Superman of Westport Mural

Michael Wheeler is known around Kansas City as the "KC Superman." Since 2011, Wheeler, a former street preacher who used to travel to other cities, has become famous in the area for running around the city in a Superman costume, carrying a football with "JESUS" written on it. In 2017, Wheeler's local efforts were honored in the Superman of Westport mural, which can be seen on the north-facing wall of Spa on Penn, on the corner of 42nd Street and Pennsylvania Avenue.

If you're a Kansas Citiian, odds are you've seen Michael Wheeler, also known as the Kansas City Superman. Wheeler, who says he has been running for as long as he can remember, is a street preacher and retired marathonist. He used to travel from town to town, running laps around capitol buildings - he says he's run seven laps around each one, a nod to the biblical Israelites' march around Jericho - and standing on street corners quoting scripture. In recent years, he's mostly kept to his hometown of Kansas City, which is where he got the idea for the Superman costume. If you look closely, you can see how his faith has influenced his costume - he has the word "JESUS" printed on his shirt and the football he carries with him.

In an interview with FOX 4, Wheeler had this to say about his running and the costume:

“It encourages me to keep going. It means so much to me. It’s like it is adding years to my life. This is what I’ve been longing for all of my life. Since I was a kid I felt like an outcast. I knew I was different but I kept on pursuing my running career. I didn’t make the Olympics but this is better than the Olympics right here."

The KC Superman mural in the Westport part of town was completed and unveiled in October 2017 after three and a half days of work. It can be seen on the Spa of Penn building. Wheeler was honored by the mural and said so in an interview with the Kansas City Star:

Wheeler told the Kansas City Star that the mural tribute was especially gratifying since most people aren't honored until after they're dead. He also said that he had been "thinking about kind of giving up on running and doing something different," but that the mural inspired him to keep going. Plus, he said, the superhero costume gave him added endurance.

Michael Wheeler "hung up his cape" two years later, in 2019. However, he can still be seen running around Kansas City to this day. In 2021 he was featured in a short video published on the VICE Youtube channel.

Mural: Superman of Kansas City, Roadside America. Accessed October 7th, 2022. https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/59806.

75 Arrests, 134 Marathons & 1 Stabbing: Kansas City Superman, Youtube. August 8th, 2021. Accessed October 7th, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xd34Sen9rs.

Westport’s ‘Superman’ has mural unveiled in his honor, Fox 4 KC. October 18th, 2017. Accessed October 7th, 2022. https://fox4kc.com/news/westports-superman-has-mural-unveiled-in-his-honor/.

KC Superman hangs up his cape, Northeast News. February 20th, 2019. Accessed October 7th, 2022. http://northeastnews.net/pages/kc-superman-hangs-cape/.

Stefanoni, Andra Bryan. Andra Bryan Stefanoni: Street preacher takes on role of Superman, Joplin Globe. March 8th, 2013. Accessed October 8th, 2022. https://www.joplinglobe.com/news/local_news/andra-bryan-stefanoni-street-preacher-takes-on-role-of-superman/article_f07ae864-82b9-576f-89b0-db3a7dcfa509.html.