[David Weinberg]

Speaking of workouts, how would you rate your athletic program?

[Ryan Corey]

Bro, we're in the middle of the state championship.

[David Weinberg]

Oh, so like a B then?

[Ryan Corey]

Dude, get out of our huddle.

[David Weinberg]

Well, at holmes.com, we leave it all.

[Ryan Corey]

On the field to get you detailed.

[David Weinberg]

Information on local schools. Off the field.

[Ryan Corey]

Off the field. Copy. All right.

[David Weinberg]

Go sports.

[Ryan Corey]

How'd he even get in here?

[David Weinberg]

Holmes.com.

[Ryan Corey]

Bingo. We've done your homework.

[David Weinberg]

Novel. In the aftermath of Phoenix's arrest, there was a lot of local news coverage of the pepper spray incident.

[Ryan Corey]

The same real life superheroes we introduced you to in November are now stirring up trouble for Seattle police. Are they superheroes or a super problem?

[David Weinberg]

People in Seattle started to question Phoenix's methods. Was he really out there fighting crime? Or was he just wandering around at 2am with a can of pepper spray looking to break up bar fights? Among the many Seattleites watching Phoenix's troubles unfold was a mysterious figure lurking in the shadows. Eventually, he would emerge from the darkness. But for now, he was watching the coverage from his secret lair.

[Ryan Corey]

You gotta have a villain. Can't be a hero without a villain.

[David Weinberg]

The Rain City superheroes had their detractors, but a single voice rose above the rest. A new enemy was about to surface. Hello and welcome. Rex Velvet, Seattle's greatest real life supervillain was born. Though he looked more like a character you might find on a bottle of mustache wax than a supervillain, he wore dapper outfits like velvet waistcoats and shiny suits, sometimes with a bow tie. He had an eye patch, a cartoonish mustache and a flair for the dramatic.

[Ryan Corey]

My dear, I can recall a time when I could leave this lair and conduct my duties proudly and without distraction. But now he's out there, along with his silly gang of misfit Power Rangers, disturbing the peace.

[David Weinberg]

He called himself the people's villain. And he vowed not to rest until he destroyed the famous Phoenix Jones.

[Ryan Corey]

It's time to get real, Jones. The community would be better off without you. You're doing more harm than good. And I'm willing to bet that a sensible, sane majority would agree with me. You're a nuisance, a problem child, a snitch, a fake. You must be stopped once and for all. Bollocks.

[David Weinberg]

Rex Velvet burst onto the scene in 2012. He made his entrance into the world in slick, high production videos that he shot and released online. If this Grandma grand battle was to be judged on the quality of the videos they posted, Rex would have been the clear winner. His videos mocking Phoenix and his team started attracting hundreds of thousands of views these days. Like Phoenix, Rex Velvet doesn't have a secret identity. He posts his videos under his real name, Ryan Corey.

[Ryan Corey]

He's the Social villain. He's the culmination of all those old comic book villains that are part campy, part comically cowardly. You know, if Batman and Robin were to show up, the Riddler would just laugh and run away.

[David Weinberg]

In his civilian life, Rex is a video producer. He'd been watching the Rain City superheroes, growing popularity and increasingly frequent TV appearances, but he was skeptical about them. Especially after Phoenix's pepper spraying controversy. He had the idea of coming up with a character to call out what he saw as hypocrisy and to hold Phoenix to account to make people think.

[Ryan Corey]

About, okay, well, is this really serving the community or is this serving an individual?

[David Weinberg]

Unlike Phoenix, Rex saw his supervillain identity as a make believe character.

[Ryan Corey]

It was kind of like playing WWF bad guy wrestler. This is a soap opera.

[David Weinberg]

Whereas Phoenix has told me many times he's not playing a game. And that's not the only thing that Rex and Phoenix don't see eye to eye on. Rex said he tried to reach out to Phoenix several times. When a friend of his approached Phoenix in the gym on his behalf, Phoenix seemed annoyed and flat out refused to speak to Rex.

[Ryan Corey]

I thought back then, oh, maybe we can do some fundraising work. Maybe we can work with some non profits.

[David Weinberg]

Rex told me he'd done some work as a supervillain for the Make a Wish Foundation.

[Ryan Corey]

When you're being involved at levels like that, you think, huh? Why wouldn't this guy want to also be involved in charity work?

[David Weinberg]

Rex wasn't convinced by Phoenix's approach.

[Ryan Corey]

I believe you want to lead a good life and you see this as your maybe method for helping. I just wonder about the tact in which he's executing the vision and is it effective? Is it getting the results you want and is it serving the community or is it playing dress up?

[David Weinberg]

I can see why Rex would have rubbed Phoenix the wrong way with his over the top comedy villain Persona. As you know by now, Phoenix doesn't think there's anything funny about crime fighting. I also wonder if maybe it was an ego thing as well that Phoenix didn't want to share the spotlight. But when I asked Phoenix about it, he said he had other reasons for his hatred of Rex. His whole thing was like, oh, I thought it would be fun to like play up our rivalry and use it as a way to raise money for charity.

