What if Talia Al Ghul was an Ally in The Dark Knight Rises?

It's been over a month since The Dark Knight Rises was released in theaters and the film is a huge success. I have personally seen the movie four times and it is my favorite film of the year. However I did have one major gripe with the film and that was with how the character of Talia Al Ghul was depicted in the film. I liked some aspects of her characterization but overall I feel she was under-served in the film and with an actress like Marion Cotillard she could have been a lot more than a twist ending villain. Below I've written a different version of how her character could have been done in the film that I feel could have reinforced some of the larger themes and delivered a bigger emotional punch. Again I write this not to bash on the film since I loved it but just as a means to express some ideas I had. So instead of having her be a bad guy in the film what if Talia had been an ally to Bruce?

I would keep all the of the Miranda Tate material in the film up until the point she sleeps with Bruce. She would be there to comfort him in the rain and after the lights go out she would still have the same fire conversation with Bruce. He would make the romantic advance and she would reject his advances. She would offer him money to leave Gotham and start a new life somewhere else but Bruce would ask her to leave. After she leaves Bruce goes to fight Bane in the sewers, loses, and is imprisoned. We then see Blake knocking on Wayne Manor's door and getting no reply but we also see some small interaction with Miranda as they both realize Bruce has been defeated by Bane.

Miranda then goes to Fox as he is preparing for the board meeting and demands to see Applied Sciences. Fox initially tries to deny its existence but Miranda points out she hacked into Fox's personal files and discovered its existence but not the precise location. Fox continues to be withholding until she tells him that Coleman Reese (the lawyer who discovered Batman's identity in the Dark Knight) disappeared 14 months earlier after moving to Metropolis following the attempt on his life. She would then tell Fox about Pavel's supposed death in a plane crash and how his wife has insisted in the news that her husband was murdered but has been told by mysterious men to keep quiet (this would show the government aren't complete fools to the circumstances of the plane crash) and that now Bruce has gone missing. Fox agrees to take her to Applied Sciences as soon as they handle the board meeting. However when they arrive Bane is there and he demands to be taken to the reactor.

As they go down Fox sees that Bane has already discovered Applied Sciences and Bane confirms that he found out through Reese. When they arrive at the reactor it is activated and Tate, Fox and the other board member are taken away as Pavel begins to work on the reactor. We then see Talia escape and kill some of her captors while wounding others as she leads Fox and the other board member to safety. Bane’s men remove the reactor as one of the wounded men show up at the big hole in the wall that Bane’s men blew open to access the reactor’s location. As Bane goes to investigate Talia descends from the upper level firing gas grenades into the room and killing Bane’s men and setting off the flooding system. Bane’s back up show up and shoot Miranda in the chest. She is carried away by the water but Bane and his men ascend with the reactor to safety. Bane kills the man who shot Miranda for not being more careful with his gunfire. Bane goes back down to find Miranda’s body. His right hand man Barsad has already found it and declares her dead. Bane checks her pulse to verify and tells his men to bury her by the docks. We then see the reactor location is flooded but not completely destroyed thanks to the hole in the wall.

The next time we see Talia is after Bruce fails his first attempt to make the climb up the well. She gives the same legend speech that Ra’s Al Ghul gave Bruce in Batman Begins. She tells Bruce that she was third in command of the League of Shadows under Ra’s Al Ghul and that she planned for the energy reactor to be turned into a bomb. Bruce believes she is working for Bane and attacks her and they begin to fight. While fighting and taking advantage of the great visuals offered by the prison setting Talia lectures Bruce on his deeds as Batman and his shattered soul and how a man without hope for himself cannot and is in fact not worthy of saving an entire city and defeats him echoing Bruce’s first fight with Ra’s Al Ghul in Batman Begins.

When Bruce wakes up (oh yeah Talia would knock him out haha) Talia tells Bruce that she does not work for Bane and explains that after Bruce defied Ra’s Al Ghul order to become an executioner some of the members of the League who already had their doubts about Ra’s methods began to express their doubts vocally. Ra’s intended to use his destruction of Gotham and defeat of Bruce as a means to regain total control and faith over the organization. He failed and after his death since she was second in command after Bane’s excommunication she took control. She planned to steer the League into more peaceful methods using Bruce as an example but some of the more radical members of the league wanted revenge and at this point Bane reappeared to become their leader. Bane considered Talia a traitor and vowed revenge against her and Bruce. The League splits into two factions, two thirds of the members under Bane and the rest under Talia. Talia reveals she was why Bane was excommunicated in the first place as Ra’s had believed Bane was responsible for the sabotage of certain missions when it was actually her who sabotaged the missions. She states she would have warned Bruce of Ra’s attack but that he kept her under close watch and did not divulge information to her in the end as he also suspected her of being a traitor at that point.

