The Dark Knight is finally here! I’ve been waiting for this film ever since the ridiculous sequel indicator at the end of Batman Begins. The cast is full of some of my favorite people, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Cillian Murphy and of course Heath Ledger. And of course Batman has always been one of the more interesting and dark comic book heroes and ever since Tim Burton transported that darkness onto the big screen (back in 1989!) we’ve all been watching Batman evolve on the silver screen.

Below are 5 Worldly Lessons From Batman Films - so go see The Dark Knight and take notice to the darkness in humanity that Batman is always trying to fight - and do the same!

1) Do something! Batman becomes who he is because he doesn’t like the world around him and he wants to change it. So if anything Batman should inspire us to do the same, maybe not in costume (but maybe in if you prefer) but do something nonetheless. Making the world a better place is no joke!

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2) Don’t abandon your children, no matter what their tendency - (they might turn into a penguin! and not the cute kind in Happy Feet). Batman Returns gave us The Penguin, a man who was abandoned by his parents and eventually becomes a corrupt businessman and would be politician. If you’re going to have kids - give them the time they deserve - it might be hard, but love goes a long way.

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3) Give and share knowledge freely! The Riddler in Batman Forever creates a device to steal people’s thoughts from them… The lesson here? Share what you know with people you care about - don’t keep secrets, they’re never good for you. Also, when you share with others they’ll usually share with you - and that’s pretty awesome! (on a side note, this movie is pretty silly, despite a great cast - although Jim Carrey and Tommy Lee Jones are so enjoyable to watch that it’s completely worth it)

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4) Humanity, no matter what mistakes we make, deserves to be saved. OK, so that might be a little intense, but what Batman Begins really teaches us that even when people have committed atrocious actions, they can always change their ways. Of course we have laws and when you violate them you’re punished accordingly, but for things such as greed, selfishness, racism - things that have no punishment, people can always turn it around, don’t give up on them - we have to believe it will get better and work towards making it better ourselves.

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5) Let’s keep our weather normal! Batman and Robin may be the worst of the bunch (even with George Clooney) but with a villain (Arnold nonetheless) that wants to freeze the city it’s hard not to think of the weather problems we face today. We want our world not too hot and not too cold… Also the below mash-up is really intense!

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On that note, takepart to fight climate change and read on:

• What makes a great Batman
• Michael Caine Says He’s Ready For A Batsuit Of His Own
• In pictures: Dark Knight premiere

*photo by McFull.com