[Ryan Corey]

Basically, that's not what he wanted to do. He wanted to sell. Vodk called me trying to get me to get on T shirts to sell vodka and make money. And he was talking about Chopping the profits and going on fucking tour. What a fucking liar. You wanted to sell T shirts, go on a fake crime fighting tour and fight each other in the city with fake fights and sell tickets and T shirts. That's what that dude want to do. That dude's a liar.

[David Weinberg]

After hearing Phoenix talk openly about lying to the media to promote his own cause, it was curious to hear him get so fired up about truth telling. To strike back at Rex, Phoenix says he concocted a dastardly plan of his own.

[Ryan Corey]

I copyrighted the name Rex Velvet and took the copyright legal ownership of it and then told him to cease and desist.

[David Weinberg]

Really?

[Ryan Corey]

Yeah. Fuck him.

[David Weinberg]

Rex never mentioned this or the alleged vodka deals when we spoke, but when we put it to him afterwards, he replied, I'll say this, none of that information is true. This is the first time I've ever heard of it. Rex also said he never met Phoenix and that all his attempts to reach out to him so they could, quote, meet as men and discuss potential superhero collaborations had been unsuccessful. Just FYI, if you search the US Copyright Office database, the only copyright filings for Rex Velvet are three videos and a logo, all registered to Ryan Corey, not Phoenix Jones or his alter ego, Ben Fodor. If you believe Phoenix's side of the story, Rex Velvet is an opportunist who tried to make a buck or maybe just promote his work as a video producer. According to Rex, Phoenix is stuck up and delusional, taking himself way too seriously. But as Phoenix himself told me, history is written by the winners. And either way, it wasn't long before Rex Velvet was sucked into the world of Phoenix Jones and his team. People started coming to Rex with allegations about Phoenix as if he were a real villain in search of dirt on Seattle's own hero.

[Ryan Corey]

The magnet of Rex Velvet was drawing people in that really wanted to destroy. And you get threats aimed not at you, but at the hero. People would play informant on the Internet. I don't think he understands how far I've gone to make sure that people aren't attacking the guy. I don't want to see this guy hurt. I don't want to see the city attacked. And I go, whoa, whoa, whoa. Not signing up for that? No, thank you. I'm gonna put a pause on this.

[David Weinberg]

They weren't all just random Internet trolls either. Some of the people coming with stories about Phoenix and about Ben Fodor seemed like they were close to him.

[Ryan Corey]

I'm like, wow, like, you call yourself Ben's friend, Like you're kind of talking smack about your. Your boy here behind his back. It's funny. It's as if everyone that joined his cause doesn't like him. And the only person left who really is more than ever interested in liking him is me. And the most sinister thing that Rex could say is, well, well, well, no more friends. Guess you're stuck.

[David Weinberg]

In Seattle in 2012, the line between heroes and villains looked thinner than ever. Fresh from the trauma of the Nicole Westbrook shooting, Phoenix was going rogue out on patrols. Meanwhile, his fellow superheroes were dishing dirt to his arch enemy. And soon the world of the Rain City superheroes would descend into costumed chaos. I'm David Weinberg, and From the teams at Novel and iHeartRadio, this is the Superhero Complex episode Kryptonite. By early 2012, Phoenix was struggling. He'd clashed with the authorities over the pepper spray arrest. He'd lost the job. He loved working with autistic kids. And he was also having to spend a lot of his time trying to prove to the state that he wasn't insane.

[Ryan Corey]

A lot of his personal life would often be in shambles. His words.

[David Weinberg]

Actually, that's Evocatus, Phoenix's former right hand man and unofficial chauffeur. He says that it was obvious that Phoenix was having money problems.

[Ryan Corey]

I knew things weren't going well because he'd always be sniffing around for money. Or one time he came up this idea and this, this was one of the many nights I was giving him a ride. There's a long avenue full of bars and clubs way north of Seattle up in the U district. He pitched this idea to me. All right, Eva, what do you think of this? So all these bars, all these clubs, what if I talk to the owners and say we can watch and pay special attention to your club, Stand out front of your club. You'll write up a contract. It'll be all very formal. If you give us say $100 a week or something, or, you know, we'll write it to the team, you know, I'll manage the funds, of course. And I'm like, dude, this is the mafia. This is what a mafia does. You're offering air quotes, protection from businesses who pay. What are you hearing yourself? This is the worst idea in the long, sad history of bad ideas. You can't be serious. Like, oh, yeah, that's true, I guess I didn't think about that. But he would end up actually doing exactly this. I think maybe of over a dozen businesses, you know, gave. I think one gave him like 40 bucks and he did it. He did with one of them. And, you know, he would, like, get a bunch of selfies and, like, he would kind of be like, almost like an Instagram influencer about it. Like, hey, come on down to, oh, whatever the name of the bar was. And money was a big thing for him, and that would also affect his mood pretty significantly.

[David Weinberg]

Ivo had a theory about what was driving Phoenix's fixation on money.

[Ryan Corey]

He sent me text messages, or he would show me pictures of, hey, this is what I was at last night. It would be a picture of him, both arms holding kind of like a hug pose of a giant stack of poker chips. And, like, you could tell now this was legit at a casino. And it's like, oh, man, I should quit my job and just do this full time and be living a high life in the very next patrol. Hey, everybody. I know it's only the 10th of the month, but if everyone can have their dues for next month paid, that would be great. Thank you. I mean, shit like that would happen all the time. So in my particular case, you just flat out admit that, you know, I love gambling and he is incredibly smart and, you know, probably borders on, like, card reading levels of genius there. But gambling is gambling too, and that comes with its own dangers.

