Batman

The Dark Knight earned a record-setting $158.4 million in its opening weekend.

In a memorable scene towards the end of The Dark Knight, the Joker turns to a mobster and diabolically sneers, "This town needs a better class of criminal, and I'm gonna give it to 'em." And this promise he fulfills. The film's anarchistic uber-criminal goes on a wanton, murderous rampage, terrorizing Gotham City by creatively slaughtering its denizens.

Fear of the sort of brazen, epic violence depicted in The Dark Knight is what keeps real-life police chiefs up at night, and not without reason. As we witnessed on September 11, America's cities are not immune to popcorn-flick scale devastation at the hands of ruthless madmen. And so big-city police departments turn to Batman-style tactics to fight crime.

Called in to evolving crises of public safety when the bat-signal beckons, Batman is Gotham City's ultimate crime-fighter. In the real world, a city's SWAT team plays the role of Batman. Both are bedecked with body armor, brandish top of the line firepower, conceal their faces behind masks and favor the element of surprise. And like Batman, the SWAT team was originally conceived as an elite force designed to respond to such rare crisis situations as hostage standoffs.

The Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art held its annual gala last night, attracting a red-carpet lineup of fashion and movie stars.

As guests entered the Museum's Great Hall, they were confronted by three superhero figures looming nearly 20 feet high -- Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman -- made of high-density foam and painted to resemble monumental sculptures. Reminiscent of the marble figures in the nearby Greek and Roman galleries, these statues were mere foam, disposable after a night of partying.