tonight on "nightline," after the rampage. the sole suspect of the colorado massacre appears in court today with red hair and a jarring expression. from scientist to accused mass murderer. what we know about the man who calls himself a joker. in the line of fire. four brave young men who took bullets for their girlfriends and saved their lives. the final moments of real-life heros and what it takes to be one. and bonnie's play list. she gave us something to talk

about and the ultimate breakup ballard, "i can't make you love me." and good evening. i'm juju chang. today, the man suspected of mass murder in the horrific colorado movie rampage made his first public appearance in court. with new details on who he is, his bizarre demeemer today adds another piece to the puzzle. how could a quiet young man end up on a path that led to the carnage of last friday night. >> good morning, please be seated. >> reporter: he may think of his himself as the joker, but today, james holmes wasn't smiling and he didn't smeek a word. >> you are hold on a no bond

hold. >> what is happening? oh, my god. >> reporter: a diabolical plan of mass murder. a shooting rampage. a crowded movie theater. ripped from the pages of a dark knight comic book. if convicted, he could face the death penalty. >> the death penalty has to be made within 60 days of the arraignment. >> reporter: the quest for justice boils down to a conflict between good and efl. but good almost always prevails. hard to imagine the joker being tried by a jur of his peers. and today, the shock orange hair was impossible to ignore. >> he looked like someone who didn't know what was going on. and that leads to all sorts of important and fascinating legal questions about his legal state. >> reporter: there is no question the guy in the

courtroom bear no, sir resemblance to his secret identity. the mild mannered kid seen at this high school summer camp. >> he enjoys soccer and strategy games and his dream is to own a sluppy machine. >> reporter: a video from six years ago obtained exclusively by abc news. his childhood friends never saw it coming. >> i fondly remember him as a light hearted guy, a little quiet. >> reporter: as recently as six years ago, his sign career appeared to be an track. an hpd candidate in an elite program. a grant to pay his tuition and $26,000 a year in living experiences. and abruptly dropped out. no explanation. >> it's very unusual for a student to withdraw from the

program. >> reporter: but an aurora police psychologist. >> he didn't snap. the stock pile of the armory and the booby trap, this was a lot of premed taded behavior. >> he thought it threw. >> thought it threw. >> reporter: he was already buying guns at local gun shops. four of them in all. overthe internet, he stock piled rounds of ammunition and magazines. how many thousands of rounds of ammunition do you have to buy before it raises an alarm. >> reporter: the government is concerned about how much sudafed you buy. they are concerned about how much fertilizer you buy because of oklahoma city and the bomb

that brought down a federal office building. yet, you can buy as much ammunition as you want. it raises an abarm bell. and the fuel suit of body armor and the gas mask he wore in the movie theater. do you think he meant to die? >> he didn't act like he noent die. >> reporter: how so? >> the protective gear and the surrenders right away. a person kills himself if he doesn't get out. >> reporter: one theory, he wanted to live to see the second plot of the act unfold. the booby traps set to till anyone who stepped into his apartment. a trip wire composed of two quick wids, which, if combined would have ignited. the living room floor with 30

bombs connected to a control panel in the kitchen by a spaghetti like wire. he could have learned from the internet how to build such things but he left almost no digital footnote of any kind. once police safely diffused the bomb, they carted away his computer. >> it's a hard defense to win. you have to be able to show you didn't understand what you were doing was wrong. this is a guy who is dressed up as the joker, a villain, who is going to say i didn't understand that what i was doing was wrong? that is not going to be easy. >> reporter: last night, the president was here to pay his respects to survivors and the families of the dead. pointedly, he did not mention the perpetrator by name. >> the perpetrator of this evil act has received a lot of

attention over the last couple days. the attention will fade away. >> reporter: also, he made no mention of gun control. this is an election after all. and colorado is a battle ground state. earlier this year, forbes named aurora, colorado, the ninth safist city in america. now, it will forever be known as the scene for mass murder. i'm david wright for "nightline" in aurora, colorado. so much to consider. thanks to david wright. next up, what is that instinct that creates real life heros in a split second. four men who sacrificed themselves to shield their girlfriends from a shower of bullets. so what i'm saying is, people like options. when you take geico, you can call them anytime you feel like saving money. it don't matter, day or night. use your computer, your smartphone, your tablet, whatever. the point is, you have options.

