The Fall of Phoenix Jones

across the world hundreds of individuals are patrolling the streets of their hometowns seeking out and justices where they might be of service some are looking for crime to document report or in rare cases intervene others are simply hoping to inspire their community with small acts of heroism such as handing out food to the hungry or giving a call right to a would-be drunk driver as a maje to their comic book inspirations they adopt colorful costumes and pseudonyms like Red Bud woman and the Crimson Connect each has a different mo Poli man travels the streets of Canada shoveling snow from driveways the DC Guardian patrols the United States Capitol handing out copies of the Constitution most consider their efforts a type of inspirational cosplay with a bit of live-action roleplay included for theatrical effect but of those who have truly modelled themselves after their fictional counterparts who devote their lives to martial arts training push their bodies to peak fitness confront criminals who react violently toward them and operate alongside a police force who are continuously looking for reasons to get them off the street there may only be one furthermore whenever you inject yourself into an issue there's always the problem that could get worse and that is people can misconstrue intentions people can escalate the situation armed with a ten thousand dollar bulletproof suit a stun baton two million Scoville pepper spray and a GoPro Phoenix Jones is perhaps the closest thing to a comic book hero we've ever seen and during his decade of activity his fans have watched him transform from hero to antihero and finally to what he'd fought so long to protect Seattle against I guess it's true what they say you live long enough as the hero see yourself come the building this is the rise and fall of Phoenix Jones [Music] his full title is Phoenix Jones guardian of Seattle and his story begins in late 2010 when local news began reporting on a mysterious figure who nearly every night disappeared into the hidden room of a comic book shop and emerged in a black and gold costume in the beginning the learning curve for what he hoped to accomplish proved steep patrolling areas rich with the nightlife Jones would occasionally encounter little more than an obnoxious bar patron who needed calming down finding crime was nearly as difficult as fighting it it was pretty embarrassing Jones told a reporter of Seattle med speaking of his early patrols I walked around downtown and didn't see any crime but in January of 2011 Jones began to cut his teeth on the extreme brand of heroics that he would ultimately become known for one local man came within seconds of having his car broken into perhaps stolen until a super hero came to his rescue and he just started sticking it down inside between the window here and the rubber strip Dan was calling 911 flew in before he finished dialing from the right this guy comes dashing in just wearing this skin tight rubber black and golden suit and starts chasing him away the attention Jones got from the single incident solidified his nation crime-fighting in order to separate himself from the growing community of other real-life superheroes Jones believed he would have to put himself in the precarious situations that others wouldn't dream of as he continued Jones began breaking up street fights attempting to intimidate drug dealers and in doing so incurred many injuries but a man at gunpoint Saturday night while another broke his nose thundered my eye over here on this I can see but the injuries didn't deter him he appeared to romanticize the bellicose portrayals of comic-book heroes and he was on his way to becoming one despite the attempts of Seattle police to dissuade him and now police say enough is enough someone's gonna end up dead don't assert yourself into those situations if you see something called 911 law enforcement weren't the only ones to disapprove Jones was largely condemned by other costumed heroes who considered him delusional and worried his efforts would be harmful to their overall reputation for the first time we have someone who agrees with her overall purpose but doesn't agree with our methods Portland Oregon based hero night-out told the Wall Street Journal it's not putting on a super suit and finding bad guys to fight real-life isn't that way real crime fighting doesn't work that way if you act that way you're probably gonna make things worse Jones was certainly an outlier in the real-life superhero community a community which can be traced back to the 1970s with the charismatic Californian known as Captain sticky retiring in his 20s after inventing corrugated fiberglass Richard Pesta of San Diego devoted his life to becoming America's first Cape Crusader like many after him captain sticky's approach was nonviolent his costume an outrageous persona served as bait for the media who gave him the platform he needed to speak out against injustice 'as such as the poor conditions of elderly homes or greedy auto mechanics up charging their less knowledgeable customers of the modern era many site master legend of Florida as one of the first to seek out crime and physically intervene thanks for that next time you want with a little kid patrol in Winter Park just outside of Orlando Master legend comes equipped with this master blaster a homemade cannon that fires plastic Easter eggs filled with cayenne pepper and rock salt while Master legend and Captain sticky were novelties at their time of arrival in recent decades an influx of individuals following in their footsteps began to permeate the streets of metropolitan cities mister full moon of Tokyo Japan the black rat of Sydney Australia the more news outlets reported on these individuals the more they seemed to crop up calls himself the shadow hair names like asylum full king and professor midnight although often accused of being naive many of these