[David Weinberg]

Other members of the Rain City superheroes told me similar stories. Here's Midnight Jack. I think that he was really trying to be a good dude in the beginning. He was focusing all his energy into this superhero stuff. And over time, he's kind of got beaten down, started gambling. I mean, the man's just not in a good place. I asked Phoenix about all of this, and he flatly denied it. Evo also said that you had a gambling problem. Is that true?

[Ryan Corey]

No. That's weird. Like, what kind of gambling problem?

[David Weinberg]

Just that you were really into gambling and that he worried that some of the money that had been going to stuff got gambled away and that you would send him photos of you at, like a poker table.

[Ryan Corey]

Oh, things like that. That's all true? Absolutely. Okay, now I know what he's talking about. Absolutely. Yeah. So I played a ton of poker, but it would have been hard to have a gambling problem doing that.

[David Weinberg]

Phoenix told me he played tournament poker, where you just pay a flat fee of $50 to buy into the competition.

[Ryan Corey]

So I'd play a tournament every Friday and I'd send my friends pictures of me with like 30,000 in chips. So they're seeing these poker chip things and they're thinking, I'm making mad cash. But that's not how it works. Do you play poker at all? Not really.

[David Weinberg]

I went through a poker phase when it was popular.

[Ryan Corey]

So you understand when you buy into a tournament, the chips in front of you are not representative of money.

[David Weinberg]

This seems like a reasonable explanation to me. And for what it's worth, I believe Phoenix. But I do think it seems credible that he might have had some financial difficulties after his arrest. And as for charging nightclubs money to protect them, Phoenix says that is 100% accurate.

[Ryan Corey]

Sort of, yeah, I definitely suggested that, but not in the mob shakedown way.

[David Weinberg]

No, I just feel like he was saying, like, it's a murky line to be like, some of you get extra protection and some of you we're going to let go.

[Ryan Corey]

I don't think it's an extra line. Like, for example, we had 16 shootings take place outside of one nightclub. And they're like, we love when you're out here. Fuck you, bro. If you want me to come and stand out in front of your club, you're going to give me a fucking some money for that. Like, that's stupid. We're supposed to be helping random real crime. This is crime that takes place because of your establishment. So if you want me to stand outside your establishment so you can use Phoenix Jones to pimp that, everybody's okay, you're going to at least pay me money for that. I don't even consider that a bad thing. Yeah, but I definitely said it and I shared it with the team because you're supposed to. And then the money never happened. So we didn't do it. We just did regular ass patrols.

[David Weinberg]

I could go on and on letting Phoenix respond to the many wrongs that his former teammates accused him of. And in fact, I spent a lot of my time with Phoenix doing just that. There were moments when Phoenix did admit to some of those wrongs. Other times, like with the quote unquote protection money, it just seemed to be a difference of opinion on the morality of what happened. But at the end of the day, Phoenix says that all of these disputes with his former crime fighting friends are issues of the past and rehashing them is a waste of time.

[Ryan Corey]

These guys are so petty and stupid. There was just so many more important things. I mean, even if everything they assumed was right and everything they told you was right, let's say I had a crazy gambling problem. Let's just say these things right? None of them change any of the patrol effect we did zero. So why are you still talking about that?

[David Weinberg]

I do think that Phoenix is wrong on this point. Phoenix's teammates all felt that his erratic behavior and failure to communicate did in fact have an impact on their ability to fight crime. Which makes total sense. Phoenix was always the leader of the Rain City superheroes, and a group is only as effective as its leadership. And if Phoenix is going to take credit for all his team's success, shouldn't he also take responsibility for some of their failures? But then to do that would mean that Phoenix would have to admit that he is not perfect at crime fighting. And he won't. Over time, the tension between Phoenix and his teammates built up until finally one day it all came to a head on a disastrous patrol that would tear the team apart. That's coming up.

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[David Weinberg]

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[David Weinberg]

In Late April of 2012, the Rain City superheroes were preparing for their biggest patrol of the year. But according to Evacuates, Phoenix had become an absent leader.

[Ryan Corey]

We'd patrol anywhere from three to five nights a week, and we would get wildly different results, kind of based on the day he's had or, you know, if he was hurting for money or if he was having relationship problems or something. There'd always be kind of something going on and we never quite knew what we would get. Anytime he didn't want to be answered to anyone or didn't want to be accountable for anything, he would just shut off. He would get real angry and real pouty, call everyone traitors, and would disappear.

[David Weinberg]

Everything came to a head on May Day, 2012. Mayday has always been a big day in Seattle. Thousands of people take to the streets to march for labor rights. There are protests all over the city. I asked Phoenix if he thought that day was a turning point for the team.

[Ryan Corey]

You mean clowns got caught as clowns? And then eventually you have to ask yourself why you didn't show up. I don't think that's a turning point. I think you were bitches before, and that showed it.

