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- [00:00]
Podcast Host
This is an I Heart podcast.
- [00:04]
Danielle Fishel
This is Danielle Fishel from Pod Meats World. Parents, quick question. When is the last time you won snack time? The other day I handed my son a perfectly portioned Pinterest level snack and he traded it for a Mott's Applesauce pouch. I'm not mad, just impressed. And that's why Mott's no Sugar added Applesauce pouches are perfect to keep on hand. They they're made with real apples packed in a super easy pouch. Perfect for tossing in a lunchbox, keeping in the car, or grabbing as you're running out the door. Plus they're a good source of vitamin C and kids love them. Win win. Make sure your kid wins snack time with Mott's Real apples make real good applesauce. Learn more@mottz.com Ryan Reynolds here from Mint.
- [00:49]
Ryan Reynolds
Mobile with the price of just about everything going up, we thought we'd bring our prices down. So to help us, we brought in.
- [00:55]
Robert Lamb
A reverse auctioneer, which is apparently a.
- [00:58]
Ryan Reynolds
Mint Mobile Unlimited Premium wireless everybody get 30, 30 better get 30 better get 20, 2020 better get 2020 everybody get.
- [01:04]
Robert Lamb
15151515 just 15 bucks a month.
- [01:07]
Ryan Reynolds
So give it a try@mintmobile.com Switch upfront payment of $45 for three month plan equivalent to $15 per month required new.
- [01:14]
Danielle Fishel
Customer offer for first three months only.
- [01:15]
Ryan Reynolds
Speed slow after 35 gigabytes of network's.
- [01:16]
Danielle Fishel
Busy taxes and fees extra see mintmobile.com.
- [01:18]
Ryan Reynolds
This episode is brought to you by Hendrix Ginn. This is Robert Lamb from Stuff to Blow youw Mind. Here at Stuff to Blow youw Mind, we celebrate curiosity. And that's why I want to take a minute to talk about Hendrix Ginn, the refreshingly curious choice for marvelous summer cocktails. Hendrix is crafted with care in Scotland by master distiller miss Leslie Gracie and is uniquely infused with rose and cucumber. To learn more about Hendrix and to find more refreshing cocktail recipes, visit hendrixgen.com US Drink responsibly Hendrixgen 44% alcohol by volume 2025 imported by William Grant & Sons Incorporated, New York, NY.
- [01:58]
Danielle Fishel
After a long run, I love using Primally Pure's Bergamot Plus Eucalyptus Body Wash and Whipped Body Butter. They're fully non toxic and perfect for refreshing and hydrating your skin and their charcoal deodorant. It's the only natural deodorant that actually works for me.
- [02:14]
Ryan Reynolds
Use code run for 15% off at.
- [02:16]
Danielle Fishel
Www.Primallypure.Com that's P R I M A L L Y p u r e.com welcome to the W where elite athletes are redefining the game of basketball. From buzzer beating shots, jaw dropping defense and logo threes, the WNBA delivers non stop action and world class talent every game. These athletes don't just play the game, they elevate it. The biggest stars, The Brightest Age AT&T WNBA All Star 2025 comes to Indianapolis July 18th 19th. Tune into the game July 19th at 8:30pm Eastern Time on ABC.
- [03:01]
Ryan Reynolds
Novel greetings.
- [03:10]
Tamerlane
You have reached the phone number of Tamerlane, Real life Supervillain. Please leave a message so we can stay in touch and most importantly, stay evil.
- [03:26]
Ryan Reynolds
This is Tamerlane, a real life supervillain whose bonkers online videos caught our attention. So we reached out to him and he agreed to chat with us from his secret lair.
- [03:35]
Tamerlane
I had to get all dolled up for you today and put on my best leather.
- [03:40]
Ryan Reynolds
Tamerlane did our interview in his full supervillain regalia. If you listen carefully, you can hear his leather pants squeaking. He has a shaved head and a beard dyed bright red. He wears a metal gauntlet on one hand and he accents his look with a gold grill over his teeth and a pair of mirrored sunglasses.
- [03:58]
Tamerlane
Well, I just think aviators just say to me, douchebag, when I see people at aviators, don't you think they look douchey? I do. They're like trying excessively hard to be cool. So I adopted that as my own.
- [04:13]
Ryan Reynolds
Tamerlane took his name from a Turco Mongol conqueror who rampaged across Central asia in the 14th century.
- [04:20]
Tamerlane
He would leave piles of human heads outside of cities that he was going to sack and lay siege to, and I think he left a clear message. So he was a good inspiration for me.
- [04:31]
Ryan Reynolds
But Tamerlane doesn't only take inspiration from ancient warriors.
- [04:35]
Tamerlane
As a child I was a huge fan of Mr. T, so he was a little bit of an inspiration to me as well.
