Nerd Rage: The Dark Knight Rise’s Villains

Christopher Nolan’s Batman’s series has done what few other superhero movies have been able to. It completely shed any lingering trepidation about its comic book origins and become main stream. A huge mystery has been looming over what the 3rd instalment will involve, and the biggest question is who will be the bad guy. If it were simply a matter of making a movie, it would be a snap to write another awesome Joker story. Wiith the Heath Ledger deceased the film makers are not going to include the Clown Prince of Crime out of respect. If I were to make the next Batman I would write a world against Batman story. Gotham City is becoming more chaotic. There are more ‘supervillains’ inspired by the Joker. They each could have the a role similar to the Scarecrow in the Dark Knight. A villain given an action scene where Batman catches them. The previous two movies explored the theme of escalation and what better way to show this than having the world go to hell.  The Dark Knight enjoyed hero status as a vigilante. The last movie ended with Batman martyring his good name for the sake of the city. Even the cops will hunt Batman. The Dark Knight, our hero looked for a way out by becoming completely  Bruce Wayne. Perhaps this movie’s conflict could end with our hero becoming completely Batman. Lets look at the possibilities.

Catwoman:


She’s probably the most iconic of the Batman villains remaining. If I were to put Catwoman in Batman 3, I would imagine her as a thrill seeking hedonist. Selina Kyle would be a very wealthy thief. She steals because she can, and its fun for her. The Dark Knight showed people have started copying Batman. Catwoman should start wearing a cat mask directly inspired by Batman. She wants to live above the law as Batman does, thus she emulates him. I would steer clear of Michelle Pfeiffer’s dominatrix outfit. Instead I would make her costume a stealth suit similar to Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow costume in Iron Man 2. It’s be sexy but functional. Catwoman’s involvement with Batman would be come about when she starts fencing her stolen goods to some mobsters and he tries to catch her. Selina’s involvement with Bruce Wayne would be him dating her as part of his playboy persona, but starts to fall for her. In both scenarios Selina/Catwoman would try to tempt him away from his mission. Catwoman wouldn’t necessarily be a bad guy, rather she would be mischievous. She’d provide Batman with a way out. He could forget about whatever villain he’s chasing, and run away with her to rich people paradise.  In the end Batman will remain true to his mission but win Catwoman over a little bit. She will help him out in some capacity. She’ll be good… just not too good.

Killer Croc:

This is another rumor that’s been floating around the interwebs. Despite his level as a C-List villain, I think Killer Croc would make a great secondary threat. In the comics he was a serial killer. In a movie Croc could represent the depths of the darkness Batman has to battle. He could be so sick and twisted that it would cause Batman to want to run away with Catwoman. Instead of making him a mutated hulking lizard man, a realistic interpretation could be a criminal with heavy body modifications. Maybe Croc would have scaly tattoos, or sub-dermal implants to make him more animal like.

Penguin:

Penguin should steer as clear from the Batman Returns version as possible. The comic book version was originally intended to be a gentleman villain. Returns’s version had a sick Gothic charm but was a twisted side show freak. Batman the Animated Series is the most translatable. Batman TAS portrayed him as the owner of the Iceberg Lounge.On the surface was a legitimate business man, but he had dirty dealings under the table. Batman usually bullied him for information. In Rises the Penguin could be very similar, a smart criminal who has been able to carve a level of legitimacy out for himself.

Poison Ivy:

I once heard a joke about Poison Ivy. “In Kill Bill, the bride is abused, tortured, beaten, shot, and raped. To prepare for this role Uma Thurman watched her portrayal of Poison Ivy in Batman & Robin.” Despite this horrible version of Poison Ivy, I think making her a villain in the next Batman movie is possible. To keep her grounded in reality, Poison Ivy wouldn’t have plant controlling powers. Instead I’d make her an eco-terrorist. The kind of person who would plant bombs in SUV parking lots, or poison industrialist and politicians to further her environmental agenda.

The Ventriloquist:


Although the ventriloquist is real gimmicky I always thought it was a neat concept. A man with a split personality has a meek persona but expresses his darkness though Scarface a puppet. Scarface is a shadow self, who is a aggressive, violent, and intelligent.  Its weird but it could showcase just how crazy Arkham Asylums escapees are. Plus why should the Joker be the only intelligent criminal mastermind to strike the streets of Gotham. If done from a psychological perspective it could be interesting.

Bane:

Bane is probably the easiest to adapt. Although he uses an artificial steroids that makes him unrealistically strong in the comic, he could just be a juiced up hit man. He doesn’t need to be impossibly strong. He could be a normal anabolic steroid user. Some crime boss could hire him from a foreign drug cartel as a body guard or assassin.

Two Face:

Two face is one of my favorite villains. I once had a custom shirt and suit jacket made for a Halloween costume. I went as far as to shave half my head, and apply latex skin. it was awesome. All that is besides the point. I thought the Dark Knight’s take on Two Face was brilliant. It was one of the best fall from graces I’ve seen in film. The ending also left Harvey Dent’s fate ambiguous. If they really wanted to, they could make it that he survived and is secretly locked in Arkham. I know they won’t, but a nerd can dream cant he?

The Riddler:


I’ve seen the Riddler batted around man message boards. His modus operandi has always been to leave clues that only Batman could decipher. An advantage of having him in a movie would be to showcase Batman’s detective skills. Why would someone leave clues of their crimes? I could see this working if the Riddler is someone akin to John Doe in Se7en. He would be a sociopath trying to get caught, so that his genius could be acknowledged. Another option would be, he’s a genius hacker who leaves riddles in the computer systems he infiltrates. Both are pretty big departures from the original character who likes to toy with people. I think the Riddle would be the hardest to pull off. I breathed a sigh of relief when I heard he wont be in the next movie.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed, that the Dark Knight Rises will live up to the high standards of its two predecessors. If anyone working on the movie wants a consult as always I can be contacted through this site.

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