She begins to retrain Bruce while explaining that Bruce gave her and her faction of the League hope as they saw that Batman was actually working but were briefly disturbed when Batman was accused of murder. She found out the truth behind the cover up of Dent’s crimes by keeping an eye on Gordon’s crumbling marriage and by questioning Anna Ramirez (the cop that Dent didn’t kill in Dark Knight) admitting that after she confessed Ramirez committed suicide due to guilt. She then decided that Gotham had only been healed superficially and devised a plan to heal Gotham and to lure Bane into attacking so that Bruce could redeem Batman’s name as well. She states that she will not help Bruce make the climb nor have her men break them out as that would ruin the point of what she is trying to prove. She says that while she didn’t agree with Ra’s methods she still believed in the overall mission of the League. She states that if Bruce fails she will leave Gotham to Bane. Bruce grows livid that Talia is using everyone around her like chess pieces and grows even angrier when he sees the special forces men hanging from Gotham’s bridges. (Quick digression: obviously the scene with special forces would take place without Talia’s presence just Lucius Fox. Fox would explain he’s managed to repair the reactor stabilizer and this would give Gordon and his men a much stronger hope and reason for capturing the bomb. Selina Kyle’s friend would be the one that ratted out the Special Forces. Selina would become disgusted with her friend after watching the special forces hang from the bridges and finally see that the revolution is horrible. Fox would be captured but kept alive) He shatters the TV and attempts the second climb rejecting Talia’s help but he fails the climb again.

Talia would then deliver the speech of fear the blind prisoner gave and encourages Bruce to let go of all the baggage he has been carrying his whole life and start with a clean slate. She also reveals that it was her that suggested the economics plan to Ra's Al Ghul that caused the depression in Gotham City that ultimately led to the death of bruce's parents. She offers a knife for vengeance but Bruce finally accepts to let go of the pain and baggage and rediscovers fear as he makes the climb successfully.

Him and Talia then head back to Gotham. As they arrive at Gotham’s entrance Talia plans to have her men sneak them in as she had positioned some of them within Gotham. Bruce tells her this is unnecessary as he has a secret way back into Gotham. Talia asks why not let the military use the secret entrance to storm Gotham but Bruce tells her that she was right and that Gotham must want to heal itself and cannot always wait around for Batman to save them. Talia states that he is risking lives but Bruce would tell her he doesn’t want them to fight but wants them to want to fight and make a better life for themselves. They would also discuss Selina and how she reflects Gotham’s underclass and how desiring revolution is not a bad thing it’s just a matter of how to go about executing revolution. Talia would then jokingly tell Bruce that after he redeems Gotham Bruce could franchise the Batman and take him to other cities (hinting at the Batman Inc. comics). Bruce would tell her he has compromised too much to keep wearing the suit for much longer. Talia would then say that in cases where they are dealing with people such as Bane Batman would still be required. Bruce states Batman should be someone who isn't as morally compromised and hurt as he is.

Bruce would then go meet to Selina and break out Fox while Talia would go meet Barsad who would be revealed to be working for her. He would tell her that he has helped Fox repair the reactor and managed to keep him alive and that her faction of the league has maintained some sense of order in Gotham keeping an eye on the escapees having to kill the worst of them. Barsad would tell her that most of the ordinary citizens are actually looking for a means to escape and pray for Batman to return. He tells her he reluctantly had to turn Gordon and his men over to the courts but states they have a solid plan for capturing the bomb. Talia orders him back to Bane as Bruce suits up. Barsad tells her that Bane no longer shows any interest in leaving Gotham and intends to die with the bomb much to the surprise of his followers.

After they rescue Gordon and his men Talia would tell Bruce her men prepared a welcome back gift and she would light up the flaming bat symbol on the bridge. As the final battle begins Talia would press a device to signal her men to attack. It would then be seen that among the crowd of mercenaries and prisoners that Talia’s men begin to attack from within. Bane would be caught off guard at seeing some of his men betray him. It would then be revealed that two thirds of the League were actually loyal to Talia but merely pretended to be on Bane’s side to help Talia keep track of his movements and sabotage some of his missions. Snipers would also attack from the roofs and Batman would attack the tumblers with The Bat and lead them away from the fight. The aerial chase sequence would then take place as Gordon, his men, and Selina try to capture the bomb. Talia would commandeer one of the tumblers and order Bruce to go take care of Bane and secure the detonator.

Batman then fights Bane and Bane reveals he had the detonator and presses it but by then Gordon has already block out the signal and Talia takes control of the truck the bomb is on. She would damage the front end of the truck so badly that she detaches the back and attaches to the tumbler through the tumbler’s cables. She then heads to the stabilizer as Batman defeats Bane. As Batman declares his victory over Bane, Bane would reveal he never had a detonator for the bomb and that it was a bluff. The detonator he just pressed were for explosives he rigged at the stabilizer. Lucius would get out in time but contact Talia to tell her it’s over.
Talia would then head back to the courthouse. Batman would question Bane why he’s so eager to please his dead father Ra’s Al Ghul who excommunicated him. Bane would then reveal Talia to be Ra’s Al Ghul daughter. We flashback to Talia and Bane in training with Talia encouraging Bane to use her legend of escape as his own to build up his reputation. The facts grow blurred over the years and soon Bane is believed to be the child who made the jump. Back in the present Bane reveals that he was never excommunicated but left because of Bruce’s presence in the League. Bane would say he was the best student before Bruce and that he vowed vengeance after Bruce took everything he had from him. Bruce would have a look of understanding, apologize to Bane and leave in the Bat and meet Talia halfway.
Bruce asks Talia why she didn’t tell him but Talia states that the past is the past. Bruce thanks her for helping him find closure and tells her she still needs to find her own. Talia takes the tumbler back to the courthouse as Bruce says his goodbyes to Fox, Gordon, and Selina.