heroes understand the scope of what they can realistically accomplish inside the law while ideologies vary within these individuals and organizations common mantras include staying safe remaining on the good side of law enforcement and making a difference where one can but not only did Phoenix Jones stand in stark contrast with this community he seemed to look down on them I don't call them real-life superheroes he told writer Jon Ronson who interviewed Jones in an emergency room as he was being treated for a stab wound I call them real-life sandwich handlers but this separation from the community didn't seem to hinder Phoenix on the contrary by mid 2011 Phoenix was well on his way to becoming the world's most famous real-life superhero during his patrols Jones would be approached for pictures autographs even requests for video shoutouts and it wasn't long before Phoenix managed to inspire a small coalition of like-minded individuals who costume themselves to join him on Patrol el Caballero whose appearance seemed to pay tribute to Luchadors became one of Jones's closest allies Purple Rain whose focus was domestic assault awareness and prevention served a strategist and monitored a police radio in order to direct the group to where they might be needed though I went to the city of Seattle's website when police follow all the reports so I look and see what kinds of crimes are happening if the police respond a nice factor in all this different data they say you know this is where we need to be and that's how we find crime Phoenix had very specific attributes he wanted in his fellow superheroes they needed to know how to fight military and martial arts background was a strict prerequisite in the recruit States sharp with regular training average police response time in Seattle is 5 minutes we're gonna try to basically hold off an attacker me he will be in the superhero we're gonna try to keep it going for about 5 minutes as the goal by late 2011 the group had accumulated around ten members with names like Buster Doe midnight Jack and red dragon they were a diverse cast of characters but unified under the leadership of Phoenix Jones they became the rain city superhero movement [Music] it's blacks gonna go into cover and tips make a drop-by I don't usually look like this and once he sees the once he sees the drugs or the thing we're going to come in at Buster's all over we're tired of his bad people selling drugs in the city polluted block every government as it is it's kind of funny but I'm dead serious Phoenix's approach remained polarizing as he often invited camera crews to follow him on patrol some sense Jones cared more about his own celebrity than improving his community have you really made the best uses of media attention to further the cause as you claim to serve fellow seattle-based hero Raven Blade asked in an open letter to Jones have you really acted like a hero the criticism was largely engulfed by outspoken supporters who considered Phoenix Jones the first legitimate real-life superhero a distinction from the costume street performers many had come to associate with the movement they continued allegedly chasing down a suspect in a stabbing even stopping a bus from being hijacked Phoenix and Purple Reign were married and the two of them together serving as the dual public face of the group seem to be good PR interviewers and media outlets were divided some wishing to scold the heroes it's been Nightwing and Batgirl isn't it I mean that's what it is more about that than anything else is it no some choosing instead to highlight their accomplishments man was getting violent with security at a nightclub he proceeded to get violent with me and my group of friends Phoenix ran in and pepper sprayed the guy and diffused the entire situation how did you hear about it the group was earning a bit of respect and with Seattle having a crime rate 126 percent above the national average receiving an F rank on area vibes calm the rain city superhero movement had their work cut out for them but the interventionist approach the hero's employed often skirted the lines of legality the process of a citizen's arrest which the heroes regularly performed is a complicated and unpredictable one as it's often easy to mistake the context of a given situation Jeremy McHenry of MPs security services had this to say of the concept of a citizen's arrest you're going to be sued if you mess up you can be arrested for making a false arrest many understood that jones's reckless approach would sooner or later catch up with them so it was no surprise that in late 2011 the inevitable happened a so-called superhero in Seattle is under arrest Phoenix and fellow hero ghosts were out on patrol and they witnessed a crowd of people congregating beneath a viaduct from the distance up the street where the hero stood it looked like a street fight Phoenix ran in shouting to the group to break it up instructing ghosts to dial 911 call but rather than thinking Phoenix for his assistance the group turned on him Phoenix unable to verbally control the situation employed the use of his pepper spray the police arrived soon after their patience with the Jones already spent and took statements from both parties according to Jones what he thought he was running into was an assault but according to a police report the group was quote dancing and frolicking around with each other when a masked man came running and shouting toward them coating the area and pepper spray the last paragraph of the police report notes that this was the second complaint of the night regarding Jones who had pepper sprayed a group of nightclub patrons some hours earlier although Jones was gone by the time the officer arrived at the scene he described the distinct scent of pepper spray lingering in the air the Seattle Police Department decided to make an example out of fee and and he was arrested for assault [Music] after sitting