Comic Book TALK: Bane & Plot in The Dark Knight Rises

Comic Book TALK: Bane & Plot in The Dark Knight Rises

Hi, Hybrid0027 here! This Comic Book TALK I will discuss my thoughts on The Dark Knight Rises version of Bane concerning plot, character, etc. Thanks!

Feature Opinion
By Hybrid0027 - Jan 17, 2012 02:01 PM EST
Filed Under: Other

*Please watch the video version of this article located below, as it may have points not discussed here. Thank you.

Video Version:

1) Holy Trinity of Main Nolanverse Villains: In Batman Begins, I believe that Ra's al Ghul was Batman's MENTAL challenge. This is because between his "master plan" & Scarecrow's fear gas, Batman was challenged to his mental peak trying to stop both of them and discover their plans. In The Dark Knight, I believe the Joker was Batman's EMOTIONAL challenge. This is because he pushed Batman via Harvey Dent's downfall (trust in a white knight that was destroyed), Rachel Dawes's death (love and feelings in general), & "how far would he go" to stop him (Joker). Lastly, in The Dark Knight Rises, I believe Bane will be Batman's PHYSICAL challenge. This is because he's notorious for BREAKING Batman & being unnaturally strong (due to venom).



2) Mask: The mask Bane wears in this film isn't the commonly worn wrestler mask or any fabric-based mask, instead it's more of a gas mask providing some form of anesthesia to Bane as he reportedly suffered a very painful injury earlier in his life. I believe that this anesthetic is his "venom", because it may also help his invulnerability as it kills his pain allowing him to keep fighting if hurt when a normal person would become overwhelmed by the pain. The mask also alters his voice, leading to many negative views on this version of Bane, but Christopher Nolan did say, "I think when people see the film, things will come into focus."


3) Plot: I believe Bane will try causing an massive earthquake that will not only cause mass destruction but also leave Gotham City inhabitable leaving it unable to do any business resulting in economic turmoil. In other words, destroy Gotham in all ways possible in one hit. I believe Bane will be cornered by GCPD with Commissioner Gordon during one of his first visit to Gotham resulting in a beat down from the League of Shadows & Bane onto the police force (Gordon in hospital scene). Seeing this, Bruce will try stopping Bane only to be beaten and caught unprepared via Bane's anesthetic giving him some degree of invulnerability. Batman then would retreat wounded (Bruce with cane) allowing Bane to track him discovering his identity. Then when Bruce is hosting his party at the newly rebuilt Wayne Manor (trailer) when the league of Shadows intrudes the party causing damage & chaos, Bruce meanwhile gets thrown into a prison personally by Bane not without a good beating (speech about Gotham in ashes from trailer). Leaving Bruce in bad condition, Bane leaves to continue his mission, preparing for Gotham's demise. During the chaos. a very good cop becomes critical for the GCPD while Gordon's injured and Bruce gives him some "help" (John Blake as a Azrael/Robin character, trying to keep justice & order) because he's stuck inside the prison trying to get ready for round 2 but still badly hurt around his spinal area and can't find help because sadly it's beyond modern medicine, surgery, etc. so he must do a deep global search. He is able to escape the prison using the skills he learned from the League of Shadows, starting his global search. During his search he stumbles upon a League of Shadows sect in SOUTHEAST ASIA faithful to Ra's al Ghul not Bane & currently led by the real Henri Ducard (man with Bruce in the weird building during trailer) & Talia al Ghul (confirmed to be in film) with a lazarus pit (he say "RISE"-Jesus ROSE Lazarus in the Bible), rumored to have intense healing properties via an unknown combination of chemicals. Bruce uses it (man crawling out of pit in teaser scene) & once done comes back to Gotham sending Blake, now promoted, (due to his actions while Gordon's still injured) & the GCPD to deal with the prison break caused by Bane while Batman and fights Bane. Bane & Batman go through an intense fight until Batman, remembering last time, damages Bane mask. This causes Bane to start feeling the intense pain the mask was hiding eventually becoming too much for him during the fight. Ra's al Ghul watching secretly the whole time finishes Bane as he thinks he's too dependent on the gas thus making him weak, then leaving some final words to Batman before again disappearing from Gotham. Batman "dies" aka retires as he's now not needed in Gotham but not without the city's renewed hope led by not only Gordon but Blake as well...The END



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CraptainAmerica
CraptainAmerica - 1/17/2012, 3:28 PM
"when Gotham is in ashes, you have my permission to die"

The background kinda looks like a prison. The prison in which we see the steps. The prison a team enters through the ceiling. The prison Bruce is doing press-ups in.

Some great theorising but I'm not sure a majority of the trailer can placed into a particular order.

Loved the bit about the "rise" part being linked to a 'Lazarus pit' though. Although I doubt that and the azrael/robin part. Although I believe Blake will carry on the 'symbol' part of Batman (which Bruce initially hoped for Dent to fill).
CraptainAmerica
CraptainAmerica - 1/17/2012, 4:24 PM
Well he also has the grey streak in his hair when he encounters Selina Kyle at, what could possibly be, a party at Wayne Monorail (where the LofS start smashing shit up). Movie should open with prologue. Then i'd think the beginning or the movie will follow directly from TDK, then Bruce exiles himself for the 8 year period...returning at an older age...hence the grey (maybe)
OdinsBeard
OdinsBeard - 1/17/2012, 4:33 PM
you have some good theories! i don't agree with most of them and they're not decisions i would make. but can't deny the entertainment value! Ras coming back at the end? money.
superbatspiderman
superbatspiderman - 1/17/2012, 6:17 PM
this movie will be epic. Chris really knows what he is doing. The only thing I am worried about is that Bane will not have Venom because without Venom Bane is just a generic evil genius. I hope that scar on his spine is some sort of pump in his body that is powered by his mask. Batman will probably take him down by hurting his mask. Other than that I think the movie will be great.
LoudNoises
LoudNoises - 1/17/2012, 11:36 PM
Why can't JGL just be a cop? He will likely have a significant part to play, but people have this idea that it would be a waste of his talent to play a cop.

