Batkid, aka Miles, a 5-year-old in remission from leukemia, helps arrest the Riddler.
With people worldwide having a grand old time with Batkid traipsing around Gotham City – aka San Francisco – on Friday, the mood was high, the superhero references abounded and jokes were flying low and high.
Even the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California and the FBI had some fun, issuing "federal charges" (pdf) against the Penguin and the Riddler for conspiracy and kidnapping.
Allegedly, of course. Attempts to reach attorneys for both villains for comment were not immediately successful.
In a press release using "Gotham City" as a dateline, U.S. Attorney Melissa Haag charged that Edward “E.” Nigma, aka “The Riddler,” and Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot, aka “The Penguin,” had thought it was a good idea to put an unnamed female in the path of a cable car, rob a bank and kidnap San Francisco Giants mascot Lou Seal.
Somehow they thought these latest stunts would go undetected by Batkid, Haag stated.
And who is Batkid? A boy named Miles from California who morphed into a superhero for a day, thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, a nonprofit that grants wishes to sick children.
Miles has battled leukemia since he was one. He is now in remission. San Francisco turned into Gotham City for a day to honor his wish of becoming a Batkid for a day.
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However, at approximately 9 p.m. on Thursday, court records indicate that the bat signal went up and the crime rate began to go down in Gotham and San Francisco.
"A certain caped crusader was pivotal in making this day a reality," Haag said in a statement. “We’ve been chasing Nigma and Cobblepot for years and just when I was about to give up hope that we would ever bring them to justice, wouldn’t you know it – Batkid shows up and saves the day.”
Not to be outshined, the FBI made a statement about the arrests, too, though the agents also credit Batkid with most of the heavy lifting.
“I’ve talked a lot about cooperation in the past with other outstanding law enforcement partners, but I can honestly say we broke some new ground today,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Johnson.
“The FBI and the San Francisco Police Department are good, but if it wasn’t for Batkid, I guarantee you that these two villains would still be at-large on the streets of Gotham today. Citizens of this great city are not only safer tonight because of Batkid, but they will undoubtedly be humbled by the courage he has displayed in battles he has taken on and won.”
