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[SPECIAL REVIEW] The Dark Knight Rises IMAX ~ Perfect! Epic Conclusion. Thank You Nolan, DC, Warner Bros., and All of the Stars!

Genre: Action, Adventure, Crime

Directed By: Christopher Nolan

Produced By: Christopher Nolan, Emma Thomas, Charles Roven

Screenplay By: Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Nolan

Based on Characters By: Bob Kane

Music By: Hans Zimmer

Cast: Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman

Studio: DC Comics, Legendary Pictures, Syncopy Films

Distributed By: Warner Bros. Pictures

Release Date: July 20, 2012

Running Time: 165 minutes

Budget: $250 million

Synopsis

Sudah delapan tahun sejak Batman menghilang kelam, berputar pada detik itu juga, dari seorang pahlawan menjadi seorang buronan. Dengan asumsi menyalahkan Batman (Bruce Wayne) atas kematian D.A. Harvey Dent, Sang Dark Knight mengorbankan segalanya bersama Komisaris Gordon untuk kebaikan yang lebih besar dan damai. 

Tapi semuanya akan berubah cepat dengan kedatangan seorang perempuan misterius yang dijuluki sebagai Catwoman. Jauh lebih berbahaya, bagaimanapun, adalah munculnya Bane, seorang teroris bertopeng yang kejam yang berencana mengeluarkan Bruce Wayne dari tempat pengasigannya untuk kembali ke Gotham. Meskipun Bruce Wayne akhirnya kembali ke Gotham sebagai Dark Knight, Bane mungkin bukan tandingan yang seimbang bagi Batman.

Review

Great Finale! Perfect! Big thanks to Christopher Nolan & team, DC Comics, Warner Bros and All of the Stars from Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises. Great performance. 

Ya itulah kalimat yang pantas disampaikan usai menonton akhir dari petualangan Batman dari mulai di mana seorang Bruce Wayne menjadi seorang menjadi seorang manusia kelelawar hingga menjadi seorang ksatria malam dengan perjuangan yang jatuh bangun demi memperjuangkan keselamatan warga Gotham City. 

Story (9/10)

Dari segi cerita, TDKR tidak sekelam TDK, tapi unsur crime dan drama yang penuh emosional lebih terasa di film ketiga ini. Dialog-dialog yang dirancang Nolan bersaudara benar-benar dalam dan akan selalu dikenang. Bagian prologue film sudah menampilkan tensi yang cukup tinggi hingga akhirnya memasuki 10 menit kemudian barulah film terasa lebih tenang. Tapi hal itu diselingi dengan beberapa adegan dengan unsur humor dan crime spontan. 

Yang patut diacungi jempol adalah semua adegan yang menampilkan sosok Bane yang terasa begitu kejam dan sadis. Bane benar-benar mengontrol adegan-adegan film yang menampilkan dirinya. Secara keseluruhan, jalan cerita film sangat memuaskan walau meski pun TDK sedikit lebih unggul dari jalan cerita karena mungkin kehadiran sosok seorang Joker yang membuat film menjadi kelam.

Cast (8/10)

Christian Bale kembali memerankan Batman secara maksimal. Batman dikisahkan sudah lemah secara fisik dan mental hingga akhirnya dibangkitkan kembali. Bale benar-benar sosok Batman sejati. Dan sepertinya akan susah untuk mencari pengganti Bale jika pihak DC berencana untuk me-reboot film Batman. Gary Oldman dan Michael Caine yang masing-masing memerankan Gordon dan Alfred mendapat porsi yang cukup penting mengingat kedua karakter inilah yang menjadi teman sehidup semati Bruce Wayne dari Batman Begins, The Dark Knight hingga The Dark Knight Rises. 

Tom Hardy benar-benar emosional. Suara yang ditampilkan sebagai sosok si manusia bertopeng, Bane, benar-benar meneror seluruh penonton, mengingat TDKR juga dirilis dalam format IMAX. Membandingkan Bane dengan Joker adalah sebuah kesalahan. Mereka berdua mempunyai sifat berbeda dan prinsip yang berbeda. Joker lebih mengandalkan cara-cara menghancurkan mental seseorang sementara Bane benar-benar merusak fisik seseorang. Catwoman yang diperankan Anne Hathaway cukup mengagetkan. Di luar dugaan porsi yang dimiliki Catwoman sama besarnya dengan Batman dan Bane. Dan bahkan mungkin tanpa Catwoman, TDKR akan mendapat penilaian berbeda. 

