Jan Peterson

For the News-Leader

Not many people know this, but Batman has a pretty swank apartment in the trendy Farmers Park development.

Bruce Wayne (who goes by the alias Dean Smith when he’s off the clock) shares the space with his canine companion, who also happens to be named Bruce Wayne.

While billionaire Bruce Wayne certainly wouldn’t need a day job in Springfield, Batman — who is surprisingly humble and camera shy for a superhero — works for Farmers Park developer Green Circle Projects.

“I live and work here and I really like it,” Batman says.

Batman is largely known for his crime-fighting prowess, but in his off hours, Batman’s kind heart shines. He frequently can be found at Cox and Mercy hospitals visiting children. “I try to bring inspiration to the kids in the hospital. If I can get their mind off of things for just one minute …”

Batman’s impressive costume and Bat-Signal are prominently displayed in his living room, alongside a key to the city presented to him by the mayor on Dec. 12, 2014, which was declared Springfield Batman Day.

He says he made his early costumes himself. After the last one fell apart, he started a GoFundMe campaign to help him raise money to have a cinema-quality suit crafted for him in Canada.

“I was having to staple things and it took me about 45 minutes to get that suit on,” Batman says with a laugh about his previous suit.

He also built the Bat-Signal from scratch. “There’s a lot of stuff from Lowe’s in there,” he says.

He sometimes rolls it out onto the balcony to entertain people at Farmers Park and fires it up at charity events.

Batman says he doesn’t make a penny for his appearances. He does it strictly to help kids and the community in general. “My goal is to get the community to volunteer and help out where they can,” he says.

Batman says he’s somewhat limited on the types of events at which he can appear — his suit is heavy and hot, so daylong outdoor summer events aren’t possible.

He gets assistance through the Community Foundation of the Ozarks “Project Bat” Fund. Money raised through the fund helps buy toys for the children he visits.

Batman says he has a special empathy for what kids go through during prolonged hospital stays. He is deaf in one ear and suffered chronic migraines as a child and later was in a horrific ATV accident that sent him through a barbed-wire fence, cutting off his chin and nearly decapitating him.

“I was in the hospital my whole life,” he says. “… Mom was always with me, because she was a stay-at-home mom … but sometimes the parents can’t be there the whole time.”

Because the main Batmobile is parked in Gotham City, Batman hopes to find sponsors to help him transform the Toyota FJ Cruiser he drives around Springfield into a Batmobile. He says it’s part of his overall goal to deliver happiness to Ozarks kids.

“My whole mission is to get a smile on their face and make them feel like they’ve met a real superhero,” he says.