WEBVTT - 7: From the Ashes 0:00:06.120 --> 0:00:18.440 Novel h On April two thousand and fifteen, Phoenix Jones 0:00:18.560 --> 0:00:21.400 made a comeback of sorts, Ladies and Gentle. This fight 0:00:21.480 --> 0:00:24.320 has rerounds in the World Series of Fighting. He returned 0:00:24.480 --> 0:00:27.400 to the Deck a Gone, the ten sided cage where 0:00:27.400 --> 0:00:30.320 the Mixed Martial Arts World Series of Fighting takes place. 0:00:32.280 --> 0:00:34.880 In one corner, you had twenty eight year old Emmanuel 0:00:34.960 --> 0:00:43.879 wall Of Now in the other corner, you had Phoenix, 0:00:44.040 --> 0:00:46.720 who decided to fight under his superhero name for the 0:00:46.720 --> 0:00:57.480 first time in his career shore. This was Phoenix's first 0:00:57.520 --> 0:01:00.800 fight in the prestigious World Series of Fighting. It was 0:01:00.840 --> 0:01:03.640 a chance for him to rebrand himself after his falling 0:01:03.640 --> 0:01:07.280 out with his superhero teammates. It was also a chance 0:01:07.280 --> 0:01:10.200 for him to get his finances in order. He stood 0:01:10.200 --> 0:01:12.600 to win ten thousand dollars if he won the fight, 0:01:13.080 --> 0:01:15.280 and winning would put him on track to get more 0:01:15.360 --> 0:01:18.400 fights for bigger payouts. And it seemed like the world 0:01:18.640 --> 0:01:21.400 was ready to believe in Phoenix Jones again. He was 0:01:21.440 --> 0:01:24.840 going into this fight undefeated in his professional career, and 0:01:24.920 --> 0:01:28.920 in an online poll by the m A site, topology 0:01:29.640 --> 0:01:34.360 of the respondents predicted Phoenix would beat Emmanuel Wallow. Look 0:01:34.400 --> 0:01:37.920 at this arena, double stacked seats. This is where the 0:01:37.959 --> 0:01:41.360 legacy starts. This is where the phoenix rises. For someone 0:01:41.440 --> 0:01:44.800 like Phoenix, who has an admittedly disastrous personal life, I 0:01:44.840 --> 0:01:47.760 totally see the appeal of mm A. There's nothing messy 0:01:47.840 --> 0:01:50.720 about it. Hand to hand fighting is clean and simple. 0:01:51.120 --> 0:01:54.000 You can't misinterpret a punch to the face or have 0:01:54.040 --> 0:01:56.840 a difference of opinion about a roundhouse kick to the groin. 0:01:57.320 --> 0:02:01.160 It just happens, pure and visceral. Once you step into 0:02:01.200 --> 0:02:04.279 the cage, all the noise of your life melts away. 0:02:05.200 --> 0:02:07.240 The ring is the only true place in the world 0:02:07.240 --> 0:02:10.440 where no lives matter. Like nothing you said matters, nothing 0:02:10.480 --> 0:02:12.680 you claim to have done matters, none of it. Where 0:02:12.680 --> 0:02:14.799 two people were gonna fight and my machine is better 0:02:14.840 --> 0:02:17.200 than yours, and this is where I live. It's gonna 0:02:17.240 --> 0:02:19.800 be okay for me. And even if you win, you 0:02:19.880 --> 0:02:21.960 have to be spectacular, so you're gonna knock me out 0:02:21.960 --> 0:02:23.040 and I don't have to deal with it because I'm 0:02:23.080 --> 0:02:25.920 not gonna be conscious. Right. The hard part is is 0:02:26.760 --> 0:02:29.400 losing and having to stand there and watch yourself lose 0:02:29.720 --> 0:02:32.639 or not completing your goals but getting physically hurt. Who 0:02:33.080 --> 0:02:37.200 cares like you can't possibly hate me as much as 0:02:37.240 --> 0:02:43.600 I hate me. Sometimes, Phoenix was back where he longed 0:02:43.639 --> 0:02:47.079 to be, in the spotlight, about to take on his 0:02:47.200 --> 0:02:50.440 latest at poem. I'm pretty much known for safety to people. 0:02:50.680 --> 0:02:52.760 But the one thing that you have to know when 0:02:52.760 --> 0:02:56.239 they closed the deca gone doors. Not even Phoenix Jones 0:02:56.480 --> 0:03:01.200 can saving. We are set to go here in Connecticut. 