It always surprises me how big of an impact movies and series can have on people. At this point it seems like most guys pick a persona based on their favorite roles, and frankly I’ve seen enough Thomas Shelby’s, Maddy Perez’s, and El Professors to last me a lifetime.
One thing that I never expected to see, however, was people actively, and for no apparent reason, dressing up as their favorite superheroes; specifically Batman, in the town of Helwan, Cairo.
This phenomenon is something of a social media joke-come-reality. After pictures started circulating online of Batman in seemingly very Egyptian settings, the concept snowballed with dozens of guys now dressing up as Batman and going about their, perhaps (un)usual day-to-day life.
With seemingly no reason to do this aside from memes, hilarity, and vibes. We took to twitter to understand why Batman is so popular in Cairo.
“I like Batman because he’s physically strong and does a lot of pull-ups to fight Superman,” wrote one Twitter user. Yes, but don’t all superheroes have bulging muscles? So, what is it about Batman’s body that is so unique?
This Egyptian user thinks Batman is amazing because he works in silence and has his own playlist. In our minds this is a lot more “American Psycho” than Batman, but who are we to judge?
Probably the most accurate answer was from this user who tweeted that Batman is successful and wealthy despite his social anxiety and childhood trauma, thus making him a cool superhero.
So many questions but yet so few answers. How come Spider-Man isn’t a household name? What’s with the love for Gotham’s Knight?
This is just another thing in the long list that makes Cairo hilarious, yet endearingly unique.
