By Dora Yrigoyen / Managing Editor, Araceli Diaz / Staff Writer

No ordinary hero (Dora Yrigoyen / Managing Editor)

By Dora Yrigoyen / Managing Editor, Araceli Diaz / Staff Writer

Children all across the world grow up with heroic figures to admire and aspire to be.

Superheroes such as Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and many more; but as they grow older the harsh realities of life set in and those dreams to be the caped crusaders and saviors of the universe slowly fade.

However, some men and women challenge the norm and choose to live their lives protecting the innocent, defending the weak and vanquishing evil one patrol at a time.

Though they may not be billionaires, heroic beings from another planet, or ring-bearing crime fighters; in their own way they are super heroes.

From this small unit of superheroes comes the Xtreme Justice League, a San-Diego based group of do-gooders that came together to make a positive change in the world.

The Xtreme Justice League consists of Rouroni, Vigilante Spider, Bearman, Grim, Living Justice, Shade, Randor, Urban Avenger, and leading this group of movers and shakers is Mr. Xtreme; founder of the Xtreme Justice League.

Mr. Xtreme who worked alone until he gained popularity when the HBO special “Superheroes” aired Aug. 8; was invited with his team to speak at Riverside City College.

Also in attendance was the Inland Empire chapter which consists of Crimson Crow and Blue Alpha.

 The superheroes were the guests of honor for RCC’s homecoming week and had an open question and answer session with students in the Landis Performing Arts Center on Nov. 10.

At the question and answer session, Mr. Xtreme and the Xtreme Justice League were awarded with the Associated Students of Riverside City College 2011 honorary speaker award, community service, and social awareness above and beyond the call of duty.

Though the question on everyone’s mind might be why anyone would want to endanger their lives by stepping in on bar fights or spend their lives behind a costume; Mr. Xtreme ensures it is all for a good cause.

“As a superhero and also as an organization (our goal) is to inspire people to get involved and to make our community safer,” Xtreme said. “Also to unite people and bring unity within our movement so we can all make a difference and be heroes together.”

Mr. Xtreme talked about how in this day and age he sees that people are “to into themselves” and don’t think too much on their community.

His goal is to help reverse that trend and help give back by fixing the desperation he finds in people’s eyes.

“It’s getting worse and worse and we just want to go out there and make a difference out there,” he said.

Apparently, the Xtreme Justice League is not the only ones in the world who see the need for an extreme change.

Since the HBO special, ordinary citizens across the nation and world, including here at Riverside City College, have stepped up to join the noble cause.

However, Urban Avenger of the San-Diego chapter mentions that at the end of the day it’s about the cause and not the costume.

 “Anyone can go out there and make a difference in your community; you don’t have to dress up like we do,” he said. “It’s not about masks and costumes and capes, we do it because it’s how we choose to express ourselves.”

The Xtreme Justice League encourages people to go to their local 99 Cent Store and purchase cans of fruits and vegetables with lots of carbohydrates and fats to hand out to those without homes around the community.

He suggested disposable ponchos for rainy days help a lot as well, “they really love those” he pointed out.

Though the league of superheroes may get scrutinized and judged for their willingness to step up for justice in these hard times, they say their efforts are being fulfilled.

Most of the time when on patrol, the league isn’t fighting masked villains like shown in movies; however, there are those rare nights when the superheroes run into a few fights.

“A couple of weeks ago we were patrolling downtown and this guy was getting stomped on and when we went in there and tried to intervene there were a lot of people standing around not doing anything,” Mr. Xtreme said. “Who knows what would have happened if we didn’t do anything.”

When they ran into the same individual a few months later he thanked them for saving his life.

 “It was that moment that completely justified everything that we had been doing up to that point and continues to justify what I do,” Urban Avenger said.

 The Xtreme Justice League is not however, confined to just crime-fighting.

A huge majority of the time when they are on patrol they are giving back to the community.

“The main focus is helping people that need to be helped,” Blue Alpha of the Inland Empire chapter said. “Whether that is helping someone who is being attacked, feeding someone who doesn’t have food or helping someone change a tire.”

With bottles of water, packets of beef jerky, and other perishables the league heads out into the community and hands them out to the homeless and other forgotten members of the community.

“We do speaking engagements and talk to kids telling them to stay on the straight and narrow, stay away from gangs and drugs,” Mr. Xtreme said.

However, these days it is not as easy to patrol the community without being recognized from the documentary.

 “It’s a little weird when people are like, “Hey I seen you on T. V.,” it’s like oh yeah I’m in a movie, Hi,” said Urban Avenger, second in command of the Xtreme Justice League.

Mr. Xtreme also agrees saying that for a while he couldn’t walk down the streets while patrolling without being recognized and asked for autographs or pictures.

“I don’t really have any privacy anymore,” Mr. Xtreme said.

Like most superheroes you see in comic books or movies, the members of the Xtreme Justice League try to keep their true identities a secret.

For members like Mr. Xtreme, it is not as easy as it looks.

A good amount of people know who he is “in his civilian clothing” as he puts it and it has shown with endless amounts of friend requests on Facebook.

However, the Xtreme Justice League members try to remain as discreet as possible about the men, or women behind the masks they wear.

Like everyone else, the members of the league have families and friends who worry that the cause they stand for may get them into some serious danger.

“They worry, they think it’s kind of silly but they support us because they know it’s for a good cause,” Blue Alpha said.

Citizens won’t find any regret in these heroic souls, or a retirement plan anytime soon.

All the heroes agree that they plan on protecting their city until the blood in their veins ceases to flow.

The ultimate goal of the league is not only to help change the community for the better but to change the world as a whole.

“We try to empower everyone, not just people in costumes, but everyone. We want everyone to be aware of the situation going on around them,” Radnor of the Xtreme Justice League said.

“If everyone was watching out for their neighbors’ back, the guy around the corner’s back, people that they don’t even know there wouldn’t be as many problems as there is now,” he said.

The Xtreme Justice League extends their invitation to individuals who want to get involved but don’t necessarily want to dress up in costume.

If anyone is interested in supporting their cause they can find the X
treme Justice League on Facebook and send in items from their donation list to their mailing address.  

As for other individuals who are rising up to join the cause in extreme, eye-catching attire, the Xtreme Justice League also welcomes them with open arms, stating that they encourage others to get involved in helping the community and the cause, costume or not.

Crime-fighters on campus (Jarred Jackson / Staff Writer)