0:03:02.000 --> 0:03:04.720 It would be a fight for the ages. You're ready, 0:03:04.960 --> 0:03:14.880 You're ready. I'm David Weinberg and from the team's at 0:03:14.960 --> 0:03:18.600 Novel and I heart radio. This is the Superhero Complex, 0:03:19.160 --> 0:03:38.400 episode seven from the Ashes. After Phoenix split from the 0:03:38.480 --> 0:03:42.680 Rain City Superheroes, he vowed to continue fighting crime, but 0:03:42.720 --> 0:03:45.280 based on his social media posts, he seemed to be 0:03:45.280 --> 0:03:47.440 patrolling a lot less than he had with his team 0:03:47.480 --> 0:03:50.920 beside him. He only posted to patrol videos for the 0:03:50.960 --> 0:03:56.720 rest of He posted five videos in January, one more 0:03:56.840 --> 0:04:00.160 in November, and then went silent on his official Nick 0:04:00.280 --> 0:04:03.520 Jones YouTube channel. To this day, he hasn't posted anything 0:04:03.560 --> 0:04:08.200 there since. But before he went dark completely, Phoenix posted 0:04:08.200 --> 0:04:11.760 a video from another channel, a video that was unlike 0:04:11.760 --> 0:04:17.400 anything he'd ever put out before. Hey, this is Phoenix Jones. 0:04:17.880 --> 0:04:20.160 I'm putting this on my YouTube channel, but it's really 0:04:20.200 --> 0:04:22.760 for other real life superheroes. I'm gonna be sharing it 0:04:22.760 --> 0:04:25.960 on my Facebook page. Phoenix is in street clothes. He 0:04:26.080 --> 0:04:29.520 is a massive, high top haircut, black rimmed glasses, and 0:04:29.520 --> 0:04:33.960 he's looking directly into the camera. He seems sincere acknowledging 0:04:34.160 --> 0:04:37.000 that maybe he'd made some mistakes in the past. And 0:04:37.839 --> 0:04:40.599 I realized I harbor a lot of resentment for a 0:04:40.640 --> 0:04:43.719 whole lot of superheroes in this community for various actions, 0:04:43.720 --> 0:04:46.320 I mean, different things, but when it really comes down 0:04:46.320 --> 0:04:48.560 to it, you guys are the closest I have to 0:04:48.640 --> 0:04:52.960 anyone who understands what I want to do. And like inside, 0:04:53.080 --> 0:04:56.479 I felt this crazy excitement that I wasn't alone, that 0:04:56.560 --> 0:04:57.920 I was gonna put on the suit, and I was 0:04:57.960 --> 0:05:01.000 going to make a difference with my family, you know. 0:05:01.440 --> 0:05:06.880 And as time has progressed, it's really been depressing to 0:05:07.040 --> 0:05:10.719 think that it's not that way, and someone has to 0:05:10.800 --> 0:05:14.560 start the trend, someone has to eventually give up the 0:05:14.600 --> 0:05:19.839 pissing match, and I guess it's gonna be me. So 0:05:20.520 --> 0:05:23.320 I'm sorry. I'm sorry for anything that I've done that's 0:05:23.320 --> 0:05:26.400 offended you, or any of my actions that have caused you. 0:05:26.400 --> 0:05:30.680 Guys discomfort or trouble or pain. It was never really 0:05:30.680 --> 0:05:33.200 my intention to do that. I just wanted to be 0:05:33.200 --> 0:05:36.840 the best. I still I feel like I am. I 0:05:36.839 --> 0:05:39.800 feel like I am the best. Ah. There it is 0:05:40.200 --> 0:05:44.359 the moment he couldn't stop himself from proclaiming his superiority. 0:05:44.720 --> 0:05:48.000 But seriously, it must have been incredibly difficult and humbling 0:05:48.080 --> 0:05:50.640 for him to post a video like this to admit 0:05:50.720 --> 0:05:53.320 publicly that maybe he did need all those people who 0:05:53.320 --> 0:05:56.440 we called clowns and losers by his side. When you 0:05:56.480 --> 0:05:59.839 break it down, me and a superhero isn't all about 0:06:00.200 --> 0:06:04.400 in crime more being effective. So as far as I'm concerned, 0:06:04.520 --> 0:06:07.720 I'm dropping all of the negative talk about other superheroes. 0:06:07.760 --> 0:06:11.520 And before I recorded this, I deleted my entire banned list. 0:06:11.760 --> 0:06:14.279 So if you were once banned as a superhero, you 0:06:14.320 --> 0:06:18.840 are unbanned. Uh. I hope we can really just move forward. 