1 of 5 | A group dressed up as Batman, Catwoman and the Joker pose for a photo at New York Comic Con at the Jacob K. Javits Center in New York City in 2016. New York Comic Con is an annual New York City fan convention dedicated to comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, toys, movies, and television. It was first held in 2006. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Make sure to have your black capes and utility belts ready to celebrate Saturday, which marks National Batman Day.
In honor of the Caped Crusader’s holiday, we’re taking a look at some of the biggest Batman superfans we’ve covered in recent years. Here are five of our favorites:
Record-breaking memorabilia collection
Our first Batman superfan is Brad Ladner of Milton, Ga. In 2023, he amassed a memorabilia collection worthy of a Guinness World Record.
Starting his collection in 1988, he accumulated 8,226 individual pieces of Batman memorabilia. He said he was inspired to begin the hobby after reading A Death in the Family.
Ladner began his collection mostly with comic books, but later ventured into action figures and other toys. Among his more rare finds are a prototype Batman Camel cigarette box made in Europe and a costume continuity binder from the 1989 Batman movie along with dozens of set photos.
Functional Batman suit
Another dedicated fan who likely sank quite a bit of time into his devotion to the Caped Crusader is Keith Dinsmore of Portland, Maine, who built a functional Batman costume. He broke a Guinness World record by adding 30 working gadgets to the outfit.
The cosplayer added a bolla, batarangs, a butane torch, a mini grappling hook, binoculars, a compass, a fingerprint kit, a tracking device, a nylon rope, a road flare, a laser pointer, flash-bangs, handcuffs, an acetylene cutting torch and an extendable baton.
The previous record-holding costume had 23 functioning gadgets.
Monkey or Batman?
One spider monkey at the Brevard Zoo in Florida was apparently so enamored of Batman, it greeted the world in April 2022 with the Batman symbol across the bridge of its nose.
The spider monkey was born to 31-year-old Shelley and 25-year-old Shooter and joined the troop at the zoo’s Rainforest Revealed exhibit.
Bat in a theater
Another Batman superfan decided to bring the animal kingdom into the world of pop culture at a 2022 screening of The Batman. The moviegoer brought and released a live bat inside a Texas movie theater while watching the film.
The Cinépolis location had to call animal control for help removing the bat from the theater. A representative of the Austin Animal Center said the prank was especially dangerous because of the prevalence of rabies in the area’s famed bat colonies.
Batman meets the law
Finally, a Batman superfan in Ontario, Canada, found himself in a little trouble with the law in 2018. Known locally as Brampton Batman, a man in full costume and driving a replica of the Batmobile from the 1990s films, was pulled over by police.
A passerby caught video of the encounter, but that person said they didn’t think Batman was in any serious trouble.
“I pulled over up ahead and waited and they didn’t come so I think [the officer] was just telling him to get back in the car. He’s lucky,. She was behind him for a minute with the lights on trying to pull him over. I don’t know if he didn’t see her or what.”
