--- title: Zetaman description: Zetaman is the veteran costumed crusader in Rose City and member of The Real Life Superhero Project. url: "https://totallynakedman.com/wiki/zetaman/" updated: "2025-06-25" category: Heroes --- # Zetaman ![Zetaman by Illya King](https://totallynakedman.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/sites/12/2025/04/Zetaman-1.jpg) Zetaman, by Illya King **First Appearance:** [**Naked Man Comics #2**](https://totallynakedman.com/category/icbooks/the-superhero-squad-of-superheroes-movement/) **Affiliation(s):** **[The Real Life Superhero Project](https://totallynakedman.com/wiki/real-life-superheroes/)**, **[The Alternates](https://totallynakedman.com/wiki/the-alternates/)** **Aliases:** The Cat of Rose City, Botmaster **Location:** **[Rose City, U.S.A.](https://totallynakedman.com/wiki/rose-city/)** **Abilities:** CPR and Aikido practitioner Zetaman is the veteran costumed crusader in Rose City and member of The Real Life Superhero Project. He is also the creator of the Rose City team of heroes, The Alternates. Zetaman runs several online websites including **[RealLifeSuperheroes.info](https://reallifesuperheroes.info)**. ## Creation and concept Zetaman is a parody of the Real Life Superhero individual “Zetaman.” [**[1]**](https://www.wweek.com/portland/article-8534-the-adventures-of-zetaman.html) > Imposing in his blue and black gear, this “costumed activist” works with the homeless of Portland, OR, runs neighborhood patrols, and actively supports such local organizations as Oregon’s chapter of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Portland’s Community Transitional School, and March of Dimes’ “March for Babies” walk-a-thon in his native City of Roses. > > **~~RealLifeSuperheroes.com~~** Zetaman retired in 2011, however, Illya King (Zetaman’s alias), used the concept as a superhero in **Naked Man Comics**. Since **issue #2,** the character is one of the main supporting cast members of **[Totally Naked Man](https://totallynakedman.com/wiki/totally-naked-man/).** ## Publication History ### Comics and Comic Books In **Naked Man Comics #2**, a mysterious ship searches space for worlds to consume. **Totally Naked Man** received an invitation from **[Pepper Gold](https://totallynakedman.com/wiki/pepper-gold/) **to join his team. Tryouts for the **Superhero Squad of Superheroes Movement** will be held in **Downtown Rose City**. While waiting for an interview, Totally Naked Man meets heroes like **Zetaman,** **[Superhero](https://totallynakedman.com/wiki/superhero/)**, **[Dark Guardian](https://totallynakedman.com/wiki/chris-justice/)**, **[Antiman](https://totallynakedman.com/wiki/antiman/)**. **[Pie-Man](https://totallynakedman.com/wiki/pie-man/)** is also there. When Totally Naked Man finally sees Pepper Gold, Gold demands that he bows to him. The interchange is interrupted because a giant alien has arrived. **[Universium](https://totallynakedman.com/wiki/universium/)** has decided to eat the Earth. Totally Naked Man recalls his favorite childhood hero, **[Rightguy](https://totallynakedman.com/wiki/rightguy/)**, facing a similar situation. Totally Naked Man buys all the beer in **Rose City** and gets Universium drunk. When Universium awakes, Totally Naked Man threatens him with pictures of the giant’s escapades if he consumes the Earth. Afraid of the contents, Universium leaves. Pepper Gold receives the credit for Universium leaving. **The Real Life Superhero Project** finally arrives but are too late to participate. In **[Naked Man Comics #4](https://totallynakedman.com/category/icbooks/i-have-the-power/)**, **Totally Naked Man** and friends, along with **[The Extreme Factor Five](https://totallynakedman.com/wiki/the-extreme-factor-five/)**, are teleported to the planet **[Fabulon](https://totallynakedman.com/wiki/fabulon/)**. The heroes meet **Prince Dan** and **Bazooka**. Prince Dan is really **[Man-Man the Barbarian](https://totallynakedman.com/wiki/citizens-fabulon/)**. The villains meet **[Turtletor](https://totallynakedman.com/wiki/the-yellow-skull/)**, scourge