Advertisement

Middle-aged ‘Batman’ authorized to fight crime in Brazil

The Brazilian city of Taubaté has a new crime-fighting strategy: enlist Batman.

Local residents and business owners have given the city's military police approval "to recruit and deploy André Luiz Pinheiro, a 50-year-old man who will operate in a Batman costume," Comics Alliance reports.

Pinheiro, a military retiree and local Dark Knight impersonator, told OVALE, a Brazilian news source, "I am eager to know how we can work together." Pinheiro hopes by targeting murder and drug trafficking he will make the community a safer place for children.

Pinheiro will work with the Advanced Community Policing Unit to strengthen ties between law enforcement and Taubaté's troubled Esplanade St. Therese neighbourhood.

"Pinheiro will hopefully become an approachable presence in these troubled communities and act as a recognizable beacon for lost children," io9 reports.

No word on whether he'll drive a Batmobile or receive the call by viewing a giant spotlight in the sky.