From scenes of torched buses and street riots in Bangkok, there emerges a reminder that Thailand is the most loveable place on the planet.

Meet Bangkok's Batman.

Last week, as anti-government protesters clad in crimson stormed the capital's streets, some guys hijacked a gas truck and parked it in an otherwise quiet neighborhood. They were pursued by soldiers and assumed (according to Thai media reports) that the military wouldn't fire into an area containing a massive container of liquid fuel.

Then, out of nowhere, Batman steps into the crowd and surveys the scene. So the story goes, the masked hero broke the tension long enough for a city worker to climb back in the truck and drive away. And those in the neighborhood gathered to applaud.

Check out the Thai news report here. The newscaster gets in a dig at Batman for being a "little chubby." Call me old-fashioned, but that's no way to address a Thai superhero.

Now, just last month, a guy in a Spiderman suit crawled onto the ledge of a Bangkok school to save a scared autistic boy. Coincidence?

I think I know this masked hero's real name. It's not Bruce Wayne. It's not Peter Parker.

It's Sonchai Yoosabai.

See what I just did? I've revealed the identity of both Batman and Spiderman — AND proved they're the same person.

That's a guaranteed Pulitzer, right?

UPDATE: No Pulitzer for me. The Nation newspaper says Batman is actually a guy named Pichit Chuekaew, who sells talking dictionaries at a Bangkok bookstore. I may just have to buy him a beer in exchange for his life story.

Patrick's Links:

More Dispatches:

• Latest