A scene from the fictional comic metropolis of Gotham City played out for real in Norwich last weekend when a man dressed as Batman chased a suspected thief and recovered a woman’s stolen handbag.
Sonni Mason, 25, was attending a friend’s fancy dress party on Saturday night in a Batman costume when he witnessed a handbag being snatched after a row in a queue for a nightclub in the city.
Mason was joined in the chase by others dressed as comic book characters including Mister Fantastic from the Fantastic Four, and Poison Ivy, another character from the Batman franchise.
They flagged down a group of police officers on their way before catching up with the suspected thief. But the suspect no longer had the bag.
After a tip-off the bag was eventually discovered about 300 metres from where it was snatched, on top of a high flint wall on the perimeter of Norwich Cathedral.
Failed attempts were made to get the bag down with a roll of toilet paper, before Mason, still in his Batman costume, scaled the wall and retrieved the bag. He returned the handbag to its grateful owner with all the contents still inside.
Much of the incident was captured on a TikTok video uploaded to Mason’s account.
In a post about the incident he wrote: “On a night out for a friends birthday, someone swiped someone bag over a pack of cigarettes out of spite …. myself as Batman, Poison Ivy, Mr Fantastic and various other heroes chased him down.”
Speaking to SWNS news agency, Mason, who is from London and works in a cafe, said: “I hope I can inspire people to be a little bit more like Batman. Not so much the running around in the dark in a costume but helping others out. I didn’t expect to be scaling up a wall.”
He added: “Everyone needs a little bit of Batman. You have to be brave, bold and kind. I would hope everyone else would do the same, whether or not they are wearing a cape or a cowl.”
Rather than jump off rooftops or beat people up, he just wanted to make sure everybody was all right, Mason said.
“That’s what [Batman] is about. He’s a protector.
“I just hope more people will be inspired to do the same if they see someone being mugged or feeling uncomfortable on a night out. It shouldn’t take a superhero costume to make you want to do that.”
A Norfolk police spokesperson said: “Officers on routine night-time economy patrols in Norwich were approached by a member of the public, on Saturday September 19, who requested help to find a missing bag.
“Following inquiries at the scene, the bag was located with all of its contents intact and subsequently returned to its owner.”
