This is 99% Invisible. I'm Roman Mars. On June 18th in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Echo Park, people were going about their day having brunch at trendy cafes and perusing a local bookstore when suddenly they saw something extraordinary. A battle between good and evil. Some of the people who saw the confrontation probably thought a movie or a commercial was being filmed. Why else would a guy in a superhero outfit attempt to move a car with his bare hands? El Piatonito models his look on Mexican wrestlers. But this hero does not wage his battles in the ring. He fights in the dangerous smog choked traffic clogged metropolis's wherever the humble pedestrian faces their most dangerous
Los Angeles' El Peatonito is part of a subset of real life superheroes who are more focused on things like picking up trash and taking on civic issues than catching criminals in alleys.
These super citizens take their inspiration from comic books but in some ways have more ambitious goals than defeating a make believe villain. They are out to solve big societal problems. Wherever a city is plagued by traffic accidents, or people are living on the streets…these heroes heed the call of service.
Super Citizens
Check out David Weinberg's brilliant series The Superhero Complex