Batman-dressed Sonny Mason helps recover stolen bag in Norwich
Sonny Mason, 25, dressed as Batman on a fancy dress night in Norwich, chased a thief and helped police recover a friend's stolen bag.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
A man dressed as Batman on a fancy dress night out in Norwich chased a suspect and helped recover a stolen bag, according to reports of the incident.
Sonny Mason, 25, was with friends dressed as comic book characters when he heard a scuffle and saw a man swipe a woman's bag at a bar. The woman said her bag had been stolen, and Mason and his friends chased after the man. As they ran down the road, Mason spotted a group of police officers on a corner. He approached them and told them that, despite his Batman costume, he was not joking and that one of their friend's bags had been stolen.
The group had been on a fancy dress night out, and the other costumed characters included Mr Fantastic, Cyclops and the Invisible Woman. Reports described them as the East Anglia Avengers. Police joined the hunt, and Mason scaled a wall to retrieve the bag.
Mason, who makes his own outfits and lets others try them on, said the Batman symbol carried a meaning. He said that if he was going to wear it, he felt he had to act on that and carry the sentiment with it.
The reports compared the incident to a 1996 Only Fools and Horses Christmas special, in which Del Boy and Rodney accidentally foiled a mugging while dressed as Batman and Robin. They also noted that Batman has been played on screen by actors including George Clooney and Christian Bale, while Mason was cast as Norfolk's own Caped Crusader for the night.
The account concluded that his night-time heroics proved it is not who you are underneath but what you do that defines you.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | ITV |
|---|---|
| A man snatched a woman's bag at a bar in Norwich while Sonny Mason was dressed as Batman. | |
| Mason told police the theft was not a joke, despite him being dressed as Batman. | |
| Mason's costumed friends, including people dressed as Mr Fantastic, Cyclops and the Invisible Woman, joined the police search during the fancy-dress night out. | |
| Sonny Mason chased the man and climbed a wall to recover the stolen bag. |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
ITV Evening News treated the item as a light-hearted end-of-bulletin story. It played up the comic contrast of a fancy dress Batman becoming a real-life superhero, with references to the Batcave, the East Anglia Avengers and Only Fools and Horses. It included more detail than the later bulletin on Mason's homemade outfits, letting others try them on, and the screen actors who have played Batman.
- “what happened when a fancy dress Batman turned into a real life superhero?”
- “Sonny makes his own outfits but is always willing to let others try them on.”
- “I was in this suit where this symbol has a meaning so if I'm gonna wear it I feel like I kind of have to not only act on that but also like make sure I carry that sentiment with it.”
ITV News at Ten gave the story a more dramatic, cinematic opening, describing a silhouetted hero against the night sky before revealing it was Norwich rather than Gotham City. It added Mason's age, 25, and called him Norfolk's very own Caped Crusader. The core facts and comic references were otherwise similar to the earlier bulletin, though it did not include the detail about his homemade outfits or the George Clooney and Christian Bale comparison.
- “for a few seconds, a hero in a black cape stood statuesque, silhouetted against the night sky, surveying all before him.”
- “when 25-year-old Sonny Mason got down from the wall he was standing on, everyone remembered he was only dressed up as Batman.”
- “It was a dark night in Norwich where a hero was needed.”
Who was on air
People and organisations each channel put on air while covering this story. Channels' own presenters and reporters are not listed. Names as transcribed, and the list can miss people.
- 19:23 BST
- 22:28 BST
Sonny Mason, 25-year-old
“I hear like a scuffle and I see that he's basically swiped the bag,”
ITV News at Ten · Fri 25 Sept
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.