Englehart Neighborhood

One of the city’s residential neighborhoods, Englehart is known for being one of the most politically active and connected neighborhoods in the entire city. Many community-based outreach programs, social justice movements, and community outreach programs have gestated along the blocks of Englehart. Many of the academics that teach in Claremont make their homes here, as well as current and former students.   As such, this area is also known for having something of a ‘hipster’ supervillain community. Though still somewhat dangerous, seemingly ironic supervillains (and some superficial superheroes) originate from this part of town. Despite these dalliances, however, there are also some key figures of the heroic community that come from Englehart.   COLIN’S FRIENDS: Of all the social outreach programs in the city, none is more widely spread in its efforts than Colin’s Friends. With chapters operating out of the basements of nearly every religious building in the city, Colin’s Friends is named for perhaps one of the most well-known tragedies of the Silver Age, Colin Banner. Killed in the crosshairs of the hero Rabbit and his nemesis, Grave Ghastly. Since then, Colin’s name has been lent to a support group that caters to the needs of anyone who has lost a relative or loved one to the collateral damage of superhero conflicts. In recent years, Colin’s Friends has expanded to include the loved ones of superheroes themselves, discussing their worry over their loved ones’ personal lives. Controversially, some chapters have even branched out to include the family members of supervillains, there to lament the choices their own relatives have made.   THE CARTER KYLE FOUNDATION: Started by registered nurse Erin Reed, after her ex-husband Carter “Rocket Jock” Kyle was killed in Worlds War II. A nonprofit, Erin and a small nursing staff tends to the wounds of superheroes anonymously, and free of charge. Supported by a few wealthy benefactors (including Omari North, of the North Foundation), the growing group serves a necessary function, though one mired in controversy. Medical institutions frown on their almost guerrilla tactics, insurance companies try to censure them, and many in the supervillain community see them as easy targets. Reed and her small team, however, is fully committed to their work and convinced of the righteousness of it.   THE COMMUNITY GARDEN: The largest urban garden in the region, The Community Garden produces food at a nearly professional level, given the right season. The yield outgrowing the needs of the community, the Garden has moved beyond Englehart, and has become food-based relief for those whose livelihoods and living situations have been ruined in the aftermath of superhero battles.   CLASH CULTURE: Seen by members as a successor to the area’s thriving punk and goth scenes of the late 80’s/90’s, “Clash Culture” is seen as supervillainy as fashion. Many of the ‘villains’ in Englehart are young people taking up a costume or identity, usually the most outlandish one they can, and struggling to make it work. While far from the most ruthless or dangerous villains in the city, members of Clash Culture can still cause major problems if left to their own devices- even if, often enough, their own devices simply mean squaring off with one another.