0:06:20.680 --> 0:06:23.040 So funny to say this, if there was none of you, 0:06:23.120 --> 0:06:27.680 there wouldn't be any of me. After that, Phoenix offered 0:06:27.720 --> 0:06:30.320 to bury the hatchet with El Caballero, and he even 0:06:30.360 --> 0:06:34.120 did the unthinkable. He volunteered to help a different team 0:06:34.200 --> 0:06:39.279 of superheroes, the Emerald City Heroes Organization, which El Caballero founded, 0:06:39.640 --> 0:06:43.400 also known by their acronym Echo. No more negative stuff, 0:06:44.240 --> 0:06:47.640 no more garbage. We're all a team and uh I'll 0:06:47.640 --> 0:06:51.200 see you guys in the streets. Was the self proclaimed 0:06:51.279 --> 0:06:55.240 only true real life superhero suddenly turning over a new leaf. 0:06:55.920 --> 0:06:59.080 Was he humbled by his loneliness. Was he growing as 0:06:59.080 --> 0:07:01.800 a person and come to terms with his own shortcomings? 0:07:02.720 --> 0:07:05.680 It was certainly looking that way. Perhaps he used his 0:07:05.760 --> 0:07:09.880 downtime for self reflection. I do know that during this time, 0:07:10.240 --> 0:07:13.320 Phoenix turned back to the one thing he'd always found 0:07:13.320 --> 0:07:19.000 comfort in when he was growing up, martial arts. Martial 0:07:19.120 --> 0:07:21.240 arts was how I got away from all of the 0:07:21.280 --> 0:07:24.080 bad stuff in my life. Martial arts was what saved me. 0:07:24.920 --> 0:07:27.320 Do you remember your first mm A fight? Yeah, Ken Brenger. 0:07:27.960 --> 0:07:30.840 Sometimes in life you are presented with an opportunity to 0:07:30.880 --> 0:07:34.320 do something brave or stupid, depending on how you look 0:07:34.320 --> 0:07:37.320 at it. And for young Ben Fodor in two thousand 0:07:37.320 --> 0:07:41.320 and six, this was one of those moments. He says 0:07:41.320 --> 0:07:43.200 he went to see an m m A fight. He 0:07:43.280 --> 0:07:45.240 was sitting there in the audience with all the other 0:07:45.280 --> 0:07:49.360 fans of brutality when it happened, and they're like, oh, sorry. 0:07:49.400 --> 0:07:51.400 One of the fights bailed mack Iman to joke anyone 0:07:51.400 --> 0:07:52.960 from the audience went a fight, and I was like, 0:07:53.360 --> 0:07:56.640 I'll do it, you know, And as the versus ken Brenger, 0:07:56.680 --> 0:07:59.920 like I was thirty five years old, Phoenix was only eighteen. 0:08:00.520 --> 0:08:02.400 But even though he already knew he wanted to be 0:08:02.440 --> 0:08:05.240 a fighter, he hadn't quite developed the stomach for it. 0:08:06.160 --> 0:08:09.560 Before every single gage fight, I always like projectile bombit 0:08:09.760 --> 0:08:12.480 maybe fifteen minutes before it's my turn every time, like 0:08:12.520 --> 0:08:16.600 clockwork right, warming have to get ready to go, just like, oh, 0:08:16.720 --> 0:08:18.080 we know what's gonna happen, so we just carry a 0:08:18.080 --> 0:08:20.440 bag with us. But I mean, I have crazy nerves 0:08:20.600 --> 0:08:24.920 until I don't. It turned out the bend Photor was 0:08:25.000 --> 0:08:27.600 much better at kicking and punching people than he wasn't 0:08:27.600 --> 0:08:31.840 holding down his lunch. He won fight after fight, eventually 0:08:31.960 --> 0:08:34.840 racking up eleven wins and only one loss in his 0:08:34.880 --> 0:08:39.080 amateur fighting career. He says he even teamed up with 0:08:39.080 --> 0:08:43.720 the m m A trainer, Eric Weissman, to run a gym. 0:08:43.760 --> 0:08:46.720 The world of fighting and training was a comforting place 0:08:46.760 --> 0:08:50.280 to be. Fighting is easy for me. Fighting has never 0:08:50.320 --> 0:08:52.720 been a thing that is a hard concept for me 0:08:52.760 --> 0:08:55.320 to understand. There's no like, oh no, someone wants to 0:08:55.360 --> 0:08:57.160 harm me Like I feel like people want to harm 0:08:57.160 --> 0:09:00.480 me all the time. Fighting grounded Ben and it solved 0:09:00.520 --> 0:09:04.559 another big problem in his life. Money m m A 0:09:04.720 --> 0:09:07.520 was a lucrative way to make a living. Fame may 0:09:07.559 --> 0:09:09.880 have played a big part and the disillusion of the 0:09:09.920 --> 0:09:13.559 Rain City Superheroes, but it also gave Phoenix new opportunities. 