I don't see the need to have someone carry on in Bruce's foot steps after or if he retires. I think the idea is that Gotham shouldn't need someone like Batman. Gotham has become so corrupt that Batman has become necessary. This is the version of Gotham Nolan had to setup in BB in order to make someone like Batman who takes the law into their own hands a plausible concept.

I don't think that Nolan's version of Bruce Wayne would encourage anyone to take over his role as Batman because in order for his goal to truely be successful, someone like Batman would have to be no longer necessary. His example would have inspired Gotham in such a way that they take back their city and return to a society which isn't ruled by fear and corruption.

Plus I think JGL taking over as Batman sounds really lame.
CraptainAmerica
CraptainAmerica - 1/18/2012, 2:34 AM
@loudnoises

To be fair he may just stay a cop. But Wayne, in The Dark Knight, was looking for somebody to take over the fighting of crime and was hoping "for a day when Gotham no longer needs Batman". I'm not saying Blake will become Batman or any other masked vigilante. Maybe Nixon and Blake can be that shining light that the city needs when Batman is no longer around. When I said Blake may take over 'the mantle', I didn't necessarily mean the suit. Just the symbol that it stands for. That is a thread that has run through both of the previous movies
Happy11
Happy11 - 1/18/2012, 3:50 AM
I think after bruce's first encounter with bane he goes away to train a la the rise speech by tom conti
LoudNoises
LoudNoises - 1/18/2012, 11:45 AM
@CraptainAmerica

Well for me I guess it depends on how you define taking over "the mantle" of Batman. If you mean that he uses the symbol of Batman in order to continue fighting criminals in a vigilante type way. Then I would disagree.

But if you mean that he embraces the symbol of Batman like Gordon does and as a cop he fights for the same cause. Then I don't see any problem, but I would say that this would be a far cry from taking up the mantle of Batman.

When Dent spoke of taking up the mantle of Batman, he meant that he understood that Gotham needed a single figure to stand behind. A public figure who could fight corruption from within the confines of the justice system to ultimately achieve the same goal that Batman was fighting for.

For someone like John Blake to take up that mantle, he would either have to be vigilante hero like Batman or a public figure like Dent who represents the best of all Gotham's citizens. I would argue that he is neither. He is most likely a cop who plays a vitol role in taking back Gotham from Bane's control. And I don't see this as being a character which is not worthy of JGL's talent.
endisnigh
endisnigh - 1/18/2012, 1:20 PM
This article has some interesting theories, but there has been one crucial point that bugs me about Bane being from the LOS. Simply put, Ra's al Ghul knew all along that Batman was Bruce Wayne. By default, Bane would already know this too. I think that Joseph Gordon Levitt's character may be a capable Batman decoy, possible used to confuse Bane and allow Bruce to infiltrate the LOS headquarters. A natural conclusion to this series would ultimately JGL taking over the cowl for good at it's conclusion. I also believe that Alfred will meet his demise at the hands of Bane, effectively turning Bruce into Batman mentally all of the time, as Alfred was the only character who kept Bruce grounded. Lastly, Batman will surely break his "no kill" rule in defeating Bane, which is why John Blake will step in as his successor.
LoudNoises
LoudNoises - 1/18/2012, 1:58 PM
I am going to continue to fight this JGL as Batman's successor. People are entirely entitled to their own opinion on this particular issue but it seems to me that it would be very counter intuitive to the story to have someone step in and fill Bruce Wayne's role as Batman.

Allow me to reiterate that Batman was a product of Gotham's inability to save itself. Cops, politians, and public officials had become so corrupt out of fear and greed that it became necessary for someone to go to extreme measures, which in this case was a vigilante who takes the law into his own hands. Bruce Wayne realizes he is walking a very fine line ethically, which is why he follows a strick code. His goal is to reach a point where Gotham no longer needs Batman, because in a reality driven world like the one Nolan has established, Batman should not need to exsist in order for a society to function. The ethically responsible thing for Bruce Wayne to do is to strive towards inspiring Gotham to fix itself, and hang up the cape and cowl for good.

To end the final chapter in Nolan's franchise by having Bruce Wayne pass on his torch to someone else would go against everything he has worked for and everything he stands for ethically.

CraptainAmerica
CraptainAmerica - 1/19/2012, 7:04 AM
@loudnoises

Nixon and Blake form the incoruptable 'symbol' that Batman stands for. Not the masked vigilante.

Bruce said in Batman Begins "...as a symbol, I can be incorruptible. I can be everlasting....".

Or in the Dark Knight when Bruce quotes Rachel as saying
"there will (has) come a day where Gotham no longer needs Batman..." when refering to a character such as Dent.

I'm not saying Blake has that sort of significance but he represents the people who can continue to keep Gotham safe. It's a stark contrast to the state of the Police Force when people like Ramirez were influential but coruptable. Dent was incoruptable and I believe characters like Nixon and Blake can be the joint inspiration to the 'rising' of the people of Gotham. To link it to your "inspiring Gotham to fix itself"...which is a thread I believe has has always run through the previous movies.
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