I really don't know what to make of this new trend except to say I blame Hollywood.
It's certainly not a bird, or a speeding bullet, or a plane. It looks more like a guy in a silly lycra outfit.
Wearing masks and the full superhero get-up, a band of "real life superheroes" are patrolling the world's cities trying to clean up the streets.
So claim the comic book-like crime-fighters, a loose association of costumed do-gooders who say they are taking up the fight for justice for ordinary people.
Boasting names like Dark Guardian, Citizen Prime, and Green Scorpion, the mainly US-based characters say they need to wear outfits to protect their identities from the evil-doers they attack.
Most have MySpace pages where they reveal the philosophy of their superheroism.
Florida superhero Amazonia wrote why she was prompted to strap on the black Zorro-like mask and defend her city, Ocala:
"I finally had enough of seeing the gangs terrorizing the downtown section of my city. They would mug, beat and otherwise harass senior citizens and women.
"So I took up the mantle of Firebird and set out to do what I could to help others."
No, no, no, look after your own mental health first, please! Leave saving the planet to professionals who know what they're doing. It's like watching people live through 'Mystery Men'.
An online "Superhero Registry" lists members of the "the Real-Life Superhero community", outlining their speciality (for example public service or crime-fighting), where they patrol, whether their identity is secret and if their status as a superhero has been confirmed.
The website states the superheroes are not just role-playing, but that this is "a movement among ordinary people to make the world a better place in an extraordinary way".
"There are always those who will take something less seriously, but the Real-Life Superhero community is generally composed of sincere, well meaning people who have finally decided to go out and make a difference."
The heroes wear costumes to inspire others, protect their privacy, and "conceal vulnerabilities in one's protective gear", the site says.
People can also make their own submissions to be added to the registry but acceptance usually requires evidence of heroic activities through "media documentation of such activities, or testimonials from established Real-Life Superheroes".
On his MySpace page, superhero Dark Guardian also writes of the weight of expectation on real superheroes.
"What I got most out of being a Real Life Superhero is living up to the name. I have to be the living embodiment of a superhero. With that comes great responsibility.
"I have walked away from being a Real Life Superhero before , but I couldn't give it up. It is who I am. It is what I believe in.
"And it will help change the world."
I don't make up this stuff. People do it by themselves, to themselves, for themselves. Just like Abraham Lincoln would have it, I guess.
UPDATE:
Here's a really cool link.
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