**SERIOUS** Vigilante?

Question

Ok I know this is kind of insane, but I've always wanted to become a vigilante.

My mom knows, and she's supporting me very well. I just need a lil more help. I want to be the type of vigilante that doesn't use guns (guns are tacky). I want to use things like katanas, throwing daggers, hidden daggers, and things like that. I use Batman references to an extent (his armor type, the cape material, etc).

So, if you've been kinda interested in the subject, gimme some tips. I need armor types, things to wear that will need to protect me, weapon placement on my body, ways to hide my identity, etc. I'm also thinking of getting a pet as a partner; a dog, falcon, owl, something like that. Ideas on pets would be helpful too, along with how to train them.

**Only serious ideas please. I am taking this seriously, and I need you to too. If you mock me or make mean comments, I will report you. You've been warned**

Answer 1

Definitely train your *** off to master martial arts of some sort. Strength and agility is useless without technique. I wouldn't recommend the pet thing though...think about it. They'd be a weakness. They'd have to be INCREDIBLY well-trained to be useful in any way, and that kind of training would take up a lot of your time that could be spent training yourself. They're also a lot more vulnerable than they appear in the movies, so I'd stick to human sidekicks, if any, you know?

Also, pertaining to the weapons...I would go for convenience rather than style. You don't always have to use guns..but stick with things that aren't likely to get in the way, like katanas might. You also need to think about what you can stomach. I mean..it's not easy to kill someone. And maybe you'd want to stick to the 'leave an impression, but don't kill' thing. Your choice. You have to be incredibly careful. Fingerprints, hair, DNA of any sort..can't be left behind.

Another thing..how are you going to pick out/identify "victims"? Most cities aren't as black and white as Gotham and other fictional places. And you don't want to make a mistake. "Innocent until proven guilty", remember? You need to be sure of your "cause" before you go after anyone.

And there's my little rant. I hope I helped. Good luck, and keep me up to date..I admire your drive.

Answer 2

You are dilusioned. Life is not like a movie. If you take the law into your own hands you are bound to get hurt, killed, raped, and/or end up in prison.

Answer 3

Being a vigilante is really serious and dangerous work, Vigilantes collect death threats the way some people collect spam and pizza ads.

Walking around in a mask only works in films because they are too obviously suspicious in real-life. Its not just the criminals that are suspicious but the cops as well, and unless you want to end up in prison besides all the people you helped put there, you're more than likely to cross paths with the police, and more than once. Giving them another reason to pull you over doesn't add up. Lose the mask. Hats and sunglasses are better for blending in, even at night (pretend you're drunk.) More on disguises later.

And since we are on the subject of police, lets get a few things out right now: police hate people who encroach on their territory, and often with good reason. Trying to be a vigilante, and not have a few friends on the police force, will never work out. In the Batman mythos, and most vigilante mythos, there is always one, usually a few, sympathetic police who are kept in the loop about so-and-so's activities. If you're going to be a vigilante, you need the police on your side. Professional courtesy extended to them at all times, even if they don't do the same, and that means honest records of your patrols, detailed assesements of your activities, and a calm patient demeanor, most of the time. A vigilante who doesn't get along with the police finds themselves in handcuffs very quickly, oftentimes sharing space with some of the same people they put there. Such is police humour.

Back to the vigilante thing. First things first; extensive martial arts training. Batman spent many years honing his fighting skills, and any unarmed (or even armed) vigilante has to do the same. Minimum of an hour of practice per day, preferably 3-4, although 8 is ideal (but most vigilante's dont' have 8 hours of free time to devote to their study, unlike independently wealthy orphans.) Depending on your personality, body type and preferred method, you have a wide variety to choose from, and you should be multi-schooled, since techniques from one school might work better in one situation than another, and vice versa.

Best pet to have: dog, hands down. A medium sized dog (german shepards are good, which is why the police have them) is more than enough for most encounters, and if you pick the right speciality, (think weighted chain combat) you can rig the dogs leash to 'release' on command, giving you an immediate weapon and few seconds of surprise on a would be attacker. Also, walking a dog will not be seen as being unusual, even at certain dark hours of the night. Be sure to bring lots of plastic bags and let him/her sniff at the trees while you walk to help keep up the appearance. Also, dogs can be trained to attack certain regions, attack or even do a threatening growl on command, and many people seeing a decent size dog growling at them will be more than compliant at doing whatever it is you want them to do. But you have to be prepared to let that dog attack that person, otherwise the threats won't work, and dog attacks are dangerous for a reason. Seeing what your best friend did to someone is not something alot of people are prepared to see.

Knives are a bad idea to carry but a great idea to learn how to defend against, especially for a vigilante. For one thing, if someone does pull a knife, learning how to take it away from them ensures that you don't have to bring any weapon other than your hands, because your attacker will supply them. Second, a good edge can be made from alot of things, even from things you wouldn't think about (break a CD in half and you'll see what I mean), and having a knife is another excuse for the police to make your life more difficult than it already will be. A smart person uses their environment as their main weapon, and picks up weapons from there, based on how the situation is playing out. Just about any object of medium density works as a weapon (a book is an excellent example) since it is the weight, added to by the force you give it, that will cause the suspect harm. A decent hardback book smacked edgewise up somebodys head can very easily unbalance them enough to allow you to perform any number of further disabling moves, and if swung hard and precise enough, can even kill a person, which means you have a multi-use weapon without having to make any sudden physical adjustments whatsoever, especially handy if you are in a situation with someone whose jittery and nervous to begin with.



