"Because the kids go nuts" is the only explanation Adelaide's own version of Batman can offer for donning the Caped Crusader's mask.
But rather than fighting crime, 74-year-old Phil Peake has been jumping into his version of the Batmobile – a 1977 dark blue Chevrolet Corvette – and driving the city's busiest pedestrian strips for no reason other than to have fun.
"I often go for a cruise down The Bay or Jetty Road, Brighton, and I'm astounded by the remarks that come from the kids," he said.
"You just watch the reaction and the kids go nuts."
Everyone's a critic
Mr Peake started doing his bat runs in 2009 after he bought the Corvette from a seller in Sydney.
"I thought it would be cool to just cruise around," he said.
Unable to modify it to look like a Batmobile due to road rules, he instead added two small Batman stickers to the front and rear windscreens and bought a mask.
Mr Peake said he did not buy the full outfit because nobody would see it while he was driving.
"Besides, it's uncomfortable," he said.
He felt doubt at first, wondering if it was a "stupid thing to do".
But because his Corvette is a left hand drive, it gave him opportunity to hear first-hand if his antics were appreciated by the drivers he pulled up alongside at traffic lights.
"One time I pulled up alongside this bloke and he turned around and said to his kid, 'It's Batman! It's Batman!'" Mr Peake said.
"I said, 'Oh really, why?' and he said, 'Because Batman's car's black.'
"Little smart alec!"
Batman not the only superhero
Mr Peake is a collector of classic cars, including two other Corvettes that match two different superhero masks that he wears on occasion — The Flash and The Phantom.
He said he had always had an interest in classic cars but did not have the money to pay for them while he was married — but then his wife "took off".
"So I went crazy," Mr Peake laughed.
He also owns a 1923 Ford T-Bucket, in which he plans to wear a sombrero because on one side it reads "Austin Texas" and has the image of a skeleton wearing what looks like a sombrero.
Mr Peake works on his cars himself to keep costs down, finding most parts he needs at wreckers.
'Mr Abdominals'
Before he started collecting cars and superhero masks, Mr Peake spent 27 years as a competitive bodybuilder.
He said he was known as "Mr Abdominals" and won five national titles in Melbourne and Adelaide.
"I have a wall full of trophies," Mr Peake said, demonstrating a pec-flex.
Mr Peake last competed in 2009, but since then he has been content to drive his classic cars around and give kids something to cheer about.
"A couple times I've asked drivers [at traffic lights] straight out, 'Do you think this is stupid?'" he said.
"And they've said, 'No, that's really cool because you've got to have something to laugh about nowadays.'
"But the exact opposite happens."