[David Weinberg]

Phoenix and the Rain City superheroes often showed up on May Day to keep watch over the crowds and to help keep the peace if things went awry, which is exactly what happened in 2012. El Caballero was right there in the thick of it. There was always two big protests in Seattle. The first One was the labor unions and the native rights and stuff. And that was always peaceful. And there was another element that would show up.

[Ryan Corey]

Well, I guess they call them black block. They would go out and look like hoodie ninjas and go and break windows and spray paint.

[David Weinberg]

I think we can all agree that there's a lot of corporations and entities that are ripping people off and taking.

[Ryan Corey]

Money and don't really care.

[David Weinberg]

But there's ways to go about things and these people are just terrorists terrorizing people, terrorizing things and scaring the bejesus out of folks. The Rain City heroes didn't go blindly into these situations. They came prepared. And that year it was Evo who made detailed plans for the mayday patrols.

[Ryan Corey]

There's an awful lot of like logistical planning that would go into something like this because we had people that was literally a contribution to the team was to do a lot of research ahead of time. How do we safely patrol? How do we access vehicles if we need to get out of there? How do we get first aid to somebody if we need. When roads are closed?

[David Weinberg]

According to Ivo, Phoenix had decided on his own unusual strategy for monitoring the crowds.

[Ryan Corey]

The night before May Day had happened. Phoenix said, tell you, forget all that, here's what we're going to do. I got a buddy of mine, he works at the front desk at this hotel and he's going to let us go in and use one of his hotel rooms. We're gonna turn on the tv, we're gonna party, we're gonna music and we're just gonna be watching all the local news stations and when some fight breaks out on tv, we'll put on our gear and we'll run out the door and go save the day. The entire rest of us are just kind of sitting around blinking, just what, what on earth? No, I mean by the time we'd see it on tv, I mean it obviously will long have passed. Well, what about all the research we did and all the intel work ahead of time and Phoenix didn't want anything to do with it.

[David Weinberg]

The next morning when a disgruntled set of Rain City heroes gathered in a parking garage to start the patrol, Phoenix turned up empty handed.

[Ryan Corey]

He was really, really upset because his buddy or something was sick that day or he couldn't make it. And basically we didn't have a hotel room with our name on it. So it's kind of like, well, okay, we're just going to walk.

[David Weinberg]

Then they followed the crowds through Seattle and began the patrol. People of all ages had come to protest with painted faces and colorful signs bearing irreverent slogans. But even in this eclectic crowd, the superheroes stood out with their costumes and shiny masks. They jostled through the packed streets. Ivo says Phoenix wasn't sticking to the plan or communicating to the team.

[Ryan Corey]

He wouldn't listen to anyone on the team. He had people that were professionally trained medics and EMTs. He had former military. That was me and, you know, we'd have a couple other former veterans from time to time on the team with actual boots on the ground, combat experience, he wouldn't listen to the inputs. Anytime he didn't want to be answered to anyone or didn't want to be accountable for anything, he would just shut off.

[David Weinberg]

Around 12:30, the protest started to escalate.

[Ryan Corey]

Explosions and pepper spray in downtown Seattle.

[Danielle Fishel]

As May day breaks down to mayhem.

[Ryan Corey]

In Seattle, demonstrations turned violent as thousands of people clogged downtown streets.

[David Weinberg]

A group of about 75 anarchists entered the fray. They streamed into the downtown area and mixed in with the crowds marching towards Westlake park. They were dressed all in black, and many of them were wielding bats and hammers as they stand snaked through the protest, hurling rocks and shattering the windows of shops and banks. Police officers in riot gear clashed with the crowds. We are disappointed in the police. People launched flares and smoke bombs into the air. Paint bombs in blood red and fluorescent green streaked the pavements and buildings. The downtown streets, normally packed with trees, were filled with the smell of smoke and pepper spray. At the epicenter of the chaos was the old federal courthouse. Here's midnight Jack. This big, huge standoff ensues at the federal courthouse where they're throwing improvised explosives into the building that's occupied with people that work there. A roving group of the protesters had gathered outside the courthouse. They smashed in the glass door and windows with flagpoles and bats. Someone tried to fire a smoke bomb into the building, but it bounced off and burst into flames. Phoenix told me that's where he wanted to be in the heart of the action.

[Ryan Corey]

There was 12 of us, right? We get word that they're gonna put a bomb in the federal building and blow it up. I put out the radio call that I need my team to show up. I need you guys to stand with me right now.

[Danielle Fishel]

We gotta do this together, brother.

[Ryan Corey]

It's not me. Please come. Are you guys with me? Are you guys with me? Guess who shows up. El caballero and Jack. That's it.

[David Weinberg]

So cabby, Jack and Phoenix assembled at the courthouse.

[Ryan Corey]

I'm looking out and I see like 60 people in front of us. They're throwing stuff. Seattle's own superheroes don't off a group of 60 protesters been on destroying a federal building. I'm like, where's my team at? You know, where you at, Ivo? Oh, I'm in the military. I'm big. I'm gonna go fight some crime. You're not gonna fight 60 ironclad terrorists, are you? You're just gonna make me look like a clown. I'm standing in front of the building. I got Midnight Jack, the least trained of us all. Never been in a fight with batons that his knew not to use. We got El Caballero in hot pants, girls hot pants, dragon on the back of his shirt, a luchador mask, and a sombrero that served no purpose but to offend Mexican people.