Talia would find Bane and try to reconnect his mask tubes but he pushes her hands away roughly. Through flashback we discover the full story. When Bane was seven years old he broke into Talia’s grandfather’s (the warlord) home to steal food. The warlord discovered him and sentenced him to the Prison Pit. Talia’s mother pleaded for her father to show mercy and Bane never forgot her face. Shortly after he was sentenced to prison Talia’s mother also came down to the pit. When Talia was eight years old her mother was killed but Bane brutally murdered the four prisoners before they could do the same to Talia. He became feared in the prison and sought to help Talia escape. However the warlord had decreed that Talia’s mother and his granddaughter never be allowed to make the climb. Bane disobeyed this and helped Talia make the jump when she was ten years old. After four years of searching Talia found Ra’s and went back to rescue Bane. In present day Bane asks Talia why she avenged her mother and not her father. Talia tells him she never went back for petty vengeance. Through more flashback we see Talia searching the prison while the League massacres the prisoners. She does not kill any herself and finds Bane disfigured. Ra’s Al Ghul shows no interest in Bane but Talia pleads for his life. They break Bane out and as a sign of gratitude Bane tells Ra’s how to break into the warlord’s home. Ra’s kills the warlord and designs the pain relieving mask for Bane. However he refuses to allow Bane to enter the League of Shadows but Talia uses her economics plan to persuade her father into letting Bane into the league however he forbids any relationship between them.

Bane and Talia disobey him and over the years carry out a secret romance culminating in their marriage. Bruce joins the League and Ra’s plans for Bruce to marry Talia and is set to introduce them as they watch Bruce from a distance training. Talia seems impressed by Bruce. Bane visits Talia at night in her room but through her window sees a shirtless Bruce. Ra’s appears and tells Bane that Talia has chosen Bruce over him and gives Bane Talia’s engagement and wedding rings. Bane weeps openly over Talia’s infidelity and Ra’s asks Bane to leave the League and never return. Back in present day Bane shows Talia the rings and Talia comes to fully understand what her father did. She tosses aside the rings and shows Bane that she still wears identical rings underneath her gloves. We flashback to Talia watching Bruce train but while impressed Talia says she has no interest in Bruce and believes Bane to be the better fighter. Ra’s is intrigued by the comparison to Bane and stalks Talia’s movements and discovers the marriage. He manages to make duplicates of her engagement and marriage rings and sends Talia away on a recruiting mission. Ra’s lets Bruce use Talia’s room for sleeping and showering and then leads Bane to Talia’s room. Bane did not know Talia had been sent away and had heard of Bruce’s growing reputation within the league. Ra’s asks him to leave and out of respect for Ra’s Bane leaves but vows vengeance on Bruce. Talia returns from her mission just as Bruce is blowing up the monastery. Ra's tells Talia he excommunicated Bane for sabotage and Talia confesses it was her and is placed under tight security until Ra's dies on the train. Back in the present day Bane realizes Ra’s lies and begins to flashback to all those he has killed. As Talia tries to reconnect the tubes Bane pushes her hands away delicately and accepts his fate. He dies cradling Talia in his arms just as he did when he first rescued her. Final flashback to Bruce seeing the wedding ring on Bane’s hand and understanding the connection between Talia and Bane and apologizing.

After the bomb detonates we see the military storm Gotham and a soldier enters the courthouse and finds Bane’s mask on the floor. We see Talia burning Bane’s body near the location of the Bat-Bunker. Later Talia is present at Bruce’s funeral and overhears the conversation between Gordon and Blake. As Bruce’s will is read out she is cited as the recipient of a piano from Bruce and is given a key to the room where it is kept. She also overhears the lawyer telling the woman about the missing string of pearls. A flashback shows that Talia was observing Selina and Bruce dance at her party and Bruce taking the pearls from Selina. Talia heads to Wayne Manor, while the lawyers over-voice narration tells us that the orphanage is under her direct care along with Wayne Enterprises, she unlocks the door to the piano room and reading from a note Bruce left on the piano plays the keys that lead to the Batcave. There she discovers Blake on the cube and delivers the legend speech as the Batsuit rises from the depths of the cube.

Well that is how i would have liked to have seen Talia used in the film. i'll be writing another article to explain why i feel this version of the character would serve the story better thematically and plotwise. but since this is already a long article i'll write that up later on in the week. anyway let me know if you guys like this proposed version or if you think its shit.