AUSTIN (KXAN) — The legendary Stan Lee was the leader behind Marvel Comics and the mastermind behind characters like Spider-Man, the Hulk, Iron Man, the X-Men, and The Defuser.

You may not have heard much about the latter character, but Lee once crowned The Defuser the next big superhero.

The Defuser is Jarrett Crippen. He’s a seasoned detective with the Austin Police Department. KXAN first interviewed Crippen in 2007 after he won the national reality show titled “Who wants to be A Superhero?” hosted by Stan Lee.

The show is described as a series with contestants portraying original superhero alter-egos of their own creation. The winner is then featured in a comic book created by Stan Lee himself.

Lee chose Crippen and his superhero character called The Defuser who uses non-lethal weaponry to fight bad guys.

“I’m very much looking forward to the comic book,” Crippen said in a 2008 interview. “I’m hoping it will be out before Christmas, as well as my action figure. It’s being edited and written by Stan Lee and I’m really, really looking forward to it.”

After winning, Crippen used his notoriety to raise money for cancer research and has stayed in touch with Lee throughout the years through events like Comic-Con.

Crippen is now retired from the Austin Police force but is forever part of the force that makes up superheroes with the help of the legendary Stan Lee.