[David Weinberg]

In short, it was a highly costumed shit show. We're trying to fucking stop them from storming the building and throwing explosives and firebombs.

[Ryan Corey]

It's just me in front of that door playing Mike Tyson punch out with dudes who come up while Midnight Jack just douses everything he can see with pepper spray while screaming. And El Caballero's on the phone with 911. I didn't have anything.

[David Weinberg]

I was just moving my arms and holding people back. And people were like, oh, that one guy pepper sprayed people. Oh, he pepper sprayed people. I sprayed probably 60 people that day. I don't regret any of it.

[Ryan Corey]

If you stepped up past a certain point, I sprayed you.

[David Weinberg]

You threw something at me. I sprayed you. You tried to hit me with something. I sprayed you back to back, brother.

[Ryan Corey]

No one gets through the water.

[David Weinberg]

It might sound exciting, but El Caballero was really not a fan of the situation that Phoenix had put him in. There's this romanticized Hollywood version of fighting criminals. And any battle I've ever been in is ugly. It feels awkward. It sucks. It's lame. That whole moment in space time is.

[Ryan Corey]

Frustrating lame and annoying.

[David Weinberg]

It's not sexy. It's not cool.

[Ryan Corey]

It's not a fucking thing. That's awesome. It's lame.

[David Weinberg]

The violence, the hatred, the anger. It's like, where are these people coming from? Why are you trying to hurt other people? Why are you doing these negative things?

[Ryan Corey]

It's like, ugh.

[David Weinberg]

And then to know that people's lives are in danger at the same time. It's not like a cookie cutter movie. It's like real life intense stuff. By 3pm the mayor of Seattle had signed a proclamation of civil emergency. And just before 7pm A rainstorm hit the city, causing the crowds to finally dissipate. An independent report commissioned by the Seattle police into the Mayday riots singled out the Rain City superheroes and said their involvement resulted in allegations of assaults and crimes. The report recommended that next year the Seattle Police Department should collaborate with the city Attorney's office to determine legal strategies to restrict superheroes from creating crime and interfering with law enforcement operations. Phoenix took to social media to complain.

[Ryan Corey]

This is crazy, and I am super mad. We see crime, we call police, and we stop people from getting hurt. That's not against the law. What you're saying is you don't like us. You don't like that we're different, and because we're different from you, you're going to make these rules and try to shut us down.

[David Weinberg]

He even called out the author of the report, by name, Michael Hillman.

[Ryan Corey]

I hope your kids don't have Batman.

[David Weinberg]

Posters or anything in their house because.

[Ryan Corey]

You'Re a superhero hater.

[David Weinberg]

When we hung out, Phoenix claimed that Homeland Security and the FBI actually thanked him for intervening.

[Ryan Corey]

Homeland Security comes up to us with these shotguns at the end, and I'm thinking, fuck. So I get on the ground, and they're like, what are you doing? I'm like, what do you mean? He's like, jones, get up. You're fine. I was like, okay. They gave over. They shook our hand, and they brought us this, like, suv. There was this guy in it of, like, the leader of our regional branch of the FBI.

[David Weinberg]

Phoenix told me that the FBI agent asked him for help in identifying violent protesters from the courthouse, and that he said, quote, jones, I like your work.

[Ryan Corey]

He was like, I'm gonna tell the Seattle police to leave you alone. But you fuck up, you fuck up. He's like, you don't think you have superpowers? I was like, no, I don't have superpowers. He's like, okay. And that was the beginning of our relationship.

[David Weinberg]

I wasn't able to confirm any of this. When we asked the FBI about it, they said, we will not be able to provide any information on this inquiry. The FBI has conversations with individuals for a variety of reasons on a daily basis, whether they are a witness, victim, subject, or someone providing information. We cannot verify whether the FBI spoke to a particular individual. But if this was supposedly the beginning of Phoenix's budding relationship with the FBI, it was also one of the final chapters of the Rain City Superheroes. When asked about Phoenix's view that his team had hung him out to dry that day, Ivo was having none of.

[Ryan Corey]

It as the ultimate irony to hear that he didn't feel backed up when reality, he was just doing whatever came across his head at the moment. That's what he would say. It's like, well, I just felt, you know, abandoned. Or, you know, you guys betrayed me, or, you know, I just didn't feel like, you know, you guys, you guys just wanted to gang up on me or no one wanted to follow my expertise. No, dude, you just stopped showing. And you'd be so wildly unpredictable and sporadic. Nobody could trust him or rely on him or have any idea what version of Phoenix we're getting any particular night if he would show. So that's a long winded way of saying that's rich coming from him.

[David Weinberg]

Whatever the truth is, the way Phoenix told it, Mayday was the final straw.

[Ryan Corey]

That's when I stopped caring. I don't give a fuck, they don't care, but just.

[David Weinberg]

Did it feel different between everyone after that?

[Ryan Corey]

I mean, I guess there's no feeling because you guys don't matter. You did not show up. You left me in front of a fucking riot. Who cares what they fucking think? Fuck that. I roll with you guys. Untrained, out of shape and in ridiculous outfits. Acting clowns every single day when I'm a professional warrior and you can't show up one time when I have 60 people trying to murder me with a bomb.