Joseph Gordon-Levitt dan Marion Cotillard sebagai John Blake dan Miranda Tate adalah dua tokoh yang akan mengejutkan semua orang pada film ini. Menurut saya kedua karakter inilah yang merupakan kunci paling mengejutkan semua orang.

Secara keseluruhan semua karakter benar-benar mendapat porsi yang penting dan besar pada film ini. Semua karakter mendapat peran yang pas dan hampir tidak mungkin digantikan oleh artis mana pun. Good Job, Nolan! 

Graphic (8/10)

Kualitas grafis pada layar IMAX benar-benar memukau. Grafik pada TDKR sedikit lebih baik daripada TDK. Nuansa kelam jelas terlihat pada film TDK, tapi TDKR akan memberi nuansa grafis yang cerah sekaligus membunuh jika kita melihat bagaimana Nolan merancang Gotham City pada film ini.

Sound (10/10)

Ini dia yang benar-benar dahsyat. IMAX adalah pilihan yang tepat untuk menyaksikan film TDKR. Setiap kejadian, baik itu ledakan, pukulan, tembakan dan tentunya suara Bane, akan terdengar sangat mencekam dan menakutkan hingga membuat telinga bergolak. Semuanya tentu saja berkat tangan dingin seorang maestro, Hans Zimmer.

Ending (9/10)

Standing Ovation! Perfect! This was one of the best movie's ending I've ever seen in my life. You'll be shocked when you see it. I won't spoiled. But I promise, this one was really brilliant ending.

Overall (9/10)

Overall Nolan dan tim beserta kru dan para pemain dari film Batman Begins, TDK dan TDKR menuntaskan trilogi ini menjadi sebagai sebuah Trilogi yang akan dikenang semua orang dan mungkin akan menjadi salah satu trilogi terbaik dalam sejarah perfilman sejak Trilogi Lord of the Rings dan The Godfather. Thank you Nolan for your great performance for directing Batman since 2005. We won't know what Batman looks like without you. Cheers!

~ HT ~

The Dark Knight Rises: The Legend Ends Summer 2012

"I'm Gotham's Reckoning" - Bane

Directed By: Christopher Nolan

Produced By: Christopher Nolan, Emma Thomas, Charles Roven

Screenplay By: Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Nolan

Based on Characters By: Bob Kane

Music By: Hans Zimmer

Cinematography: Wally Pfister

Editing By: Lee Smith

Studio: DC Comics, Legendary Pictures, Syncopy Films

Distributed By: Warner Bros. Pictures

Release Date: July 20, 2012

Running Time: 165 minutes

Country: United States

Language: English

Budget: $250 million

Box Office Prediction (Worldwide): $1,000,000,000

"We were in this together, and then you were gone. Now this evil... rises. The Batman has to come back." - Jim Gordon

Cast

"When Gotham is ashes, you have my permission to die." - Bane

Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman

Batman is a highly skilled martial artist having been trained by the League of Shadows and Ra's al Ghul personally in ninjutsu and other martial arts, Batman has achieved such feats as single handedly subduing a swat team and taking out a group of the league of shadows ninjas with minimal injury; even before his training with Ra's al Ghul. Bruce Wayne was able to fight an entire gang of convicts in a prison brawl with the guards locking him in solitary for the other inmates "protection". In the novelizations Bruce was trained in back-alley fighting and Kata (Asian Marital Art) before meeting Ra's. In a flashback in Batman: Gotham Knight (Dealing with Pain) he took lessons in ignoring pain.

Batman is also highly intelligent, being a brilliant detective (known by some as "the world's greatest detective"), and an expert planner. He has proven himself exceptionally good at stealth being able to disappear in the middle of people's sentences and sneaking up on others unexpectedly. With his vast wealth and company Batman has access to some of the world's greatest equipment and technology to improve his performance. Relying on intellect, detective skills, science and technology, wealth, physical prowess, and intimidation in his war on crime, Batman is a force greatly feared by Gotham's underworld.

