By Julia Crumpleman
A new app, Cape Finder, has hit the market, and it’ll allow users to track sightings of superheroes, supervillains, and other super-powered people and creatures with one tap.
Argon Studios, the developer of Cape Finder, says the app will utilize the phone’s GPS software to pin a map when users see a superhero or supervillain, much like Foursquare does. “All it’ll take is a tap on your screen,” said lead developer, Chad Markins. “Then you type in the person’s name or description and hit send. You’ll go into the map where you can see other users’ pins.”
“You can use this to track supervillains’ movements throughout the city, for instance,” he said. “Usually, they move in one direction or another, and this can be useful to know where to go in case of emergency.”
But not everyone is so enthusiastic about this app. Janice Montana, attorney for many superheroes including Titana and the Amazings, said this could undermine her clients’ activities. “Many superheroes still have secret identities for a reason,” she said. “If the bad guys knew who they were, they’re going to target their families. This tracking software could seriously jeopardize their operations if people were to follow them to their homes or underground lairs.”
Markins refuted that concern. “We’re not using anything that people don’t already have at their fingertips,” he said. “There are websites set up for this, and people tweet superhero sightings. It’s out there. Superheroes have been doing this for decades. They know what they’re doing.”