[David Weinberg]

Evening arrived on May Day 2012 and the dust began to settle across Seattle. The police cars filled with the protesters who'd been arrested made their convoy to the county jail. The SWAT police headed home and the last stragglers from the march dispersed. Shop owners boarded up the jagged holes in their windows and the debris on the streets was swept away. But there was no cleaning up the mess that the Rain City superheroes were in. That's coming up.

[Danielle Fishel]

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[David Weinberg]

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[Danielle Fishel]

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[Danielle Fishel]

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[Ryan Corey]

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[David Weinberg]

When you talk to Phoenix, he makes it sound like he stopped trusting his teammates after the 2012 Mayday debacle. He claims he decided to go it alone after that. But actually that's not how things went down, because after the Mayday protests, Phoenix continued to patrol with some of the Rain City superheroes for over a year. And that, dear listener, is how we get to what is maybe the most fitting way I can think of for a team of comic book inspired costume warriors to dissolve not in a blaze of crime fighting glory, but in a petty dispute over a piece of clothing. A controversy that has come to be known as helmet games. How did your relationship with the Rain City heroes end? Or what caused you to leave the life? It was all about my purple helmet. This was news to me, kind of, because I had heard the story of the falling out between El Caballero and Phoenix long before I met either of them. But the story that I found on blogs, long lost Facebook pages and podcasts was that they went from best friends to despised enemies because Phoenix had stolen El Caballero's sombrero. Apparently no one fact checked any of those accounts because while it is true that these two grown men did in fact have a falling out over a piece of headwear, it was not a sombrero, but a purple army helmet. A Mitch helmet. A nice tactical bulletproof helmet with the padding inside so I wouldn't get scrambled brains. It all started on a typical downtown patrol one night in 2013. After the patrol ended, Cabbie forgot his helmet. I left it in Phoenix Jones car for an evening. It was another night where we had.

[Ryan Corey]

Fought real criminals and done real stuff.

[David Weinberg]

And I just absentmindedly left it in his vehicle. Ivo remembers the saga of the purple helmet well. He says at first, the helmet just went missing.

[Ryan Corey]

No one could find his helmet. And it was the most aggravating series of, I guess, backwards drama that honestly started getting pretty embarrassing. I would start losing sleep over stuff like this, or people would call me because I was the guy that kind of ran the team.

[David Weinberg]

On the back end, Ivo claims that Phoenix accused his girlfriend, Purple Rain, of stealing the helmet.

[Ryan Corey]

I talked to her and was like, what are you talking about? Why on earth would I want El Caballero's stinky helmet? That's gross. For whatever reason, we think he just gave it to, you know, a pretty young fan or something like that.

[David Weinberg]

It all sounds so petty to me, but for Cabbie, it was no joke. It really struck a chord with me, this guy who I trust with my life. I mean, we're literally dodging bullets and.

[Ryan Corey]

Knives and crazy terrorists.

[David Weinberg]

This guy I trusted in my life made my helmet disappear and it got weird.

[Ryan Corey]

Why did it get weird?

[David Weinberg]

Like, I don't know. For what it's worth, Phoenix has a response to the purple helmet story. He says it was in his car, which got towed and impounded, and that he was too embarrassed to admit this to his crew. Helmet Gate wasn't the first time things had allegedly gone missing around Phoenix. Crystal Marx told me that Phoenix couldn't be trusted when it came to money.

[Ryan Corey]

He was charging people like money per month for medical insurance that the teams never saw the benefit for. He would say, yeah, I'll buy you a tactical vest.

[Danielle Fishel]

Give me money.

[Ryan Corey]

And then he would never provide the vest.

[David Weinberg]

Ivo said he personally had to reimburse team members. He sent me a photo of a receipt he kept for a vest he paid for out of his own pocket to give to a fellow superhero. Soon these disputes spilled out onto the Rain City superheroes social media accounts.

[Danielle Fishel]

PJ has been proven to be consistently dishonest, unreliable and untrustworthy. He's a liar and a bum. He shouldn't be asking people for money or playing to the media the way he does. Gear is replaceable.

[Ryan Corey]

Friendship, loyalty and trust are not.

[David Weinberg]

The theft allegations and the mudslinging escalated. Phoenix held a fundraiser for Purple Rain's anti domestic violence campaign. Someone accused them of embezzling funds and things got nasty.

[Danielle Fishel]

How about some answers? If you want to show how honest this campaign is, Using slanderous language is illegal. Some people don't deserve to have any secret identities. I never understood why that cow was not on patrol.

[David Weinberg]

She does not have any athletic ability or streets go.

[Danielle Fishel]

She flirted with all the guys on the team and wanted to be the center of attention. I refuse to involve myself in this textual spewing and ask that my name.

[David Weinberg]

Be kept out of these theatrics. I strongly suggest you research the term.

[Ryan Corey]

Harassment and take a good hard look in the mirror.