- [04:42]
Ryan Reynolds
And in his more introspective moments, Tamerlane would say his Persona came from even closer to home.
- [04:48]
Tamerlane
Was there some sort of Nietzschean monster within us all? Some sort of Carl Jung's belief in the shadow self? Yes. I would say that the disconnect I had with my own family and my own father helped create this character. Also my disappointment in society trying to be a good citizen, trying to do the right thing and get a 9 to 5 job and work 40 hours a week and be an obedient servant of the fascial capitalist system. I think failing at that and Again, my disconnect from my family, yes, helped.
- [05:23]
Ryan Reynolds
Create this character, as you might have gathered from his voicemail, an affinity for bloodthirsty warlords. Tamerlane identifies as a real life supervillain and a bit like Rex Velvet. He sees it as his duty to offer a kind of meta commentary on the superhero world.
- [05:41]
Tamerlane
I was at home one day and I was stroking my beloved pet, and I noticed on the news a story came on about real life superheroes. And mostly, it would seem that these real life superheroes spent their time handing out sandwiches and warm socks. And I thought to myself, what arrogance. How dare they go around calling themselves real life superheroes when they set the bar so low. So I said to myself, well, self, you are a real life super villain by comparison. So from that day forth, I made it my goal to become the best real life supervillain I could become.
- [06:25]
Ryan Reynolds
Tamerlane isn't above his own heroics when the moment calls for it. One time, he says he got into a fight with a Wolverine impersonator at a nightclub.
- [06:33]
Tamerlane
It was a party and he was like, squirting tequila and to. To the mouths of miners. And he had a microphone. I thought it would be a good idea to take it from him. So I took his microphone and began running through the nightclub saying, a super villain's up in here to run in this bitch. He didn't like that. He tackled me from behind.
- [06:52]
Ryan Reynolds
His other hobbies include protesting against what he calls his enemies.
- [06:57]
Tamerlane
Insurrectionists, fascists, Republicans, Christians, even, dare I.
- [07:02]
Ryan Reynolds
Say, he also runs a supervillain YouTube channel where he reviews fast food.
- [07:08]
Tamerlane
All right, guys, we're off to get some dessert. This is the Dairy Queen.
- [07:12]
Ryan Reynolds
Yeah, he starred in short films and he does charity work.
- [07:16]
Tamerlane
My charity is savethechips.org being that I am an anthropology major, I have a very close affinity to our chimpanzee cousins.
- [07:27]
Ryan Reynolds
We didn't get to hear from Tamerlane in the main series because Tamerlane isn't a part of the Seattle superhero scene. He's from Miami. He's just one of many people all over America and the world who've taken up a cape or mask, or in this case, a pair of leather trousers, and joined the real life superhero community. In the course of making the superhero complex, I met a lot more than just Phoenix and his crew. So in this bonus episode, I wanted to fire up the Batmobile one more time and take you on a whistle stop tour of the rest of this wild world and the folks like Tamerlane who inhabit it. I'M David Weinberg, and from the teams at Novel and iHeartRadio, this is the Superhero Complex. Episode 9, Unsung Heroes. One person who got to know the real life superhero world as well as I did is writer and broadcaster Jon Ronson, who we heard from in episode four. John hung out with real life superheroes from across America. But like me, his introduction to this weird and wild world started in Seattle in true Phoenix Jones style.
- [08:58]
Robert Lamb
The first time I met him, he was in the emergency room. I got off the plane in Seattle and got a message that he'd been shot, I think, or stabbed. My first thought, of course, was, oh, shit, I've just traveled from Britain and he's been stabbed. So that's how empathetic I was after a 12 hour flight. So I got to the emergency room and he's there in a superhero outfit in the emergency room. And he had been stabbed, Stabbed. But he's like, it's okay, you know, I was stabbed earlier tonight, but I'm gonna go out and patrol some more. And I'm like, are you sure? And then the doctor came in and asked him about his family doctor and he named his pediatrician. And I said, are you a child? But it turns out you can. He was like 23 and you can be with your pediatrician until you're 24, apparently in America. I did say to him, look, you've just been stabbed. Are you sure that you want a patrol? Like, I can honestly wait till tomorrow night. He's like, no, you know, I'm fine. We're going out.
- [09:56]
Ryan Reynolds
A couple of nights later, they went on the patrol where they'd ultimately face down the crack dealers in Belltown. But before that epic showdown, John said Phoenix was clutching at straws, trying to find crimes to thwart.
- [10:09]
Robert Lamb
Phoenix saw somebody pass a baggie to someone else and he went yahtzee. And ran across the road and said, sir, it's kind of stupid superhero outfit. Sir, can I see that baggie? And it was. It was pretzels. And he was like so disappointed.
