Masked heroes take to the streets!

The third annual Superhero Pub Crawl, a charity event, was held last Saturday, July 13. Participants dressed as superheroes walked from downtown bar to downtown bar, drinking, dancing and socializing. The event was organized by Stumptown Crawlers, a group that has put together similar events of varying theme in the past.

The crawl began at Paddy’s Bar & Grill at 65 SW Yamhill St., where participants congregated and danced to music played from a mobile sound system. Superhero costumes included the likes of Watchmen’s Silk Spectre, Deadpool, a giant rabbit, at least three Wolverines, the Scarecrow, Hit-Girl and (of course) Batman.

“My father is an artist,” explained Matt Moews, whose self-made Batman costume bordered impressively on the professional. “When I was growing up he always made art costumes. He did a lot of living history stuff. It all had to be very accurate.”

Moews said that his costume repertoire is vast and that he never stops refining them. Of all his costumes, though, he said that Batman is the most popular. It’s not hard to believe. Our interview was interrupted twice by onlookers asking for photographs. The first was a mother who explained that her son is “the biggest fan of Batman” and that “his whole room is Justice League.” The second was a family, all of whom—from the youngest daughter to the grandmother—posed for pictures with Moews. For each picture he put on a stoic face and angled a gloved fist menacingly toward the camera.

“When you’re Daredevil, you don’t get much love,” Moews said. “When you’re Batman you can’t go anywhere.”

The atmosphere turned raucous when the crawl moved on to Society Nightclub, at 204 SW Yamhill St. The more ambitious superheroes (and those whose costumes permitted) took to the dance floor, where loud music and oscillating colored lights inspired super moves. The giant rabbit was seen twerking with a Will Ferrell impersonator.

The action was tightly controlled, with driver’s license checks at each bar and a supportive community vibe that could be felt throughout the event.

“We all watch out for each other,” said Bonnie Murray, who was dressed as Sif from the Thor comic series. “If someone’s had too much to drink, then everyone watches out for them and makes sure they’ve had enough to eat or drank enough water.”

“Over the past three years we’ve made a lot of friends,” said Jennifer Whited, who was dressed as Amora the Enchantress, also of Thor. “When we come to these we get to see our family. It’s like a family reunion.”

Murray and Whited explained that they are Stumptown Crawlers “lifers.” They’ve been participating in the crawl since the first one three years ago, but they’ve also done other crawls organized by the group. They rattled off a list of crawls ranging in theme from pajamas to zombies to rednecks.

The Superhero Pub Crawl wasn’t just about drinking and dancing, though. Additional events, dubbed\ “antics,” were peppered between the bar-hopping throughout the afternoon and evening.

“The whole point of the antics in between the bars, and having the rolling DJ, is that it takes about 20 to 30 minutes between the bars,” said Jon Simmons, Stumptown Crawlers founder and coordinator of the event. “It gives time to get away from the bar, slow down, mingle and also kind of get refocused and rehydrate.”

“That’s why, after three years, we’ve never had a single incident,” he added.

One antic involved a brief diversion through Pioneer Place, during which participants played out scenes such as Deadpool holding a door open for the Hulk. Two participants dressed as Spartans from the popular Halo video game series stood patiently outside a Game Stop, posing and generally fulfilling dreams and providing inspiration for children and adults alike. One hero ordered what appeared to be a Mexican dish from the food court, later complaining that the salsa was too spicy. He was playfully chided by his companions for such a non-superhero complaint.

Reactions to the event were mixed, ranging from confusion to excited fascination.

“I’m not from around here,” one onlooker said. “I’m from India and we have nothing like this there. I think I understand now why all of the big superhero movies come from here, when you have things like this.”

Though the attempted world record for most recognized superheroes in one place wasn’t broken this time around, the crawl was successful in meeting its most important goal: All proceeds from the Superhero Pub Crawl are donated to p:ear, an organization that aids homeless youths in transition. Throughout the event Simmons was keen to point out that the crawl was primarily about the charity.

“I’m always grateful for the people that come out,” Simmons said. “Because they’re the ones who support the charity.”