Gotham Cops Collar Vigilante Batman, Superman In Times Square!

At far left and far right, Superman and Batman spotted earlier this week by Idle Type on Flickr; at center, yesterday's altercation via the Post

At long last, Gotham's police force has taken action to save the city from two reckless vigilante "superheroes" who have been terrorizing citizens with their lawless brand of street justice. Yesterday a group of doughty NYPD officers—fed up with the costly destruction unleashed upon our fair city by those masked outlaws "Batman" and "Superman"—spotted the two renegade freaks in Times Square and attempted to bring them to justice. According to The New York Post, officers tried booking the super-zeros on a charge of "performing in costume in public" without a license—but the only thing these two clowns were performing was civil disobedience.

And naturally these two goons, who presume themselves to be above the law, weren't about to go down without a fight. When the men in tights refused to produce proper identification, officers quickly cuffed Batman, while Superman flew off, screaming, "I'm not getting arrested!" Witness Ryan McCormick tells the Post, "The Man of Steel didn't go down with just two officers, it took seven officers! He was putting up a good fight. Little kids were like, 'Mommy, it's Superman!' " The Batman quickly confessed that Superman, his cowardly cohort, "freaked out and punched the girl cop in the face."

Police have revealed Superman's identity as one Maksim Katsnelson, 23, of The Bronx; he was charged with assault and resisting arrested. And the so-called "Dark Knight" has been exposed as Maine resident Frank Frisoli (not billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne, as some have speculated). Frisoli insists his double life as a masked avenger was harmless, and that he and Katsnelson were "were just having a good time."

For some reason, officers inexplicably let Frisoli walk away after the incident, and we suspect that, once again, a phone call from his buddy the Police Commissioner played no small part in his release. And The Post reports that the Batman was last seen darting away with yet another new menace to society: a costumed crusader who calls herself "The Statue of Liberty." Taxpayers will no doubt have to foot the bill for her reckless torch-brandishing soon enough!

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By John Del Signore in News on July 10, 2009 10:27 AM

Comments [rss]

Manitoba

Superman has a youtube account!

http://www.youtube.com/user/maxim1986

There's even a video of him chilling with the NYPD; I guess they were okay with it then as long as they weren't panhandling?

felixthecat2

Superman is a coward and Batman is a rat, i am so disappointed

firewire

this can be classified in the same category as the clipboard people who stand in the middle of the sidewalk asking you to save something -- the children, the environment, the clock tower. it is merely a difference between "legitimate" charities and impoverished and/or unemployed people, which in essence is also a charity.

permits or not, they could all be considered annoying by the general public or the police. the clipboard people annoy me, but i accept that they will always be there. and frankly i would love to see batman fighting superman in the streets. i might even donate a bag of pennies and nickels to their cause.

being "annoying" is not illegal. but two people fighting in costumes could, in the eyes of the law, potentially lead to something bigger. therein, massive public fighting or even a riot. (a riot once broke out at penn state. the catalyst was two guys kicking an empty can of soda on the ground.)

it doesn't help that batman wears a mask. people who rob banks wear masks. producing valid identification doesn't matter if someone is wearing a mask while they run or glide away. it is also clear that superman could have gotten away if new york city still had phone booths. more time to change back into clark kent then say something like, "wa-ho, what's going on here?"

fuboy

This makes me think of LA - outside Grauman's Chinese theater there are all kinds of panhandlers dressed up as movie characters so tourists can have their photos taken with Batman, Darth Vader, etc in front of the iconic theater.

Many don't have permits, and the cops usually leave them alone, except for that one day Chewbacca was groping random women. They chased him down on foot before taking him into the station. He got a requisite 'resisting arrest' beating from the LAPD.

theboneranger

im pretty sure they have their own laws in LA

SikBug

They forgot about the spiderman guy that throws is rope around that area too.

robingee

Jon Heder?

David Balutanski

can someone tell me what is going on with the person standing on the left in the superman picture? is that a bald guy in a tent dress?

razzledazzle

I was wondering the same thing! But then I thought that maybe it's a large woman going through chemo. No, it's definitely a man. If he's not in costume I don't know who is.

Manitoba

Yikes! Good eye.

He/she/it should be arrested for creating a visual disturbance.

Felix Hoenikker

Excuse me while I run down to grab a license for my pet hallibut, Eric.

Barbj8

This will look good on his acting resume. Wonder which restaurant he waits at.

hbomb1947

While I don't condone punching a cop, I don't think the NYPD should have approached these guys in the first place. Being annoying to passersby is not, and should not be, a crime. And the ordinance against "performing in public" (or "performing in costume in public") seems ridiculously vague and nothing more than a revenue-generating measure by requiring people to acquire licenses.

NannyState

What about "Sad Panda"? The cops shouldn't rest until every dirty furrie and comic book hero has been dragged before the scales of justice.

arrogantnative

Here we go...don't let reality get in the way of your hatred of the NYPD.

These guys weren't just walking around in costume...there were acting like dicks, acting out a fight in the middle of the street and annoying people trying to walk by. The police righfully asked them if the had a permit for their street show, like many of the people who do that shit in TS have(naked cowboy, etc) and when the couldn't prduce ID or a permit they were detained. Superman became belligerent and decided to punch a female cop and got arrested. Batman didnt act like an idiot and was let go with no problem. Had superman not been an asshole the same thing would have happened.

Manitoba

So, they were acting out a fight for money? I'm still confused as to what they needed a permit for. Getting arrested for punching a cop is a no-brainer.

But, if I stood in the middle of Times square and started reading Thoreau out load to nobody in particular, is that a street show? I'm not trying to be a devil's advocate or pain here, I'm just confused by this nebulous "street show" business.

Manitoba

I actually read (gasp!) the Post article, and according to the Post (which is a stretch), they were indeed panhandling and acting out a fight for money, and they didn't have permits or IDs.

So, I understand the detainment, and given that Superman started assaulting cops, I understand the arrest. Weird situation, though.