’Not exactly the credentials the Justice League is looking for,’ one man mused as he watched Mr. Katsnelson stroll down Johnson Avenue.

By Kevin Deutsch

Maksim Katsnelson — aka the Riverdale Superman — never landed in a corn field in Kansas, battled Lex Luthor over the world’s fate, or fired red-hot lasers from his eyes.

In fact, the 23-yearold still lives with his parents on West 246th Street, invites his comic-book-loving friends over to goof off, and posts videos of himself re-enacting the Risky Business floor-slide scene on YouTube.

He also has the unsuper distinction of having been thrown in jail for tussling with police after performing as the Man of Steel in Times Square on July 9, then having to call on his father to deliver a change of clothes for his court appearance.

“Not exactly the credentials the Justice League is looking for,” one Riverdalian mused as he watched Mr. Katsnelson stroll down Johnson Avenue in full Superman regalia.

Yet in the wake of that ugly incident, which saw the shaggy-haired, softspoken performance artist’s picture splashed across the pages of city tabloids, complete with stories mocking him as a “nut job” and “superzero,” the Riverdale Superman seems to be growing a small but adoring fan base. Kids scrambled to snap pictures with him outside the Starbucks on Johnson Avenue Monday; joggers asked him if he could save New York from the forces of evil (Donald Trump’s name came up a few times); and a woman requested he use his x-ray vision to find her lost car keys. “People need a Superman,” said Mr. Katsnelson, who bought the costume for $40 at a Riverdale Avenue comic book shop two weeks ago. “It might seem weird to some people, but when I put it on, I felt like I was alive for the first time. I felt like a real hero. I wanted to do something positive.”