It’s been two whole Batmen (Ben Affleck & Robert Pattinson) since Christopher Nolan rounded out his trifecta. That’s an average of a Batman every five years. The world has changed quite a bit, but Nolan captured a flicker of the future in his last installment. It wasn’t in the shape of a bat, but the chaotic blur of something far more terrifying: extremism.

Bruce Wayne's journey started with the senseless death of his parents, gunned down in front of a theater by a lone individual. At the midnight premier of Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises, a gunman wearing a gas mask with black combat gear lobbed a tear gas grenade into the Colorado theater. He entered and indiscriminately began shooting. By the time he was apprehended by the police, he had shot over 70 people, killing 12 including a 6 year old girl. It was later discovered, the gunman had booby trapped his apartment with incendiary devices. When he showed up in court to be tried, he was sporting dyed neon orange hair and pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

In TDKR, Bane is a populist dictator who takes Gotham by force, claiming he wants to return the city “to the people.” He’s lying, of course, and we later discover his motivations are all based on revenge. When Joker wanted to just “see the world burn,” this villain has a personal vendetta and is guided by an invisible handler representing the League of Shadows. Does this feel like a weird outline for American History circa 2016 and forward. Go watch the last thirty minutes of the film and footage of January 6th, 2020 and tell me if you see any similarities. Doesn’t the QAnon Shaman and others seem eerily close to a Batman baddies?

The United States shootings have increased steadily since 2012. Some of our politicians now seem more akin to foes of democracy with outlandish speeches, inflammatory actions and way out there costumes and/or personal habits.. It’s quite frankly terrifying. The U.S. has become a very scary version of a comic book city. On many a day, I stress over if my family should remain in America. But for some reason, I keep hearing Michael Caine's Alfred voice in my head saying, "Endure, Master Wayne. Take it." And I think when it comes to risk and chance and doing what we want, we need to all listen to him and live our lives exactly how we want, without fear or apology. But also, don’t forget to vote.