0:09:14.200 --> 0:09:16.560 In two thousand and fifteen, he signed a big deal 0:09:16.760 --> 0:09:19.640 with the World Series of Fighting, in large part because 0:09:19.640 --> 0:09:22.360 of the celebrity status he had acquired as a costume 0:09:22.480 --> 0:09:26.959 crime fighter. In fact, that was how Manny Wallow first 0:09:27.000 --> 0:09:32.800 heard about Phoenix. What was your first impression of him? Oh, honestly, 0:09:32.960 --> 0:09:34.920 man and don't judge me for saying that I thought 0:09:34.960 --> 0:09:37.600 he was a weirdo. At first, I got confused because 0:09:37.640 --> 0:09:39.559 the contracts that have been Forordab. When I kept putting 0:09:39.559 --> 0:09:41.720 Ben folded in, I kept getting Phoenix. I'm like, who 0:09:41.720 --> 0:09:44.000 is this? I hit him by my trainer and he's 0:09:44.040 --> 0:09:46.280 I think that the same person. So that's why I 0:09:46.320 --> 0:09:48.600 was the old ship. This guy got an alter eagle. 0:09:49.200 --> 0:09:51.560 I love talking to Manny. He was g garious and 0:09:51.640 --> 0:09:55.400 candid and he's still fighting, and like Phoenix, he likes 0:09:55.440 --> 0:09:57.520 to do some good when he's not trying to choke 0:09:57.600 --> 0:10:01.000 people unconscious. And the deck are gone lasts forever. You know, 0:10:01.360 --> 0:10:03.920 you gotta have what's next for you. So for me, 0:10:04.200 --> 0:10:07.040 when my passion was always the surf, my own community, everything, 0:10:07.080 --> 0:10:09.400 so I went up to became a firefighter. Manny is 0:10:09.400 --> 0:10:13.240 also pragmatic about his opponents. Fighting isn't personal. It's something 0:10:13.280 --> 0:10:14.920 I do because I love it. So if I saw 0:10:15.000 --> 0:10:16.600 my name, we could fight like me and you fight 0:10:16.640 --> 0:10:18.439 and we could be friends afterwards. There's no big deal 0:10:18.480 --> 0:10:21.280 to me. So he says he was surprised when Phoenix 0:10:21.280 --> 0:10:24.000 started attacking him on social media, and the weeks leading 0:10:24.040 --> 0:10:26.000 up to their fight, before I gave me a look 0:10:26.160 --> 0:10:28.559 to see who he was, he was already talking and 0:10:28.600 --> 0:10:30.839 shipped on me, like you know, so it's like he came. 0:10:31.160 --> 0:10:33.040 He came looking for me. I don't hit up opponents 0:10:33.080 --> 0:10:35.280 or nothing. I just go on YouTube but stuffing find ship. 0:10:35.600 --> 0:10:38.560 But he started with the whole making videos and everything 0:10:38.559 --> 0:10:42.520 about me, and I'm like, okay. When I spoke to Phoenix, 0:10:42.720 --> 0:10:45.200 he said Manny had challenged him to the fight and 0:10:45.240 --> 0:10:47.480 that made it personal. Whether he liked it or not. 0:10:48.880 --> 0:10:52.160 Apparently all the smack talking did get under manual skin. 0:10:54.360 --> 0:10:56.320 In the video of the way in before the fight, 0:10:56.640 --> 0:10:59.600 it's actually Manny who looks furious and so they didn't 0:10:59.600 --> 0:11:01.120 wait for the fighting to get inside the cage. The 0:11:01.160 --> 0:11:03.840 stick started out the way and as Wallow he taunts, 0:11:03.880 --> 0:11:06.240 Phoenix gets right up in his face as if he's 0:11:06.280 --> 0:11:08.959 about to hit him. President Ray Setho having to step 0:11:08.960 --> 0:11:11.160 in and back the fellows up. They were ready to 0:11:11.160 --> 0:11:14.120 go down right there. It's Phoenix who stands there playing 0:11:14.160 --> 0:11:17.480 it cool. At one point he holds his hand to 0:11:17.520 --> 0:11:20.120 like it's a mouth opening and closing it as if 0:11:20.160 --> 0:11:23.560 to say, yeah, I keep talking, buddy. Everybody. You know 0:11:23.640 --> 0:11:26.120 I'm easy going guy. You know I don't talk. But 0:11:26.160 --> 0:11:27.960 he got me out of my character. Like so at 0:11:27.960 --> 0:11:30.400 the way is when I finally saw him, I just 0:11:30.440 --> 0:11:32.880 went off and I'm forgetting like this is the way. 0:11:33.000 --> 0:11:36.760 The camera's there everything. Sometimes the effects of the weight 0:11:36.880 --> 0:11:40.240 cut plays out of the way against. The fight was 0:11:40.320 --> 0:11:45.760 on Phoenix Jones a Manual Wallow. We can inside