Behind the Light; The Unauthorized Biography of Lightning Man

Introduction- Light Reflections

For as long as we can remember he was always there to protect our fair city. They say, “Lightning doesn’t strike twice.” Be that as it were, he struck against crime an infinite number of times. For 40 years he was a thorn to every criminal and a savior to our fair citizens. In his later years, his powers seemed to have weakened. It has been said that his powers were solar based and that the lightning emblem on his chest was both a conductor for his abilities and a storage component. This is mostly conjecture as no reliable source has verified the validity of this as well as other theories posted on the Internet. Still… in those later years, his appearances were less frequent.

His last known appearance was in 1999. During this time, he fought a group of bandits known as the “Cookie Syndicate”.  This group would terrorize local business owners with open acts of violence. Most owners paid protection money to the syndicate. Needless to say, Lightning Man put a stop to these thugs. However, this battle was not easily won. There are several witness accounts that believe he took 3 bullets during the struggle. There are other accounts that believe 6 bullets were involved and that at least one hit his head. No one is sure if this caused internal bleeding. It is clear that he sustained life threatening injuries from this incident. In fact, one informant has told us he saw him limp away. To this end, our book attempts to uncover the man, the mystery, the legend, and what became of him.

After the “Cookie Syndicate” incident, he was never seen in public again. Some say, he still fights crime quietly. It would explain a number of unusual circumstances. However, no one can be sure. After all, much of his origins and personal life still remains a mystery. Naturally, this made the task of writing this book that much more difficult. We interviewed key friends and colleagues that worked with him during the 40-year span of his crime-fighting career. This includes Police Deputy Commissioner Frank Price, reporter James Ciandra, Mayor Jill Winston, Sergeant Millie Brown, Dr. Arthur Windell, and Dr. Alice Randall. Additionally, several villains and acquaintances were interviewed thus providing a broader perspective of the man and the myth. Finally, archived interviews and news stories were used to piece together his story including several interviews never seen in print.

With this, we begin our journey almost 50 years ago to what seemed a simpler time…