in a jail cell overnight Jones made his $3,800 bail and emerged to a team of reporters waiting outside the courthouse Phoenix welcome them to congregate around him and in a move that shocked everyone he unmasked himself and greeted the cameras for the first time as Benjamin Fodor Phoenix Jones I'm Elsa beg voter they also protect the city else in the Father mouthing brother I'm just like everyone else born in Texas in 1988 Benjamin Fodor spent time in orphanages before finding a family and relocating to the Pacific Northwest Benjamin and his brother Karros both shared a love of fighting each pursued competitive mixed martial arts at a young age according to topology calm Benjamin who fought under the name flattop boasted an impressive amateur record of 11 wins and no losses but where is his brother continued into the professional ranks of organizations such as Strikeforce in UFC his younger brother Benjamin decided to put his skills to more unconventional uses but aside from the martial arts background the conditions which stem the most well-known real-life superhero couldn't have been more unassuming Benjamin was a father of two working in a day care for children with special needs his origin story goes like this one morning Benjamin found his car broken into his driver side window shattered and a black ski mask laying atop the broken glass on the street his son cutting himself in the glass had to be taken to the emergency room Phoenix kept the mask and days later when a close friend was assaulted outside of a nightclub all a group of spectators watched too afraid to intervene Phoenix decided the ski mask would serve as the basis for an alternate identity a moniker was chosen the word Phoenix has roots in Greek folklore associated with rebirth Jones one of the most common American last names is meant to represent the notion that ordinary citizens can hold others accountable for their actions his costume was commissioned from extreme designed effects and then sent to Baker ballistics in order to be reinforced with bulletproof and stab resistant plating in an article from my Northwest Fodor detailed some of his earliest attempts at vigilantism well before he'd attracted any media attention confused as to how to begin Benjamin took to simply brooding on rooftops one night upon witnessing and mugging he climbed down the building's fire escape a task which took minutes only to find the criminal long gone by the time he reached the street he'd purchased a net launcher reminiscent of the old campy Batman comics contrary to how he'd imagined the usage of this device playing out Jones ended up trapping himself in it and was spotted by a passing police officer who took the opportunity to laugh and take a few pictures before cutting him loose early Phoenix Jones also carried with him a grappling hook which seemed to fit with his persona but had no practical value you think you're going to scale a building a friend critiqued what do you want to do when you get up there swoop down parachute down you're not going to have enough distance for the parachute to even open although fans appreciated this insight into the man behind the mask this move proved detrimental to Benjamin personally as he was subsequently fired from his job at the daycare and his custom-made suit was confiscated for evidence so why did they confiscate your soup here's a suit so the politically correct answer is to do an accurate investigation we need to have everything that was involved the fact that your identity was concealed by a super suit therefore makes it evidence that we need to take to prove that you are the man underneath the suit despite the feedback that he should put his persona Phoenix Jones to rest Benjamin doubled down he had a backup suit and he was confident the assault charges would be dropped once the video evidence came out the evidence in question was obtained by videographer McNamee who had been documenting the rain city heroes nightly exploits based on the title Phoenix Jones stops assault Ryan's first-hand interpretations of events differ from the reporting police officers many of the videos comments seemed also side with Phoenix even Jones's detractors suggested the arrests was an excuse to deter him later that month the charges were dropped and despite media outlets both corporate and independent offering harsh criticisms over the fiasco what an idiot yeah it was awesome that's the girl he's supposed to be helping she's like you [ __ ] pepper sprayed me you idiot Phoenix Jones was on his way to unprecedented stardom [Music] [Music] [Music] Jones was back with renewed enthusiasm and a steady stream of encouragement from the largest fanbase he'd ever had but on the night of April 22nd 2012 a tragic and random act of violence would mark a distinct attitude shift in Phoenix and the rain city superhero movement it was after midnight 21 year-old Nicole Westbrook and her boyfriend were walking through Pioneer Square after leaving a comedy show when suddenly shots rang out Phoenix along with Purple Rain and pitch black ran toward the sound Jones caught a glimpse of someone in a grey backpack as the potential shooter and followed him on foot for several blocks until police arrived there's the shooter backpack running having been shot through the cheek and Nicole suffered a shattered spine an ambulance rushed her to the hospital where she passed away shortly after Nicole was not believed to be the intended target the source of the gunfire was determined to have been a drive-by shooting leading police to believe the hooded figure the heroes were chasing was the target the case of nicole westbrook remains open to this day and anyone with potential information is encouraged to contact the Seattle Police Department Jones would go on to set the tragedy as his biggest failure and she's up the street in the medics were taking her away the fire engine dies by and just washes the blood