It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s…Superman smashing a car?

A man wearing a Superman costume stopped traffic on Melbourne’s Chapel Street this afternoon.

Dressed to fight crime but showing little regard for the law, he brought the street to a standstill about 2.40pm, bashing his own car and smashing its windows in.

A witness said six trams were halted, while bystanders were unwilling to approach the costumed hero, who looked “a bit freaky”.

Traders say the man had been seen driving up and down Chapel Street in the past few days.

After he finished taking out his superhuman anger on his vehicle, the man took his keys and threw them up on a nearby roof – leaving the car immovable.

Police were called and the vehicle eventually towed.

The man has been taken to hospital for assessment.