Real-Life Superhero Gets Nose Broken

Jan. 11, 2010 — -- Phoenix Jones, the real-life superhero who has gotten fame for patrolling the streets of Seattle, found his kryptonite in the guise of two attackers who left him with a broken nose over the weekend.

Armed with a skintight black-and-gold, belted costume, a cape and a fedora, Phoenix Jones suits up at night to fight crime on the streets of Seattle. He's the leader of a real-life superhero movement called the Rain City Superheroes.

On Saturday, things turned violent when a man held Jones at gunpoint and another broke his nose.

"They were all swearing at each other and like about to fight," Jones told ABC affiliate KOMO.

Jones stepped in to try and stop the men. The caped crusader claimed that he called 911 and had one of the men in a headlock when another man pulled out a gun.

"He starts swinging on me and starts an altercation with me," Jones told KOMO.

The incident over the weekend is exactly what worries police about everyday citizens who take justice into their own hands.

"Our concern is if it goes badly, then we end up getting called anyway, and we may have additional victims," Detective Mark Jamieson told ABC News last week.

Seattle police said that it is not illegal to dress up as a superhero, but they worry about excess calls to 911 when residents confuse Jones and the other real-life superheroes with the criminals they're trying to capture.

Jones said that he calls police ahead of time to tell them where he'll be patrolling. He said he developed his costume, along with his alter ego's name, when his crime-fighting ways made him too recognizable.

"When I started breaking apart fights, I had no outfit or moniker or symbol, and people started recognizing me in my everyday life. It got kind of dangerous and very uncomfortable," he said. "This suit is what people recognize, and when I take the suit off, I'm able to live as close to a normal life as possible until I put it back on and am ready to defend the people of Seattle."