Retired Batman Returns to Fighting Crime in the UK

According to the BBC, Batman apprehended a criminal and turned him over to the police. But not Batman: The Dark Knight as seen in modern cinema. This was original TV Batman from the 1960s.

Closed-circuit television footage from a police station in Bradford, West Yorkshire, UK, clearly shows the Caped Crusader ensuring that the suspect was taken into police custody.

In a statement, West Yorkshire police said:

“The person who brought the man in was dressed in a full Batman outfit. His identity remains unknown.”

“Batman came into the help desk, stated to the staff ‘I’ve caught this one for you’ and then promptly vanished into the night to fight crime and the fear of crime in Bradford.”

The crook was wanted for “handling stolen goods and fraud related offenses” and has since been charged.

Britain’s Superhero Adoption Programme

Batman has been through a number of on-screen re-inventions and the camp, comical charm of the 1960s Adam West incarnation was replaced by increasingly brooding, menacing versions as the Dark Knight got darker.

But something strange happened. The original caped crusader wouldn’t go away. It seems he just retired to the UK where he has become something of a cultural icon. The grey-and-blue “Westian” Batman has made repeated appearances in British affairs, becoming something of an ambassador for family values and British comedy.

The trigger was popular British sitcom Only Fools and Horses, which appropriated Batman and Robin costumes for the hapless Del and Rodney Trotter to wear to a fancy dress party, only to become accidental crime fighters.

In 2004, Westian Batman became a symbol for divorced Fathers’ rights to see their children in the Fathers-for-Justice campaign, when an activist and campaigner staged a protest on a balcony of Buckingham Palace.

This British adoption of the Caped Crusader got the official seal of approval when the public’s love affair with the re-purposed dynamic duo made an appearance in the 2012 Olympic opening ceremony.

But it seems you can’t keep a good Bat down and although Gotham may have the hero that it needs, Britain has become the place for the ones it doesn’t.