- [10:33]
Ryan Reynolds
I was jealous that John had even this experience while on patrol with Phoenix. I wasn't so lucky. We never even encountered a bag of salty snacks being exchanged. Suspiciously. Comparing notes on Phoenix drones wasn't the only reason I wanted to talk to John. He spent a lot of time with other different real life superheroes too. And I was curious to learn what he'd made of the whole scene. He told me in his experience, they fell into two camps.
- [11:00]
Robert Lamb
You've got the sort of Phoenix type ones who are into the costumes. Sometimes they even have, like, the special weapons, like the web gun or the grappling hooks. So you've got that sort of. Which Phoenix was the clear, like, leader. And they all looked up to him. He had the best costume. He was the most charismatic. That lot were quite camp. I remember we were looking at this group of crack addicts that they wanted to break up at the bus stop at 3 in the morning. And the crack addicts were, like, looking at us. And the superheroes were, like, murmuring to each other. And the crack addicts were presumably thinking, you know, what are they saying to each other? And what the superheroes were saying to each other was, oh, I love your black and yellow color scheme. The yellow really pops. So they were. So you had that genre of superhero who were all pretty delightful, even though I didn't agree with what they were doing. But then you had this other sort who I thought were much worse.
- [12:07]
Ryan Reynolds
John told me he'd met some superheroes who represented this second camp. When he was in New York City, he went on patrol with a group called the New York Initiative. And they left him feeling deeply uncomfortable.
- [12:19]
Robert Lamb
They were barely superheroes at all. What they really were were vigilantes. They didn't make much of an effort with the color scheme. It was more just balaclavas. And they wanted to break up drug dealers in Washington Square Park. But it was only when they ran towards this guy with lights, like flashlights. I mean, they were terrifying this guy. They surrounded this guy and they had, like, floodlights and were, like, lit him up. And the poor guy was, like, running away saying, you don't know me. You don't know anything about me. You don't know why I'm here. You know this. And I was on his side, and this guy was selling weed to the students at nyu. And they did all of that. You know, it's terrifying, the life out of this poor guy with lights, shaming for weed. Now, a few years later, weed's legal and you can stand in Washington Square park and smoke weed. And the police are fine. Cause it's legal to do it. So I had a very bad vibe with them. I thought they were very unpleasant. Because after my piece came out, this one guy who was the ringleader of the New York crew was, like, really angry. Was like, you know, let's get Ronson. And I remember somebody said to me, oh, he's really troubled.
- [13:46]
Ryan Reynolds
I never encountered this type of superhero in Seattle. Everyone I talked to seemed to be more of the Phoenix camp. Well, Meaning folks who seem to have their hearts in the right place. But John wasn't just uncomfortable with the real life superheroes he met in New York. He thinks the whole movement is flawed.
- [14:03]
Robert Lamb
I don't believe in real life superheroing. Like, I don't think it's something that people should do. Look, the real police are very flawed do, but they're flawed in a different way. And quite often when we try and better the justice system, we bring new problems to it. You see that with social media shaming and I think you see it with the real life superheroes. So one of the main things is just that they're too into it. And when you're too into something, that's when the problems start. That's when you commit miscarriages of justice. So that was my main animus, was that there were two into it. They were into the fame. It was like a badge of honor to thwart a crime. And I don't think crime fighters should feel about crime that way. It should be more pragmatic and by the book.
- [14:56]
Ryan Reynolds
I found this to be true for Phoenix Jones as well. I think his desire for fame and compulsion to find crime don't serve him well in his attempt to live up to the ideals of a superhero. But despite John's reservations about the real life superhero community's crime fighting tactics, his he told me that Phoenix was his favorite. Out of all the heroes he met.
- [15:17]
Robert Lamb
Phoenix was the best. I mean, that's why you're doing him. He was just the most charismatic, funny, charming. Inevitably then some of them will be like angry and troubled and he didn't feel like that. Some of them would be like nerdy kind of misfits. And I think Phoenix was a misfit, but not in a kind of gamer type. I mean, I'm sure he is a gamer, but he wasn't like one of those sort of nerdy guys who just spends two logs in front of his computer and decides to like buy an outfit and go out and do it on the streets, of which there were other superheroes who were like that, you know, a little out of shape and you could tell that they were just passing through.
- [16:06]
Ryan Reynolds
I asked John if he still thought of Phoenix that way even after his 2021 conviction on drug conspiracy charges.
- [16:13]
Robert Lamb
I was genuinely startled and saddened. Like everyone, one of my least favorite things is hypocrisy. And obviously the first thing you think is, well, is he a hypocrite? But mainly I just felt sad. Like I know from spending that time with Phoenix that He's of a sense sweet guy. He wants to do good, you know, Phoenix is a very unique person. He's this sort of weird kind of specialness to him. It feels like it's a little sullied now because we wanted him to be. He was setting himself up as pure, and we wanted him to be pure.