off the sidewalk and it runs down into a drain and I just keep sitting on the sidewalk at this point and and people start walking by for work and just do their normal everyday life and my world has completely changed and everyone else was exactly the same this event would continue to ripple throughout Jones's crime-fighting career especially in his later years but directly following the tragedy there was scarcely time to process just a week later Seattle was to host the May Day protest made a may him in Seattle demonstrations turned violent as thousands of people clogged downtown streets originally in response to poor labor conditions the May Day protests began in Europe during the late 19th century and persist even today all across the world always held on May 1st these events occasionally escalated in violent and unpredictable ways broken glass buildings and cars covered with spray paint tonight downtown Seattle Phoenix Jones along with midnight jack and el caballero were patrolling the protest attempting to determine control outburst when a protester inadvertently revealed a plan to blow up the seattle courthouse the crowd was actually rumor a bomb blowing up a building yeah that's what the people with the black mask delivering because they're kind of dumb and I don't know fans in Seattle but they didn't know that I'm not part of their crew they just kept telling me stuff so you were infiltrating them they don't just walking and they were wearing masks we were right but because you are as dressed up as a superhero they thought this guy must be into craziness like a perfect phoenix and his colleagues attempted to notify the police but they didn't seem to take the testimonial seriously you hear rumblings of this and you let the Seattle Police know tell me how that conversation although wasn't really a conversation it's peuta sir can I talk to you he said were busy and I said I'm well aware doc you said yeah give me a few minutes here's my car oh here's my card police officer gave you his card fearing an escalation they followed the crowd of protesters to the courthouse and it was there they witnessed rocks and something which was believed to be a failed explosive device being thrown through the glass windows and doors knowing Phoenix would be apprehensive to use pepper spray following his assault charge midnight jack opted to be the one to incapacitate the group when the police arrived they arrested eight of the protesters for destruction of public property the group received their share of disapproving opinions Galka reporter Adrian Chen described Phoenix as a combination of Batman and cop but one of the more entertaining opposers of the rain city heroes was a filmmaker named Ryan quarry who decided the thing the group was truly missing was a villain my name is Rex ville my people's villain if you will before you jump to conclusions let me tell you that I'm a fair negotiator in businessman but I will not back down from you Jones until the city is a brittle his attempts to bait Phoenix into a campy online rivalry failed but Ryan quarry stylizing himself as the villain Rex velvet continued calling in to radio shows wall and character and managed to turn their fake rivalry into a moderately successful web series other super villains joined in parody characters which targeted Jones began cropping up across YouTube and other social media mr. grim but Ryan quarry and others would have to settle for a one sided online feud Jones simply took himself too seriously to engage with them Rex velvet is on the other line Rex velvet is on the other line the guy who made that promo that you heard encourage if you guys want to talk to him you go right ahead I don't have anything to say to look because I live you know I was I was in the real world and I don't promote or accept or even acknowledge people who want to do acts ability at any time even if it's not real look at you Felix your priorities shifted for Jones in November of that year when a video patrol log went viral propelling his already budding celebrity into then uncharted territories 47 suspect wearing an orange shirt yes relations not while on patrol with four other local heroes Phoenix confronted a man punching the window of a parked car and shouting obscenities at the passengers inside police arrived shortly after with the heroes content to let them handle the situation but after the assailant shouted a racial slur at Phoenix Jones challenged him to mutual combat combat laws allow two consenting parties to engage in a street fight as long as no bystanders are hurt or property damaged often cited as a vestige of dueling mutual combat remains legal and portions of the United States such as Washington State and Texas PJ has opportunistic in orange shirts and mutual combat under the laws of Washington State ready to fight sealing the deal with a handshake and under the supervision of police officers Phoenix Jones proceeded to knock out his opponent this video posted to Phoenix Jones's YouTube channel garnered widespread reaction and commentary Phoenix's celebrity and public presence were at an all-time high podcast talk shows public service announcements Jones rarely turned down an opportunity from the behalf of the rain city superhero movement and costume discounters you guys have a safe and fun Halloween see in the streets he did a reddit ask me anything which was kind of bizarre but provided insight into the kind of chaotic individual Phoenix was leading his fellow heroes into 2013 Jones would experience a brief Golden Age of heightened popularity strong relations with and a series of disciplined systematic patrols but unbeknownst to Phoenix a hidden fault line was beginning to appear one which would not only grow to jeopardize the movement but would foreshadow Phoenix's ultimate and unexpected fall from grace [Music] awesome ah hello everybody welcome to our control tonight yes hello all four of you I