If you’re at all familiar with narrative tropes, surely you’ve heard of the “Darker Me” persona.
Think Emo Tobey Maguire in Spider-Man 3, or Evil Troy and Evil Abed on Community, or Hey Arnold! supporting dweeb Eugene in the leather jacket pulling the fire alarm (Google it — you’ll get a good, nostalgic laugh). Or, maybe the Christopher Nolan-ification of superhero movies in a post-Dark Knight media landscape (coming this summer, a gritty reboot of Freakazoid!).
Dan Quinn’s 2017 Atlanta Falcons are officially the edgy reboot of the 2016 squad – only this time, it’s far-more Batman, far less brooding Peter Parker.