- [16:56]
Ryan Reynolds
John said that compared to the New York superheroes, who just seemed angry and vengeful when they chased down drug dealers, Phoenix had seemed a lot more idealistic. In fact, John said when they faced off with the crack dealers on the patrol we heard about in episode four, he really felt Phoenix was genuine.
- [17:13]
Robert Lamb
The conversation that I overheard with the crack dealer was like, I've got no choice. This is how I feed my family. I've got no choice. And Felix was like, sir, you do have a choice. And was like, trying to be a positive influence. And I'm sure that was real. That was part of what attracted him to us was that he was innocent and sweet and pure. And, yeah, he was goofy. And, yeah, there were definitely some bad sides to what he did, getting too into it. But there was a kind of goofiness and a purity to him. And the problem with the drug allegation is that it's not pure anymore. It's like, hypocritical. And I heard that now people yell hypocrite at him as he walks down the street in Seattle. Now, my guess is that there's a complicated set of circumstances as to why he ended up in that situation. But the problem is no one likes hypocrisy.
- [18:07]
Ryan Reynolds
That was the same problem I had with Phoenix. But John said that for all Phoenix's flaws, there was still one moment that stuck in his mind.
- [18:15]
Robert Lamb
My last memory of Phoenix were all of these kids just gathered around him, like, so excited. Oh, my God, it's Phoenix Jones. It's Phoenix Jones. And he was a celebrity. As I walked away, I looked back and I saw these kids with Phoenix. And I thought, well, he's no different to a superhero. He's giving these kids the same joy that a real superhero would. So he is a superhero in a way.
- [18:42]
Ryan Reynolds
For all the ups and downs in Phoenix's superhero career, there's no denying that he has genuinely inspired people along the way and not just in the US the superheroes John met and the ones I've spent time with in this series so far are all based in America. But since the heyday of the Rain City Crew, the real life superhero movement has gone international. It's time to meet the Caped crusaders who are fighting crime all over the globe. That's coming up.
- [19:24]
Danielle Fishel
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- [20:23]
Howie Mandel
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- [21:21]
Cindy Crawford
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- [22:23]
Ryan Reynolds
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- [23:24]
Gemini Representative
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- [24:11]
Ryan Reynolds
Again.
- [24:11]
Gemini Representative
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- [25:06]
Ryan Reynolds
America may be the birthplace of the classic comic book superheroes and the country where the real life superhero movement found its feet. But all over the world there are thriving pockets of superhero activity. Who knows, maybe there's even a masked avenger in your neighborhood sneaking out late at night in a cape and mask to ward off muggers or clean up the streets. So first stop on our superhero world tour is Japan. I guess There are about 40 heroes in Japan. This is Cleen Panther. She wears a blue, red and black kimono and a futuristic yellow panther mask that covers her whole head. Japan has the biggest real life superhero scene I encountered outside of America. But whereas the groups I met in Seattle were into crime fighting and homeless outreach, the big focus in Japan is picking up litter. That's how Clean Panther got her name. My main activity is Clean up Town so named Clean and also combined with Panther. I love Black Panther, the Marvel superhero. Clean Panther and her superhero crew go on litter patrols picking up trash in Nagoya, Japan's fourth largest city. They're just some of many heroes with names like Hell Hero, Clean Arrow and Maroon Sparrow who gear up in fantastical masks and body armor to tidy up their cities for Phoenix Drones. A patrol that isn't focused on taking out bad guys is a patrol wasted. So I can imagine he wouldn't fit in too well with the Japanese scene. But they do have one thing in common. The real life superheroes of Japan are great at social media. They post videos of themselves cleaning up their towns, shot like an action film with a comic book movie soundtrack. Over in Europe, they have their own superheroes too. Well, of course I can't give you my real name, but I go by the Incredible Spider. The Incredible Spider is from the Netherlands. He likes to keep his superhero activities on the down low, so he asked us to disguise his voice. I want to protect myself and the people I love. I don't say that I work outside of the law, but sometimes really has its benefits to not work specifically by the law, if you know what I mean. He says he divides his time between online vigilantism and real life street patrols, and his costume is a tribute to his Favorite superhero, Spider Man. He was basically the one character that really inspired me to do more to do all this. And it's also a symbol that people trust people feel safe around Spider Man. He wears a red suit with a white spider on the chest over stab proof armor and a homemade protective spider mask. He even builds his own Spider man inspired gadgets like a DIY web slinger. I got some web shooters with a fluid that has like a pepper spray mixture in it. So if somebody were to attack me, I can like simply pepper spray them. And they wouldn't see it. Like it's all covered in the suit so people won't see come in. The