am pulling up the crime trends in Seattle lately here so you can see exactly what's going on would you like us to come over there take a look there alright let's go take a look here with more Fame than any real-life superhero would ever experience Jones began to assume a leadership role and not only the local superhero scene but the national one in February of 2013 he posted a video to his YouTube channel directly addressing other heroes setting a strict standard of behavior he expected from them this is what's up there's a lot of weirdos out you're a really stupid crap and eventually we're all going to get shut down you guys don't realize it but there's a war going on out there you don't know about and that war starts with the government not liking unregulated anything in mass numbers there's 250 of us - 300 of us walking around with absolutely no accountability it's going to stop according to Jones heroes had been patrolling with illegal weapons regularly breaking laws under a misguided notion of vigilantism Phoenix was worried such missteps would cause a nationwide crackdown potentially running the movement for everyone John's considered his brand of heroics to be one of the few sustainable out there but his crew was small and out of 300 heroes operating across the United States the rain City branch only accounted for 15 Phoenix unveiled an umbrella organization he referred to as the Alliance which acted as a registry for heroes where they agreed to several of Jones's rules including wearing a bulletproof vest and now people are gonna say well I just hand out food yeah but I came along that change the face of real Esav real every criminal in the world who is aware of superheroes when they look at you they think that you fight crime whether you want to can't understand whether or not there's still a danger of being injured okay the selection for new recruits in Phoenix's hometown became increasingly rigorous and in an interview with ki ro radio Jones admitted to rejecting 100% of the incoming applications the rain city superhero movement is hiring and applications are available right now so far rejected six of the six applications I've got where they're like I'm seven feet tall and super super buff right now I don't know if there's a mass that will fit over my giant meat head but it's cool I just want to walk around and punch people let's go I'm like God now at this point Phoenix had been patrolling the streets almost nightly for nearly three years in the beginning he was critical of an action or what he called sandwich handling but his new focus seemed to be on personal restraint although martial arts or military experience remained a prerequisite for joining Phoenix began to reject people if they showed any inkling of violent tendencies I think there are some people in the city who are up to no good and need to be taught a lesson on the other hand there are lots of good people in city we get taken advantage of on a regular basis that needs to stop second part of the answer awesome first part of the answer worries me anytime anyone says needs to be taught a lesson I get uncomfortable your demeanor doesn't strike me as generally violent type you know it could be the Clark Kent two classes there we don't get to teach lessons we get to stop people perpetrating crimes and we get to give them to the authorities that are supposed to uphold the values that we all voted for his patrols became highly systematic a weekly schedule was posted with each patrol group consisting of a team leader a medic and a radio operator Phoenix claimed the movement now included a legal team although to what I'm not sure aspiring heroes would be subjected to a probation period and they would be unable to even choose a name or a costume until they joined in 15 patrols stopped a violent crime assisted in a medical situation ran the GoPro ran the livestream and written several patrol logs at this point the team would take a vote to determine whether the applicant became a full member with this application you extremely under-qualified but the part of it that I do like is it was really well thought out as far as joining the main group of the our CSM I think he would probably end up getting hurt the majority of video logs on Jones's youtube channel were uploaded during this period on the surface their operations seemed to be running more smoothly than ever a lawful by the pub protocol enforced by Jones diligent documentation regular check-ins with a radio operator and other heroes I'm close enough to read to make contact should I do that over and things to the generosity of their fans they were able to record evidence of most encounters which seemed to result in a much healthier relationship with the Seattle Police I was deployed hey we have a video of the beginning of those guys over there pretending the flasher even may be flashing the real gun and there was a little altercation I also confiscated some black tar heroin off and threw it down a drain yeah recovering stolen bikes addressing medical concerns others simply ignored exposing individuals soliciting sex acts from the homeless the crazy thing is I got a masked man calling me Onslow crime nights they handed out sandwiches and contrast to Jones's previous disparaging remarks however things were not quite as harmonious as they seemed an argument over a helmet which el caballero accused phoenix of stealing cost his longtime sidekick to abruptly leave the group but most shocking of all was the sudden departure of purple rain in November purple rain made a social media post stating that she and Jones were separating and would not be working together on any future projects purple rain opted to keep the details of their separation private a difficult boundary between public and personal life when the two have so much overlap but her fans seem to respect her decision with the loss of his two closest allies Jones found himself unable