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John Walsh: Real Life Superhero

When people talk about “Real Life Superheroes” the conversation quickly turns to those few odd folk who have MySpace pages where they post pictures of themselves dressed in costumes.

These people might patrol the streets looking for crime, but more often they simply try to inspire people to be better by stumping for some cause. I

n some ways, (and this is in no way meant to be insulting) these people are no more than mascots or clowns, adapting the superhero genre to their pro-social work.

But do real life superheroes exist?

It seems to me that in order to be a superhero you should at least satisfy the following conditions:

1. Have an origin.
2. Gain some sort of superpower.
3. Fight crime.
4. Maintain a distinctive costume, or at the very least a “look.”

John Walsh: Superhero
For many years I’ve made the case that real life superheroes exist, and for my first example, I give you John Walsh, of America’s Most Wanted.  Unfortunately, I am not the first person to suggest this publicly. Even though I’ve maintained this position for years, it is only now, as I prepare to write this, that a quick internet search reveals that “junglejake” writing for the abovetopsecret.com forums, beat me to it by five years:

May I present John Walsh, host of America’s Most Wanted. On July 27th, 1981, his picture perfect life with his wife and 6-year-old son, Adam, came to a crashing halt with the abduction of his son. He worked closely with police to try to find the scumbag who abducted his son, but really felt helpless and unable to do anything. Eventually, they found his son, but he had been murdered. There was a primary suspect who was likely guilty, but that suspect died in jail (serving for other crimes), taking all the answers with him before he could be called to task for his suspected actions. John Walsh had no rock hard idea who did this to his boy, and no justice for the fate of his boy would ever be served.

John Walsh was faced with a decision. Would he pick up the broken pieces of his shattered life and try to move on, or would he go forward and ensure others wouldn’t have to suffer the same fate his family did. Walsh chose the path of the superhero.

He started with the government. He battled through beaurocratic red tape and legislative nightmares to be a key player in the creation of the Missing Children Act of 1982 and the Missing Children’s Assistance Act of 1984. He also started the Adam Walsh Child Resource Center in memory of his son, which pushes for legislative reform.

The battle he began waging caught the eye of some people. As is the case with most superheroes, a bit of luck is always involved. ABC ended up airing a show about what he went through and did as a result called Adam. A few years later in 1986, they aired Adam: His Song Continues. John Walsh was then offered his superpower — access to all the people of America and across the world. He was given the show, America’s Most Wanted, which is still, today, the most popular real crime fighting show out there.

Every week, John Walsh would take on those criminals the FBI had dubbed our nations most wanted fugitives. Constantly being threatened by the criminal element, he continues to bring justice to those who would try to avoid it. He has also, through that show, saved countless children from the hands of abductors.

Does John Walsh meet all the criteria I mentioned above? Let’s see:

1. Origin: the death of his son, Adam
2. Superpower: television
3. Fight crime: yes he does
4. Maintain a distinctive costume or look: That cool leather jacket and his earnest, stoic look. No one has come closer to being a real life Batman.

But is John Walsh the only true, real life superhero? Not by a long shot.

Next time, we’ll look at Houdini, who may well have been history’s first superhero crime fighter.

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