Bayan Joonam’s documentary “Phoenix Jones: The Rise and Fall of a Real-Life Superhero” traces a story too strange, and too sad, to be fiction. Known for his digital work with Rainn Wilson and SoulPancake, Joonam spent six years following the arc of Ben Fodor, a charismatic mixed‑martial artist who reinvented himself as “Phoenix Jones,” a vigilante patrolling Seattle’s streets, first in 2010 and, later, during the Black Lives Matter unrest as late as 2020.
ORIGIN
Abandoned by his parents but adopted by two supportive mothers, Fodor nonetheless rewrote parts of his own origin story, including a fabricated eleven-year orphanage stint that his older adopted brother Caros quickly debunks. The film tracks the rise of the magnetic Phoenix Jones and his eccentric band of would‑be superheroes—characters with names like The Watchman, Purple Reign, Mr. Sticky, and Midnight Jack.
Their zeal borders on the delusional; their nighttime patrols, captured by late cinematographer Ryan McNamell, (to whom the documentary is dedicated), veer between comical and frightening. The group first began patrolling Seattle’s streets in 2010, when public sentiment regarding the MMA fighter was positive and the identity of Phoenix Jones was still a mystery. By 2020, circumstances have changed drastically, and not for the better.
FREEDOM
The film’s emotional anchor is Fodor’s young son, Freedom, who speaks with sobering clarity about his father’s psychic wounds. Freedom’s account of a young woman’s death during a drive‑by shooting marks a turning point for Phoenix Jones, who confesses, “We just stood there and watched her die.” It’s one of several moments where the myth collapses and the man underneath is revealed. Freedom says,”My dad is a person who really cares and is really damaged, and I saw that.”
THE DOWNFALL
The final act is grim. In 2019 Fodor was caught in an undercover drug‑trafficking sting—the ultimate irony for someone who once crusaded against drugs and drug dealers. He pleaded guilty, was ordered to pay a $500 fine plus time served, and announced plans to study criminal justice and run for mayor. Today, with two outstanding warrants out for his arrest (he didn’t pay the $500 fine), even those modest ambitions seem unlikely. As reporter Jason Rentz puts it, “People clearly do not trust you.”
CONCLUSION
Joonam became familiar with the mythical world of crime-fighters because of his association with Rainn Wilson, the star of 2010’s film “Super” (in which Wilson played a character called Crimson Bolt). Wilson himself appears onscreen, warning,”I don’t think it’s a good idea to put on a costume and jump into a dangerous situation.” That caveat is repeated by law enforcement throughout the film. The current thirst for young people to become social influencers, gaining fame and fortune via social media, and the proliferation of mentally ill people on the streets of American cities all come together in this odd, quirky Superhero phenomenon.
Who are these masked men (and women)? Who are the real people out in the streets of various cities living out a self-mythologized destiny? How do actions like those of Phoenix Jones potentially harm the perpetrators and society itself? “Phoenix Jones: The Rise & Fall of a Real-Life Superhero” is a thoughtful, comprehensive look at yet another side effect of the rise of social media and the upsurge in mental illness, told by the filmmakers with care and concern, (including one night the filmmakers spent in jail in pursuit of the story). The documentary is a 105 minute psychological profile of a troubled soul.
“Phoenix Jones: The Rise and Fall of a Real-Life Superhero” is a compelling, quietly tragic look at a man whose magnetism could have carried him anywhere, yet kept pulling him toward the fire.