the cage. 0:11:46.600 --> 0:11:49.400 Phoenix came out on the offensive, throwing the first punches 0:11:49.559 --> 0:11:52.480 and launching himself Wallow Jones walks right. He had the 0:11:52.480 --> 0:11:56.480 wallo we want to do no fear, But it's Waller 0:11:56.520 --> 0:11:59.800 who gets the first takedown, picking Phoenix up and slamming 0:11:59.840 --> 0:12:02.680 him to the mat on his back. The beautiful takedowns 0:12:02.679 --> 0:12:05.360 coming from Wallow in the red trunks. Phoenix jump so far, 0:12:05.880 --> 0:12:08.880 not having a lot of success. Phoenix manages to get up, 0:12:08.960 --> 0:12:14.480 but then immediately gets taken down again. Be beautiful, beautiful 0:12:14.480 --> 0:12:17.160 pat jobs. And then he said he continued to talk 0:12:17.200 --> 0:12:20.240 Phoenix in the ring while they were fighting. I was like, 0:12:20.280 --> 0:12:22.520 there's not some drunk guys down in Seattle that you're 0:12:22.520 --> 0:12:24.600 beating up. Every time I was taking him down, I 0:12:24.600 --> 0:12:26.400 was like, up another one. Every time I was talking 0:12:26.400 --> 0:12:28.960 about I was like, Dji was another one. I was 0:12:29.000 --> 0:12:31.240 just molding him. Pick the most flamm and pick him up, 0:12:31.320 --> 0:12:33.800 lamming for fift him in coming up on the final 0:12:33.880 --> 0:12:37.200 fifteen seconds of round number one, this one will go 0:12:37.360 --> 0:12:42.559 to a second round. Who we returned to Conneticut. By 0:12:42.600 --> 0:12:45.360 the end of round one, Phoenix doesn't have a single takedown. 0:12:45.520 --> 0:12:48.640 He looks exhausted, his mouth open as he gasped for air, 0:12:49.080 --> 0:12:52.400 revealing his mouth guard which has vampire fangs printed on it, 0:12:54.440 --> 0:12:59.679 and then before Phoenix can even catch his breath. Round 0:13:00.000 --> 0:13:02.199 and this is round two of Phoenix Jones trying to 0:13:02.240 --> 0:13:04.760 figure out the puzzle that is a manual wallow us wallow. 0:13:05.040 --> 0:13:07.320 The next two rounds don't go much better for Phoenix. 0:13:07.679 --> 0:13:10.480 He gets taken down again, and again he spends most 0:13:10.480 --> 0:13:13.600 of the fight on his back, being dominated by a manually. 0:13:13.960 --> 0:13:21.480 Phoenix Child's going to the guilty Phoenix needs an absolute 0:13:21.559 --> 0:13:28.640 miracle here, but there is no miracle. All three judges 0:13:28.640 --> 0:13:32.160 scorched twenty out of four year winner by humanimous decision 0:13:32.920 --> 0:13:47.240 eat Manuo whoa Phoenix hates losing, and I'm sure this 0:13:47.320 --> 0:13:50.319 loss in particular stue. It was supposed to be his 0:13:50.440 --> 0:13:54.760 grand comeback. But Phoenix takes things personally, and he seems 0:13:54.800 --> 0:13:56.880 to have burned bridges in the M m A world 0:13:57.040 --> 0:14:00.320 as well as the superhero world. We reached out to 0:14:00.400 --> 0:14:02.520 a lot of people for the story, and many of 0:14:02.559 --> 0:14:05.920 them declined to talk to us, but some responded with 0:14:06.040 --> 0:14:09.600 vague warnings like Phoenix is a bad person and the 0:14:09.600 --> 0:14:13.520 attention just makes him worse. One person who knew Phoenix 0:14:13.520 --> 0:14:16.520 from the gym told us that we were violating journalistic 0:14:16.559 --> 0:14:20.800 ethics for even doing a story about him. But Phoenix's 0:14:20.840 --> 0:14:23.840 mm A career wasn't over after his loss to Manny Wallow, 0:14:24.400 --> 0:14:26.600 though he did go on to fight an opponent that 0:14:26.640 --> 0:14:28.640 got a lot of attention. He went on to go 0:14:28.720 --> 0:14:30.800 fight his own brother, Like, what kind of crazy ship 0:14:30.920 --> 0:14:32.440 is that? I don't give a fuck if I me 0:14:32.440 --> 0:14:34.080 and my brood the Hades, I'm not gonna fight on 0:14:34.520 --> 0:14:37.840 entertaining people I don't know, like like, so there was 0:14:37.880 --> 0:14:42.520 a lot of demons that he has. Phoenix's brother, Karros Photo, 0:14:42.960 --> 0:14:45.680 is also an mm A fighter. He didn't respond to 0:14:45.720 --> 0:14:48.200 our requests to speak with him, but one thing we 0:14:48.240 --> 0:14:51.960 do know about him, his relationship with Phoenix is tense. 