Incredible Spider has a pretty defined aesthetic, albeit one that borrows heavily from one of fiction's most well known superheroes. It's not easy to come up with your own superhero identity. Sometimes it takes time to refine it. There's also another Dutch superhero who went through a lot of different alter egos before he ultimately landed on the perfect alias. My first alias I've used was Blue Tornado. I was called Blue Tornado because those were the only two English words I knew back at the time. After that it was Black Shadow, then Green Assassin. For a while I just jumped to my closet like, what? What's the most superhero combination of clothes I have right now? And that was an all black suit. And that's when I started Shadow Panther. And Shadow Panther was the alias I've actually got arrested with because they thought I was trouble. This was a few years ago when Shadow Panther was around 17. I was walking through a park because the killer clown hype was raging back then. If the killer clown hype passed you by, it was an international hoax that got a lot of traction. Around 2016, there were rumors and news stories about evil clowns popping up all over the world who supposedly preyed on children. And it was like, hey, I'm going out there in the park trying to catch killer clowns. And I had this like huge iron bar with me to protect myself, you know. And this couple of guys came by and they asked me what I was doing, so I just started explaining. So the two guys called the police, who weren't impressed. And what I would give to have been there to see Shadow Panther decked out in his full costume, explaining to the cops that he was there to fight off killer clowns. I tried to mimic like a panther's face, but it kind of was like a snake face. It had like little teeth at the mouth opening and stuff, and safety goggles in it. It Was completely made of trash bags and duct tape that run in with the cops. Was basically the end of the Shadow Panther era. Now he's known as Blood Slash, and he says he's given up on ridding the world of killer clowns. I'm there to help people out with small things pointing to directions and stuff. And if trouble is going down, I'm trying to be there to be one of the people that has their phone in their hands, calls the alarm number. That kind of things I have to say. To me, the name Blood Slash doesn't really say, I'm your friendly neighborhood helper warden. But maybe it won't be the final alias this intrepid hero tries on for size. If he ever decided to take up the good old iron bar again and head to Seattle, I think Blood Slash would find a kindred spirit in Midnight Jack. After all, once upon a time, Jack was just a guy in a mask hiding in a bush with a baseball bat. Over in Mexico, the scene is a little different. Mexico is home to one of my favorite offshoots of the real life superhero world. Meet political scientist Jorge Canes, AKA El Piatonito. Jorge studied urban planning and transportation in college. When he was growing up in Mexico City, he discovered his true passion in road safety.
- [31:36]
Jorge Canes
We built cities for cars, motorized cities. Metal machines in the streets killing everyone, literally.
- [31:45]
Ryan Reynolds
Jorge struggled to get other people as fired up about infrastructure as he was.
- [31:49]
Jorge Canes
You know, it could be boring to talk about pedestrians with people, and nobody will read an academic paper about pedestrian road safety.
- [31:57]
Ryan Reynolds
Then one night, Jorge and his best friend went to catch a lucha libre wrestling match. It was something they did all the time. But that night was different. Jorge watched the masked luchador fighters throw each other around the ring in their gleaming costumes. And a crazy idea popped into his head.
- [32:15]
Jorge Canes
We need to do something fun. Why not? After the match, we buy a cape and a mask and go out to the streets to fight for the rights of pedestrians.
- [32:27]
Ryan Reynolds
And just like that, a new hero was born. El Peatonito. That's Spanish for the pedestrian. For his first few outings, El Peatonito wore a five dollar cape. But then he got an upgrade.
- [32:42]
Jorge Canes
My brother helped me with the design of the mask. It's crosswalk with a pedestrian. I told my grandmother to help me design my cape. And my cape has white and black stripes, just like a pedestrian crosswalk.
- [33:02]
Ryan Reynolds
With his new super suit, El Peatonito set out to brave the onslaught of rush hour in Mexico City. He wove through road, raging drivers and toxic exhaust fumes with his Black and white crosswalk cape streaming out behind him.
- [33:16]
Jorge Canes
I push back cars that are obstructing the crosswalk. I paint sidewalks and I paint crosswalks and bikeways without any permits. And my most controversial action in the streets is to walk on top of the cars parked on the sidewalk, because the sidewalk is a space of pedestrians. My mother tells me that I can get in trouble with the owner of the cars.
- [33:49]
Ryan Reynolds
El Peotonito has a lot in common with the real life superheroes I met in the US but he prefers a different label.
- [33:56]
Jorge Canes
I don't like too much the word superhero. I feel it sounds pretentious. I don't know, but I like more in Spanish the word luchador. It's a fighter, a fighter of the streets.
- [34:09]
Ryan Reynolds
Lucha libre wrestling started out in the late 19th century and it's famous for its high flying takedowns and masked fighters who wear brightly colored capes. Each luchador creates their own superhero esque Persona. Some of them symbolize good and some embody evil.
