Batman is December 2025’s Metropolitan of the Month because he’s making a change in an impactful way. Clad in a comic-accurate Batman uniform, this young man from California asked to remain anonymous because he doesn’t want the focus to be on him. Dressed as the Dark Knight, he’s calling attention to vast inequality in his corner of the planet, shining a bat signal in the sky for change while fighting growing injustices.
At 24 years old, the activist who goes by Batman of San Jose juggles two full-time jobs. By day, he works as an industrial designer. By night, and sometimes during lunch breaks, he transforms into a caped crusader fighting a different kind of crime: systemic neglect of the unhoused.
“I go by Batman just because when I was starting out, I was in high school, and I always felt that whenever you see one of those feel-good news stories, they always spend so much time talking about the person, their entire life story,” he said. “That last little second step is the actual issue they’re trying to solve. So I figured Batman was big and distracting and carries the right message.”
The costume serves a dual purpose: it forces people to pay attention to homelessness while keeping the focus off him personally. That strategy has proven effective. The mayor of San Jose, Matt Mahan, is reportedly physically uncomfortable whenever Batman enters the room during city council meetings.
“If I’ve done nothing else right, making a greedy politician uncomfortable is always a good thing,” Batman said.
An origin story
Batman’s journey began six years ago during his junior year of high school. He was driving home when he saw a woman with her car hood up. Having experienced similar car trouble, he pulled over to help.
When his battery proved too weak to jump-start her vehicle, he approached a nearby auto repair shop. The response changed his life.
“The first thing that they asked me is, is she living in their car?” he recalled. “I’m like, why does that matter? And they said it was, quote unquote, against company policy to help people living in their vehicles.”
For the next several hours, Batman, then just a teenager, refused to leave the shop, politely but persistently requesting help. Eventually, a worker jump-started the car after their shift ended. The entire process took 30 seconds.
“I could pinpoint the moment that this person stopped seeing them as a problem and started seeing them as a person,” he said. “She was just so thankful, to the point of tears. It really stuck with me that he didn’t see her. It took someone else intervening to force this person to see this other human being.”
From aid to activism
What began as individual acts of kindness has evolved into a broader mission. Batman operates as part of the Bay Bash Bears, a team of real-life superheroes that includes Crimson Fist, Black Phoenix, and Kai Kai. The group distributes supplies throughout San Jose, San Francisco, and Oakland while working closely with mutual aid organizations.
But a conversation with an unhoused man named Tom pushed Batman toward legislative advocacy. Tom, who lived on the streets for several years, told the young activist that his work was “putting a Band-Aid on a bullet wound.” Shortly after, Tom died from exposure to the cold.
“That sentiment always stuck with me,” Batman said. “It’s so telling of our current situation right now… any good that comes in is a Band-Aid. It’s not real change. I don’t just want to keep people alive. I want to get people the safety, security, and the justice that they deserve.”
Now Batman regularly attends city council meetings in full costume, backing his testimony with research and evidence. He has also become involved in ICE watch, documenting immigration enforcement actions and standing between authorities and community members during sweeps of homeless encampments.
The costume and the commitment
Batman hand-manufactures his costumes, maintaining three configurations: a baseline tactical setup with impact-resistant padding for protests and distributions, a cold-weather version for harsh conditions, and heavy-duty armor that he describes as capable of stopping an ax.
“I tested it,” he said matter-of-factly.
Managing a double life is exhausting. Batman describes it as having two full-time jobs, sometimes wearing pieces of the costume under his work clothes and changing in parking garages.
“You don’t have to solve the entire world’s problems, but picking your way to help is the best way to do something,” he said. “The important thing is to make time.”
Rising tensions
Batman reports that conditions for unhoused and immigrant communities have deteriorated significantly, particularly since the start of the current presidential administration.
“I’ve seen so many people turn on unhoused people specifically,” he said. “It’s really, really bad here. The unhoused community has been a scapegoat for a lot of different problems, and it’s only gotten worse.”
In the Bay Area, day laborers have become scarce, and many immigrants are limiting time outside their homes. Batman and his team have been building safety networks and preparing response protocols for potential ICE raids.
“The fear is definitely palpable amongst people,” he said.
Challenging misconceptions
From firsthand experience, Batman argues that society fundamentally misunderstands homelessness.
“I feel that a lot of people misunderstand that people are bad people,” he said. “They see homelessness as a moral failing, not a systemic issue. When they see an unhoused or homeless person, they’re probably seeing them having the worst day of their entire life.”
He recalls an incident in Rochester, New York, where he encountered a man walking into traffic. When Batman offered him water, the man immediately calmed down and returned to the sidewalk.
“The man was having the worst day of his entire life and he just wanted someone to listen to him for five seconds,” Batman explained.
He estimates that 95 percent of unhoused people he encounters are employed, some working multiple jobs. Many ended up on the streets after layoffs, medical emergencies, or fleeing abusive situations.
“We are closer to being on the street than we are in a penthouse apartment in New York City,” he said. “We’re all a paycheck away.”
A message of defiant hope
Despite the challenges, Batman maintains an unlikely optimism rooted in action rather than passivity.
“Yes, things are scary right now,” he said. “Things are dark. Things are darker than they’ve been in a long time in American history. But being scared isn’t going to change anything. What we need to do is we need to get up and we need to do something.”
He points out that civil rights movements have never definitively lost throughout human history, even when beaten down.
“There is no point in human history where we have lost,” he said. “And that is due to the fact that people simply refuse to give up.”
His challenge to others is simple: recognize your strengths and use them.
“It’s not about any one person being in charge of saving the world,” Batman said. “It’s every single person cutting away at that goal every single day. If one person can help 50 people, how many can 100 do? How many can 1,000 do?”
On a generous night, Batman helps about 50 people. It might not seem like much, but he argues that’s precisely the point. Real change doesn’t come from one hero—it comes from everyone doing what they can.
“If you’re afraid, that’s good, because it means you’re aware,” he said. “Feel that fear, but do it anyway.”
