Superhero Saturday: Entomo the Insect-Man

This is my life. I can't permit other lives, people who chose different paths, to interfere with my path. We're connected, but still independent. It's a delicate game of balances. Welcome to human existence.

- Entomo the Insect-Man

This is the beginning of the first ever regular feature here at Gnack Attack. Every Saturday I will be adding an interview with a real life superhero. If you're already confused, you should catch up by reading my initial superhero post. I have approached a number of real life superheroes for interviews and due to time zone differences, among other variables, the style of each interview will likely be slightly different. Some interviews will be done in the style of a questionaire through email. Some will be done in a more true-to-form interview style through chat software. This, my first superhero interview, was conducted by email.


The first superhero to be interviewed is Entomo the Insect-Man. To find out more about Entomo, you can visit his MySpace page. Before I get straight into the interview I'd like to express my gratitude to Entomo for agreeing to this interview. His answers were concise, sincere and well-thought out. So thank you Entomo! And now, without further ado...

First things first, lets talk pseudonyms. Your superhero name is Entomo the Insect-Man. Tell us a bit about why you chose this name.

The name has born in my mind about 4 years ago. Now that I think about it, it was in the middle of 2003. I was studying anthropology at the time. Well, the name just sprouted from my thoughts, spontaneously. I was trying to define myself, trying to understand more about myself. At the time, I didn't know anything about the [Real Life Superhero (RLSH)] movement in America, I never even suspected that it existed. I only knew of Super Barrio Gomez in Mexico, and that was about it.

When I first thought about the "Entomo" Superhero name, it was like: "Great. That's myself, truly. If one day I'd become a Superhero, that will become my nom de guerre. But that day is impossible". I discarded the idea as soon as it was born in my mind.

Now, that day has come; nothing is impossible.

You have asked that I recognise you as an ecologist/activist/animalist first and foremost. It seems as though you have a very general interest in helping not just humanity, but the world in its entirety. This is something that many people respect but few act on. You have acted - why?

The desire to help the entire world was always with me, since I was a kid. I was just too weak to perform my role as a child. I started to "build-up" my persona and my physique when I turned 18. So it was a gradual process, still on-going. Now I'm strong enough to make the difference if given the chance. It's something you "sense" as being inside yourself, a mechanism.

Without such incredible mechanism, I couldn't work.

I could not care that much about humanity as long as our world has been rendered uninhabitable by its inhabitants. I mean, our Earth is a living being. We must treat our world like a person.

The life of a superhero is often shrouded in mystery and secrets. Are you particularly worried about hiding your identity?

No Superhero group at the time, I'm thinking about assembling potential Italian Real Life Superheroes and start one myself. It will take a lot of time, but I don't care.

My "civilian" identity is just an enhancement of the most human part of myself. Of course, only my girlfriend and some friends (two so far) know about it. They are very supportive. Basically, my "civilian" identity is just an overplaying, but not a mystification. It's not like Clark and Superman, to draw a parallel with comic books. Clark is a carefully constructed disguise.

My two lives are not separated. I just live twice.

Many superheroes claim to have powers or talents that the general population rarely shares, what about you?

As kid, I didn't realize the whole thing. I lacked focus, of course. They are not "superpowers" in the strict meaning of the word, but not "ordinary" faculties either. This is Real World, and I'm in the middle.

They are a natural part of me, like breathing or sleeping. I just let them grow in myself as time went on.

Well, if I have to describe what I can do, that's tricky. It's like I'm in tune with something greater than me, what I use to call "the spectrum". Every time I interact with life - and, for instance, nature - something "vibes" in my physique in total harmonical conjunction with the "spectrum". My insect-like features are just physiological answers to dozen of questions life poses to my body in a day. My faculties are all enlisted here: http://entomo.wikispaces.com.

My "talents", as you wisely put it, are many. Let's say I mimic some qualities belonging to the insect world. Sometimes, I am myself amazed at what I can do. My principal weakness is that "I" come and go, in the sense sometimes I'm broken and my faculties seem to have vanished. As an intermittence of some sort.

It seems as though it is standard practice for superheroes to go on patrol looking for crimes to solve or people to help - is this something you also do?

I've just debuted. I did some patrols in the past, as a civilian. I'm more a "watcher" than a crimefighter, but I can fight... and very well. Give me a worthwhile opponent. I think the whole purpose of the patrols is adverting police at the right time, and do some of the work by yourself. It's a collaboration, you know. I'm going to collaborate with police as long as they collaborate with me. It's a mutual affair.

If you have one chance to tell the entire world one message...

"If you don't care for this marvellous and unpredictable planet, then you're not caring for yourself.
All small and big lives are connected to the pivotal life of this globe. All small and big pasts are connected to the pivotal future of this globe.
Don't act as a parasite... act as a worthwhile life."

The message speaks for itself.

A lot of people are going to write you off as a crazy guy in a costume.

I don't care. This is my life. I can't permit other lives, people who chose different paths, to interfere with my path. We're connected, but still independent. It's a delicate game of balances. Welcome to human existence.

I have a mission. The costume is just a part of said mission. An integration.

I have no trouble with wearing my costume in public. Somehow, it's part of me. It's the better way to be "exposed", because I'm actually "exposing" the most important and fascinating part of me.

Every superhero has to have a nemesis, a supervillain counterpart, even if this supervillain is simply crime itself.

I don't know how to answer to this. I don't know if, at this point, I "need" an archenemy to focus myself even more... we'll see. I'm ready to go.

I can only say that an "opposing" counterpart is a natural progression of the resonance we have in the world around us. It's exponential.

You, like any superhero, have a costume to go with your superhero persona...

My costume is partly green because green is the most incredible manifestation of nature. Even many species of insect show green in their chromatic palette, which is a true miracle. I still wear what I call my "Beta Version Outfit", or even "First Bite". It's a prototype. I'm going to wear a more sophisticated mask and suit in the weeks to come.

My symbol is a stylized capital sigma resembling an hourglass; representative of the summation of insect-like features I incorporate into myself - into my genetic code. An hourglass because it's time to do something; time needing to be spent doing something to make the present state of the Earth much better than what it is. Additionally, some species of black and brown widows present on their abdomen the shape of an hourglass.

One of the most engaging things about any good superhero is their flaws and weaknesses - their ability to appear so very human to us.

I agree with you. Being a Superhero is just... well, a magnification of human nature. Not a re-arrangement, or a travesty. It's a magnification of something that is already present in human nature.

I have flaws, but they are part of me. They aren't "mistakes" to fix, rather natural "losses". I can deal with them.

Finally, I thank you because you're an exponent of the bright side of the "new generation" of young people out of there, and I'm honoured to promote my movement among you all.

I inject justice.

Entomo.