0:14:53.760 --> 0:14:56.120 I hate my brother and I hate this terrible person. 0:14:56.600 --> 0:15:01.120 Horrible person, Okay, I want to him physically. I would 0:15:01.160 --> 0:15:03.080 like to hurt him now physically. If it was a 0:15:03.120 --> 0:15:04.320 legal way for me to hurt him, I would do it. 0:15:04.360 --> 0:15:08.600 As we speak, Phoenix and his brother agreed to fight 0:15:08.640 --> 0:15:11.240 in the ring, and it was a media sensation a 0:15:11.320 --> 0:15:15.360 real life violent family feud. If this sounds weirdly familiar, 0:15:15.520 --> 0:15:19.080 the same thing happened to superhero Luke Cage, who publicly 0:15:19.120 --> 0:15:23.160 fought his half brother and arch nemesis Willis Striker, but 0:15:23.320 --> 0:15:26.920 unlike Luke, a fictional superhero, the outcome was a little 0:15:26.960 --> 0:15:31.240 different for Phoenix. Phoenix says Karros instigated the fight behind 0:15:31.280 --> 0:15:33.520 his back. I'm like, yo, remember that time that you 0:15:33.920 --> 0:15:36.600 signed a cage fight behind my back to fight me 0:15:36.640 --> 0:15:38.880 without telling me because you were my coach. Kicked me 0:15:38.960 --> 0:15:40.640 out of the fight, Jim, I'd been training at while 0:15:40.680 --> 0:15:42.880 you had been training me, and then talk about me 0:15:42.920 --> 0:15:45.280 on the internet. In the lead up to the fight, 0:15:45.440 --> 0:15:48.640 Phoenix posted videos trying to talk Carols out of it. 0:15:49.560 --> 0:15:51.720 I tried to call you, but you nasty phone. So 0:15:52.800 --> 0:15:55.640 just one last chance. We don't have to do this. 0:15:56.400 --> 0:15:58.760 I know you want to do this, and I will 0:15:58.800 --> 0:16:03.120 do this. We don't have to sure call see if 0:16:03.160 --> 0:16:08.520 you are. Karros told journalists at the time that his 0:16:08.560 --> 0:16:10.960 brother was only pretending that he had nothing to do 0:16:11.000 --> 0:16:13.600 with setting up the fight. Either way, it seemed like 0:16:13.600 --> 0:16:16.200 Phoenix was enjoying the attention and that it was a 0:16:16.200 --> 0:16:21.320 good marketing strategy. Calos is the older brother, Ben the 0:16:21.440 --> 0:16:24.920 caller brother. For all his posturing, Phoenix went forward with 0:16:24.960 --> 0:16:29.600 the fight. He wore his signature American flag shorts with 0:16:29.680 --> 0:16:33.600 the words Ben flat top photor so here they go. Wow, 0:16:33.840 --> 0:16:37.760 adopted foster brothers. The commentators initially referred to Phoenix as 0:16:37.800 --> 0:16:40.440 Ben Ben said he wanted to be called Phoenix Jones. 0:16:40.440 --> 0:16:42.520 Tonight they are the photo Brothers, but we will call 0:16:42.680 --> 0:16:46.080 him Jones and the red, white, blue trunks. They both 0:16:46.120 --> 0:16:49.440 come out swinging, each landing a few quick punches and 0:16:49.440 --> 0:16:52.200 then they lock arms and Phoenix takes a few knees 0:16:52.240 --> 0:16:56.640 to the face. Carols gets the first takedown down as 0:16:56.720 --> 0:16:58.280 he wanted to get it to the ground quickly, and 0:16:58.400 --> 0:17:02.680 he dogs from the get go. It's a struggle for Phoenix, 0:17:03.000 --> 0:17:06.960 Phoenix jugs having all kinds are trouble trying to keep 0:17:07.000 --> 0:17:09.080 their spikes standing up. He's not there able to do 0:17:09.119 --> 0:17:11.840 it so far. At the end of the final round, 0:17:12.080 --> 0:17:15.000 there's no decisive winner, so they go to the judges. 