Thieves in Norwich may want to think twice before breaking the law after the city’s own caped crusader sprang into action during a night out.
Cosplayer Sonni Mason, 25, was wearing a Batman costume while celebrating a friend’s birthday on Saturday.
He was waiting outside a bar on Queen Street with friends when he witnessed a handbag being stolen—and was suddenly called upon to put his superhero persona to use.
The Norwich Dark Knight pursued the suspected thief on foot before stopping a police officer to ask for assistance.
After locating the stolen handbag near the Cathedral, Mason climbed a wall to retrieve it and return it to its owner.
His homemade grappling hook, fashioned from recycled toilet-roll tubes, failed to help him scale the wall. Instead, the costumed hero received a boost from one of his friends, who acted as his sidekick.
The incident began when the man allegedly accused two women of stealing cigarettes from him before taking one of their bags.
Mason said the stranger had joined the queue and initially appeared friendly, but soon began accusing the women of taking something that belonged to him.
Cosplayer Sonni Mason, 25, was dressed as Batman when he was called into action as a real-life superhero
Mr Mason was seen retrieving the stolen bag from the Cathedral and passing it back to its owner
He then grabbed the handbag and ran, prompting Mason to give chase through the city streets.
The pursuit soon resembled a live-action comic-book crossover, with Batman joined by friends dressed as Mr Fantastic from the Fantastic Four, Poison Ivy from Batman and Cyclops from the X-Men.
Mason captured parts of the extraordinary night in a TikTok video that has since attracted more than 300,000 views.
He regularly posts videos of himself portraying superheroes, including Cyclops and Daredevil.
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The handbag was returned with all its contents still inside. Norfolk Police, however, confirmed that no arrests were made.
Mason acknowledged that his everyday life is a long way from that of Batman’s alter ego, Bruce Wayne.
Rather than being a billionaire philanthropist living in a mansion, the Norwich superhero works at a local cafe.
‘I’m a bog-standard guy, to be honest,’ he told the Eastern Daily Press. ‘I currently work at a cafe, but I’m a creative at the core. I love films and have four or five years of experience in that industry.’
Far from the billionaire playboy, the cafe worker described himself as a ‘bog-standard guy’
The grateful owner of the bag held it aloft after it her day was saved by the local hero
Mr Mason dressed up as Batman and other superheroes on his social media account
Mr Mason said: ‘There’s not a lot of good things going on in the world. At the time, being able to get someone’s bag back, make sure she could go home safe and see someone happy again felt good.
‘Everyone needs a little bit of that in them. A little bit of Batman. You have to be brave, bold and kind.
‘I didn’t want to jump off rooftops or beat people up. I just want to make sure everyone else is all right. Sincerely, 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.’
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 enquiries at the scene, the bag was located with all of its contents intact and subsequently returned to its owner.’