"Real Life Superhero" Phoenix Jones Arrested on Drug Charges

If you recall back to the late 2000s/early 2010s, the phenomena of "real-life superheroes" took the world by storm as the Marvel Cinematic Universe was in its infancy. Among the most well known of these characters was a Seattle based "hero" known as Phoenix Jones. Jones began operating as a costumed hero and activist in the city in that time frame and only recently "retired" his persona in 2019. He gained national press because of his antics and even appeared as himself on Kevin Smith's Comic Book Men and documented his adventures on a YouTube channel where one video posted by Jones in November of 2012 has over 1.2 million views. Now it seems Jones has taken himself down a dark path.

Like so many heroes before him including Hal Jordon, Captain America, and Superman, Jones has found himself on the wrong side of the law. According to The Seattle Times, Ben Fodor (Phoenix Jones' alter ego) was arrested on January 9 of this year and was charged with two counts of violation of the uniform control substances act. Fodor allegedly sold drugs to undercover officers on two occasions. The former hero was released from jail on January 11 and is scheduled to appear in court on February 3.

While operating as a hero, Jones was involved in multiple highly publicized incidents including stopping car thieves, pursuing attackers in altercations, and stopping fights. Jones was previously arrested during his escapades as a hero after an incident where he used pepper spray on a crowd engaging in what was believed to be an extensive fight. A police report noted that no fight was taking place and a news report on the incident recounted that Jones approached the arguing groups and said "I'm a superhero" before pepper spraying those involved. Jones was released on bail with the charges later dropped.

Jones' "career" as a superhero wasn't limited to just nightly patrols on his own, as he became one of the founding members of the "Rain City Superhero Movement." He was joined in the group by other colorfully named "heroes" including Purple Reign, Thorn, Buster Doe, Green Reaper, The Mantis, Prodigy, Gemini, No Name, Catastrophe, Thunder 88, Penelope, Red Dragon, Midnightjack, Karma, SkyMan and El Caballero. The group disbanded ala "Avengers Disassembled" in 2014. To make things even more absurd, Jones was previously called out by a self-proclaimed "super villain" in Seattle named Rex Velvet, who was clearly making light of the entire situation rather than actively committing crime to do battle with the "hero."