Real Life 'Superheroes'

[GeneChing]

[GeneChing]

He seems even more heroic than Bruce Wayne ever was....

Route 29 Batman is killed after his Batmobile breaks down along a Md. highway
How Batman spent his free time: At hospitals cheering up kids


Lenny B. Robinson, who was fatally struck by a car Sunday night on I-70 after his Batmobile broke down, spent hundreds of thousands on his costume and memorabilia to visit kids hospitalized with life-threatening illnesses.
By Michael S. Rosenwald and John Woodrow Cox August 17 at 10:59 AM

The Batmobile pulled into a gas station Sunday night and, as usual, the children gawked.

Lenny B. Robinson, better known as the Route 29 Batman, was used to that. The Maryland man had become a worldwide internet sensation after an encounter with the Montgomery County police in 2012. He had for years dressed as the Caped Crusader and driven his custom-made, ‘60’s-style beast (or other tricked-out cars) to deliver moments of happiness and distraction to hundreds of sick children in the region’s hospitals.

On Sunday, he was returning from a car show in West Virginia when, during his stop, he met a family whose children were interested in the car, according to Maryland state police. His costume stored in the Batmobile but his alter-ego never entirely switched off, Robinson gave the kids some superhero paraphernalia before leaving about the same time as his new acquaintances.

Minutes later, Robinson pulled over with engine trouble on an unlit stretch of Interstate 70 near Hagerstown, Md., police said. The family parked behind him, turning their emergency lights on.

He had stopped in the median but with his car still “partially in the fast lane,” according to a state police news release. He was checking the engine on the passenger side when at around 10:30 p.m. a Toyota Camry slammed into the Batmobile, propelling the steel-framed hunk of black metal into his body. Robinson, 51, died at the scene.

In March 2012, police on Route 29 in Silver Spring, Md., pulled over Lenny B. Robinson dressed head to toe in Batman gear and driving a black Lamborghini with the Batman symbol on its license plate. (Associated Press)

The crash is still under investigation, and no charges have been filed. The driver of the Camry, who wasn’t injured, declined to comment.

[Who is the Route 29 Batman? This guy.]

Robinson’s devastated family and friends gathered Monday at his parents’ Owings Mills, Md., home, remembering him not just as Batman, but as a son and a brother, an uncle to three nieces and a father to three sons.

“He was my brother, my business partner, my best friend,” Scott Robinson said.

Though he was divorced and his kids lived in New Jersey, Robinson drove every weekend to pick the boys up and bring them back and forth to Baltimore.

The family knows that people around the world are mourning his death. After his story went viral three years ago, he received messages from fans as far away as Germany and Vietnam.

Robinson spent hundreds of thousands of dollars, his brother said, on his Batmobile, costumes and the memorabilia he handed out to children, always autographed “Batman.”


Lenny Robinson and Wonder Woman (Leslie Vincent from Cast of Thousands), with patient Fatou Mboge, and her mom, Awa Janneh, at the annual Hope for Henry Superhero Celebration at Georgetown Hospital. (Photo by Allen Goldberg)

It took him about 45 minutes to put on the black eye makeup and his cumbersome superhero uniform, which drained him of 5 to 6 pounds in water weight every time he wore it.

In hospitals, he didn’t walk so much as stride.

“There will never,” he said, “be another Lenny Robinson.”

The Post revealed Batman’s identity to the world in 2012, after Robinson was pulled over in Silver Spring, Md., in a black Lamborghini and full superhero garb. Video of his encounter with police, who had pulled him over because of a problem with his plates — emblazoned with the Batman symbol — made him an instant Web sensation.

The encounter began turning up in millions of Facebook news feeds, even making it into a Jimmy Fallon monologue.

Robinson, who lived outside of Baltimore, had become wealthy in the cleaning business, earning enough money to buy his own Batmobile, a costume that seemed more real than the one in the movies, and toys and memorabilia that he handed out to children with cancer at hospitals all over Maryland and the District.

He had first started wearing the costume because his son Brandon was obsessed with the character. But when he saw how children reacted, Robinson found a new purpose.

The good deeds he did in character were, in some ways, penance for a temper that had led him to fights and run-ins with the law years ago.

“He always joked that he had ‘bat senses,’” said Yuri Ozeryan, referring to Robinson’s willingness earlier in life to defend people in need — even with his fists.

