Spring-heeled_Jack might be an urban legend that's actually based on real sightings of a mysterious menacing shape.
https://allthatsinteresting.com/spring-heeled-jack
https://comicbook.com/news/was-batman-inspired-by-spring-heeled-jack
How does a humanoid from an urban legend start to foreshadow some elements and aspects of The+Batman character?
https://comicbookhistorians.com/spring-heeled-jack-the-original-batman-by-alex-grand-2
If the Penny books were inspired by the urban legend, what was it that people actually saw in the 1800s?
Was some strange humanoid trapped on earth for a while? Or, was it some kind of phantom or nefarious being?
The Mysterious London Attacker Who May Have Inspired Batman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEBYm3HKUW4
https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Mystery-of-Spring-Heeled-Jack/John-Matthews/9781620554968
Of course Batman is about helping the city by fighting crime. Where as SHJ was of a mischievous and malevolent nature. Something in between a monster and a villain might very well have been seen and encountered several times.
https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/tv/liverpool-turns-gotham-city-batman-17905737
"Spring-heeled Jack was last seen in 1904 at Everton in Liverpool, bounding up and down the streets, leaping from cobbles to rooftops and back!
He vanished into the darkness when some brave souls tried to corner him and he has not been seen since that day to this!
The puzzle remains…who was Spring-heeled Jack?" https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Spring-Heeled-Jack
Part of The+Batman movie was filmed in Liverpool.
https://www.theverge.com/22954478/the-batman-review-robert-pattinson-matt-reeves-movie