0:17:15.320 --> 0:17:22.080 Judges judges all score the fight thirty or your winner 0:17:22.280 --> 0:17:40.919 by unanimous decision. Carol m In the end, Phoenix was 0:17:40.920 --> 0:17:43.760 no match for his brother. When we hung out, I 0:17:43.800 --> 0:17:46.320 asked him about the fight, and even still all these 0:17:46.400 --> 0:17:49.600 years later, he's not over it. He's like, it's all 0:17:49.600 --> 0:17:52.280 about good fun and making money. Yeah, not to me. 0:17:52.720 --> 0:17:54.520 The most insulting thing you can do with another human 0:17:54.640 --> 0:17:55.800 is look at them and say, I want to take 0:17:55.840 --> 0:17:57.600 something you love, like fighting. I would think I can 0:17:57.600 --> 0:17:59.320 beat you. I want to sell tickets to my friends 0:17:59.320 --> 0:18:01.160 and family to come watch me beat you up. Oh, 0:18:01.200 --> 0:18:04.639 by the way, we're just kidding. Fuck you, you're crazy. 0:18:05.280 --> 0:18:07.760 You're a crazy person. We're gonna shake hands. We're not 0:18:07.880 --> 0:18:12.600 be friends. I hate you, I absolutely hate you. Phoenix 0:18:12.640 --> 0:18:16.720 had been defeated again, but in videos he posted online, 0:18:17.040 --> 0:18:19.439 he decided to double down on his mm A career. 0:18:19.800 --> 0:18:22.040 I'm gonna focus on becoming a well around him ay fighter. 0:18:22.119 --> 0:18:24.840 I'm gonna take some jiujitsu classes and I'm gonna come back. 0:18:24.840 --> 0:18:26.760 I mean, you guys deserve better. I'm gonna give us 0:18:26.800 --> 0:18:28.719 a good shot. So for the next two years, I'm 0:18:28.720 --> 0:18:30.120 going to give this mm A thing a real shot. 0:18:30.119 --> 0:18:35.840 At least that was the intention. In reality, he only 0:18:35.840 --> 0:18:39.119 fought twice more, and neither of those fights attracted nearly 0:18:39.160 --> 0:18:42.840 as much attention as the one with his brother. After 0:18:42.880 --> 0:18:46.919 a final loss, in his career ground to a halt, 0:18:47.640 --> 0:18:51.840 leaving him to question his future. You get out of 0:18:51.920 --> 0:18:54.320 martial arts and there's nothing left. There's no more fighting. 0:18:54.480 --> 0:18:56.920 I have no skills that I think applied to the 0:18:56.960 --> 0:18:58.560 world I live, and I had better off four thousand 0:18:58.640 --> 0:19:01.159 years ago running a Germanic try of warriors like I 0:19:01.200 --> 0:19:03.720 don't have a place anymore. The world evolved to where 0:19:03.760 --> 0:19:06.920 computer people and pushing buttons are more important than physical attributes, 0:19:07.080 --> 0:19:11.199 and who am I? And then you go, what am 0:19:11.200 --> 0:19:15.880 I going to do with that? Phoenix Jones was adrift. 0:19:17.240 --> 0:19:20.800 He felt like he'd lost his purpose. Who was he 0:19:20.920 --> 0:19:23.560 if he wasn't fighting crime on the streets or opponents 0:19:23.560 --> 0:19:28.879 in the cage. Meanwhile, back in Seattle, the members of 0:19:28.920 --> 0:19:32.360 the superhero community who had once been inspired by Phoenix, 0:19:33.080 --> 0:19:35.720 we're having to pick up the pieces and defend the 0:19:35.760 --> 0:20:03.280 innocent without him. That's coming up alright. It is about 0:20:03.320 --> 0:20:07.520 ten thirty pm on Thursday, and I am about to 0:20:07.600 --> 0:20:11.720 roll up on Justin Service and Red Ranger from my 0:20:11.960 --> 0:20:15.879 very first ever patrol with real life superheroes. Here we go. 0:20:18.200 --> 0:20:20.920 From the moment I started working on this story, one 0:20:20.920 --> 0:20:23.000 of the things that excited me the most was the 0:20:23.040 --> 0:20:26.320 prospect of going out on a crime fighting patrol with 0:20:26.400 --> 0:20:29.880 some costumed heroes. And last year, when I was deep 0:20:29.880 --> 0:20:32.439 in the world of real life superheroes, I met up 0:20:32.480 --> 0:20:37.159 with two Seattle superheroes in a parking garage downtown. I 0:20:37.240 --> 0:20:39.960 was greeted at first with a powerful stench of urine. 0:20:41.560 --> 0:20:44.080 In a far corner of the garage, I saw two 0:20:44.119 --> 0:20:47.359 superheroes unloading equipment from the back of a station wagon. 