~Dark Knight Rising~

[Dabs]

So, anyone going to be interested in watching?? Has it even come out yet??

Fraze on the Dark Knight Rising Casting News

Warner Bros.

Pictures announced today that Anne Hathaway has been cast as Selina Kyle in Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight Rises”. She will be starring alongside Christian Bale, who returns in the title role of Bruce Wayne/Batman.

Christopher Nolan stated, “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Anne Hathaway, who will be a fantastic addition to our ensemble as we complete our story.”

In addition, Tom Hardy has been set to play Bane. Nolan said, “I am delighted to be working with Tom again and excited to watch him bring to life our new interpretation of one of Batman’s most formidable enemies.”

I couldn’t be more delighted with this news, folks. Ever since Rachel Dawes met her fate in ”The Dark Knight”, I’ve been saying that Catwoman would be a necessity going into Nolan’s third and final ”Batman” film. For one thing, Rachel was the only female character in Nolan’s Batman universe – without her you’re missing not only a female lead, but a love interest.

Selina Kyle fulfills three roles as a female lead, a love interest and confidant, and an opposing force to Batman’s rule system. Catwoman’s own brand of vigilante justice often aligns with Bruce’s, while other times they collide head-on. It’s a very interesting dynamic, and I can’t wait to see it play out on screen.

There’s been some unfair comparison to Michelle Pfeiffer take on the character in Tim Burton’s ”Batman Returns”. While Pfeiffer was certainly entertaining as Selina Kyle, she really didn’t embody the character – rather she basically created her own.

Much like Caesar Romero’s take on the Joker in the ‘60s, audiences have come to identify with Pfeiffer’s Catwoman as the definitive version of the character, but that’s not really the case at all. Pfeiffer’s Catwoman was about as authentic as DeVito’s Penguin or Carrey’s Riddler – that is to say, not very authentic at all.

Hathaway is perfect for the role. I remember seeing her portrayed in Tim Sale and Jeph Loeb’s Catwoman: When In Rome and thinking how perfect should would be. Speaking of comics, as you know, Nolan and writer David S. Goyer pull from multiple sources when crafting their scripts – everyone knows about influences from ”Batman: Year One” or ”The Killing Joke” or ”The Long Halloween”, but this script presents yet more influences, namely ”Catwoman: When In Rome”, ”Batman: Dark Victory”, ”Hush” and ”Knightfall”.

Of course ”Dark Victory” and ”Hush” have influenced previous films, however, being as Catwoman plays a big part of those stories, one would believe her character will be shaped by these stories.

Knightfall begins with Bane freeing all of the maximum-security inmates of Arkham Asylum, a notorious psychiatric facility in Gotham City. Aware that he would lose in a direct assault against Batman, Bane’s plan consists of weakening Batman by forcing him to deal with the deadly villains simultaneously.

Among the freed inmates, there are numerous high-profile villains, such as the Joker and the Scarecrow, as well as many less known villains, such as Victor Zsasz – all three of which have been featured in Nolan’s films.

Batman is taken to his mental and physical limits: a dose of Scarecrow’s fear gas makes him relive the murder of Jason Todd, which he considers to be his greatest failure. I would imagine this could be refitted to make him relive the deaths of Rachel Dawes and Harvey Dent, his greatest failure as of yet in Nolan’s films.

After this encounter, Bane makes his move and attacks Batman at Wayne Manor, as Bane had deduced the secret identity of Batman. This could be where the initial rumors of Hardy playing Hugo Strange came from, being as Bane is one of Batman’s villains who learn of his secret identity.

There is of course an epic battle between Bruce Wayne and Bane that ends with Wayne’s back being broken over Bane’s knee – “breaking” Batman and leaving Wayne a paraplegic.

Bane takes the grievously wounded Wayne (still costumed in the Batman outfit) down to Gotham Square and throws him from a rooftop to demonstrate his superiority to the populace. With Batman incapacitated, Bane assumes control of Gotham City’s underworld and takes over several illegal operations within it.

It should be noted that Catwoman is a part of the Knightfall storyline and is approached by Bane’s henchman to join their criminal organization, but she refuses, unwilling to be in league with the villain that broke Batman.

In “Batman: Dark Victory,” the sequel to the “Long Halloween” series that has influenced the film trilogy, Selina Kyle suspects she is the illegitimate daughter of Carmine Falcone, which could keep the story firmly planted in corrupt, mob-filled territory.

