| The Initiative Collective | |
|---|---|
 Seal of the Initiative Collective | |
| Team Statistics | |
| Group | The Initiative Collective |
| Category | Public Service |
| Headquarters | (by branch) 39° 12' 50.01" N, 79° 38' 13.60" W |
| Status | Active |
| Team Activity | |
| Leader | (by branch) |
| Members | * BMI * CAI: SF * UKI Central * WAI |
| Allies | Legacy Initiative, Xtreme Justice League, United Earth Hopeforce |
| Foes | Apathy, Crime |
| Actions | Neighborhood watch, humanitarian outreach, safety education, volunteer services |
The Initiative Collective (often referred to as "The Initiative," "The ][C," or simply "The ][") is a coalition of several teams of Real Life Superheroes, based in different regions of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and Australia. The founding chapter was the New York Initiative, after which different branches or "Initiatives" were established.
The Initiative Collective describes their mission as such:
"The Initiative is a grassroots group of volunteers who have banded together across states – and countries – to help empower people in their communities by any creative means necessary."[1]
Many members of the Initiative do not employ superhero-style gimmicks when on street patrol, and some employ them only online or at special events. Notable exceptions include the San Francisco, Oakland, SoCal, Illinois, and UKI Liverpool branches.
History
Founding and First National Expansion
The Initiative was first founded in New York on October 3, 2009 by heroes Z, Lucid, Zimmer and TSAF. They operated as a standalone throughout 2010, and were featured in the 2011 documentary "Superheroes" by Michael Barnett.[2]. This documentary appearance attracted numerous new members to the New York team; as well as inspiring the formation of other Initiative teams in other areas under the shared banner of the Initiative Collective.
2011 saw the formation of the Virginia Initiative in June and California Initiative: San Francisco in August. 2012 saw the addition of Washington Initiative in February, California Initiative: Los Angeles in April, Louisiana Initiative in June, and Arizona Initiative and Colorado Initiative in July. By November of the same year, the Colorado and Louisiana branches had folded, with the latter being quickly reformed and relaunched under different leadership.
2013 saw the introduction of the Illinois Initiative in February. April brought the United Kingdom Initiative: London, the first international team to join the collective. In July, the Tennessee Memphis Initiative was founded by former San Francisco team member Olde School. Also in July, members of the New York, California, and Washington branch embarked on a cross country trip to film the docu-series 'Taking Initiative: Nation of Heroes'[3]. Around this time, the Louisiana branch quietly folded for the second time.
Fractures and Reformation
By early 2014, disagreements began to arise amongst branches, leading to Z and the New York team severing ties from the greater Initiative Collective in January of that year. This rift led to the collective rebranding itself as the “Hero Initiative”, and the creation of a new New York branch headed by Spectre and Dark Guardian. The original NYI would continue on for several months before eventually changing names in June to become T.R.I.B.E.. This rift would lead to leadership changes amongst many Hero Initiative branches, with some members aligning themselves with T.R.I.B.E. as it expanded into other cities. 2014 also saw the dissolution of the Arizona Initiative.
In July of 2015, CAI:LA leader Sakura married Virginia Initiative leader Ira Ui'Raghallaigh, which would ultimately lead to the end of the Los Angeles branch. Later that year, T.R.I.B.E. and Hero Initiative would make amends and unite under the Initiative Collective banner once again. In April of 2016, Olde School would once again relocate from Tennessee to Massachusetts, leading to the formation of Boston-Massachusetts Initiative. That same month would see Spectre step down from his leadership role in the NYI and Rover named as the new leader. This move caused disagreement between the Collective and NYI member Dark Guardian, who subsequently left the team to found the New York Ronin. The Ronin, much like T.R.I.B.E. before it, quickly expanded into a national network of teams as an alternative to the Initiative Collective.
Second National Expansion
2016 also saw the Collective enter into another period of growth, with the Arizona Initiative being relaunched in July, followed in September by the UK Initiative: Central. In April 2017, the Australia Initiative joined the collective, and June saw the creation of the California Initiative: Oakland-East Bay run by former San Francisco team leaders Rock N Roll and NightBug. August saw the Virginia Initiative go on hiatus and quietly fold, as well as the addition of the California Initiative: SoCal team.
2018 would bring the addition of the United Kingdom Initiative: Liverpool in May, followed not long after by the dissolution of the London team in October of the same year. One year later, the Kansas Initiative would join the collective.
Covid-19 Pandemic and Modern Era
2020 began a period of decline for the collective, due in no small part to the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns. In April, the Liverpool team ceased operations. July would see the launching of the North Carolina Initiative, which quietly folded in August of the same year. In November, the New York Initiative, which had become largely dormant under the leadership of Rover, was relaunched with a new roster. 2021 would see even more upheaval, with the Illinois and Australia teams ceasing activity in February and April, respectively. October of that year the Kansas team would also become inactive, while the SoCal branch came under the leadership of Spectral Hawk.
2022 a dispute with other collective members led to Sweetie Pie withdrawing from the collective, thus ending the Tennessee Memphis Initiative. 2023 saw even more departures, as the New York Initiative severed ties with the greater collective to become an independent team once again. Spectral Hawk also left the collective at this time, causing the SoCal team to end. Some time at the end of 2023, the Oakland-East Bay team removed their social media presence; followed shortly after by the Initiative Collective website going offline. The status of the four remaining branches is currently unclear.
Branches
Active
Boston-Massachusetts Initiative
California Initiative: San Francisco
United Kingdom/Central Initiative
Washington Initiative
Defunct/Inactive
Australia Initiative
Arizona Initiative
California Initiative: Los Angeles
California Initiative: Oakland-East Bay
California Initiative: SoCal
Colorado Initiative
Illinois Initiative
Kansas Initiative
Louisiana Initiative
North Carolina Initiative
Tennessee Memphis Initiative
United Kingdom Initiative: Liverpool
United Kingdom Initiative: London
Virginia Initiative
Former Members
Gallery
References
External Links
(UNAVAILABLE 03/25/2024)
