The Real Life Superhero Files: Mutinous Angel

Mutinous climbed a wall on our photo shoot. For real.

​In this week's cover story, we presented The Ray, a Target employee from Antioch who was arrested in the General Strike in Oakland last month while acting as a Real Life Superhero. The Ray is far from the only civilian-turned-comic book hero fighting crime and helping the needy around the Bay Area.

There are more. Many more.

Here's Mutinous Angel, a brooding vigilante who turned to fighting crime after his ex-girlfriend broke his heart. He's part of The Ray's superhero crime-fighting squad, the Northern California Protectorate.

Handle: Mutinous Angel. "I chose it because I follow God. I'm a Christian. I know I make mistakes, that I'm not going to be perfect. So I came up with mutinous. It's kind of like an oxymoron."

Age: 29.

Costume: Purple and black spandex, groin protector, titanium gloves, and face mask.

His Ride: The Mutinous Mobile, a black Mitsubishi Eclipse with glowing purple lights underneath

Weapon: A AR-15 semi-automatic rifle locked in a case in the back seat of the Mutinous Mobile. He's an NRA member, too.

Origin: Six years ago, Mutinous was dating a Muslim girl, who was "kidnapped" by her​ family and made to marry within her faith. "I don't want to be with anybody else, so men who are single on their own really want to do something extreme, I guess. Kind of like a soldier, or get into law enforcement, careers like that are perfect for us." Mutinous first joined the Marines, but says he was dishonorably discharged after headbutting a drill sergeant. "It's not something I'm really proud of." He then became a superhero.

Crimes stopped: While in the Mutinous Mobile, Mutinous saw a man stealing car stereos. Mutinous stopped, the suspect pulled a gun and walked back slowly, then darted out of the neighborhood. Another time, Mutinous chased down a hit-and-run perp in the Mutinous Mobile, and gave the license plate number to the cops.

On why he doesn't like to wear his costume: "The only thing I'm worried about is people seeing me as some sort of weirdo."

On why he wears his costume anyway: "If I got out there without gear and something happens, I can walk or drive away. But if I'm there in gear, there's no walking away."

Even superheroes have problems: In high school, "I grew up looking a bit too feminine, so people, even teachers, used to mistake me for a girl. So when they see someone like that they're going to try to pick on him or fight him.... I used to get suspended a lot." Mutinous lives with his mom in Tracy, after their Hayward home was foreclosed on. He's currently unemployed.

How he'd like to be seen by society: "Something close to Batman. Like a vigilante -- not really liked, but getting the job done."

Out on patrol with The Ray, right, and Motor Mouth, center

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Photos by Joseph Schell

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