So, what does this mean for Nolan’s final Batman film? I think Bane will actually break Batman, or Bruce Wayne rather. Think back to this line of dialogue from ”Batman Begins”:

“People need dramatic examples to shake them out of apathy and I can’t do that as Bruce Wayne, as a man I’m flesh and blood I can be ignored I can be destroyed but as a symbol, as a symbol I can be incorruptible, I can be everlasting.”

Batman will live on as a symbol, and this is the perfect end-point for Nolan’s trilogy. Warner Bros will obviously want to continue the series, and this way they can – by perhaps going down a road that involves Jean Paul Valley as Azrael or even a Batman Beyond scenario. In any case, Bruce Wayne will be unable to continue as Batman.

Catwoman will no doubt toe the line between Batman and Bane for most of the film until she ultimately sides with Bruce, after being broken – as she’ll feel partly responsible, I’m sure.

There’s one scene I would absolutely love to see: the Arkham Asylum break. Imagine a sequence similar to the end of ”Batman Begins”, where Batman meets Commissioner Gordon not far from Arkham Asylum, where the prison break just took place. They’re going through a list of inmates that have escaped.

It would be a great moment to even drop some obscure names from Batman’s rogues’ gallery: Mad Hatter (Jervis Tetch), Deadshot (Floyd Lawton), Oswald Cobblepot, Victor Zsasz. Batman would suddenly realize his worst fears have come to fruition:

Batman: “Scarecrow? Joker?”

Commissioner Gordon hangs his head and looks out at the Gotham City skyline – his eyes pointed in the direction of the Narrows.

Gordon: “They’re all gone.”

This would continue the wonderful legacy Heath Ledger created in ”The Dark Knight”, just knowing the Joker is out there – that’s a very unsettling thought – and further motivation for Batman to push himself to the limits, the themes of escalation carrying him to his fate – a broken, bloody mass of flesh and bone – lying in Gotham Square.

 

[Montrovant]

The Dark Knight was the best comic book hero movie ever, I am certainly planning on seeing the next one!

 

[Dr.House]

Absolutely...

Nolan is awesome...

 

[High_Gravity]

They need to make a Joker movie so we can see why he is the way he is.

 

[Luissa]

Hey do you have a link?
And you might want to edit your Op, we can't post full articles.

 

[Kjuggs]

Interestingly, I just read the comic last night before looking at this thread. In the very next comic, The first escapee Batman takes on is the Mad Hatter, who might be one of the silliest villians I've read. He's got a monkey and makes people wear hats that are embedded with brainwashing devices/circuitry...lol. I believe the series was 'Knightfall.'

 

[G.T.]

They need to make a Joker movie so we can see why he is the way he is.

he fell into a pool of acid, and before that he was just some street criminal

 

[Midnight Marauder]

They need to make a Joker movie so we can see why he is the way he is.

he fell into a pool of acid, and before that he was just some street criminal

Just some street criminal who over the years after he shot Bruce Wayne's parents, rose through the thug ranks to become crime boss Grissom's "number one guy."

Let's not forget that!

 

[Kjuggs]

They need to make a Joker movie so we can see why he is the way he is.

he fell into a pool of acid, and before that he was just some street criminal

Another version is that he was a sucky comedian who was good, then needed money for his wife and newborn and was coerced/tricked into wearing the red hood by two thugs so the police would think the same guy always wore it...something like that.

 

[Kjuggs]

They need to make a Joker movie so we can see why he is the way he is.

he fell into a pool of acid, and before that he was just some street criminal

Another version is that he was a sucky comedian who was good, then needed money for his wife and newborn and was coerced/tricked into wearing the red hood by two thugs so the police would think the same guy always wore it...something like that.

From The Killing Joke series.

 

[Midnight Marauder]

They need to make a Joker movie so we can see why he is the way he is.

he fell into a pool of acid, and before that he was just some street criminal

Another version is that he was a sucky comedian who was good, then needed money for his wife and newborn and was coerced/tricked into wearing the red hood by two thugs so the police would think the same guy always wore it...something like that.

Red hood. The Joker.

Nah.

 

[Kjuggs]

he fell into a pool of acid, and before that he was just some street criminal

Another version is that he was a sucky comedian who was good, then needed money for his wife and newborn and was coerced/tricked into wearing the red hood by two thugs so the police would think the same guy always wore it...something like that.

