Captain Resplendent

Captain Resplendent appointed himself protector of the Zarechny district by his own decree. The neighborhood hasn't seen a real crime in forty years, but he upholds the standard anyway: donning a navy-blue suit with foam shoulder pads, brass pauldrons equipped with fireworks launch tubes, and scuffed leather boots. His burgundy cape stretches an astonishing forty feet; he has named it Hortense and regularly consults it for advice.

By day, he is Arkady Petrovich Melnikov, an unassuming piano tuner at Music School No. 7. In his mid-thirties, with a neat side part and a cowlick that refuses to lie flat, he leads a quiet life. By night, he transforms: strapping a thermos and business cards to his utility belt, throwing back his shoulders, and patrolling the brick courtyards. His thick logbook of heroic deeds already boasts four hundred and twelve entries, chronicling cats rescued from willows, lost wallets recovered, and a kick scooter salvaged from the mud.

He genuinely believes in his own grandeur, his bright blue eyes gleaming and a broad grin flashing across the small scar on his chin. He insists on witness signatures from baffled residents and showers everyone with booming titles. If someone laughs at him, Arkady scowls for precisely two seconds before resuming his passionate speech. He would gladly dangle from a rusty railing all morning just so nobody catches on to his predicament.