Why the beloved KC Superman is hanging up his cape for good and naming his successor

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At this year’s Super Bowl parade, Michael Wheeler, known around town as the KC Superman, made a rare return to his beloved persona.

Though he had said in 2019 that he was hanging up his cape, Wheeler has made sporadic appearances dressed in his now iconic red cape, Superman-style T-shirt that sometimes had a big “S” emblazoned on it, at other times “Jesus.” He was always carrying a football.

Wheeler remembers the joy he saw in people’s faces when they saw him again running in his KC superhero attire. The evangelist Christian minister and runner took pictures with people, saw old friends and spread his message of peace.

After the parade, as he spoke to a group of bystanders near Union Station, he observed chaos erupt. Wheeler said that when an ocean of people began to flee the scene, unaware of the cause, he started to run toward the confusion.

“I guess it didn’t dawn on me until I saw the police with the assault rifles out,” said Wheeler. “I saw a woman on the floor crying, and an officer told me I need to leave out from there. That is when I knew it was something serious and I told them no, I am going to stay.”

Wheeler said he did the one thing he knew he could do to help. He prayed.

After the shooting, Wheeler, 72, decided two things. First, he would retire as KC Superman once and for all. Second, Kansas City needed a new Superman, and it was time to pass the torch.

“I am getting older, and I think I put my time in. And now that I am officially retired, I wanted to turn it over to the younger generation,” he said.

Wheeler has elected Jewell Sol to succeed him in the role of KC Superman. Leaving the cape behind for good was hard for Wheeler. He has become so much a part of the Kansas City experience for so many Kansas Citians. But he knows that for KC Superman to live, he must move on.

The New KC Superman

Sol, who is 24, was born in Houston, but has lived in Kansas City since he was a young boy. One of young Sol’s first experiences in the city was going to the movies with his family and seeing Wheeler making his rounds for the first time.

“He was one of the first things I saw when I came here when I was 6 years old,” said the music teacher and entrepreneur. “I saw him running with his cape. He was running from Union Station and nobody really knew who he was back then but I saw him and he waved and I waved back.”

Years later Sol became involved in community activism and a mutual friend introduced him to Wheeler.

The two instantly clicked, and Sol began to set up community appearances for Wheeler over the past year to assist him with transitioning away from the KC Superman persona and moving more into his ministry work.

“He is a good guy, and I think he will be a good fit for it,” said Wheeler, who presented Sol with the idea of him taking over the mantle earlier this year after the shooting. “I have been doing it so long I just need a change and something different. I want people to know the real me and someone other than Superman.”

Sol wants to bring the KC Superman character into the new generation by creating The KC Superman Foundation, which will focus on the arts, financial literacy and the ongoing struggle to end gun violence. While everything is still in the planning stages and no dates have been announced for Sol’s first flight as KC Superman, he is excited to carry on Wheeler’s work.

“I never even thought about replacing him as the KC Superman,” said Sol. “As we got into it more, people started to gravitate to the work we were doing, and he wanted to rotate out of being KC Superman to be more involved with the community in a different way.”

Though he knows there will be people around town who may not warm to the idea of a new KC Superman, he hopes with time he can win over the city, just as Wheeler did.

“Change isn’t something everyone is always used to,” he said.

The Origins of KC Superman

The story of a local minister donning a cape to run around town promoting love started in tragedy. After losing five members of his family, including his sister to gun violence, Wheeler began to run. He ran in local races and marathons as a way to cope with his depression. One day he wore a Superman shirt.

He kept wearing the shirt through the early 2000s, and soon a cape followed. People began to recognize him at running events. It wasn’t long before people began to take note of him as he ran through the streets. Wheeler remembers while many were amused by this grown man dressed as Superman, others thought he was out of his mind.

“It was hilarious. I would be running down Main Street and people would look at me like I was on crack,” he said.

While out on his runs, Wheeler says he has been attacked and shot at, but he never let anything deter him from running the streets of KC as a symbol of hope. As his runs became more frequent, he began to make deep connections with people throughout the city. His presence attracted local news outlets. One after another they told his story.

Wheeler knew that while he had people’s attention, he wanted to promote a message of positivity and peace.

“I wanted to bring peace,” says Wheeler. “I put the cape on to spread the message of love and bring some healing to the city with all these shootings,”

Wheeler, a lifelong fan of comic books modeled his persona after Superman, to resonate the stance of truth and justice the Man of Steel stood for.

Over the years, the 72-year-old Wheeler has run 124 marathons all over the country. But in his older age and after an ankle surgery two years ago, Wheeler now sticks to shorter races. The retired United States Army veteran said that even though he won’t be running the streets of KC with a cape on, he will never stop running.

“I am probably among, maybe two or three people my age out there running,” said Wheeler. “It makes me feel good to be out there still competing with the youngsters.”

Never expecting the KC Superman idea to become such a big part of Kansas City culture, with murals and portraits painted in dedication to his work, Wheeler was beyond shocked by the massive outpouring of sadness when he first announced he would be retiring 5 years ago. He is thankful for the years of memories and the lives he has been able to touch in his time as Kansas City’s unofficial superhero.

“I didn’t think I would have done all this and It has been overwhelming,” Wheeler said. “Hearing how much people care moves me and being able to represent Kansas City like I have touched my heart.”