Austin officer is world's newest superhero

Childhood idea inspired Defuser's nonlethal methods

By Tony Plohetski
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Thursday, September 06, 2007

Forget Superman. Phooey on Spider-Man. And Batman and Robin? They're yesterday's news.

The Defuser, known in real life as Austin police Detective Jarrett Crippen, is America's newest superhero.

Crippen, 38, won first place Thursday night on "Who Wants to Be a Superhero?" a reality TV show in which contestants created a character — complete with a costume — and then proved their courage, integrity and compassion during the seven-week series.

The Defuser will now be the focus of a new comic book series by Stan Lee, creator of Spider-Man, the Hulk and the X-Men.

"That was pretty cool, wasn't it?"said Crippen, who watched the two-hour finale on big-screen televisions with dozens of friends and co-workers at Dave & Buster's in North Austin. "The hardest thing has been keeping this a secret."

Crippen was not allowed to discuss the outcome of the show, which aired on the Sci Fi Channel.

The Defuser is described as a loner and expert at gadgetry whose specialty is nonlethal weaponry. His powers include speed, strength, agility and night vision. His nemeses are drug dealers.

Crippen, who is assigned to the Police Department's training academy, said he got the idea for the Defuser when he was in the seventh grade. He read a newspaper story about a police officer who had fatally shot a suspect and wanted to create a superhero who would not have to use deadly force.

His costume includes a "sleep grenade," which can be thrown into a building to put suspects to sleep, and "glue grenades," which can prevent them from fleeing officers.

Crippen said he's been fascinated by comic books since boyhood. He struggled in reading as an elementary student, he said, and his teachers gave him comic books to help him learn.

His friends told him about the show in its first season and urged him to audition for the second season.

Crippen said he was reluctant at first.

"I was like, 'There is no way I'm getting on national television in spandex,' " he said.

But Crippen eventually relented when he learned that the show was conducting auditions in San Antonio. He remembered his Defuser creation from years ago and fashioned the costume using a spandex leotard, whiffle balls and his cell phone.

Brad Bankston, owner of Austin Books and Comics on North Lamar Boulevard, who has known Crippen for about a decade, said Crippen recently came into the store dressed in his Defuser costume. Young customers flocked around him, asking questions about the superhero and requesting autographs.

"It was very heartening to see someone that kids can look up to," Bankston said. "And the fact that he is a police officer really added to that."

On Thursday's show, he competed with the characters Hygena, who fights crime with weapons fashioned from cleaning tools, and Hyper-Strike, a martial-arts virtuoso who can turn his own sweat into a weapon.

As the show ended, Crippen high-fived his friends and hugged wife Norma as the crowd broke into cheers.

tplohetski@statesman.com; 445-3605