Gary Oldman as Commissioner James Gordon

Although he does not condone vigilantes, Gordon sees that it is necessary to operate outside of laws in the crime-filled Gotham City, especially since most members of Gotham's police department are mired in corruption. Before the emergence of Batman, he was increasingly jaded and disillusioned of the corruptions around him, disdaining his fellow officers even as he acknowledges that he cannot do anything about it, both due to his own refusal to be a 'rat' and a lack of anyone he could actually tell. The arrival of the Dark Knight gives the police detective the hope he needs to build a better Gotham for his wife and children. After being promoted as a lieutenant, he is determined to clean the department up from within. The detective is still clueless of who Batman is, or that he is one of the people who inspired the Dark Knight to be what he is now. At the end of the Dark Knight he is one of the few people who knows about Batman being innocent and that Dent was responsible for the murders Batman took the blame for.

Tom Hardy as Bane

Bane is a terrorist that comes to Gotham with the intent of destroying it. He wears a mask that pumps gas into his system that makes him impervious to pain.

Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle/Catwoman

Selina Kyle is a cat burglar described as "an associate" of Bane who establishes a relationship with Batman that "takes some of the somberness away from his character."

Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Officer John Blake

Blake is a young police officer whose instincts lead him to believe that there is trouble on the horizon. Seeing something of himself in Blake, Commissioner Gordon promotes him to special duty. Blake represents the idealism that Gordon and Bruce Wayne once held, but soon lost in their battle against crime in the city.

Marion Cotillard as Miranda Tate

Miranda Tate is a Wayne Enterprises board member eager to help a still-grieving Bruce Wayne resume his father's philanthropic endeavors for Gotham.

Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth

Bruce's trusted butler and confidant. Alfred has acted as a father figure to Bruce, and continues to aid Bruce on his missions as well as supplying him with useful advice. Christopher Nolan emphasised the emotional bond between Alfred and Bruce, stressing its importance in the previous films and predicting that the relationship will be strained as it never has before.

Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox

Fox runs Wayne Enterprises on behalf of Bruce Wayne and serves as his armorer, providing him with high-tech equipment.

Synopsis

"There's a storm coming, Mr. Wayne. You and your friends better batten down the hatches..." - Selina Kyle/Catwoman

Warner Bros. Pictures' and Legendary Pictures' "The Dark Knight Rises" is the epic conclusion to filmmaker Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, Leading an all-star international cast, Oscar winner Christian Bale ("The Fighter") again plays the dual role of Bruce Wayne/Batman. The film also stars Anne Hathaway, as Selina Kyle; Tom Hardy, as Bane; Oscar winner Marion Cotillard ("La Vie en Rose"), as Miranda Tate; and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, as John Blake. Returning to the main cast, Oscar winner Michael Caine ("The Cider House Rules") plays Alfred; Gary Oldman is Commissioner Gordon; and Oscar winner Morgan Freeman ("Million Dollar Baby") reprises the role of Lucius Fox. The screenplay is written by Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan, story by Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer. The film is produced by Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan and Charles Roven, who previously teamed on "Batman Begins" and the record-breaking blockbuster "The Dark Knight." The executive producers are Benjamin Melniker, Michael E. Uslan, Kevin De La Noy and Thomas Tull, with Jordan Goldberg serving as co-producer. The film is based upon characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by Bob Kane.

"You don't owe these people any more! You've given them everything!" - Selina Kyle/Catwoman

It has been eight years since Batman vanished into the night, turning, in that instant, from hero to fugitive. Assuming the blame for the death of D.A. Harvey Dent, the Dark Knight sacrificed everything for what he and Commissioner Gordon both hoped was the greater good. For a time the lie worked, as criminal activity in Gotham City was crushed under the weight of the anti-crime Dent Act.