Identity hiding is really hard. The world nowadays is too small a place to remain anonymous, especially from people who have alot of money and a huge grudge to fill. Being a vigilante puts everyone who you know and care about at risk, which is partly why Batman's parents are killed in the movie: two less people that the villians can use against him. Anyone you contact, anyone who you are friends with or get information from, gets a nice target painted on them, and just because you catch a criminal doesn't mean that they will always stay behind bars. What you do when so-and-so gets out is something a vigilante has to worry about as much as anything.

Also, disguises are easy to come by. Wigs, costumes, flowers, fake name tags, the ways in which to hide openly from whoever it is you are fighting are as varied as the human imagination. But you can't hide your fingerprints (unless you have them surgically removed, which would make you extremely interesting to the police, and prime suspect #1 in any case where the fingerprint kit came back undetermined or smudged) which means there will always be a way to find out who you are. Being forever hunted, and never any truly safe places, comes with the vigilante territory.

Armour is a bad idea. For one thing, it adds weight, and thus tires you out quicker. Second, for the armour to be effective, it has to stop the kind of bullet/weapon you are going to enounter. Since you never know what kind of weapon (mostly gun and knife, here) your adversary might be carrying, you'd have to protect against the strongest bullet out there. If you go for the average joe approach, then you leave yourself open to the criminals figuring out what your weakness is, and you getting into a fight where someone pulls out a gun knowing it will punch through your armour. Again, even if you are going after run-of-the-mill dufuses, you're going to run into enough of them that there's bound to be a few (probably more) who are going to take it very personal what you did to them. And the technology isn't there yet where you have spider silk body kevlar, which would probably be military issue only anyway, so being armoured has more disadvantages than advantages. It works for the military because they aren't trying to hide their presence (they couldn't if they wanted to) so showing everyone they have body armour isn't causing any undue notice anyway. If you are absolutely sold on armour, the best bet would be a form fitted, front-plate worn underneath your street clothes. Get someone to take a body cast of you, in your underwear, neck to your waist, and use that to make a 2-3 layer sheet metal mould. It leaves your back exposed but its only half the weight of a full (front/back) midsection plate and most attacks will come at you directly anyway, especially if you make it a point to always face your attacker anyway (which you should be doing anyway.) Also, as soon as you get your armour, you need to start incorporating it into your martial arts training. The sooner you get accostomed to fighting under those real-life conditions, the better you will be.

Unfortunately, there will be alot of skills that you will learn hands-on only. Its just the way it is. Like knowing the best place to sit in a restaurant or anyplace in public or how to sit in a less than good place and make it better/safer for you to be there. Unlike most other jobs, and like police work, vigilantes are almost never off the clock because the people they are fighting against are never, or can't be trusted to be, off the clock either.

Another thing: if you are very good at your job, very few people will ever know about it. The police, if you are very smart, will take a majority of the credit, and even if someone does try to make you out to be a hero, it would be best if you brushed it off and downplayed it. A good vigilante is alot like a good leader: a good leader doesn't do it for you, a good leader makes you believe you did it yourself.

Answer 4

A sidekick of any kind, especially if it's not a human, could be an easy downfall.  Let's say you do become successful and famous, and some criminal wants to stop you? They would target your animal pal first.  Hold it for collateral or worse.  

That being said, the Batman Handbook: The Ultimate Training Manual is DEFINITELY something you should take a look at.  All sorts of useful information can be found inside, and while they're all tailored toward being "Batman", they can easily be altered to suit YOUR tastes.

Answer 5

You're my new favorite person and i would like to seriously talk to you about vigilantism. Just remember the one rule and never break it. that's murder, true vigilantes don't kill others, because then they are just as bad as the criminal. Capture and turn them to the police and pray they do there job. We need someone like you in this world, thanks =D

Answer 6

Get a wolverine.  The natives refer to them as the "devil of the forests".  They don't back down from anything.  Size of a shepard but will take on a grizzly.(and send them running).   How to train them?  Hah.  They don't take orders.   Don't use knifes....throw baby wolverines at them.

Answer 7

Kevlar armor would be quite useful. It is roughly a thousand times stronger than steel and it is more flexible because of the way that it is woven together.

Answer 8

Being a vigilante is against the law!  A vigilante is a self-styled enforcer of his/her personal law who is also judge, jury and executioner.  A person who intervenes to protect or defend someone who is a victim of a crime in progress is a hero, but not a vigilante.  There is a difference and the biggest difference may be either going to jail or being lauded as a hero.  Think about it!  If you want to fight crime, become a policeman.

Answer 9

first good for you!!! vigilante is the only way progress is made in a society.... george washington? traitor...vigilante...

robert the bruce....traitor...vigilante....

I think you should base your "identity" on either:

your purpose for rebellion retaliation.... are you for paying back those that oppress the poor?  robin hood rings a bell...

or ...

something that represents the mode in which you accomplish your goals.... night time? moon related....

you go!!

Answer 10

If you are looking for a side kick let me know. I know you want an animal, but I could drive the car. Can an animal do that. If you get arrested, then I don't know you. I will break you out though. So let me know if I'm in or not.

Answer 11

You could invest in some karate or tae kun do classes.

I would be careful if i was you though...just because your not going to use guns doesnt mean other people wont.

Good Luck!