[David Weinberg]

The accusation of embezzlement turned out to be false. The Seattle Weekly did a piece about it. The charity confirmed that they had received the money. Phoenix was vindicated. But then he launched another fundraiser for himself. This time he wanted to raise $10,000 for a new super suit. The campaign offered incentives for donations. For the entry level, $10. You could get a rubber Phoenix Jones bracelet. It went all the way up to $2,000 or more. For that, you were promised a whole pile of Phoenix merch. A Phoenix drones replica helmet billed as fits most normal sized heads, is bullet and blunt trauma resistant. Plus the honor of having your name engraved on Phoenix's brand new suit. He posted the link for donations on Purple Rain's anti domestic violence website. It even caught the eye of actor Rainn Wilson, who plays Dwight in the office. He posted about it on Facebook. Given her previous experiences with Phoenix, Crystal Marx was not impressed.

[Ryan Corey]

I Think Phoenix Jones is a liar 100%. I mean, come at me for whatever you need to for saying it, but raising money for his super suit, which sounds so ridiculous to say those words out loud, but, like, this high end, like, tactical suit that was like super bulletproof and, like stab proof. He did a GoFundMe for it. Tons of money. Where's the suit, dude? Like, it never happened.

[David Weinberg]

The tide of public opinion looked to be turning on Phoenix. More allegations against him started surfacing. A superhero named Urban Avenger called Phoenix, an egocentric glory hound. And a blog post titled Phoenix Jones Sells snake Oil, calls it a super suit. The Seattle Weekly ran a piece called the Emperor's New Suit with a cartoon of Phoenix straining to pull his rubber super suit on over his bloated belly, which is labeled hubris. One of the Rain City superheroes took to Facebook to claim that Phoenix had stolen his GoPro to boot. Then the Seattle Weekly published another story that quoted a superhero saying, phoenix Jones is a con artist, thief, stealing from his closest friends and fans with zero integrity for his community. El Caballero went to the press, too, telling the Seattle Weekly, quote, I've always thought of Phoenix as our quarterback, but I feel betrayed by his actions and certain trusts have been broken. Soon after that, Cabbie formally announced his departure from the Rain City Heroes. On his Facebook page, he said, quote, effective immediately, Attention, family and friends, fans, law enforcement, and even my enemies. I will no longer. I said that part louder because it was in all caps. I will no longer be working with Phoenix Jones. After three years of patrols, I see loyalty is worth nothing to him. I feel betrayed by a man I called my brother, and that hurts. His dishonesty, manipulation, and deceit has caused me to not want to be associated with someone I can't trust. I will continue to wear my mask and patrol the streets of Seattle, but will henceforth not be aligned with him or the Rain City superhero movement. I respect the team members individually. The Phoenix has nose dived into the flames, and I'm done with him. After El Caballero's departure, morale also took a nosedive. Phoenix's girlfriend, Purple Reign, announced that she was officially leaving the team too, and that she and Phoenix were no longer together. Discontent was brewing in what remained of the Rain City superhero movement. Ivo said everyone came to him with their grievances. They wanted to know what had really gone down between Cabbie and Phoenix.

[Ryan Corey]

Everyone was very much on edge, and every person on the team, stop me if this sounds familiar. Had heard a different version of this Same story. And we had all been talking about it and realized that, okay, someone is full of shit. In the common denominator here is Phoenix Jones.

[David Weinberg]

The superheroes gathered for a crisis meeting. Their plan was to challenge Phoenix on everything that had been going down and to hold him accountable.

[Ryan Corey]

So we get to this meeting to kind of like, okay, here's what we're gonna do forward and stuff like that, and here's what actually happened, and here's how we're gonna resolve it. He wanted nothing of the sort. He said, all right, well, all medical insurance stuff is gonna go through my friend Dave. So any questions go through him. And we're gonna put schedules on the new Facebook page and everything's fine going forward. Any questions? All right, let's go. And I'm like, oh, hold up. Nothing's been answered. This what? We have so many questions about what just happened. And, you know, like, if this happened to El Carbero, one of your most trusted allies, and you're doing this stuff to him, like, what else she gonna do?

[David Weinberg]

The more his teammates challenged him, the more Phoenix dismissed their claims. And things got heated.

[Ryan Corey]

I almost threw a table at him. Osaur mad.

[David Weinberg]

They confronted their former leader and Phoenix lost his cool.

[Ryan Corey]

He threw the world's biggest Internet tantrum, which I still have screenshots of, of him talking about, well, you're all betrayers and you're all traitors, and I started this team, so I can end it. So the RCSM is officially resolved. PJ out. And that was.

[David Weinberg]

Soon after the final blowout. Phoenix posted his resignation from the Rain City superheroes on his Facebook page. It was written in all caps and full of typos and grammatical errors. Here's a condensed version. First off, I'm sorry I started fighting crime years ago and inspired a lot if people to do the same. I really thought that having a large group of civilian crime fighters was a good idea. I was wrong. It takes a certain type of person to do this job correctly. And unfortunately, I have inspired, worked with, and even taught some of the wrong kinds of people. As of today, the Rain City superhero movement is over. I will be patrolling solo with supers. I trust I will not go into many details, but I feel you deserve a few reasons why we can no longer work together. Certain members cannot run 2.5 miles in 30 minutes or do 5 pull ups or 25 sit ups in 2 minutes or believe it is okay to carry illegal weapons or want to patrol with other superheroes that have a track record of making bad choices that are Potential dangerous. I love being a superhero and I believe there is a certain level of professional professionalism that goes with that. When I or any member of the RCSM show up to help you, I want you to know that we have first aid CPR training, we have taken bloodborne pathogens training, and that we will only work with others who are equally physically and medically trained. I'm sorry if I let anyone down. I will continue to patrol and help people. I just can't in good conscience continue to put my, my seal of approval on people I feel are not loyal or properly trained. As always, be safe, make good choices, and I'll see you in the streets. When we talked about the team breakup, Phoenix said that people are fickle and driven by the attention and that no one on his team brought up these disputes back in their crime fighting heyday. It was only later, after things went south with the team, that he says these grievances started surfacing when we had.