“Sometimes,” Ozeryan added, “he might have started it.”

But the suit changed him, said Ozeryan, an amateur filmmaker who followed Robinson in 2012 for a now-stalled documentary.

As the Dark Knight, Robinson used a deep voice, but he was careful to never scare younger children. He liked to pick up the smallest ones and hold them up so they could look down into his eyes.

He had a theory on why the character resonated with kids, explaining it in a 2012 online chat with Post readers.

“Batman is the only super hero that doesn’t have super powers,” he wrote. “He’s naturally a super hero. Kids can relate to me a lot better.”

He also recalled the comment from parents that he heard, and coveted, most: “this is the first time my son or daughter has smiled in months.”

On one visit to Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, Batman reflected on the health of his own three children. “We’re lucky,” he said.

At Children’s, there were kids with tubes in their noses, with IVs in their arms. Batman handed out gifts: books, rubber symbol bracelets and other toys.

Robinson also worked closely with Hope for Henry, a D.C. organization that helps sick children. Founded by Laurie Strongin and Allen Goldberg after their son Henry died from a rare disease, the group threw superhero parties in hospitals. Batman was always the star.

“He made so many kids so happy,” Strongin said. “When I asked him to do anything, he always said yes.”

Robinson had never met Henry.

“But he called me every year on his birthday,” Strongin said.

Strongin has been crying all morning. The organization had just finished producing a video about the program. It starts with a little boy dressed as Batman. He has leukemia. He’s waiting outside a hospital. The real Batman — Lenny Robinson — pulls up in his Batmobile, gets out and hugs the boy.

“He was magic,” Strongin said.

Marilyn Richardson, who works at Sinai’s Rubin Institute for Advanced Orthopedics, met Robinson about a decade ago when Batman, in his humbler days, was still driving a Chrysler PT Cruiser.

She has thousands of photos of him and nearly as many stories.

On Monday, she recalled the teenager who, while recovering from surgery, had grown depressed as she saw friends on Facebook enjoying the life she wanted. One day, the girl looked out of her hospital room window and noticed the Batmobile.

Then, he walked in.

“Oh my gosh,” she said. “Batman’s here.”

Robinson took a photo with her, and she uploaded it to Facebook. When Richardson saw her later, the girl was glowing: “I’ve never gotten this many likes.”

Another time, he was walking down the hall and came upon a solitary elderly woman staring at the floor. She looked up and saw him.

“Well hello young lady,” he said. She stood up straight and beamed.

But no one adored Robinson more than Elizabeth Gardner, who suffers from TAR Syndrome, a rare disorder that reduces her platelets and has left her arms severely shortened.

She was 6 — and intensely afraid of costumed characters — when she first met Batman.

They clicked.

“It was such a huge, huge moment in that he was able to break down that barrier,” said her mother, Lisa. “He just had a beautiful spirit about him.”

Elizabeth later told him that she was being bullied by other kids at her elementary school.

“They don’t believe that Batman is my friend,” she told him.

So, Robinson went to school with her, appearing in full costume before the student body. He told them bullying was wrong and called her onstage to give her a Batman necklace.

Elizabeth, he announced, is my friend.

Later, the two sat facing each other behind the stage. He had taken off the gloves to cool his sweaty hands in front of a fan.

“I wish I could be more like you,” he told her.

The girl shook her head, no.

“That won’t do,” she said. “You’re your own person.”

Jennifer Jenkins contributed to this report.

[GeneChing]

Sweet story. More pix if you follow the link.

Superheroes let the sunshine in at S.F. children’s hospital
By Kale Williams Updated 7:49 pm, Monday, September 28, 2015


Ceion MCkay, 3, fist bumps with Wonder Woman at the UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital in San Francisco, California, on Monday, Sept. 28, 2015. Photo: Connor Radnovich, The Chronicle
Photo: Connor Radnovich, The Chronicle


Armed with soapy squeegees, Spider-Man, Thor and Wonder Woman teamed up with other superheroes Monday to bring a ray of sunshine to sick kids by vanquishing the villain of the day: grime on the windows of UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital San Francisco.

Of course the men and women dangling from the Mission Bay hospital’s facade weren’t officially superheroes, but that didn’t matter much to the ill children who gathered at windows and pointed in awe as the costumed cleaning crusaders rappelled from the roof.