of villainy. Turtletor has captures an all-powerful **Share Bear**. The next part of Turtletor’s plan is to capture **Skycloud Castle**. He enlists the help of The Extreme Factor Five to do so. Man-Man and the heroes make the epic climb to Skycloud Castle. The villainous cabal also arrives. The heroes and villains fight. Turtletor is revealed to be **The Yellow Skull**. The Yellow Skull created a portal to Fabulon and quickly rose to power. Because the heroes are on Fabulon, Turtletor flees back to Earth. Man-Man brings the heroes to **Hawk Witch**, who provides a way back to Earth. Upon the heroes return, the Share Bear turns into a stuff bear (which **Zetaman **gives to a homeless kid). Zetaman discusses with **Totally Naked Man** his theory on why there are villains in **Rose City**in **[Naked Man Comics #5](https://totallynakedman.com/category/icbooks/zetamans-story/)**. Years ago, Zetaman had a team called **The Alternates**. After disbanding and reforming then disbanding again, villains and heroes turned villains invaded Rose City. Totally Naked Man assures Zetaman that people make their own choices. All the villains in **Rose City** meet **[Vega Bond](https://totallynakedman.com/wiki/vega-bond/)** at one of his businesses, in **[Naked Man Comics #6](https://totallynakedman.com/category/icbooks/la-cucaracha-entran-pero-no-su-salir/)**. Bond has a plan to organize the villains against the heroes of Rose City. **[The Asalter](https://totallynakedman.com/wiki/the-asalter/)** assaults a little girl’s ice cream. **Shawn** and **Catherine** rob **[Old Town Pizza](https://totallynakedman.com/wiki/businesses/)**. **[The Roach](https://totallynakedman.com/wiki/the-roach/)** slashes **Zetaman’s** tires. Villains have taken over the city. **Totally Naked Man** faces **The Extreme Factor Five** in **Old Town Chinatown**. The evil team throws Totally Naked Man off a roof and breaks his foot. **[Extremely Conservative Woman](https://totallynakedman.com/wiki/extremely-conservative-woman/)** fights the evil team and saves Totally Naked Man. While Totally Naked Man is recuperating, he receives a call from Vega Bond. Bond challenges the heroes to a wrestling match. The heroes, sans Totally Naked Man, meet at **[Waterfront Park](https://totallynakedman.com/wiki/parks/)**. New heroes like **[iHero](https://totallynakedman.com/wiki/ihero/)** and **The Android**,**Chris Justice**, and **Civitron** join the heroes of Rose City. The wrestling champion of the seven seas, **[Aqua Gato](https://totallynakedman.com/wiki/aqua-gato/)**, also joins. The wrestling match is at the Rose Quarter. The heroes wrestle the villains. Most of the villains are taken out and retire. The Asalter is the only villain left. The villain makes short work of the heroes, including depowering the robot The Android. Aqua Gato fights The Asalter and loses. The Android turns back on and stops The Asalter. After winning the match, The Android is revealed to be Totally Naked Man. In **[issue #7](https://totallynakedman.com/category/icbooks/heros-de-la-ville-rose/)**, Zetaman is one of the heroes who sings along with Totally Naked Man in Rose City. In **[Naked Man Comics #10](https://nakedmancomics.com/category/ics/the-expanded-universe/antiman-v-icarus/)**, **[Icarus](https://totallynakedman.com/wiki/icarus/)** teams up with **[Pie-Man](https://totallynakedman.com/wiki/pie-man/)** and **The Reverend** to form **The Bridge City Beta Males.** **The Victim** was a member until he was killed in an unfortunate adult activity accident. Icarus destroys the coffee café, **The Spritely Bean.