Brazilian Batman: 10 Photos of Sao Paulo's Anti-Vigilante

Andre Luiz Pinheiro, 50, poses with his Batman uniform in his home. Before returning to crime fighting as the masked superhero, Pinheiro’s near obsession with costumes (of which he owns 200) was limited to dressing up for community celebrations.

Now, prompted by Sao Paulo state’s police captain, Pinheiro will employ his superhero garb to reach out to the community’s children.

Photo: Roosevelt Cassio/Reuters

As Sao Paulo’s police captain, Warley Takeo feels that his “battle” is to keep his region’s youth safe, so he turned to the Batman initiative. Takeo reasoned that, as a superhero, Batman was both relatable to youth and a symbol of community betterment. He hopes to use Batman in the community to help children better differentiate between good and bad.

Above, Andre Luiz Pinheiro (Batman Taubate) runs through Santa Terezinha Square in Taubate city, Sao Paulo state.

Photo: Roosevelt Cassio

Another facet of the Batman Taubate initiative is to restore the image of policemen as protectors, rather than predators. Police brutality and corruption are commonplace in Brazil, especially in inner-cities like Taubate. Human Rights Watch reports that for every person Sao Paulo’s police kill, they arrest 348 (whereas U.S. officials arrest 37,000 for every one killed).

Taubate police are seeking to realign themselves with their community through the Batman plan and other initiatives. Above, the superhero watches over his city from a rooftop.

Photo: Roosevelt Cassio/Reuters

As part of his official presentation to Taubate city, Batman Taubate visited a public school. He played games with students and talked to them about his crime-fighting mission. He won over at least one child, a five-year-old, who volunteered to “help arrest the bad guys.”

Photo: Roosevelt Cassio/Reuters

The Taubate police force’s collaboration with former colleague-turned-Batman has been rolled out as a valorous attempt to restore its tarnished image. But, with the hero’s main focus on the community’s youth, years may pass before the comic-book hero’s real-world results can be gauged. Until then, Sao Paulo is watching to see where the Dark Knight’s next adventure takes him.

Photo: Roosevelt Cassio/Reuters