[Ryan Corey]

These arguments and disagreements. That was pre people knowing my identity. After my identity came out, we got all popular and everyone was doing these interviews and everything was going on. So all of us were all buddy, buddy, fine. Then we went and had these arguments later and they brought up all this shit from past saying, well, we never solved all this and we stuck with you for four years and you're this and you're that And I'm thinking if you want to come at me personally, then fuck you.

[David Weinberg]

Maybe I'm a sucker. But I always believed Phoenix. Whenever I was with him, from the first moment I met him, he told me that he would answer me honestly about any accusation someone made against him. He also told me there were other things that he'd done that were wrong, but he would never admit them to me. I would have to find out for myself. And if I did, then he would answer truthfully about the incident. This policy felt reasonable to me and I took Phoenix at his word and I thought it was an indication that he was willing to admit when he was wrong. I bought into his logic because it seemed to make sense to me. And I also agree with him that so much of the beef between him and his crew always felt a little petty. Like, who cares about what happened to a purple helmet? Does it even matter in the grand scheme of the of things? But looking back on it, I don't think he lived up to his promise of answering everything truthfully. A lot of it, I think is tied up in his desire to be the best at everything. I think that desire was what made him A champion bowler, an MMA fighter. But I think it is also the quality that made him an ineffective leader. It blinded him to the possibility that he could be wrong or that the someone in his group might have a better idea for how to be good crime fighters. And I felt like he was still blinded by it when he talked about his former crew.

[Ryan Corey]

I don't know how I associated with these clowns for so long. That was.

[David Weinberg]

That's one thing I am curious about. Like, on one hand you seem to. Because I carried them disdain. And like, because I carried them.

[Ryan Corey]

Yeah, I carried these.

[David Weinberg]

I carried them because you were lonely or like, what?

[Ryan Corey]

No, because they believed in what I believed in when no one else believed in it. You know what it's like to get up and get dressed every day and put on a rubber suit, make people laugh at you in the streets. Like, it fucking sucks. So even if you're huge and fat or you're out of shape, or you're a former freaking drug addict homeless kid, if you're gonna say, I believe in you two, let's go walk together, I would rather do that with you. People who believe in me, believe in the concept. And they talk about me letting them down. You let me down. I got stabbed for you, El Cavallaro, because you don't know how to do a disarm. You lied and said you know how to do knife fighting skills and you fucking don't. And I got stabbed. Like, for real. I got stabbed. And you want to talk about a helmet? You. Jack, Jack, Jack can't even run. He has asthma. He can't even fucking run. There's videos where I run into after bad guys and he can't run. Like, what the.

[David Weinberg]

It's clear that there's genuine hurt and betrayal behind Phoenix's anger. And also on the side of the other Rain City superheroes, just because they wear goofy outfits doesn't mean they aren't people with real feelings. And for all the bitterness, I think the reason there's so much hurt involved in this highly costumed severance is because all of them once bought into the belief that Phoenix talks about the mission that had united them. And maybe that's hard to understand from the outside, but to enter into the world of real life superheroes, you have to rethink certain beliefs about how the world works. Because to believe in their mission is to believe that a guy in a sombrero and purple hot pants is actually the man who might at any moment save your life from a hammer wielding mugger lurking in an alleyway. That's the thing I find so fascinating about all of this. The mashup of the absurdity with the seriousness of what these masked adventurers were trying to pull off. Their dream was powerful, too powerful to be totally crushed by a purple army helmet and some snarky Facebook comments. After all, this wasn't the end for Phoenix Jones. After the breakup, he would set out on a bid to conquer the world in a different arena. And in a way, it wasn't the end of the Rain City superhero movement either. The team may have disbanded, but the legend they'd built together lived on, and out of the darkness, a new generation of superheroes would rise up to unite behind it. That's coming up next time. The superhero complex is hosted and written by me, David Weinberg and reported by me, Amalia Sortland and Caroline Thornham. Production from Amalia Sortland and Caroline Thornham Sean Glenn, Max o' Brien and David Waters are executive producers. Fact checking by Andrew Schwartz Production management from Cherie Houston, Frankie Taylor and Charlotte Wolf Sound design, mixing and scoring by Nicholas Alexander and Daniel Kempson. Music supervision by Nicholas Alexander and David Waters. Original music is composed by Paul Housden. Special thanks to Peter Tangen, Willard Boxton, Matt o', Meara, Katrina Norvell, Beth Ann Macaluso, Oren Rosenbaum, Shelby Shenkman and all the team at uta. For more from Novel, visit Novel Audio.

[Danielle Fishel]

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