- [34:25]
Jorge Canes
It's a message that we are always have this struggle with the two sides of humanity. You know, we are all good and evil by nature. And this representation with luchadores, with these wrestlers with colorful masks and capes, and it's a great way to express this internal battle of human beings.
- [34:49]
Ryan Reynolds
Just like the real life superheroes who came before Phoenix Jones, El Pietonito has his own cape wearing predecessors in Mexico too. In the late 1980s, a luchador in red tights and a gold cape named Super Barrio Gomez fought for affordable housing after thousands of people were left homeless by an earthquake in Mexico City. But El Peotonito's main inspiration was a man named Antanas Mokas. He was a mathematician and philosopher with thick glasses and a sandy beard. He roamed the city of Bogota, Colombia in red spandex underpants and a cape with the letter C painted across his chest. It stood for Super Civico, Super Citizen. His central mission was to use his superpowers of comedy and performance to get people fired up about important issues. He even turned up on TV naked apart from his superhero logo, and took a shower to protest the lack of clean water in the city. And then in 1995, he ran for mayor of Bogota.
- [35:55]
Jorge Canes
He won the election and he was mayor of Bogota. And during his administration, he fired all the corrupt transit police and he hired mimes to control traffic.
- [36:12]
Ryan Reynolds
You heard that right. He hired 420 mimes with white painted faces and fluorescent dungarees. They fanned out across the city mocking people who broke traffic Laws and helping pedestrians cross the roads. The result was a 50% drop in traffic fatalities. And this superhero mayor super civico also brought down homicide rates by 70% with his other unusual policies. At one point, he got 45,000 citizens to gather in the streets and inflate balloons. They were painted with the image of someone who they felt had persecuted them in some way. Together, the citizens popped the balloons in a form of citywide performance therapy.
- [36:58]
Jorge Canes
I had the privilege to talk with him about this, and he told me that it's a way to have a civic theater in the streets. You know, people love to see theater and spectacles in the streets. And that's a great way to send a message in a peaceful way. And then I decided, like, we need a pedestrian superhero in Mexico City.
- [37:23]
Ryan Reynolds
This is a world I desperately want to live in. One where our philosopher mayor wears a cape to celebrate the humble citizen. A city run by a visionary leader who hires a hundreds of mimes as traffic police. What a beautiful sight that must have been. Why can't we have that? I would even settle for a world in which one of my elected officials was a real life supervillain. Like, oh, I don't know, Lord Mole.
- [37:50]
Robert Lamb
I've got an old Russian tank commander's helmet and a big overcoat and goggles. Obviously, because Mole is a mole. He's short sighted, but he needs the glasses and the goggles because he also is a scientist.
- [38:04]
Ryan Reynolds
Despite his supposedly villainous Persona, Lord Moll is actually a good guy. He spends a lot of his time out on the streets of Birmingham, England, doing homeless outreach or charity fundraising with his son, who is also a real life superhero.
- [38:18]
Robert Lamb
My son Andrew was being called Electro Kid by the other heroes because of all of the treatment that he'd had in hospital for a brain tumor. And then Electrolad as he got a bit older. And then he became Proton because of the proton beam therapy. So our favorite organization to raise money for is the Birmingham Children's Hospital.
- [38:44]
Ryan Reynolds
Lord Mole runs a real life superhero collective called the UK Initiative. It's part of a larger superhero network called the Initiative, which exists all over the world.
- [38:53]
Robert Lamb
We've got groups in Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Africa, South America, and obviously the uk.
- [39:02]
Ryan Reynolds
As it turned out, two of the leaders were only a few hours away from me just outside of San Francisco. So what's it like to run the real life equivalent of an international Avengers squad? That's coming up.
- [39:24]
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- [42:22]
Danielle Fishel
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- [43:25]
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- [45:08]
Ryan Reynolds
If the real life superhero movement has a spiritual home, it's a bakery in the bay area called superhero desserts. You'll find it in a red brick building with a glass fridge out front full of cakes with elaborate fondant toppings. Inside, it's cozy. There are fairy lights hanging up and photos on the walls of people dressed up in superhero costumes. It's run by Edwina and Mike, AKA Rock and roll and Night bug. If you catch them in costume, Nightbug is decked out in red and black with a smooth red mask that covers his whole face and black mesh holes over his eyes. Rock n roll likes to switch up her look, but you might find her with long, bright pink hair, knee high black boots and a purple cape. They're two of the leaders of a global superhero network with chapters all over the world called the initiative. They're also husband and wife, but they didn't start out their real life superhero journey together. I had been doing it without the wife's knowledge because I had figured, well, you know, what if they are completely crazy and I go out twice and I'm like, this is not for me. I can just forget the whole thing ever happened. Nightbug had heard about some heroes in his neighborhood doing costumed safety patrols, and he wanted to check it out. So one night he pulled on a mask and snuck out to join them. Several patrols later, Nightbug figured it was time to let his wife in on the secret.