to stop a growing mutiny of disgruntled heroes ready to expose the flaws of their leader and ultimately bring about the end of the rain city superhero movement for good beat the [ __ ] out of this guy he's not worth it god I'm having one of these moments right now [Music] although Phoenix's celebrity continued to increase even landing a cameo in the PlayStation 4 title infamous second son those who remain close to Jones knew the movement was coming to an end the domino effect of Purple Rain and el Caballero leaving inspired others to do the same taking to social media to air grievances about their leader on the way out in a post that began Phoenix Jones as a con artist thieves shockwave levelled some startling accusations against Phoenix as per Jones's instruction each hero was required to purchase a bulletproof vest a payment which they handed directly to Jones who claimed to have cut a deal with the manufacturer however as months went by no one received their best Jones had also been requiring the rain city heroes to pay a monthly dues for a health insurance plan in case they were hurt on Patrol but many began to suspect there was no such insurance as Jones failed to produce any sort of documentation perhaps the most damning of all were the attacks against Jones's integrity as a crime fighter Phoenix Jones preys on people exiting bars drunk and unable to function normally shockwave claimed citing the mutual combat video for evidence would MMA allow one fighter to be drunk while the other a sober accusations of exaggerating his heroics and spinning the narrative in his favour were nothing new for Phoenix although until this point they'd come from heroes and spectators outside the rain City movement but this was coming from someone who patrolled with Phoenix who knew what he was like when the livestream was turned off el caballero shockwave and Dragon founded a new organization called echo they continue to patrol Seattle regularly making appearances at the recurring May Day protests but their audience failed to grow to phoenix-like proportions in May of 2014 Phoenix Jones announced that the rain city superhero movement was officially over Jones's statement didn't address any of the aforementioned accusation but instead cited other reasons for the disbandment certain members cannot run 2.5 miles in 30 minutes Jones stated or do 5 pull-ups or 25 sit-ups and believe it's ok to carry illegal weapons wrecks velvet made a Facebook post celebrating the end of the movement asking former members to air their dirty laundry about Phoenix for a video he would produce it's unclear whether any of the former members took fill that up on his offer but checking Ryan Cory's YouTube page it appears no such video has yet been made Jones now primarily a solo hero continued fighting crime in Seattle his enthusiasm seemed undiminished as the patrol logs on his YouTube channel were uploaded at more or less the same consistency found the guy who's over here at the store stole some detergent took off running clearly homeless this is the worst part of my job stealing is stealing I'm not gonna let you get away with that especially detergent this new way to get high with detergent I found out no problem there you stuff that man problems I'm sorry about that I hate that kind of stuff but what can you do right Wow yeah yeah we do like uh like a neighborhood Patrol okay yeah so you say yeah yeah I'm sorry too haven't you he returned to competitive mixed martial arts fighting under his alias and often accepting match decisions while in costume [Music] a rivalry between his older brother Karros which has reportedly existed since childhood made for good promotion for upcoming fights and the advertisements leaned heavily on the superhero motif Phoenix had cultivated the majority of his fan base stayed by a side offering support on social media and YouTube as he continued to break up street fights catch shoplifters and even create a database of stolen vehicles in the Seattle area but the twilight years of the Phoenix Jones character weren't free from controversy particularly in 2015 when Jones had a comic book series commissioned about himself the events depicted were based on Jones's patrol logs and personal journal entries many classic Jones tales were included but depictions of the nicole westbrook murder seemed in poor taste as Jones told Seattle radio host Jason Rance he had submitted the comic book to the Jet City Comic Con where it was originally accepted but once it was known the events depicted were real Jones was asked to withdraw it no there were no real major complaints a couple people came up and said you know I didn't like it and thought it was too real and I said look one of the fake comic book get a Batman comic book if you want to read about my life and you wanna help us wanna maybe get the case back out in the news and maybe get somebody to know what happened and at the same time a comic book like this opens you up to the criticism that you might be profiting off of the death of someone how do you respond to that I don't know I mean I guess I'm just telling my story and this happens to be a part of my story and it's just so important the person that I became in the choices that I made Nicole Westbrook's sister spoke out in support of the comic citing that it could raise awareness of the still unsolved case Phoenix's behavior over the years became stranger and more erratic such as this incident in 2016 where he claimed to have knocked someone unconscious and left them on this opting to tweet at the police rather than call 911 specified that he quote left the guy my card so that when he wakes up he can call me if he has a problem when asked what he meant by his card Jones explained it was a print of this glamour shot along with the phone number of his attorney more shocking still was this post to the our body cam subreddit which shows police responding to a former friend