First of all, I wish to state that this is my first article and I hope it satisfies enough for me to create more.
On to the main point. Ever since May 6th, when principle photography for The Dark Knight Rises began, and even before then, fans have been going insane over this film. At first, the idea of having a villain such as Bane was distasteful for many, and even still is to some. That is why Bane is the first topic I wish to discuss.
Bane, although unfortunately unknown to a broad amount of audiences, is one of Batman's most challenging rivals. Most people know Bane for "breaking the bat" in the "Knightfall" story-line and for some reason this is the main thing most people are concerned about when they ask "What could possibly top The Dark Knight?" Bane however is much more than this powerful steroid addict (it's actually a toxic serum known as venom and was a drug developed to enhance strength), Bane is a criminal mastermind. He grew up in a prison, serving his fathers life sentence after he escaped the courts. Throughout his early-life in prison, Bane studied everything he could get his hands on, including how to fight and kill. He grew to become feared in prisons and one day the owners of the prison decided to make him a test subject. This is the point where venom came in. All other test subjects had previously died from this test and Bane almost did at first, but after the test was complete Bane survived and was transformed to become extremely powerful. The downfall was that he had to keep venom in his system every twelve hours, otherwise he would suffer horrible consequences. Now that you have a basic background of Bane's origin, how does this fit into Batman let alone The Dark Knight Rises? Well first of all, when Bane was a child, it is said in comic-books that he would have nightmares. These nightmares were of a bat that would torment him, and when he heard of Batman in Gotham City he swore to kill him since he thought Batman was this bat that had tortured his dreams. Well this is all fine and dandy but how does this fit into The Dark Knight Rises? I'll tell you how, or at least how I think it does.
In comics Bane is referred to as having "a mind equal to the greatest he has known." This reference was by none other than Ra's al Ghul. If you do not remember, aside from Scarecrow, Ra's al Ghul was a main villain in Batman Begins and also the man who trained Bruce Wayne which lead to the creation of Batman. Another thing you may want to recall from Batman Begins is when Ra's told Bruce this: "(Gotham) is beyond saving and must be allowed to die. This is the most important function of the League of Shadows. It is one we've performed for centuries. Gotham... must be destroyed." We will becoming back to this just as I finish connecting Bane to all of this. Look back up to the beginning of this paragraph and recall how I told you Ra's called Bane a great mind. Now this quote itself is not near as important as it is to realize that Bane had some sort of a connection to Ra's al Ghul. If Bane had a connection to Ra's that means that Bane possibly and probably had a connection to the League of Shadows. Now it may seem bizarre that I could just randomly make that connection so, if you would like to further research this, look up Bane and the "League of Assassins." The League of Assassins is what is interpreted in Batman Begins as the League of Shadows and in the comics there is a point where Bane encounters this League of Assassins. Long story short, Ra's al Ghul is so impressed with the intellect of Bane that he chooses Bane to become his heir. This was not really thrown out at you in Batman Begins, but originally Ra's had planned for this heir to be Bruce Wayne.
Can you start to see the connection yet?
Ra's al Ghul began with Bruce in Batman Begins but somewhere, either before he met Bruce (the probable factor in The Dark Knight Rises from descriptions of the prologue) or after, Ra's had another student...Bane. Ra's said to Bruce in Batman Begins "You were my greatest student." Now either the word "were" is implied that he gained a better student (Bane) or is simply referencing towards his idea of Bruce betraying him. Either way, Bruce was not Ra's al Ghul's only student nor was he the only student who excelled. Ra's at one time took in Bane and trained him in the same fashion Bruce was trained in. With this connection between Bruce and Bane there is conflict. Although Bruce has no idea of Bane's existence at the time, one can imagine that from the incidents that took place in Batman Begins with the death of Ra's, news got to Bane and he plans to finish what his master started. What did his master start? Well look back at a previous quote from Ra's, "Gotham...must be destroyed."
Now I hope you get the connection of how Bane plays into all of this, and if you don't please feel free to contact me, I'll be glad to answer any questions you may have to the best of my ability.