But everything will change with the arrival of a cunning cat burglar with a mysterious agenda. Far more dangerous, however, is the emergence of Bane, a masked terrorist whose ruthless plans for Gotham drive Bruce out of his self-imposed exile. But even if he dons the cape and cowl again, Batman may be no match for Bane

Production

"That's a brazen costume for a cat burglar." - Bruce Wayne/Batman

Warner Bros. president of production Jeff Robinov had hoped a third film would be released in 2011 or 2012. Nolan wanted the story for the third installment to keep him emotionally invested. "On a more superficial level, I have to ask the question," he reasoned, "how many good third movies in a franchise can people name?" Nolan only agreed to a third film on the basis of finding a worthwhile story, fearing that he would become bored halfway through production if he discovered the film to be unnecessary. By December 2008, Nolan completed a rough story outline, before he committed himself to Inception. Later in December, Alan F. Horn confirmed that while discussions with Nolan about a third film were ongoing, no casting had been done, and Horn denied all such rumors. Before Nolan confirmed his involvement, Gary Oldman had said he was confident Nolan would return. It was not until February 9, 2010 that it was announced that Nolan had "cracked" the story of a sequel to The Dark Knight and was committed to return to the project. Shortly afterward, it was announced David S. Goyer and Jonathan Nolan were working on a screenplay. Goyer would leave the project during pre-production to begin work on Man of Steel; Jonathan continued writing the script based on the story by his brother Chris and Goyer. The film's storyline takes influence from the story arcs in the Batman comics The Dark Knight Returns, Knightfall and No Man’s Land.

Nolan confirmed the Joker would not return in the third film, and dismissed rumors that he considered using unused footage of Heath Ledger from The Dark Knight. The Dark Knight Rises will reunite Nolan with many of his past collaborators, including Cinematographer Wally Pfister, production designer Nathan Crowley, editor Lee Smith, costume designer Lindy Hemming, special effects supervisors Paul Franklin and Chris Corbould, and composer Hans Zimmer.

"I'm not afraid. I'm angry." - Bruce Wayne/Batman

The film has an estimated budget of $250 million. Nolan has elected not to film in 3-D, but has instead stated that he intends to focus on improving image quality and scale using the IMAX format. The Dark Knight Rises will feature more scenes shot in IMAX than The Dark Knight; Nolan's wife and co-producer Emma Thomas stated that the film will have between forty and fifty minutes of footage shot in IMAX (by comparison, The Dark Knight contained thirty minutes), depending on the editing process. Nolan has had several meetings with IMAX Vice-President David Keighley to work on the logistics of projecting films in digital IMAX venues. Wally Pfister had expressed interest in shooting the film entirely in IMAX, but because of the considerable noise made by IMAX cameras, 35mm and 70mm cameras had to be used for shooting the film's dialogue scenes, as dialogue had to be dubbed when shot with IMAX cameras.

Production photos from filming in Pittsburgh showed a second Tumbler chassis after the first was destroyed in The Dark Knight. Further set photos revealed a "new vehicle" being transported to Wabash Tunnel, prompting speculation as to its nature. In June 2011, Autoblog confirmed the presence of the new Lamborghini Aventador on the film set.

Several accidents occurred during the production of the film. While filming at Wollaton Hall, a tractor-trailer crashed into the main entrance, though no one was injured. A stuntman parachutist later crashed through the roof of a home in Cairngorm Gliding Club, Feshiebridge in Scotland, and became wedged there after a failed landing during a skydiving stunt; he was not seriously injured. While filming scenes in Pittsburgh, Hathaway's stunt double crashed into an IMAX camera while filming a sequence that required her to ride a Batpod down a flight of stairs during a riot. There were no injuries, but the camera was destroyed. A second accident took place in Pittsburgh when the truck carrying the new, unidentified vehicle went off-course and crashed into a lighting array, damaging the model of the aircraft. Production was delayed while the model was repaired.

Movie Trivia

In The Dark Knight's end credits, Christian Bale is only credited with playing Bruce Wayne, and not Batman.

In the teaser trailer for The Dark Knight Rises, Gordon is hooked up to life support while telling Bruce Wayne that Batman needs to return due to a new evil rising. The trailer also implies that he is somewhat aware of the connection between Bruce Wayne and Batman. The second trailer, released on December 19th, also reveals that the mayor was planning to fire Gordon from the GCPD in the upcoming Spring despite his heroic services due to the peacetimes making him unnecessary.

Bane's costume for the film is very different from his comic book counterpart who wears a Mexican wrestler's mask.

Tom Hardy stands around 5ft9 where Christian Bale is over 6ft. In the comics, Bane towers over Batman in height. It is yet to be seen whether this will be done through effects in the film or ignored.

Many fans have speculated that Blake is Nolan's take on Robin or will in fact don the cape and cowl taking over from Bruce Wayne as Batman.

