The Superhero

"My fetish is an intersection of three fetishes – spandex, superheroes and BDSM. While each has its separate attractions, they overlap and combine in different circumstances. For example, one of my favorite scenarios is to play a spandex-clad superhero who gets into trouble and winds up bound and tortured. Over the years I have met on-line a few dozen guys who share the same or similar fetish, and there probably are many more.

Spandex is my preferred material, for a couple of reasons. I love the way it clings to the body, accentuating the curves and outlining everything you otherwise might hide. Being clad head-to-toe in spandex somehow creates an air of mystery and exoticism (not to mention eroticism). I like the different colors and the way it reflects light. While I like the look and feel of leather, and have had some leather gear of my own, I just didn’t think it looked good on me.

While I am not into heavy BDSM, I do like the feeling of being tied up and of having a certain level of punishment inflicted on me (mainly applied to the genitals). That seems to overlap quite nicely with my love of seeing (or being) a superhero in trouble.

Like many guys, the roots of my superhero fetish go back to my childhood. I watched the original Superman TV series in the ‘50s, as well as the Batman shows in the ‘60s. The episodes I remember most are ones where the hero was in distress – Superman weakened by Kryptonite, for example, or Batman tied up. One of the most memorable times I have ever spent in a movie theater was watching the scene in the original Christopher Reeve “Superman” movie in which Lex Luthor hangs a big chunk of Kryptonite around Superman’s neck and pushes him into a pool. I still love that scene to this day. And Christopher Reeve posing in his Superman costume is, to me, one of the most beautiful men ever.

For most of my life I was either in doubt or denial about my sexuality, and I didn’t make a connection between sexuality and my interest in superheroes. I thought I was alone (not to mention slightly crazy) in my interests. I used to feel alone, because I never heard or read of anyone who had the same or similar superhero fetish. I assumed I was the only one who felt this way. That reinforced the notion in my mind that I was somehow perverted or unique in my interests.

But in the mid-1990s, I got access to the Internet and its communities. I used to visit various chat forums, Yahoo groups and specialized web sites that no longer exist. It was in those places that I saw pictures and stories of guys who have interests just like me. What a rush that was. I was able to express my interests, understand them better, and learn about guys who felt things remarkably similar to what I was feeling. What’s more, the rise of online commerce sites meant I could purchase what previously I had only dreamed of having – superhero costumes and other spandex gear that were of much higher quality than what I found previously in local costume shops during the run-up to Halloween.

Over time, I acquired a Superman and a Spiderman costume, along with spandex items like singlets, Speedos and full-body spandex suits.  I wore them around home, acting out favorite fantasies, and taking pics of myself in gear that I shared online.

My first in-person experience occurred when I met a guy on-line who was into wrestling and seemed open to my fantasy about being a superhero in trouble. (This was before websites existed that catered to very specific fetishes, like Spandexguys and GearFetish.)

I went to his house, where I put on my Spiderman costume and he wore his wrestling gear. I had no experience in wrestling, but that didn’t stop me. We wrestled all afternoon, and I lost every match, after which he taunted me, called me names and occasionally would unmask the defeated hero. Eventually I was drenched in sweat and had a hard-on that wouldn’t quit. It was awesome, and confirmed every inkling I had about my fetish interests -- that playing a superhero in trouble was something that satisfied a deep (if somewhat unexplainable) desire within me.

After that I had occasional in-person meetings with other guys, but most were not very satisfying from the perspective of my fetishes. Usually they just didn’t share (or even understand) what I was after. This may sound weird, but while my fetishes have a very strong erotic element, I am not into it for sex. I simply get a rush from being in costume and role-playing a superhero in trouble.

Over the years, in addition to costumes of well-known superheroes, I assembled an array of spandex body suits, and for each of them I created a superhero character of my own imagination.  They were superheroes with names like Goldenrod, Domino, Midnight and Solaris. I found websites that specialized in spandex and/or superhero fetishes, and I hired photographers to take pictures of me in costume and gear. I also put together and posted online photo stories depicting my heroes getting into trouble.

Still, my in-person exploits were few and far between. One day, I came up with an idea – what about a dominatrix? I figured dominatrices are experts in making fantasies involving BDSM and role-play come true.

This proved to be a breakthrough idea. I arranged a session with a woman, explaining that I wanted her to capture and humiliate Superman. I was very upfront in telling her that I was gay and explaining my fetish interests. The experience turned out to be better than I could have imagined. Her role-playing and verbal skills were excellent, the setting was great, and we hit it off immediately. I got exactly what I wanted, and she found she really enjoyed defeating superheroes.

Photos became a very important part of my fetish, for several reasons. First, it’s the medium by which people can share their experiences and interests with like-minded people. Guys may send you e-mails or messages on fetish sites, but if they don’t have photos of themselves, I really don’t take them seriously. Second, photos allow me to relive the experiences I have had. And finally (though it’s a bit hard to explain), I enjoy viewing myself in the third person. What I mean is that I can look at a photo of me in costume and while I know it’s really me I can imagine that it’s another person. Viewing a pic of a hero tied up or in peril, I can say to myself “Oh, no, is that really (my name)?!? He’s in big trouble.” A sequence of shots showing the hero being unmasked is especially powerful.

One aspect of the session exceeded my wildest dreams. First, a little background about my dreams: There’s a dark side to my fetish. I enjoy seeing superheroes not only get into trouble, but also hurt or even killed. It’s just fantasy, after all. They always return to play another episode. As we were role-playing Superman vs. an evil villainess, she continued to press Kryptonite against the hero. She was really into it. And I realized that she wanted to kill Superman. Well, this is what I had hoped for but was afraid to tell anyone for fear of looking too weird or sick. So, Superman met his end – I was ecstatic and she was thrilled, too. After that, we had many others sessions. The characters and scenarios differed, but the format was pretty much the same – a superhero lured into a trap, captured, tied up and tortured." 

- The Superhero