Rain City Superhero Movement
{{short description|Costumed vigilante organization in Seattle, USA}}
{{redirect|RCSM|other uses|racism}}
{{Infobox organization
| name = Rain City Superhero Movement
| location = Seattle, Washington, United States
| formed = {{Start date|2011|07}}
| disbanded = {{end date|2014|05|29}}
| leader_name = Phoenix Jones (Benjamin Fodor)
| image = File:Phoenix Jones passing out warning flyers.jpg
| caption = Members of the Rain City Superhero Movement passing out flyers with descriptions of a criminal in 2013
}}
The Rain City Superhero Movement was a Seattle-based organization active in the U.S. state of Washington between 2011 and 2014. It was composed of costumed activists who describe themselves as a crime-fighting brigade.{{cite web |last=Fezzani |first=Nadia |url=http://metronews.ca/features/world-of-real-life-superheroes/119045/the-day-phoenix-jones-revealed-himself-to-the-world/ |title=The day Phoenix Jones revealed himself to the world | Metro |publisher=Metronews.ca |date=2012-04-26 |accessdate=2012-05-26 |archive-date=2012-06-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120609005131/http://metronews.ca/features/world-of-real-life-superheroes/119045/the-day-phoenix-jones-revealed-himself-to-the-world/ |url-status=live }} Witnesses have reported that the group has intervened in crimes on several occasions, while the police maintained they would prefer that individuals other than sworn officers not place themselves in danger, and act as good witnesses instead.{{cite web |author=Casey Mcnerthne |url=http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Police-alerted-to-superheroes-patrolling-Seattle-821425.php |title=Police alerted to 'superheroes' patrolling Seattle |work=Seattle Post-Intelligencer |date=2010-11-18 |accessdate=2012-05-26 |archive-date=2012-05-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120525155714/http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Police-alerted-to-superheroes-patrolling-Seattle-821425.php |url-status=live }}
In July 2011, local police recorded ten citizens patrolling the city of Seattle in superhero costumes, using the names Thorn, Buster Doe, Green Reaper, The Mantis, Prodigy, Gemini, No Name, Catastrophe, Thunder 88, Penelope, and Phoenix Jones. Other members included "Red Dragon",{{cite web |url=http://www.the-back-row.com/index.php/2011/01/24/tea-with-gill-an-interview-with-seattle-crimefighter-red-dragon |publisher=The Back Row |title=Tea with Gill: An Interview With Seattle Crimefighter Red Dragon |date=2011-01-24 |access-date=2012-05-07 |archive-date=2012-04-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425150023/http://www.the-back-row.com/index.php/2011/01/24/tea-with-gill-an-interview-with-seattle-crimefighter-red-dragon |url-status=live }} Midnight Jack, Omega, Karma, SkyMan and El Caballero.{{cite web |url=http://blog.seattlepi.com/insidebelltown/2012/03/15/video-phoenix-jones-and-crew-stop-men-claiming-to-be-police-from-robbing-a-blind-man/ |title=VIDEO: Phoenix Jones and crew stop men claiming to be police from robbing a blind man | Inside Belltown - seattlepi.com |work=Seattle Post-Intelligencer |date=2012-03-15 |accessdate=2012-05-26 |archive-date=2012-04-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120418154632/http://blog.seattlepi.com/insidebelltown/2012/03/15/video-phoenix-jones-and-crew-stop-men-claiming-to-be-police-from-robbing-a-blind-man/ |url-status=live }} "Purple Reign" worked mainly on intelligence and advocacy against domestic violence.{{cite web |url=http://sciencefiction.com/2011/10/14/phoenix-jones-unmasked/ |publisher=ScienceFiction.com |title=Phoenix Jones "Real-Life Superhero" Unmasked |date=2011-10-14 |access-date=2012-05-07 |archive-date=2012-05-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120502091055/http://sciencefiction.com/2011/10/14/phoenix-jones-unmasked/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last=Goldstein |first=Ken |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZAef00zS0s |title=Purple Reign interview (video, at 1:27) 7 May 2012 |publisher=Peter Tangen |accessdate=2012-05-07 |archive-date=2012-07-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120710181157/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZAef00zS0s&gl=US&hl=en |url-status=live }}
The group stopped four people pretending to be law enforcement from robbing a blind man whose pockets they purported to be lawfully searching. Red Dragon notes that the group has also "stopped car-jackings, helped stranded vehicles on the highways, stopped people from driving drunk, chased down and aided in the apprehension of a sex-offender, and even escorted people to their cars late at night". They have dealt with a man making threatening statements while swinging a golf club. On May Day, 2012, El Caballero, Midnight Jack, and Phoenix Jones confronted vandals damaging an old federal courthouse.{{cite web |url=http://www.wsbt.com/news/kcpq-seattles-selfproclaimed-superheroes-help-out-on-may-day-20120501,0,2071355.story |title=Seattle's self-proclaimed 'superheroes' help out on May Day |work=WSBT |publisher=wsbt.com |date=2012-05-02 |accessdate=2012-05-26 |archive-date=2023-09-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230929043531/https://wsbt.com/news/kcpq-seattles-selfproclaimed-superheroes-help-out-on-may-day-20120501,0,2071355.story |url-status=live }}{{cite web |author=Casey Mcnerthne |url=http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/May-Day-protests-turn-violent-in-downtown-Seattle-3525107.php |title=May Day protests turn violent in downtown Seattle |work=Seattle Post-Intelligencer |date=2012-05-02 |accessdate=2012-05-26 |archive-date=2012-05-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120503220354/http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/May-Day-protests-turn-violent-in-downtown-Seattle-3525107.php |url-status=live }}
On May 29, 2014, Phoenix Jones officially declared that the Rain City Superhero Movement was over.{{cite web|title=Real-Life Superhero 'Phoenix Jones' Makes a Disturbing Announcement|date=29 May 2014|author=Waylon Jordan|publisher=KEKB FM|url=http://kekbfm.com/real-life-superhero-phoenix-jones-makes-a-disturbing-announcement/|access-date=30 May 2014|archive-date=31 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140531090707/http://kekbfm.com/real-life-superhero-phoenix-jones-makes-a-disturbing-announcement/|url-status=live}} On February 6, 2022, Chris Piers, a member of Phoenix's team called Omega, publicly revealed his identity and reminisced about his experiences and misgivings about his involvement in the "movement" in a video on his YouTube channel, Comic Tropes.{{cite web|title=I Was A Real Life Superhero|date=2 February 2022|author=Comic Tropes|website=YouTube|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1igWy6ljg4Y/|access-date=7 February 2022|archive-date=7 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220207022841/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1igWy6ljg4Y/|url-status=live}}