- [46:33]
Podcast Host
And he said, okay, you know, I know I told you about this, this movie. I want you to come see. It's. It's called superheroes. And so we went to this theater, the Roxy in San Francisco, and there were all these weird guys standing around in costume outside. And I thought, wow, you guys really take these shows seriously. You're all dressed up.
- [46:51]
Ryan Reynolds
It turned out the movie was a documentary.
- [46:54]
Podcast Host
I realized, oh my God, this is about people who are trying to be real life superheroes. And the arc of the movie is beautiful in that you're laughing at these people at first. You're. You're ridiculing them, you know, with. With the rest of the audience. And then you see the sacrifices they make, the determination and the. Just the dedication they have. By the end of it, you're rooting for these guys. I was. And so was the audience, by the sound of it. They were all clapping at the. The end.
- [47:20]
Ryan Reynolds
After the credits rolled, some of the people Who'd come dressed up in costumes assembled at the front of the movie theater for the director's q and A. Nightbug said he needed to use the bathroom.
- [47:31]
Podcast Host
The questions happen. He's not back 10 minutes later, I'm going, oh, my gosh, is he okay? I'm looking at my watch, and this guy in this costume walks up right to the front of the theater where the other heroes are. And he takes his place, and they go, hey, guys, this is Nightblock. I went to the back, and I was going looking for just any man to go into the bathroom, check on my husband. And then I hear my husband's voice, and I go, oh, thank goodness. And I turn around, but it's not my husband talking. It's Night Bug. I felt like somebody had punched me in the gut, and I speechless. I couldn't believe it. So that's how I was introduced to it.
- [48:06]
Ryan Reynolds
After that, were you like, oh, this is great, or you're like, I don't know about this, or, oh, my God.
- [48:10]
Podcast Host
Immediately. Immediately the same things were running through my head. Oh, my God, how long has he been doing this? How did he keep this from me? And I love this. How can I get into it?
- [48:21]
Ryan Reynolds
Edwina, soon to be known as rock and roll, was pretty well qualified for superhero work.
- [48:25]
Podcast Host
We've been martial artists and instructors for decades now, and I was the head of security for a nightclub in San Francisco. It felt like being a bouncer. But for the entire city of San.
- [48:36]
Ryan Reynolds
Francisco these days, Night bug and Rock and roll are something of a superhero power couple. They founded the California chapter of the international superhero group the initiative in 2011. 13 more initiative chapters have sprung up since. As it happens, the New York branch of the Initiative is the same group Jon Ronson went on patrol with, Though a lot of the membership has turned over since then. From their base in California, Rock and Roll and Nightbug have become magnets for aspiring superheroes all over the world. We used to get several emails a month from people who are like, oh.
- [49:11]
Gemini Representative
Yeah, I can move things with my mind, you know.
- [49:14]
Jorge Canes
Oh, yeah.
- [49:15]
Ryan Reynolds
Can you demonstrate that? Oh, no, no.
- [49:16]
Gemini Representative
I can't do it over video because.
- [49:20]
Robert Lamb
There'S always some excuse.
- [49:21]
Podcast Host
I think it's a masterpiece of an understatement to say that we get a few. We get, like, out of 10 people. I'd say seven people are just unrealistic about dudes. We don't go out taking down drug lords. It's not what we do. You'll find out really quickly that you don't actually have superpowers.
- [49:40]
Ryan Reynolds
To make sure their budding recruits stay grounded on this plane of reality, Rock n Roll and Nightbug run a Facebook page where they and other veteran superheroes offer advice. They even have their own podcast called Heroes 101. The initiative wasn't the only reason I wanted to talk to Rock and Roll and Nightbug. Phoenix Jones repeatedly claimed to be the only true real life superhero. One who was flawless at crime fighting. But as you know, I had my doubts. So every time I interviewed a superhero for this series, I asked them who they thought was the best example of a real life superhero out there today. And again and again, people told me Rock and Roll and Nightbug. So I was curious to meet them and find out what they were up to. Turns out it was a lot. They started out doing community outreach to unhoused people in their community community.
- [50:32]
Podcast Host
Every week we were going broke, to put it plainly. We'd make 200 burritos and, you know, every week and then bring them out with socks and water and everything else. And pretty soon we went, we can't do this anymore.
- [50:45]
Ryan Reynolds
At the time, Rock and Roll had been watching a lot of the great British baking show.
- [50:49]
Podcast Host
And so I was baking so much that my friends were going, you know, if your family's getting sick of all the sugar and you can't do anything with it, why don't you just have a pop up, take the money and do something good with it? Oh, my God. There you go.
- [51:04]
Ryan Reynolds
That's how their bakery, Superhero desserts, was born. 15% of their profits go to fund superhero community outreach events every month.