“We all need to feel like superheroes sometimes, especially if you’re a child dealing with an illness,” said Michael Towne, head of child life services at the hospital, who himself was adorned in a red cape. “We all get to feel like heroes today.”

Lucila Calderone, 7, winced a little as a nurse helped place an IV in her arm, but she immediately ran to the window as soon as the procedure was done to get a peek at the action.

“I feel really happy,” Lucila said, gazing from side to side out of her sixth-floor hospital room. “I’m way too excited, but I only see Iron Man. Where’s Thor?”

Thor was busy, just out of Lucila’s view, speaking with the parents of another ill child, while Bob Kerns, dressed as Iron Man, explained to reporters the purpose of the mission.

“Seeing the kids’ faces light up, it’s really just a great thing to be a part of,” said Kerns, who owns Master Care Window Washing.

Kerns said the event was also fun for his employees, who came to work dressed as Captain America, the Hulk, a red Power Ranger and the Flash, among others.

“The reaction from the kids is really special and from the parents, too. You get all of them lining up at the windows, and then they want to take pictures and the parents want to pose for selfies,” he said.

Back up in Lucila’s room, her mother, Marisela Veliz, stood back smiling as her daughter pressed her face against the window.

“It’s great,” Veliz said. “She’s been in here three days, so this is a really nice thing for her to see before she has to leave.”

Towne said the hospital has its windows cleaned about twice a year and that facility officials are considering making the superhero cleaners a regular fixture.

“If it adds a little hope and joy for the kids, I don’t see why we wouldn’t,” he said.

Kale Williams is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: kwilliams@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfkale

[GeneChing]

Best Batmobile ever.

R.I.P. GEORGE BARRIS, DESIGNER OF TV'S BATMOBILE
THE "KUSTOM CAR KING" ALSO CREATED THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES' JALOPY AND MANY OTHER AWESOME AUTOMOBILES.
POSTED: NOVEMBER 5, 2015, 3:53PM BY: METV STAFF



In classic television, an action show was often only as good as the hero's car. What would Jim Rockford be without his Firebird, or the Mod Squad without its Challenger? When it came to making cool cars for TV, George Barris was one of the best. Earlier today, Barris' son took to Facebook to report that his father had died.

Sorry to have to post that my father, legendary kustom car king George Barris, has moved to the bigger garage in the sky. He passed on peacefully in his sleep at 2:45 am.
Barris crafted some incredible autos over his decades in the business. Perhaps the most iconic is the original Batmobile, the sleek black ride with red (well, "fluorescent cerise") highlights and fins, built from a 1955 Lincoln Futura. With a short deadline to produce the ride for Batman, Barris modified a Futura in his shop rather that start from scratch. To this day, it remains far more beautiful and timeless than that squashed steath bomber in those recent Batman movies.

The ace customizer continued to churn out memorable cars. He provided the Munsters' hot rod, the Beverly Hillbillies' truck, Mannix's Toronado roadster, and the "Super Pursuit" K.I.T.T. on Knight Rider, to name a few. If you remember the 1977 B-movie Super Van, that was Barris, too.

The Batmobile remains his pièce de résistance. Two year ago, the vehicle sold for $4.3 million at auction.

[GeneChing]

I'd like these guys better if they wore costumes.

Kung fu crime fighters patrol streets – as police 'too scared'
MARTIAL arts experts have banded together to protect the public from thugs and druggies – as the police are "too scared".
By David Trayner / Published 4th January 2016


CRIME FIGHTER: Marco Garcia – who founded Black Belt Patrol
A vigilante group made up of kung fu, karate and other martial arts specialists – and led by a former squaddie – are patrolling the streets after getting sick of of crime in their neighbourhood.

The so-called Black Belt Patrol claims drug dealers outnumber police 10-one and officers are not trained to tackle violent criminals.

The 30-strong group has been distributing calling cards with a number for terrified residents to call.


FOUNDER: The group patrols the streets and public transport

“'Wait for reinforcements', they say – but they only arrive after the attackers have gone”
Marco Garcia
The 30-strong group has been distributing calling cards with a number for terrified residents to call.

Founder Marco Garcia is a former French Foreign Legionnaire who runs a combat sports school in Geneva, Sqitzerland.

The former soldier – who is a specialist in the Israeli self-defence art krav maga – enlisted the help of martial arts enthusiasts and began patrolling the streets on Boxing Day after he had "had enough".