of Jones's who'd reported the hero came to his apartment his knuckles rapped for a fight threatening his life I guess last night I hit one of his girlfriends that he didn't like and he started slider mail on her Facebook and then he came here threatening me said he was going to beat me and piss on my face and then she went downstairs I believe he said it buddy come on keep the door in I also said he was gonna kill me that need to be dead I have all these screenshots on something was clearly happening to Phoenix Jones and his audience began to see the dark side of his impulsive personality by February of 2019 Phoenix hadn't uploaded a patrol log to his YouTube channel in three and a half years so it wasn't a surprise when he formally announced his intention to take a break from crime fighting but what was surprising were Jones's cynical reasons for the hiatus I don't think people are mostly good Phoenix Road I don't think I've met enough people I would get shot to save I don't think people would get shot to save me I was wrong maybe everything I've ever believed in was wrong when asked to reflect on his career interviewers were met with the Phoenix who was oddly defensive of his legacy and adamant about his distinction from other so-called real-life superheroes so how many crimes have any other superheroes other than me stopped in Washington State you're the only one I think anybody's aware of so yeah okay so then you asked me a question about superheroes right these guys would go to a neighborhood they don't know dressed in outfits that are not the same that are not uniform with skills that are not good handing out food to homeless people I mean you are a larper you are a larper with a bag of food I am a superhero although Phoenix had always displayed a certain degree of bravado his trademark altruism seemed to have been replaced with resentment and misanthropy I put people away I'm a superhero I'm the only real one it's not a joke is that a game we're not talking about the kind of superhero I'm a real superhero Phoenix Jones was retiring with a questionable reputation but his fans seemed content to remember him for the self-sacrifice of his early years reassuring him that when he's ready to return they'll be there to support him but in January of 2020 shocking news broke that would forever change the public's perception of Phoenix Jones Phoenix Jones your [ __ ] ass was what you want you're not a [ __ ] here you're a [ __ ] fraud [Music] okay maybe you should know are you gonna behave yourself tell me you're gonna behave yourself nobody said I'm gonna behave myself are you gonna behave yourself good so you're gonna behave yourself say you're gonna behave yourself myself thank you have a good day during the months following Phoenix's retirement his social media remained active and would even occasionally feature something resembling a video log Jones seemed reluctant to give up the superhero persona despite no longer donning the costume for regular patrols but toward the end of the year came a sudden absence the videos the tweets it all abruptly stopped not known for shunning the limelight Phoenix's drop in activity was unusual but fans wouldn't know why until two months later when news broke of Phoenix Jones's latest and most unexpected arrest as articles from the Seattle Times Newsweek and many other sources report in November of 2019 two confidential witnesses approached the Seattle Police Narcotics Division Phoenix Jones they claimed was a drug dealer and had been for some time following the tip a narcotics detective operating under the alias Mike began texting Phoenix with the intent of purchasing five hundred dollars worth of MDMA from the former hero Jones requested $300 be transferred upfront to his venmo account days later Phoenix arrived at the 3rd Avenue Starbucks to meet Mike the whole interaction took less than a minute as Phoenix exchanged a brown paper bag for the remaining 200 in cash was a cigarette that was puffing on lab testing confirmed the substance in the bag to be what was advertised the officer arranged a second meeting with Jones but had trouble following through Jones would postpone or fail to appear at meeting locations even after accepting an additional $500 via venmo transfer a second persona was created this time a female Laura was more conversational and appeared impressed when Jones asked her to google him revealing that the individual she had agreed to purchase cocaine from was in fact a real-life superhero after a few days of building rapport a second meeting was scheduled and at 11 p.m. on January 9th in the Silver Cloud Hotel Phoenix Jones was a for possession of four grams of cocaine packaged with the intent to sell along with various paraphernalia [Laughter] posters on the our seattle subreddit claimed to have known about Jones's involvement in such activities for years anyone who knew Ben knew about his side hustle one poster road he's been dealing for years and everyone knew it ruin another many scoffed at the relatively small amounts of narcotics Jones was arrested for dealing some points it out that there were more harmful drugs than MDMA being sold on the streets of Seattle one poster claimed Jones carried other illicit substances writing he once accidentally gave roofies to a friend telling her was Molly which means he keeps it in his inventory in a podcast titled super yourself dark Guardian host and longtime critic of Jones interviewed former rain city superhero midnight Jack who appeared saddened yet unsurprised by the news I've known for years like we're talking almost ten years you know what I mean like I've been shot at with Ben I've been in [ __ ] I've been in street fights I've watched people die next to bed but I've seen I've seen a lot of stuff go down with them so the fact that this is who he is now is extremely discouraging to me and if you're a superhero in the Seattle area is older for you