Many fans have speculated that Miranda Tate is secretly Talia al Ghul seeking revenge for her father's death. This has been supported by Cotillard's physical resemblence to Joey King, who plays a young Talia.

Michael Caine portrays Alfred in the films Batman Begins and its sequel The Dark Knight. Despite Bruce Wayne's lifelong rebellion and frequent departure from home as shown in the film, Alfred never loses faith in his master. He also has a flair for both sarcasm and fatherly banter, a frequent source for comic relief in the film.

Now that Batman is a fugitive from the law, Alfred's role as Batman's confidant is yet to be revealed.

The film takes place 8 years after The Dark Knight.

Similar to the venom used in comics, Bane's mask delivers a gaseuous form of steroids rather than the classic liquid form.

The Dark Knight Rises ~ Introducing: CATWOMAN

"You don't owe these people any more! You've given them everything!" - Selina Kyle/Catwoman

Character: Catwoman

Real Name: Selina Kyle:

Portrayed By: Anne Hathaway

Characteristic: Gender - Female

Publisher: DC Comics

Created By: Bill Finger, Bob Kane

Appeareances In Movie: Batman Returns, The Dark Knight Rises

About Catwoman

Catwoman is a fictional character associated with DC Comics' Batman franchise. Historically a supervillain, the character was created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, partially inspired by Kane's cousin, Ruth Steel. Kane, a frequent movie goer, also mentioned that Jean Harlow was a model for the design.

The original and most widely known Catwoman, Selina Kyle, first appears in Batman #1 (Spring 1940) in which she is known as The Cat. She is an adversary of Batman, known for having a complex love-hate (often romantic) relationship with him. In her first appearance, she was a whip-carrying burglar with a taste for high-stake thefts.

Since the 1990s, Catwoman has been featured in an eponymous series that cast her as an antihero classy cat burglar rather than a villain. The character has been one of Batman's most enduring love interests and has been described as Batman's one true love. 

A popular figure, Catwoman has been featured in most media adaptations related to Batman. Actresses Julie Newmar, Lee Meriwether, and Eartha Kitt introduced her to a large audience on the 1960s Batman television series and the 1966 Batman motion picture. Michelle Pfeiffer portrayed the character in 1992's Batman Returns. Halle Berry starred in a stand-alone Catwoman film in 2004, which was a box-office flop, and was not based on the Batman character. Anne Hathaway portrays Selina Kyle in Christopher Nolan's 2012 Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises.

Catwoman's Biography

Catwoman, then called "the Cat", first appeared in Batman #1 as a mysterious burglar and jewel thief, revealed at the end of the story to be a young, attractive woman (unnamed in the first story), having disguised herself as an old woman during the story and been hired to commit a robbery. Although the story does not have her wearing her iconic cat-suit, it establishes her core personality as a femme fatale who both antagonizes and attracts Batman. It is implied Batman may have deliberately let her get away, by blocking Robin as he tried to leap after her. She next appears in Batman #2 in a story also involving the Joker but escapes Batman in the end. In Batman #3 she wears a fur mask and again succeeds in escaping Batman.

Batman #62 (December/January 1950) revealed that Catwoman is an amnesiac flight attendant who had turned to crime after suffering a prior blow to the head during a plane crash she survived. She reveals this after being hit on the head by a piece of rubble while saving Batman while he was chasing her. Although, in issue 197 of The Brave and the Bold, she admits that she made up the amnesia story because she wanted a way out of the past life of crime. She reforms for several years, helping out Batman in Batman #65 (June/July 1951) and #69 (February/March 1952), until she decides to return to a life of crime in Detective Comics #203 (January 1954), after a newspaper decides to publish stories of Batman's past adventures, and some crooks mock her about it. However in this story when Batman prevents a robbery and is knocked out by sleeping gas, Catwoman prevents her thugs from murdering him, though quickly claims she wants him as a hostage. Catwoman appears again as a criminal in Batman #84 (June 1954) and Detective Comics #211 (September 1954) for her final appearance until 1966. This was mostly due to her possible violation of the developing Comics Code Authority's rules for portrayal of female characters that started in 1954.