** The heroes of **Rose City** turn to **Antiman** to stop Icarus. **Zetaman** and Antiman reveal that Antiman has difficulty with his sidekicks. Antiman used the sidekick app, **[Chummies](https://rose-city.net/archives/records-revenue-and-financial-services/business-registry/#chummies)**, to find new helpers. All Antiman’s sidekicks become villains, including Icarus. Antiman hunts down Icarus in the **[Hawthorne District](https://totallynakedman.com/wiki/neighborhoods/)** of Rose City. There, Antiman fight Pie-Man and The Reverend. Both heroes turn villain accidently falls into a vat of hot cooking fat. Antiman finally apprehends Icarus. Deciding that everyone needs friends, **Totally Naked Man** reforms **The Alternates**, along with a Headquarters in **Downtown Rose City**. In the first story of **[Zetaman #1](https://zetaman.xyz/comic/the-multiverse/)**, a **[Z’nu alien scout](https://totallynakedman.com/wiki/znu-armada/)** harasses a young woman arriving from **[Cherry City](https://totallynakedman.com/wiki/cherry-city/)**. **Zetaman** tries to stop the alien but is defeated. The young woman uses a fork to ward off her attacker. This inspires her to become the hero known as **Extremely Conservative Woman**. Zetaman and **[Agent Null](https://totallynakedman.com/wiki/agent-null/)** decide to band **The Alternates** together to stop the **Z’nu aliens** from taking over the Earth. The second story in **Zetaman #1**features a **Zetaman** from another Earth, **Zetaman from Earth Zeta.** The Ultimate Zetaman educates the Zetaman from Earth Alpha the nature of the **[Multiverse](https://totallynakedman.com/wiki/the-multiverse/)**. Ultimate Zetaman travels the Multiverse to learn of the different Zetamen within the local 24 Earth cluster. In part 3 of **Zetaman #1**, **Ultimate Zetaman** arrives on Earth Gamma. A mysterious alien ship is bombarding the city. Ultimate Zetaman breaks into the alien ship to find the cybernetic horror, **Zetaman Gamma**. **The Alternates** of Earth Gamma attempted to stop an alien invasion. They were brutally destroyed. Zetaman of Earth Gamma was experimented on into a robotic nightmare. Ultimate Zetaman fails in convincing Zetaman Gamma to help him. Instead, Zetaman Gamma throws himself into a reactor engine, which destroys the alien ship. In the **[Extreme Factor Five](https://totallynakedman.com/category/ics/extreme-factor-five/)** webcomic, **Totally Naked Man** notices that he has no hot water. Attributing the lost of heat to **mutants**, Totally Naked Man goes to **Rose City**investigate. When he arrives, **Zetaman** is there with news about the comic character, **[Rightguy](https://rose-city.net/archives/archives/rightguy/)**. Zetaman gives Totally Naked Man a flashlight. They are interrupted by **The Roach** who slashes Zetaman’s tires. Totally Naked Man decides to investigate the **[Shanghai Tunnels](https://totallynakedman.com/wiki/locations/)** instead of helping. There, Totally Naked Man stumbles upon the mutant team, the **Extreme Factor Five**. The team wants to destroy the U.S. Postal service as a statement of mutant supremacy. The group is confronted by another mutant, **[Oatmeal](https://totallynakedman.com/wiki/oatmeal/)**. The Extreme Factor Five and Oatmeal were mutated by a **[brewery accident](https://totallynakedman.com/rose-city-live/news/local/brewery-explosion/).** Oatmeal came to the sewers to quietly live his life. Totally Naked Man and Oatmeal fight while the Extreme Factor Five leave. The fight spills over to outside. Zetaman stops the fight. Totally Naked Man is left wondering why his water heater does not work. In the **[Drama of The Gods](https://totallynakedman.com/category/ics/drama-of-the-gods/)** webcomic, the custody of **[Cronus](https://totallynakedman.com/wiki/the-greek-gods/)** is debated between **Olympus **and **Tartarus**. Through the confusion, **[The Norse Gods](https://totallynakedman.com/wiki/the-norse-gods/)** frees Cronus. **Odin** is unhappy on how the **Greek Pantheon** is represented in the media. Meanwhile, **Zetaman **and **Extremely Conservative Woman** talk to **Totally Naked Man** about his gimmick. They are interrupted by delegates from Olympus, **Momus**, **Aura**, and **Delphin**. They need help locating **[The Horseless Horse](https://totallynakedman.com/wiki/the-horseless-horse/)**, the only power to stop Cronus. Totally Naked Man reveals his secret to contact, in the **[Blue Mountains](https://totallynakedman.com/wiki/mountains/)** The Horseless Horse. Once Totally Naked Man