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movie about a super hero. instead, they became real-life examples of the super human courage they came to watch on screen. as new details emerge about what really happened in the movie theeter in aurora, colorado, amazing stories come to life of her rowism in the line of gun fire. john donvan reports, it takes a special personalty. >> reporter: in the chaos in the danger, these are the first responders. but sometimes the ones who really respond first, we all them heroes. this young woman hugging the president, she is stephanie davies and she is a hero. that night, her friend had been shot in the neck.

she could have run to the street to save her own life. instead, she safed her friend's. >> stephanie, 21 years old, applied pressure the entire time while the gunman was still shooting. >> we both survived. more than i can ask. >> and it's something we will go through together. >> reporter: tonight, the first time speaking publicly. >> the next thing i know, she is telling me, stay down. and i'm like, i can't breathe, i can't breathe. do something. she is like, stay quiet. >> i see him up there and i'm hearing him yell at people. and then you just hear the rounds going off. boom, boom, boom, boom. >> that's all i could hear. the rounds. >> reporter: there were others that night, four men who had no connection to one another, all had the same instinct to put themselves between the gunman and the night at the movies. all four died saving another life. >> he was a hero to me and so

many other people. way before that awful night. >> reporter: one, alex teves was 24 and had just finished at the university of denver. he pushed his girlfriend amanda to the floor, but he was shot before he could get down. >> he didn't hesitate. i sat there for a minute. not knowing what was going on. and he pulled me down. and he covered my head. said, it's okay. hed do anything for me. he always told me that too. i just i could have protected him the same way he protected me. i'm telling me that he was my angel that night. but he was my angel every day i

knew him, from the day i met her. >> reporter: another part of the theater, john larimer jumped over the seat to cover his his girlfriend, julia. >> he just ducked over and held my head tight and put his body in front of mine. and in the process of doing so, he actually got shot. >> reporter: these stories are heart breaking and also inspiring. how do you explain these if you? part of sit just a mystery. >> it's almost like an impull sif act. they just had to do it. >> listening to jer rell brooks who is 19 and got shot in the leg helping a young women and her two children. >> if i'm -- if someone's going to get it, they are going get out before i do. >> reporter: it's not everybody, says rob willer. >> there are some people who believe if they take action, even under extreme

circumstances, they believe they will be successful. >> reporter: what is more, these people are risk takers. >> they believe they can control their fate, their destiny. they are fast thinking, they can think on the spot. >> reporter: on the spot. that means no time to think. >> there are bullets flying. you can't ponder. and weigh the costs and the benefit of your action. you just do it. >> reporter: and some die just doing it. and some live and get to know the thanks of those they saved. the world hero applies. there is no other. i'm john donvan for "nightline" in washington. >> our thanks to all the heroes among us and john donvan. just ahead now, we are going to change gears and give you something to talk about. bonnie raitt tells us what songs inspired her own music. ♪ [ dramatic soundtrack plays ]

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you know, the great bluesman muddy waters used to sing, the blues had a baby and they named it rock nn roll. when it comes to bonnie raitt, it's as if the blues and country rock gave birth to her songs. and now, ms.raitt tells us about the muse thak made her play list ♪ let's give them something to talk about ♪ ♪ how about love >> i got different strains. there is a rock side of me and r&b and a blues side. i fell in love with a blues guitar. ♪ my little girl peaches and

cream ♪ >> to me, growing up the daughter ore after great broadway singer was falling in love with music, listening to "carousel" and when he sang "my little girl" that was the highlight of my childhood and he sang it of the my wedding. my dad is my biggest influence. ♪ the times are achanging >> you know, i went to summer camp and everyone has campfire circles and we all sang peace songs. but i have to say, the song that i wanted to play was "times are a changing" and bob dylan was able to articulate songs about social justice and peace. something more than just a beautiful melody moved me. ♪ i never loved a man the way

that i love you ♪ >> for me, aretha franklin was the top singer i ever heard. "the way i loved a man" was soulful. and sings those lyrics, they caught me about the kind of pain i was going to be in for when i grow up. that might be the one that gets me the most. ♪ i can't make you love me if you don't ♪ >> it was written by two talented men. it was simple and pure expression of what it's like when you know that someone doesn't love you anymore. and the heart break of saying just spend one more night with me, i will close my eyes so i don't have to see. i know you don't love me -- it's getting to me now. ♪ because i can't make you love me if you don't ♪ >> the fact that adele covered "i can't make you love me", it

makes me proud and grateful that it's associated with me. ♪ bring it home baby >> sing me of a few of their line, tore it up for me. if you are down in the dumps and you play blues, you can't stay blue very long. if you are really mournful and lonesome and you are horny, you can get a stronger feeling of sexy or lonely. when i want to make love or feel sentimental, and when i went to get sexy and funk it out, i will play a version of those songs. if i could only have one artist on a desert island, it would be bruce hornsby.

i think he is the best of taking the bluesy seal and putting with it rock music, modernize it and electrify it. the marriage of lyrics and rhythm is what makes music appeal to me. ♪ all those crazy dreams i just put them behind ♪ >> if that whets your appetite, hur latest album is in stores now. sally ride, the first american woman to fly in space, died today after a battle with pancreatic cancer. she was a physicist. wasn't always comfortable with her celebrity status but used it toer spire children, especially girls to study math. ride was 61 years old. thanks for watching abc news. we always online at