Red hood. The Joker.

Nah.

The Joker, before his accident, with his pregnant wife; by Brian Bolland.


The man who will become the Joker, an unnamed engineer, quits his job at a chemical company to become a stand-up comedian, only to fail miserably. Desperate to support his pregnant wife Jeannie, he agrees to guide two criminals through the plant so that they can rob the card company next door. During the planning, the police inform him that his wife has died in a household accident. Grief-stricken, the engineer tries to withdraw from the plan, but the criminals strong-arm him into keeping his commitment to them.

At the plant, the criminals make him don a special mask to become the infamous Red Hood. Unknown to the engineer, the criminals plan to use this disguise to implicate any accomplice as the mastermind and to divert attention from themselves. Once inside, they almost immediately blunder into security personnel, and a shootout ensues. The criminals are gunned down and the engineer finds himself confronted by Batman, who is investigating the disturbance.


Batman: The Killing Joke - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Midnight Marauder]

Another version is that he was a sucky comedian who was good, then needed money for his wife and newborn and was coerced/tricked into wearing the red hood by two thugs so the police would think the same guy always wore it...something like that.

Red hood. The Joker.

Nah.

The Joker, before his accident, with his pregnant wife; by Brian Bolland.


The man who will become the Joker, an unnamed engineer, quits his job at a chemical company to become a stand-up comedian, only to fail miserably. Desperate to support his pregnant wife Jeannie, he agrees to guide two criminals through the plant so that they can rob the card company next door. During the planning, the police inform him that his wife has died in a household accident. Grief-stricken, the engineer tries to withdraw from the plan, but the criminals strong-arm him into keeping his commitment to them.




Batman: The Killing Joke - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Yes I am very familiar with that non-canon work.

This is why I said "Nah."

So did Bob Kane.

 

[Two Thumbs]

Anne Hatheway in a Catwoman suit?

yeah, Ill whatch that.

 

[Kjuggs]

Red hood. The Joker.

Nah.

The Joker, before his accident, with his pregnant wife; by Brian Bolland.


The man who will become the Joker, an unnamed engineer, quits his job at a chemical company to become a stand-up comedian, only to fail miserably. Desperate to support his pregnant wife Jeannie, he agrees to guide two criminals through the plant so that they can rob the card company next door. During the planning, the police inform him that his wife has died in a household accident. Grief-stricken, the engineer tries to withdraw from the plan, but the criminals strong-arm him into keeping his commitment to them.




Batman: The Killing Joke - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Yes I am very familiar with that non-canon work.

This is why I said "Nah."

So did Bob Kane.

My personal favorite storyline.

 

[Midnight Marauder]

The Joker, before his accident, with his pregnant wife; by Brian Bolland.


The man who will become the Joker, an unnamed engineer, quits his job at a chemical company to become a stand-up comedian, only to fail miserably. Desperate to support his pregnant wife Jeannie, he agrees to guide two criminals through the plant so that they can rob the card company next door. During the planning, the police inform him that his wife has died in a household accident. Grief-stricken, the engineer tries to withdraw from the plan, but the criminals strong-arm him into keeping his commitment to them.




Batman: The Killing Joke - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Yes I am very familiar with that non-canon work.

This is why I said "Nah."

So did Bob Kane.

My personal favorite storyline.

For people with moral relativity as their banner, who see nothing but a huge grey area between good and evil... They need all villains to be redeemable. They need to see little difference between the "good" guys and the "bad" guys. Suits their twisted worldview.

The Joker, as originally written, isn't at all redeemable. Moral relativity and political correctness didn't exist much when these characters were created, and the bastardization of them should be strenuously objected to from all quarters.

For political correctness sake, and for further blurring the line between good and evil, they have to make the villains sympathetic. And chowder-head clucks fall for it, every time.

 

[High_Gravity]

Another version is that he was a sucky comedian who was good, then needed money for his wife and newborn and was coerced/tricked into wearing the red hood by two thugs so the police would think the same guy always wore it...something like that.

Red hood. The Joker.

Nah.

The Joker, before his accident, with his pregnant wife; by Brian Bolland.