verifies that the cosmic being is with the heroes, they find Cronus. Cronus plans to turn Olympus into a tourist trap, thereby diluting the majesty and prestige of the location. The Norse Gods hear the plan and are frustrated with Cronus for wasting their time. A battle ensues. Cronus’ **Rose City** headquarters in enveloped in a ball of energy. Totally Naked Man attributes this to The Horseless Horse, which Extremely Conservative Woman disagrees with. The Norse Gods and Cronus are sent to Tartarus. Hades, frustrated with the situation, locks them all up. An 8-page story, written by **Tracy Hudson**, is a ficional account of the meeting between Zetaman and Agent Null. In **[Zetaman #0](https://zetaman.xyz/comic/when-zeta-met-null/)**, **Vega Bond** hires **Agent Null** to destroy **Zetaman**. Zetaman hires Agent Null to form **The Alternates**. Both costumed individuals then fight Vega Bond. In the [**Ballad of Parachute Gir**l](https://totallynakedman.com/category/ics/totally-kodachrome/the-ballad-of-parachute-girl/), **[Parachute Man](https://totallynakedman.com/wiki/parachute-man/)** needs help from **The Alternates**. **[Parachute Girl](https://totallynakedman.com/wiki/parachute-girl/)** does not want to wear the emergency chute Parachute Man gave her. **Totally Naked Man** and **Zetaman** go to **[Doctor Atomick](https://totallynakedman.com/wiki/doctor-atomick/)** to build a new parachute for Parachute Girl. Totally Naked Man tests it out and it works. Parachute Man and Girl live happily ever after. ## Character Overview Zetaman did a lot of net surfing before coming across the concept of Real Life Superheroes. Inspired by RLSH such as **Mr. Silent** and **Chris Justice**, Zetaman created an identity called **The Cat**. This alias ended in failure as the police cracked down on the masked cat man. He rechristens himself “Zetaman” and patrolled the streets of Rose City. ### Personality Zetaman is grumpy and a worry wart. He tends to invite a lot of drama in his life, naming feuding online with villains and other heroes. Zetaman tries to find the good in people, which tend to make him a target to be taken advantage of. Zetaman also knows almost every secret area of Rose City, including hidden lairs of characters like **Antiman**and **Oatmeal**. ### Powers, abilities, and weaknesses Zetaman is proficient in CPR. He also trains in Aikido ### Supporting characters Zetaman has strong ties with Antiman. He frequently teams up with Antiman to assist in cases. Before he retired, Agent Null was Zetaman’s sidekick. Zetaman is also best friends with Chris Justice, **Civitron**, and most of The Real Life Superhero Project members. Zetaman mortal enemies are other RLSH such as **The Green Pilgrim** and **Tolkian**. Most of the online hero and villain communities are at odds with the hero. **The Roach** is another one of Zetaman’s foes. He consistantly slashes the tires of Zetaman’s car. ### Alternative versions #### [Ultimate Zetaman](#zeta) Zetaman of Earth Zeta is a gravity powered hero who travels the Multiverse. He was featured in Zetaman: The Mulitverse. #### [Zetaman Gamma](#gamma) Zetaman of Earth Gamma and his team fail to stop the alien invasion. Consequentially, Zetaman Gamma is brutally butcher and reassembled as a cyborg. Zetaman Gamma sacrifices himself to stop the aliens. ## External Links - Gifagram image gallery - **[https://gifagram.rose-city.net/zetamanofrosecity/](https://gifagram.rose-city.net/zetamanofrosecity/)** - Mirror site of ZetamanTV - **[https://archives.zetaman.xyz](https://archives.zetaman.xyz/)** ## References 1. JAMES PITKIN Published March 4, 2008 Updated January 24, and about Willamette Week JAMES PITKIN. “The Adventures of Zetaman.” Willamette Week, Willamette Week, 4 Mar. 2008, **[https://www.wweek.com/portland/article-8534-the-adventures-of-zetaman.html](https://www.wweek.com/portland/article-8534-the-adventures-of-zetaman.html)** 2. Tangen, Peter. “Zetaman.” The Real Life Super Hero Project, Peter Tangen, 20 June 2011, **~~https://reallifesuperheroes.com/2011/06/20/zetaman/~~**