- [51:12]
Podcast Host
We had 50 people the last time, 60 people the time before. And they all got together wearing superhero costumes and making burritos and things together.
- [51:21]
Ryan Reynolds
They also carry out safety patrols, run free self defense classes, and according to their website, They've personally collected 11,000 used needles from the streets of California. When I talked to Rock and Roll and Nightbug about the Seattle superhero scene, they told me they were close with Ivo and Crystal Marx. And they were big fans of Red Ranger too, But they were less complimentary about our old friend Phoenix Jones, to be perfectly blunt.
- [51:47]
Podcast Host
And Phoenix knows this. We've said it before to him. Phoenix has a kind heart. But Phoenix has made a lot of really bad decisions. It's sad that he's the biggest name you see, but, you know, we don't want people thinking the rest of us are like him.
- [52:05]
Ryan Reynolds
Rock and Roll and Night Bug definitely fall into the category of superhero that Phoenix derisively calls real life sandwich handlers. Though at times Phoenix has apologized for these types of remarks and said he wants to be able to get along and work alongside all types of superheroes. But then he'll launch into a rant about how people who give out food in costumes are assholes. So it's hard to take him at his word when he claims to be above the petty superhero infighting. Rock and roll and Nightbook told me they aren't interested in doing this work for glory or fame. Another accusation Phoenix often lobs at other superheroes.
- [52:42]
Podcast Host
We try to hammer it into the community. Look, it's awful if you think about it, to want to be someone's hero because you're essentially hoping that someone will have the worst day of their life. So for you to want to be, oh, I want to rescue someone today, just hope that everything's quiet. And if you happen to be there for someone, that's great for you, not so great for them.
- [53:11]
Ryan Reynolds
I think that is probably an ideal attitude that any superhero should have when they head out on a patrol of their community. At the end of the day, I would say that I'm a supporter of the real life superhero community. I think if you're judging real life superheroes solely on their ability to fight crime, I would say the movement as a whole has under delivered on that promise. But I personally never had any experiences with the kind of superheroes Jon Ronson met, the ones whose hearts did not appear to be in the right place. So my take is a little different than his. I don't see the movement itself as flawed. I think any movement will have its bad apples, the ones who seem to be doing more harm than good. But at least in my experience, I think the vast majority of real life superheroes do way more good for society than harm. It's hard to quantify just how much good they do, but attempts have been made. A 2016 study at the University of Sydney looked at real life superheroes and found that on average they spent 19 hours a week on superhero activity. Which I assume is way more time than most people spend volunteering to help their own community. And I love the idea of every town having its own unique superheroes, its own home team, so to speak, instead of a superhero monoculture dominated by the large corporations that control the intellectual property of DC and Marvel. I'm all for for the diversification of the superhero universe and I wholeheartedly support people's individual expression. Who doesn't love seeing a kick ass homemade costume? I wish there were more real life Superheroes in every city for kids to encounter out in the wild for the good humanitarian work they do and for the sheer joy of having eccentric characters roaming the streets living out their own fantasies. What it means to be a hero. 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 Rob Speight Music supervision by Nicholas Alexander and David Waters. Original music is composed by Paul Housden. Special thanks to Peter Tangen, Willard Foxton, Matt o', Meara, Katrina Norvell, Beth Ann Macaluso, Orin Rosenbaum, Shelby Shankman and all the team at uta. For more from Novel visit Novel audience.
- [56:30]
Cindy Crawford
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- [57:00]
Danielle Fishel
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- [57:37]
Ryan Reynolds
The guys from Stuff They Don't Want you to Know.
- [57:39]
Howie Mandel
Here at Stuff They Don't Want you to Know, we celebrate curiosity. And that's why we'll be talking about.
- [57:44]
Ryan Reynolds
Hendrik's Gin Hendrix Gin is crafted with.
- [57:46]
Howie Mandel
Care in Scotland by master distiller miss Leslie Gracie and is uniquely infused with rose and cucumber.
- [57:53]
Ryan Reynolds
Why not awaken your senses with a.
- [57:55]
Danielle Fishel
Refreshingly curious Hendricks cucumber lemonade?
- [57:58]
Ryan Reynolds
Hendrix is the refreshingly curious choice for marvelous summer cocktails.
- [58:03]
Robert Lamb
And you don't have to take our word for it. To learn more about Hendrix and to.
- [58:06]
Ryan Reynolds
Find more cocktail recipes, visit hendrixgen.com US Drink responsibly Hendrix Gin 44% alcohol by volume 2025 imported by William Grant &.
- [58:18]
Howie Mandel
Sons Incorporated, New York, NY Let your.
- [58:21]
Danielle Fishel
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Ryan Reynolds
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- [59:21]
Podcast Host
This is an I Heart podcast.