It was noon on a Sunday at Comic Con. And I was done. I was hot. I was tired. And if one more person pushed themselves into me, I was going to scream.

I collapsed on the floor against the wall and watched the people walking by. Some of them were in costume. But most were not.

Out of the corner of my eye I spotted Batman. He was in a form-fitting black suit with the familiar pointy ears and long cape. His chin was covered in grey and black stubble. He was being followed by people wanting his picture. The crowd stopped in front of me and I watched as he posed for twenty minutes with stranger after stranger.

Finally they left him alone.

He had a respite. He lowered his head and I was overtaken with a feeling of sadness at how weary Batman looked.

He looked around him to make sure no one was watching.

Then he ducked underneath the purple curtain and sat down. I saw him remove his mask.

I saw Batman.

He was older than I had first thought he would be. His features different. A man that for one day got to be someone else. Because at Comic Con, he was not Joe The Accountant. Or Steve The Bartender. He had no bicycle or beat-up pick-up truck. At Comic Con, he WAS Batman. There was no doubt.

This was not Halloween. Or some kind of delusion. This was simply the magic of a convention where people truly believe.

It was the purest form of human acceptance in the weirdest form or place.

He rested for merely five minutes before he put his mask back on and stood up.

Immediately people flocked to him.

He stood straight and tall. Children ran to him. Hugged him. Women in scantily clad costumes threw their bodies against his own. Men stopped and hooted and hollered at seeing the hero in person. Even the security guards were thrilled when they shook his hand.

For one day this man had complete power.

It was breathtaking.

These moments would probably carry him through the year. Maybe as he waited for a train, someone would push him, but he could remember Being Batman a week before.

Maybe his lover would leave him but he would know months before he was Being Batman.

Maybe he would get a raise at work but it would not compare to Being Batman the previous year.

I saw the man Being Batman.

And in that moment he was just Being… Himself.