Though it looked for a second there like things were indeed over yet, expert testimony is divided. Where criminologists more or less agree that Evil has been forever vanquished, the criminals themselves insist it has not. Whether these super-endowed crooks are still a viable threat to Good, the fact remains: in jail cells, laboratories and backwater dimensions everywhere, vengeance is being sworn. “Mark my words,” said Chicago-area evildoer Dastardly Bastard while being escorted into a squad car, “I’ll get you for this. I’ll get you all!”

From megalomaniacal geniuses to Red-Scare holdover Communist baddies, the scene was similar across the country. If the profligates can be taken at their word, this — whatever this is — is not over. Far from it. Moreover, many also insist that we haven’t seen the last of them and that they will get us for this. Where some shouted, others slyly whispered, mischievously suggesting the possibility of a sequel or prolonged third narrative act. “I’m down but not out,” maintained Creole reprobate Enfant Terrible from a New Orleans jail cell. “I’ll be back. Just you wait and see.”

While the country’s prisons run over-capacity with hand-wringers and mustache-twirlers, the general populace can breathe easy for a little while. But be wary. Between gnashed teeth, Evil-doers the nation over are plotting their revenge. Most insist it will be sweet, others that it is a dish that will be best served cold. Whatever it is, it is not over. Not yet.