The man who will become the Joker, an unnamed engineer, quits his job at a chemical company to become a stand-up comedian, only to fail miserably. Desperate to support his pregnant wife Jeannie, he agrees to guide two criminals through the plant so that they can rob the card company next door. During the planning, the police inform him that his wife has died in a household accident. Grief-stricken, the engineer tries to withdraw from the plan, but the criminals strong-arm him into keeping his commitment to them.

At the plant, the criminals make him don a special mask to become the infamous Red Hood. Unknown to the engineer, the criminals plan to use this disguise to implicate any accomplice as the mastermind and to divert attention from themselves. Once inside, they almost immediately blunder into security personnel, and a shootout ensues. The criminals are gunned down and the engineer finds himself confronted by Batman, who is investigating the disturbance.


Batman: The Killing Joke - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Would make a hell of a movie.

 

[Kjuggs]

Red hood. The Joker.

Nah.

The Joker, before his accident, with his pregnant wife; by Brian Bolland.


The man who will become the Joker, an unnamed engineer, quits his job at a chemical company to become a stand-up comedian, only to fail miserably. Desperate to support his pregnant wife Jeannie, he agrees to guide two criminals through the plant so that they can rob the card company next door. During the planning, the police inform him that his wife has died in a household accident. Grief-stricken, the engineer tries to withdraw from the plan, but the criminals strong-arm him into keeping his commitment to them.

At the plant, the criminals make him don a special mask to become the infamous Red Hood. Unknown to the engineer, the criminals plan to use this disguise to implicate any accomplice as the mastermind and to divert attention from themselves. Once inside, they almost immediately blunder into security personnel, and a shootout ensues. The criminals are gunned down and the engineer finds himself confronted by Batman, who is investigating the disturbance.


Batman: The Killing Joke - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Would make a hell of a movie.

Agreed.

 

[Kjuggs]

Yes I am very familiar with that non-canon work.

This is why I said "Nah."

So did Bob Kane.

My personal favorite storyline.

For people with moral relativity as their banner, who see nothing but a huge grey area between good and evil... They need all villains to be redeemable. They need to see little difference between the "good" guys and the "bad" guys. Suits their twisted worldview.

The Joker, as originally written, isn't at all redeemable. Moral relativity and political correctness didn't exist much when these characters were created, and the bastardization of them should be strenuously objected to from all quarters.

For political correctness sake, and for further blurring the line between good and evil, they have to make the villains sympathetic. And chowder-head clucks fall for it, every time.

As fictional entertainment, a Binary or "Black and White" backstory in which people have always been either inherently evil or good is bland and boring, not to mention a lack of depth (canon or not), IMO. I think The Killing Joke makes for a more entertaining introduction than Bob Kane's original version, as I'm sure many do- once again, just my opinion. I don't equate my enjoyment of an alternate introduction of a comic book character towards whether or not I have sympathy for causation of or justify real life criminal acts committed by actual offenders- For me to assume that of all people would indicate an inability to separate fact/reality from fictional entertainment.

 

[Midnight Marauder]

My personal favorite storyline.

For people with moral relativity as their banner, who see nothing but a huge grey area between good and evil... They need all villains to be redeemable. They need to see little difference between the "good" guys and the "bad" guys. Suits their twisted worldview.

The Joker, as originally written, isn't at all redeemable. Moral relativity and political correctness didn't exist much when these characters were created, and the bastardization of them should be strenuously objected to from all quarters.

For political correctness sake, and for further blurring the line between good and evil, they have to make the villains sympathetic. And chowder-head clucks fall for it, every time.

As fictional entertainment, a Binary or "Black and White" backstory in which people have always been either inherently evil or good is bland and boring, not to mention a lack of depth (canon or not), IMO. I think The Killing Joke makes for a more entertaining introduction than Bob Kane's original version, as I'm sure many do- once again, just my opinion. I don't equate my enjoyment of an alternate introduction of a comic book character towards whether or not I have sympathy for causation of or justify real life criminal acts committed by actual offenders- For me to assume that of all people would indicate an inability to separate fact/reality from fictional entertainment.

Rationalization for the PC bastardization of characters who are already multi-layered and complex, and stand on their own for what they are. "Alternate introduction" is revisionist history and that's what chuckle heads revel in.

"We gotta make the Joker the good guy, and that vigilante Batman the bad guy, because that's the way the world really is."

You don't "equate your enjoyment" because you're a tool. Fucking idiot stick.