now is done as Jones's video logs and interviews attest exposing drug dealers had been a prominent part of his crime-fighting efforts where had the impulse to enforce these ideals been coming from midnight Jack gave his interpretation how do you think he ended up this way I think that he thought that this was gonna work out he was gonna get really famous over this superhero thing I think that was always the plan and don't get me wrong I don't think that he ever intended to not do its job because I remember him being dead focused on his job dead serious on it after the cold Westbrook shooting he started to get more distant and darker like maybe that set off something in him midnight dad corroborated the claims that such activities had been going on for years with a hero so unabashed he'd been seen dealing while wearing a Phoenix Jones t-shirt some found the irony humorous but many of Jones's fans expressed anger and disappointment of the hypocrisy this is a hard one to talk about make my mouth dry yeah it's it's real sad real sad to see someone who kind of like stood up for justice and was a symbol I mean I feel like I've time up back right now but he was even Jones's arch enemies seemed conflicted in their victory Phoenix's booking records were posted to Reddit Jones had been charged with violating the uniform controlled substance act denied bail but given a conditional release his initial hearing was scheduled for February 3rd according to the King County records Jones was found in contempt spent 11 hours in jail and released on a thousand dollar bail as of now information available to the public regarding his case ends here but the blow to Phoenix's reputation appears critical as it's uncertain whether any future heroics would be taken seriously by his remaining audience it seems at least for now that the story of Phoenix Jones has come to its unexpected conclusion [Music] how sometimes they arrest the wrong person right I've never arrested the wrong person because I see the crime take place I watch you hurt somebody I watch you steal as I watch you I watch you do these things so it's not to me it's it's more exact to justice Phoenix Jones has always been a divisive figure where his supporters saw bravery his critics saw misguided recklessness what many saw is a desire to inspire other saws a need for attention and while his methods and motives are dubious the influence of Phoenix Jones on the superhero community despite his repeated attempts to distance himself from it is difficult to overstate with more costume heroes on the street now more than ever many cite Jones's their direct inspiration the practices become so widespread that a training camp named the superhero foundry has opened in Las Vegas although according to their training footage they seem to overemphasize the practicality of knife and tomahawk throwing during patrols some have claimed that with the fall of Phoenix Jones the Seattle branch of the superhero movement is over according to midnight jack while he and the remaining members still perform acts of community service their nights of wearing masks and bulletproof costumes are finished it's over it's done if you still want to go out and help your community if you still do that but you're not gonna be able to do it in a cost walk around what if I'm a superhero you like Phoenix Jones you here to sell drugs if this is the case they will be missed but with a nightly presence on the streets of Seattle spanning a decade and actions reportedly leading to over a hundred arrests that's arrests of 187 provable 187 for me the rain city superhero have shown us what an approximation of comic-book vigilantes look like however skewed they may appear in the real world did you hit on Facebook no I do not be wrong and it's unlikely the citizens police newscasters and criminals of Washington state will soon forget the sight of black and gold rubber the hiss of walkie-talkies and the smell of pepper spray which marks one of the strangest examples of life imitating art I got armor I went out I got gear I got a legal team studied the law for six months I treated this like I was going to war and forever solidifies that in Seattle was patrolled by Phoenix Jones and the rain city superhero if someone swings everyone's getting pepper spray think about it before you do it if y'all swing someone's getting sprayed is better than just walk it off you got a call on me right we don't really need this what every city names I'd like to introduce Brian Probert who has begun providing original music for the channel I couldn't be more grateful to Ryan for lending his skills to atrocity guide you'll be able to find the score to this video as well as other original music on his youtube channel which i'll link along with the social media in the description below but either way so I'm running in there and I'm going down and get right in the middle to brawl and they knocked this guy over and they kick him in the face and they start punching him I pull out the pepper spray and I pepper spray the guy who's kicking him that's it my pepper spray is out so really famous because a pepper spraying somebody who is attacking a citizen absolutely and I have it on video did you say anything when I was running in yeah like all night now and ass again and I said break it up break it up break it down super catchphrase accurately assess the situation the first phrase later accurately assessing the situation could be a catchy phrase

Channel: Atrocity Guide

Views: 1,235,712

Rating: 4.9527845 out of 5

Keywords: phoenix jones, real life superhero, documentary, Atrocity Guide, Superhero, Benjamin Fodor, Entertainment, Ryan Probert, Seattle, Washington, Real Life Superheros, RLS, real-life superhero, Superheroes in real life, Weird, Oddity, Free documentary, full documentary, documentary film, documentary 2020

Id: F8CkDrhZw14

Length: 51min 12sec (3072 seconds)

Published: Tue Mar 31 2020