It may not be unusual for Hillsdale residents to see clusters of superheroes strolling through town, but Batman and Superman have been doing it for years. These caped crusaders may not be saving the city, but they try to bring the community together. Hillsdale resident 26-year-old Ryan Littley, also known as the Hillsdale Batman, has been dressing up as the Dark Knight for about two years.
It all began when Littley and his friend Savanah Tucker participated in a Labor Day parade as Batman and Batgirl. A few months later, Littley’s aunt asked him to appear as Batman and read to children at Branch District Library in Coldwater. He was grabbing a bite to eat afterward when a woman saw his bat truck and his batman shirt and asked if he appeared at birthday parties.
“I’m like, ‘Well, no, this is kind of my first event, and I’ve never actually had anyone ask me to do a birthday party,’” Littley said.
“I’d love for you to do my grandson’s fourth birthday,” the woman said.
To which Littley responded, “Alright.”
About 20 birthday parties later, Littley now attends an average of three to four events per week, with weekends always booked, and has appeared at libraries, school events, hospitals, and fundraisers. Although the job can be physically demanding and sometimes he’d rather just sleep, he is always reminded why it’s worth it, Littley said.
Once, while he was working at Little Caesars, he was asked to deliver pizza as Batman to a girl with Lyme disease.
“She showed up a few minutes after I did, and when she hopped out of the car, she saw me and she just took off in a dead run. She gave me the biggest hug ever. And as Batman, you have to be tough, you know, not intimidating, just kind of a tougher character. But she almost made me cry. I was like, ‘Oh I can’t cry in costume. I can’t do that.’ So I held it together.”
Littley doesn’t charge for appearing at events, but he accepts donations for gas and gifts for children he visits. He appears as Batman in addition to his own job, but some people are not supportive when they hear how the 26-year-old spends his time.
“A lot of people are just like, ‘You think that you could be doing something better with your life. That’s kind of a stupid thing that you do.’ I don’t know if they mean it in a negative way, but that’s just the way it comes across. But I use it to my advantage in proving to those people that what I do is hopefully making a difference. Basically, my motto is: I’m an ordinary guy trying to make an extraordinary difference,” Littley said.
Hillsdale College sophomore Susena Finegan, who knows Littley through acting together at the Sauk Theatre, said “He really has a servant’s heart.”
A variety of other superheroes populate Hillsdale, including Spiderman, Superman and Wonder Woman (played by a married couple), Iron Man, the Joker, Robin, and Supergirl.
Bree Bennett, who is in ninth grade, is Supergirl. After inviting Littley to a birthday party for her niece about three months ago, Bennett decided to become a superhero herself.
“I was talking about joining it because I thought it was really cool for the kids and I know my autistic brother would really like it,” Bennett said.
Bennett said dealing with her older brother has made her love kids, and he loves what she does.
“He laughs at me. He’s nonverbal, so he can’t really tell me anything. But he has ways of saying things, and he laughs at me when I put on my suit and tries to make fun of me. But he loves Batman. He’s in love with it; he thinks it’s funny,” she said.
At 15 years old, Bennett is not the youngest in the group of superheroes. They range in age from teenagers to late twenties, she said. Many of the superheroes attend events as a group and/or separately.
A group of superheroes, including Littley, will appear at downtown Hillsdale’s Alternaprint Custom Screen Printing & Comic Book Shop’s “Free Comic Book Day” event on May 7.
Bennett said the best thing about being Supergirl is how excited people, even adults, are when they see the superheroes.
“My main thing that I pretty much like doing this for is the kids like my brother because I know they’re just going to keep this with them for a really long time.”