New York City’s Real-Life Superhero Civil War

New York City’s real-life superhero scene has family feuds, too.

UPDATE: The New York Initiative reached out to The Daily Beast to dispute Chris Pollak's characterization of their group and provided the following statement via Krystal Marx, aka "Temper" (her alias within the Initiative/Real-Life Superhero world): "The New York Initiative (NYI) is not only operational, it is a growing branch of the international Initiative Collective - a grassroots volunteer organization with branches in California, Illinois, Tennessee, Washington state, Virginia, Massachusetts and the U.K. Christopher 'Dark Guardian' Pollack is a former NYI member who left on bad terms, but we wish him well."

A supporter of the New York Initiative, who asked to remain anonymous, added in an email to The Daily Beast, "I work with the NYI, who unlike the article inaccurately states are NOT disbanded. The NYI is part of a larger effort and is currently run by a two-time Iraqi veteran." He also noted that "there IS no war" and added that the NYI "is obviously trying to to good in the world."

It was an overcast afternoon on a gray street in Manhattan’s Financial District, and the Dark Guardian was out to recruit more superheros for his new justice league.

Dark Guardian—the alter-ego of Chris Pollak, martial arts instructor by day, civilian watchdog by night—has a flair for the dramatic. He was dolled up in red nylon pants, a utility belt (contents: red flashlight, first aid kit), and a red bulletproof vest with his personal insignia: the letters “DG” in Superman-style font.

Pollak/Dark Guardian is a so-called real-life superhero, a community crime-fighter who has spent years patrolling New York’s streets in his unorthodox uniform. His current super-crew is a team of four or five superheroes, though he used to run with the New York Initiative—you might know them from the HBO documentary Superheroes, which followed the loosely organized vigilante network as they patrolled their cities for scofflaws. But recently Pollack became disenchanted with his former pals.

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