We Are Living in a Comic Book

Our villains are growing more theatrical while our heroes are shunned.

Pity the poor citizens of Gotham. At any point a resident could just be walking down the street and some murderous theater kid in tights might start blowing up buildings. Gotham taxpayers’ life savings are constantly being stolen from city banks, so their FDIC budget is probably more than what they spend on national defense. There’s about an 80 percent chance any first date is ruined by a high-speed chase in which half the cop cars are on fire. And the citizens’ only hope for peace and quiet is to summon a billionaire in latex who only responds to requests made by spotlight.

For decades, comic books and superhero movies have been escapism; Americans could turn to them when trying not to think about the real problems of the world. But in the past, these tales of heroism and villainy lampooned real life. And now it’s real life that is starting to look disturbingly like the comics.