A man dressed like Batman is here to rid us of all clowns https://t.co/XbojGw9KVR pic.twitter.com/ggHGiovwk4 — UPROXX (@UPROXX) October 12, 2016

In a story that is seriously straight out of the comic books, a man in Whitehaven has taken up the cowl to defend his city from those creepy clowns that have been popping up in cities around the world. According to BBC Cumbria, a superhero costume company sent the Batman out to defend local kids who have been scared of the rash of clowns popping up in town. The company, Cumbria Superheroes, has gone on to assure folks that he isn’t a vigilante trying to hurt anyone, he’s just there to “give children some reassurance that they are safe,” maybe to provide a symbol of hope. You know. Like the real Batman.

Sorry, “real Batman.”

London’s Metropolitan Police has already gone on record to say that they’re taking these sightings quite seriously, despite the jokes the internet may be making about them all. On their website, they write:

We are currently assessing a small number of reported ‘Killer Clown’ incidents in London, three of which meet the threshold of a criminal offence. Our primary responsibility is indentifying and investigating those incidents where a criminal offence has occurred. However, anti-social behaviour can leave people feeling scared, anxious and intimidated and I would urge those who are causing fear and alarm to carefully consider the impact their actions have on others.

While none of these clown sightings have led to any physical harm, many of them have certainly left people psychologically or emotionally hurt in some way.

It’s funny to think that it takes one person in a costume to defeat or scare away multiple other people in costumes. Honestly, the story reads like something out of any Batman comic involving his fight with the Joker Gang. The only difference is that this Batman likely doesn’t have an arsenal of gadgets to bring to bear on these jokers, and this gang isn’t out committing crimes (with the exception of the pair in North Carolina who tried to lure some kids into the forest).

Listen: can we just be done with the clown stuff already? It’s ridiculous. It’s juvenile. It’s for what, a laugh at the cost of someone else’s fear and terror? Enough, already.

(via Uproxx, featured image via BBC Cumbria Facebook)

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