On the streets of Belém, Paráman is the one who demands that the authorities repair the asphalt, save the kittens and post funny videos on social networks. In Rio de Janeiro, Gato da Cidade denounces the lack of safety on the sidewalks and donates basic food baskets to a family in need.
Across Brazil, people create superhero identities, dress up in costumes and post videos and photos online where they say they behave like good guys saving locals or even like vigilantes, using symbols from comics and cinema. They are part of a movement already known abroad, the acronym RLSH (real superhero).
Paraman is among those who say they deny the violence and opt for a friendly approach of providing services to the community. Márcio do Carmo, 50, is a big fan of board games and developed the hometown hero identity just under a decade ago. “I always want to show a healthy way to be an exemplary superhero.”
According to Carmo, the community of the capital of Pará loves him, because he publicly demands the authorities. His Instagram alternates humorous videos, in which he jokes about his status as a hero and the grace of his precarious clothing, and videos in which he tries to help local communities. Among the publications, he calls for the streets of a residential complex to be paved.
In Rio de Janeiro, one figure stands out among all the followers of popular heroism. Measuring 1.89 m and weighing nearly a hundred kilos, Gato da Cidade wears orange armor made of an infinite number of light polymers, but – he promises – capable of stopping a knife.
The 26-year-old presents himself as a bureaucrat and seeks anonymity as much as possible, according to him, for fear of reprisals from criminals and militiamen in the town where he lives and works: Nova Iguaçu, in Baixada Fluminense.
A former soldier, Gato da Cidade claims to have never thrown a single punch; Violence is not his motto, since he refuses to “hunt criminals, etc.”. “I want to be an example for the people of my region, a source of hope,” he says.
Videos on his Instagram profile show him collecting food baskets for a vulnerable family, accompanying a teenager home in the early hours and calming a homeless man in an apparent violent psychotic breakdown.
Despite the call on social media, fear of exposure is common among those in this role. “No vigilante transmits (his true identity),” said a masked Mr. Raptor from São Paulo.
Inspired by City Cat and the movie Kick Ass to begin his journey on the path of true superheroes, the 22-year-old vigilante (who also requested anonymity) is not aiming for violence.
“I have helped about seven people in cases of theft, fights, harassment, etc., but I have never arrested anyone because that is the job of the police,” he says.
Despite this, the masked man has already suffered threats from a group of thieves who were stealing cell phones in central São Paulo. It lasted about four months, Raptor explains, whose purpose is to heal and protect.
Called Real Life Superheroes (SHVR), the movement of people dressed as self-styled characters has been touring the world since the 1980s.
In Mexico, in 1985, a hero called Superbarrió Gomez attracted the attention of the press, dressed in a typical wrestling outfit, complete with a mask and the colors of Chapolin Colorado. He claimed to defend the interests of the people by opposing the political class and local elites.
There are those who risk stepping out of the “hero” line and calling themselves vigilantes. The Espectros Patriotas group produces videos of night patrols posted on YouTube.
In the documents, masked men approach mostly black teenagers on the streets of downtown Rio, many in the early morning hours.
In one of these videos, filmed in February, the group immobilizes two teenagers aged 15 and 17 in the Leopoldina region of Rio.
Realizing they had nothing, the guard covered in a Brazilian flag released them after filming their faces and exposing them on the Internet. “Throw these pictures here in the group. If anyone takes them here, it is unforgivable.”
Those filming it comment in the video that, if something wrong had been detected, “the stick would sing beautifully in this little corner here.”
The channel has existed since 2016. In its videos it is common to say that it has “extracted the criminal records” of the people targeted by the action, based on factors such as “walking suspiciously alone on the street”.
In another video, dating from 2024, wearing a skull mask, one of them appears immobilizing a young black man. “Tramp, bastard, he has no wallet, he has no money. He comes to steal from the population.”
Responding via WhatsApp, one of the members said they were unable to see the injustice and stand idly by. He admits that they used force “in the heat of the moment” and that they did not want to encourage lynchings or vigilantes, and that they sometimes ended up “acting with more energy than necessary to stop the action (of the alleged crime).”
When questioned, Rio’s civil police said in a statement that they were “not aware of any relevant and structured action of this nature in the state of Rio de Janeiro.”
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