Another thing I wish to touch up on real quick is a rumor that I do not believe has yet to be confirmed...Talia al Ghul. Talia is the daughter of Ra's and could possibly play a major role in The Dark Knight Rises if, as so many believe, she will actually be the character played by Marion Cotillard. If this rumor is true, you can see the reason why she is in Gotham, the same reason Bane is, to avenge Ra's and finish what he started. (Side note: In the comics Ra's tried to marry Talia off to Bruce but that soon failed. Later, when Bane becomes the heir to her father, Bane wishes to marry Talia but she refuses.)
Okay, off of rumors for another topic...one that freaked everyone out as soon as they heard Anne Hathaway was cast the role. Catwoman. Hopefully everyone knows who Catwoman is, and if you think you do because of the 2004 movie staring Halle Berry, I advise you to research who Catwoman/Selina Kyle really is. For some reason many people don't think Hathaway is right for the part, I do not want to argue with you but I say that if Chris thinks she is than she is. Reason: Everyone thought Heath Ledger was a horrible choice for Joker...well we all know how that turned out. Anyway, Catwoman is one thing that hasn't really been talked about much. Maybe it's because people were disappointed with her outfit, or maybe they just don't care for Anne, or possibly people just don't have enough information to go off. Well I think I have a pretty good guess as to how Catwoman will be portrayed in The Dark Knight Rises.
First of all, The Dark Knight Rises IS set eight years after The Dark Knight. Now this at first won't mean much to some but to think, "Great, an old Batman." Well yes, but that is not all you should take from that, and if it is, maybe at least analyze it first. In the teaser that was released in front of Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part II, there is a clip of Gordon laying on a hospital bed and he tells someone (presumed Bruce Wayne or Batman) "We were in this together, and then you were gone." This shows that after The Dark Knight, Batman literally disappeared from Gotham. This probably has to do with the fact that he was exiled when he took the rap for Dent/Two-Face, and that people had their faith restored when they were convinced that their hero died to protect them (when in reality he became the villain Batman was portrayed to be). Okay, I went off topic a little again but it was important. If you realize that Batman is gone, this means that although some good came from the people believing in Harvey Dent, there is still a source of crime, after all, this is Gotham City. Now what better criminal to introduce than an infamous cat-burglar...Catwoman. Catwoman was originally designed not to be this psychotic woman who ran around like a cat all the time and barked at dogs, but she was designed to be a cat-burglar (hence the name CATwoman). Now take those two options, crazy cat lady or cat-burglar. Which of the two do you think will be placed into Nolan's realistic Batman Universe? I'm going to go with the cat-burglar. But isn't she also supposed to fight crime and not just be a bad guy all the time? Well, that is completely up to the writer and I think Nolan is going to make Catwoman more of a sidekick to Batman than anything (the photo of her riding Batman's bat-pod is my reasoning). I do think it will be in a more flirtatious way though in which Catwoman causes trouble to get Batman's attention only to help him out when he cannot help himself. Catwoman is difficult to figure out with this film though since only a photo has been released. I think she will begin as a criminal but when Batman does finally reappear in Gotham, she will start to create a crush in which causes her to help out as Bane and the League of Shadows terrorize the city. Remember, all of this information of how Catwoman is involved is simply a hypothesis. Another short hypothesis I have is that Catwoman does not intend to help out Batman, she simply does not want anyone else to tear down her city. A common enemy is more binding than a common friend.
This discussion of the new characters in The Dark Knight Rises is only the beginning of what I can share. If you can tell me your thoughts and if there is any information in which I am wrong, please tell me. I would love to hear your thoughts.
Also, I realize another major character being added to The Dark Knight Rises is one I did not discuss (Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character, John Blake). This is because I honestly do not know what Mr. Nolan is planning to do with this character. Is he a replacement for Gordon as he is hospitalized? Is he undercover for the League of Shadows? Is he just a cop who happens to have a decent sized role? I do not know the answers. I simply trust that whatever Christopher Nolan has in store for this character, it will not disappoint.
Thank-you.