- 'Batman' Pulled Over By Police Caught on Tape
- abcnews.go.com / batman-unmasked-meet-marylands-hospital-hero/story
On March 21, police caught Batman on Route 29 in Silver Spring, Md., outside Washington D.C. He was pulled over because his license plate had no numbers, only the Batman symbol.
"It's a black Lamborghini and a driver dressed as Batman," the police officer said over the radio. "You can send me Robin if you wish."
The dashcam video quickly went viral, and the media search to identify the man behind the mask intensified.
The Washington Post was the first to discover the Cape Crusader's identity and unmasked him in a front-page story. It turned out he was not Bruce Wayne but Lenny B. Robinson, a 48-year-old father of three.
Robinson discovered Batman about 12 years ago when his son, Brandon, became obsessed with the superhero. He was drawn to the comic book icon because of what Batman couldn't do.
"He's a superhero, but he doesn't have any superpowers," Robinson told ABC News. "We all can be Batman."
Robinson, who made a lot of money when he sold the cleaning business he founded, spent $5,000 on his custom-made batsuit, which weighs 35 pounds, and turned his house into a shrine to the Darknight Detective.
It takes Robinson 45 minutes to transform into Batman.
Once he's in, he sweats enough to lose 5 pounds of water weight, and using a bathroom is out of the question. But the Batman routine is not just some funny little hobby. Robinson suits up and hops into his $250,000 car to entertain sick children at local hospitals. He was en route to a hospital when he was pulled over.
"When I put the suit on and I quote unquote become Batman, I think I am Batman," Robinson said. The police did not give him a ticket for his Batman act.
ABC News accompanied Robinson to a hospital, where he greeted children and passed out Batman paraphernalia.
"Think about that every day -- getting better," he said to the kids. "You are the real superheroes."
But Robinson's batsuit doesn't protect him from the emotion of the moment.
"I saw the kids in there, and my heart's breaking," Robinson told ABC News. "On the inside I'm crying like a little baby."
Robinson is helping people, but being Batman has also helped him.
"You wouldn't have liked me," he told ABC News. "I consider myself back then a little on the obnoxious side."
Now, Robinson stays focused on other people, not himself. The definition, one could argue, of a superhero.
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