0:20:47.920 --> 0:20:51.280 Hey you must be Red Ranger. David. Hey there, David, 0:20:51.280 --> 0:20:54.240 are you recording video right now? Audio? Okay, might snap 0:20:54.320 --> 0:20:57.359 some photos, snap photos of us cool just got the 0:20:57.400 --> 0:21:00.920 car just because secret. At Andy's Airport US Day, Red 0:21:01.000 --> 0:21:03.760 Ranger was dressed in a black and red outfit made 0:21:03.800 --> 0:21:06.800 up of the type of protective gear that hockey players wear, 0:21:07.280 --> 0:21:10.040 plastic shoulder and knee pads, and he wore a menacing 0:21:10.040 --> 0:21:13.919 looking red mask with black mesh eye holes and carried 0:21:13.920 --> 0:21:16.480 a big metal shield with a peace sign made of 0:21:16.520 --> 0:21:20.480 red tape on the front. Justin's service was clad in 0:21:20.560 --> 0:21:23.399 green and white gear similar to Red Rangers, with a 0:21:23.480 --> 0:21:27.320 bulletproof vest underneath his plastic armor. He wore a pair 0:21:27.359 --> 0:21:30.359 of goggles that he had accented with neon yellow tape 0:21:30.680 --> 0:21:34.120 and a gray mask that muffled his voice. They both 0:21:34.119 --> 0:21:38.679 had GoPro cameras mounted on their chests. I felt a 0:21:38.680 --> 0:21:41.720 little underdressed in my street clothes. I have a sort 0:21:41.720 --> 0:21:44.320 of practical question, where do you guys go to the bathroom? 0:21:46.200 --> 0:21:51.520 We've got the same out without going into too much detail, YEA, 0:21:51.880 --> 0:21:54.960 make sure our seats are not just flashy for functional. 0:21:56.560 --> 0:21:59.479 In the absence of Phoenix Jones, his old teammates at 0:21:59.520 --> 0:22:02.840 splinter into a few different groups that patrolled together. Red 0:22:02.920 --> 0:22:04.919 Ranger was a part of Echo, a group that El 0:22:04.960 --> 0:22:09.560 Caballero founded and sometimes patrolled with. Justin Service was relatively 0:22:09.600 --> 0:22:12.840 new to the Seattle superhero scene. He'd moved to town 0:22:12.960 --> 0:22:15.960 in two thousand and twenty. Tonight, it was just the 0:22:15.960 --> 0:22:18.520 two of them on patrol. They were getting ready by 0:22:18.560 --> 0:22:21.440 loading supplies onto a cart with wheels that they would 0:22:21.480 --> 0:22:24.760 tow behind them as we walked the streets. So we 0:22:24.800 --> 0:22:28.040 will start rolling around Pioneer Square with our supplies, doing 0:22:28.080 --> 0:22:30.840 our safety watch and also looking for people who might 0:22:31.119 --> 0:22:34.000 be in need of some help. Tonight, all right, let's roll, 0:22:34.520 --> 0:22:38.399 and with that we were on the move. Two armored 0:22:38.400 --> 0:22:41.760 do gooders and an intrepid reporter in search of people 0:22:41.760 --> 0:22:45.560 in distress. We started out in Pioneer Square, one of 0:22:45.640 --> 0:22:47.919 the oldest parts of the city, home to a lot 0:22:47.960 --> 0:22:51.919 of historic buildings, old saloons. Red brick streets and several 0:22:52.040 --> 0:22:55.399 large homeless encampments. As we made our way through the streets, 0:22:55.600 --> 0:22:58.200 nearly everyone who saw some had some kind of reaction. 0:22:59.480 --> 0:23:03.040 Are you guys transformers? There were double takes and wide eyes, 0:23:03.520 --> 0:23:08.840 and some people shouted things at us Seattle Superheroes Man 0:23:08.880 --> 0:23:12.560 control supplies at homes and Red Ranger wasn't kidding. You 0:23:12.560 --> 0:23:17.120 guys want food, water, socks, water, don't want you also 0:23:17.119 --> 0:23:20.200 got masks, hands and does want a mask? Man? Oh 0:23:20.280 --> 0:23:23.280 you've got one. It's beautiful too. Yeah, yeah, we gotta Okay, 0:23:23.359 --> 0:23:25.760 no worries. We're giving out free stuff tonight, including the 0:23:25.800 --> 0:23:31.840 beef stits turned on. The superheroes seemed unfazed by all 0:23:31.880 --> 0:23:34.320 the attention they got on patrol and maybe even a 0:23:34.320 --> 0:23:38.120 little flattered. You guys look like want video games? Oh no, Man, 0:23:38.160 --> 0:23:43.919 Seattle Superheroes brothers back in the scene. Man. Along with 0:23:43.920 --> 0:23:48.000 all the water, food, hand sanitizer, and socks, the superheroes 0:23:48.119 --> 0:23:52.159 were also outfitted with some more hardcore supplies. What's on 0:23:52.200 --> 0:23:53.800 your belt and all that? What do you kind of 0:23:53.800 --> 0:23:57.000