Watchful eyes behind the masks

By Joel Wittnebel/The Oshawa Express

Oshawa has its very own superheroes.

There may not be any radioactive spiders, superhuman strength or men of steel like those seen in the crisp pages of comic books or the dazzling Hollywood movie screens.

But there are capes, masks and a will to do good, and it’s right here on the streets of Oshawa.

The Black Lamp and Nameless Crusader are members of The Katalysts Justice Crew of Oshawa, who agreed to chat with The Express about what it is they do.

The Black Lamp got his start in 2009 on the streets of Bowmanville, and it was his previous job as a security guard that got him thinking and gave him some of the skills that come in handy while patrolling Oshawa’s streets.

“I was thinking beyond the security shack and what’s going on there,” he says. “There’s no one really taking it upon themselves to look out for their fellow man on the streets.

“It kind of spiraled from there,” he adds.

When he first started patrols, The Black Lamp didn’t know about the real life superhero (RLSH) movement, which now has a small cult following across the continent, with groups of masked citizens popping up in multiple places across Canada and the U.S. with the mandate to patrol the streets and help the disadvantaged.

That changed one day when The Black Lamp decided to look online for others like himself.

“It just kind of clicked to me, why don’t I just check online and see if there’s anyone else stupid enough out there to do what I’m doing,” he says with a laugh.

The Nameless Crusader, or simply Nameless, got his start a couple years after The Black Lamp, and attributes the movie Kickass with giving him the idea, despite it’s romanticized (and highly violent) version of real life superheroes.

“It’s a Hollywood movie, it’s very violent and what not, but it had a very good message nonetheless about what’s stopping you from getting out and helping others,” he says.

Preliminary patrols in the early days were sketchy experiences, The Black Lamp says. Without much knowledge of what he was allowed to do, wear or carry on his person, it made for some nerve wracking experiences.

As things progressed and he researched what was and wasn’t legal, The Black Lamp realized his mask, cape and blunt-force armour were perfectly legal on the street, as long as he wasn’t carrying any weapons.

He also carries with him a pair of flashlights, a first-aid kit, and zip ties. He finds it better that he isn’t allowed to carry a weapon.

“You don’t help people with weapons, you hurt people with weapons,” he says.

And they’re only out there to help, he says. Whether it be helping the homeless by bringing food, or cleaning up garbage, Oshawa’s superheroes do the things many regular citizens ignore on the street on a daily basis.

They will also step in to help in the event of an assault, or if someone is in need, but they prefer the method of de-escalation.

“We make a point to play down any potentially aggressive situations,” Nameless says.

However, sometimes, those situations are out of their hands, as was the case with the first ever assault the pair had to call on in Oshawa.

The incident happened on the dark bike path off King Street near the Scotia Bank.

As the pair made their way down, a male broke away from his group of friends and stepped to a nearby tree, breaking off a tree branch.

“We approached and he was fine for a few seconds, then he just decided to just snap if off my head,” The Black Lamp says.

The blow didn’t affect him much, as he wears a thick helmet, but it was still enough to call in the police.

The group has a close working relationship with DRPS, notifying them when they are going out on patrols, where they will be, and how many members will be on the streets.

As for numbers, Nameless says at their peak, the group contained as many as nine members, but their numbers have dwindled to approximately four. Other RLSHs can be found in Scarborough and Toronto as well.

The RLSH movement has received some condemnation for promoting vigilantes. However, Nameless and The Black Lamp say it is their philosophy of non-violence and working above the law that set them apart.

“(Vigilantes) take the law into their own hands,” The Black Lamp says.

Both men carry out normal lives outside of moonlighting on weekends as superheroes.

Nameless commutes to a full-time job in Toronto five days a week and The Black Lamp is married. He says his wife is on board with his choice of weekend activity, mostly.

“She’s supportive, but she’d prefer that I found a better hobby sometimes,” he says.

More information on The Katalysts can be found on their webpage at thekatalysts.webs.com or their YouTube channel www.youtube.com/user.TheRealKatalysts.