But police fear violent confrontations between the militia and drug peddlers.

Garcia said: "We are not armed.

"We take to the streets – in public transportation and everywhere where someone needs us."

He added: "The police are not trained enough.

"'Wait for reinforcements', they say – but they only arrive after the attackers have gone."

A police spokesman said: "We do not accept spontaneous projects that take place outside of the legal framework of agreed civil action."

The moment vigilante neighbours confronted a suspected thief was caught on camera last month.

[boxerbilly]

Glad you are back Gene. I was going to make a post asking where you are.

[Ronald Arjune]

I think the police are trained its just that they have to handle the problem with self control and criminals can handle it anyhow they want because they are not thinking of the right or wrong way to hurt someone. In a way the reasoning is a limitation to action

[boxerbilly]

I think the police are trained its just that they have to handle the problem with self control and criminals can handle it anyhow they want because they are not thinking of the right or wrong way to hurt someone. In a way the reasoning is a limitation to action

Hello.

Glad you are posting.

Bill

[GeneChing]

...but I didn't deem it worthy of its own indie thread.

Glad you are back Gene. I was going to make a post asking where you are.

I took the longest vacation since I began working here a decade and a half ago. It was a family trip to Spain, my first time there, and part of my heart now resides there.

I think the police are trained its just that they have to handle the problem with self control and criminals can handle it anyhow they want because they are not thinking of the right or wrong way to hurt someone. In a way the reasoning is a limitation to action

I know, right? I have a lot of Kung Fu brothers that are cops and they are very well trained, more so than a lot of black belts. But then again, I know a lot of black belts.

[GeneChing]

Your friendly neighborhood Spiderman - in China! How does Spiderman translate anyway? Zhu ren?

Mysterious 'Spider-Man' receives 450,000 RMB in cash for helping out with drug bust



Spider-Man seems to have quit his day job of cleaning very high and precarious places, and gone back to the more lucrative world of crime-fighting.



On December 27th, police in Guangdong carried out a huge drug bust, arresting 20 suspects, seizing 600 kilograms in raw materials and 630 kilograms in methamphetamine, ecstasy and other drugs. It all would not have been possible without the help of one masked hero.




So yesterday, this man received his just reward, arriving at the PSB office with a Spider-Man mask and SWAT escort to accept 450,000 yuan in cash, the biggest single pay day in Guangdong police history.



Typically we see this kind of thing when lucky lottery winners come to pick up their oversized checks, but Spidey here would seem to have two very good incentives for keeping his identity a secret.
btw, here's what that kind of cash looks like:



[Images via NetEase]
Contact the author of this article or email tips@shanghaiist.com with further questions, comments or tips.
By Alex Linder in News on Jan 22, 2016 10:00 PM

[Faux Newbie]

Usually, with my sanda friends in China, they all call Silva "Spiderman".

[GeneChing]

What a touching story.

Jacob Hall's mom opens up at superhero goodbye: 'I don't want to let him go'
Oct. 6, 2016 at 5:39 AM Scott Stump

As a succession of mourners dressed in superhero costumes came to pay tribute to Jacob Hall, the first-grader who died after being shot on his school playground, his mother took solace in knowing it was a fitting way to honor her son's memory.

Hall, 6, was mourned by more than a thousand people at a funeral service at Oakdale Baptist Church in Townville, South Carolina, on Wednesday. His mother, Renae Hall, suggested that everyone come in a superhero costume to honor the memory of Jacob, who always imagined himself as a superhero helping others.

"I knew it was going to be Jacob's classmates, friends from all over the place,'' Hall told Janet Shamlian on TODAY. "I didn't want them to be sad."

Despite the upbeat atmosphere celebrating Jacob's life, it was a devastating day for his family.


Reuters
Dale Hall, dressed in a Superman outfit, stands before the casket during the funeral for his brother, Jacob, 6, who died after being shot on the playground at his elementary school in Townville, South Carolina.

"I don't want to let him go, but I have to,'' Hall said. "This is the worst pain I've ever felt in my whole entire life."


Ken Ruinard / AP
Mourners were encouraged by Hall's mother to come dressed as superheroes to honor her son at the funeral.

A third of the population of the small town came out to celebrate Jacob's life, with people dressed as everyone from Superman to Wonder Woman to Jacob's favorite, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.


