The Real Life Slovak Batman

Superheroes do exist, just without the super powers. If you’ve seen or read Kick Ass, you know that all it takes to become a vigilante is having good intentions, and a little bit of luck.

Life in the town of Dunajska Streda, the most important town of the Žitný ostrov region, is just as exciting as you might think. Not too much. But it is still one of the few places in the world with an actual superhero running around, although he doesn’t exactly chase down masked villains.

What does the Batman of Slovakia do? Patrols the neighborhood, helps out old folks, picks up litter, and calls the police if anything seems suspicious. The real Batman usually fails to acknowledge the importance of the law and the judicial process.

Zoltan Kohari (if the name sounds a tad Hungarian to you, it’s because the town has a Hungarian ethnic majority, is 27 and probably a little bit nuts. He lives alone in an abandoned building without water, heat, or electricity.
Every day he dresses in his homemade, leather Batman suit, and does his usual thing. Despite being a little unorthodox, the people in the town love him, and he has become somewhat of an internet sensation over the past few months.

Jana Kocisova, a mother of two who lives in the building next to Kohari’s, says, “He’s had a tough life but he is very dependable and we like him. He helps us out, keeps an eye on public order, and he is a hero for my son and his schoolmates.”