Ken Ruinard / AP
More than 1,000 people in the small South Carolina town came to honor Jacob while dressed as superheroes like Wonder Woman, the Power Rangers and Superman.

"I would never imagine one small kid would've brought us all together,'' attendee Karissa Mattress, who was dressed as Superman, told Shamlian.

The K-9 unit of the local police came dressed in superhero garb, and the Batmobile even made an appearance thanks to a charity, Heroes 4 Higher, with a mission to inspire kids. A military veteran named John Buckland, the founder of the charity, came dressed as Batman and gave a heartwarming speech.

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WATCH: 'Batman' delivers eulogy at superhero-themed funeral for 6-year-old Jacob Hall, who was killed in S.C. school shooting.
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"I can't help but feel that he's been riding with me in that Batmobile with that wreath for the longest time today,'' Buckland said at the ceremony.

A bullet pierced an artery in Hall's leg on Sept. 28 when a 14-year-old boy began shooting at Townville Elementary School, authorities said. Jacob fought for nearly a week after losing 75 percent of his blood and undergoing multiple surgeries when he went into cardiac arrest.


Ken Ruinard / AP
John Buckland, dressed as Batman, hugs the aunt of Jacob Hall, Rebecca Hunnicut, after speaking during the superhero-themed funeral service for Jacob.

Authorities say the teenager first shot his father to death before going to the elementary school. He was charged as a juvenile on Sept. 30 with murder and three counts of attempted murder.

Jacob's teacher, Meghan Hollingsworth, was shot in the shoulder trying to protect Jacob and has made a recovery.

Townville Elementary School held classes Thursday for the first time since the shooting, one day after laying a superhero to rest with a fitting tribute.

"I'm surprised it's not raining out from his tears of joy,'' Hall said.

[GeneChing]

[GeneChing]

[GeneChing]

Former superhero stars behaving badly...

I'm not grabbing the instagram images because it's a bother. I just saw Sam Jones at SVCC.

Flash Gordon and The Hulk fight at Comic Con
By Max Jaeger May 29, 2017 | 1:09pm | Updated

socialworkhelper
MCM London Comic Con
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The Hulk talking to Flash Gordon! #IncredibeHulk #flashgordon #MCMComicCon #LouFerrino #superheroes #legends #ExcelLondon #londoncomiccon
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socialworkhelperThe Hulk talking to Flash Gordon! #IncredibeHulk #flashgordon #MCMComicCon #LouFerrino #superheroes #legends #ExcelLondon #londoncomiccon
mr.solodolowAwesome heroes
stellabastienneNice meeting you and shaking your hand Flash

It was a real-life battle of the superheroes at a comic fest over the weekend — when Hulk actor Lou Ferrigno got into a brawl with “Flash Gordon” star Sam Jones, and fans had to jump in and break them up.

“I don’t know if I was the real superhero, because if there was a clash of the Titans, I would have got squashed,” said Darryn Clements, who stepped in to help separate the musclebound actors at London’s ComicCon on Saturday, according to the Sun.

chris_shaw7
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chris_shaw7Flash Gordon & Lou Ferrigno! I was a tight ******* so didn't pay to meet them lol. #mcmcomiccon #mcm #comiccon #flashgordon #louferrigno #thehulk #geek
f4studioshow much were they charging?
chris_shaw7£30 each

Clements and other grown men in the crowd who were dressed in superhero costumes actually had to tell the 6-foot-tall actors to grow up.

“There was a large crowd around, so I told them to act like adults and grow up, as they were supposed to be there for their fans,” Clements said. “I thought this has to be calmed down because if one hits the other, it would be chaos — they are absolute monsters.”

Ferrigno, who played the volatile superhero in the 1970s TV series “The Incredible Hulk,” did not comment to the paper. But Jones, who starred in the 1980 flick “Flash Gordon,” claimed that he and his fellow actor were just trying to stop a fight between fans.

“’He and I together defused it,” Jones told the paper.

The pair seemed to bury the hatchet — they were back at the convention Sunday signing autographs for fans.

gartonjones.london
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How random #theincrediblehulk & #flashgordon #sidebyside I guess if we have any security issues here today, I'll be ok!!! #louferrigno & #samjjones
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gartonjones.londonHow random #theincrediblehulk & #flashgordon #sidebyside I guess if we have any security issues here today, I'll be ok!!! #louferrigno & #samjjones