Power

Catwoman, like most Batman villains, used a variety of themed weapons, vehicles, and equipment, such as a custom cat-themed car called the "Cat-illac". This usage also appeared in the 1960s Batman television series. In her post-Crisis appearances, Catwoman's favored weapon is a whip. She wields both a standard bullwhip and the cat o' nine tails with expert proficiency. She uses the whip because it is a weapon that the user must be trained to use, and therefore it can not be taken from her and used against her in a confrontation. She can also be seen using a pistol against people if her whip is taken from her. She uses caltrops as an anti-personnel weapon and bolas to entangle opponents at a distance. In addition, Catwoman has been shown to have various items to restrain her victims, such as a set of plastic ties for binding hands and feet, and a roll of duct tape used to gag her targets, like she did with Angle Man, Film Freak, Zatanna, and various others during her robberies over the years. Often, especially in the TV series, she uses sleeping gas or knockout darts to subdue victims. Catwoman's attractiveness and feminine wiles have also allowed her to take advantage of male opponents.

Ability

Peak athlete

Extremely skilled gymnast and hand-to-hand combatant

Expert burglar

Possesses costumes with steel spring-loaded climbing pitons and razor-sharp retractable claws

Wields an assortment of bullwhips and cat o' nine tails as gymnastic equipment

Empathic relationship ability with all types of cats

Batman Returns

Catwoman is portrayed by Michelle Pfeiffer in the 1992 feature film Batman Returns as one of the main antagonists alongside the Penguin. Re-created by Daniel Waters and Tim Burton, the Catwoman origin story is something of a variation on the original Catwoman miniseries: Selina Kyle is depicted as the lonely, frustrated, yet dutiful and efficient secretary of corrupt tycoon Max Shreck. After she accidentally discovers his plot to build a power plant that would steal Gotham's electricity, Shreck then attempts to murder her by pushing her out the window of his top-story office. Though her fall is partly broken by several canvas awnings, Selina lies motionless on the snow-covered ground seemingly dead. She is then mysteriously revived by a group of alley cats that flock around her and begin gnawing at her fingers. Making her way home in a daze, Selina's repressed rage transforms her into the clever supervillain Catwoman. Shortly following her transformation, she joins forces with Penguin in order to remove Batman from her path, as he has hindered her efforts to get revenge on Max. However when she rejects the Penguin he tries to kill her, however, she seemingly gains a supernatural power based on the superstition of cats having nine lives, saving her from death several more times throughout the film. As a masked vigilante operating under the guise of a theatrical public identity, Catwoman finds a reflection of herself in Batman, and around the same time, as Selina, falls in love and begins a romantic relationship with Bruce Wayne. In a ballroom scene, during a dance to the Siouxsie and the Banshees song "Face to Face", Bruce and Selina discover each other's secret identities when they recite lines they earlier said to each other as Batman and Catwoman. In the film's climax, Catwoman takes revenge on Shreck by electrocuting him by kissing him with a taser in her mouth after he shoots her several times. Although it would appear that she died in the electrocution herself, she vanishes in the ensuing explosion and Batman is unable to find her body. However, she is seen one last time (in silhouette) at the end of the film, looking up at the Bat-Signal in the sky, confirming that she did indeed survive.

The Dark Knight Rises

Selina Kyle is a cat burglar described as "an associate" of Bane who establishes a relationship with Batman that "takes some of the somberness away from his character." Hathaway auditioned not knowing what role she was up for, admitting that she had one character in mind, but only learned that the role was Selina Kyle after talking with Christopher Nolan for an hour. Hathaway described the role as being the most physically-demanding she had ever played, and confessed that while she thought of herself as being fit she had to redouble her efforts in the gym to keep up with the demands of the role. Hathaway trained extensively in martial arts for the role, and looked to Hedy Lamarr — who was the inspiration for the Catwoman character — in developing her performance.

The Dark Knight Rises ~ Introducing: BANE

"When Gotham is in ashes, you will have my permission to die." - Bane

Character: Bane

Real Name: Unknown

Portrayed By: Tom Hardy

Characteristics: Gender - Male, Hair - None, Eyes - Brown

Publisher: DC Comics

Created By: Chuck Dixon, Doug Moench, Graham Nolan

Appeareances In Movie: Batman & Robin, The Dark Knight Rises

About Bane

Bane is a fictional character who appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character's origin was in Batman: Vengeance of Bane #1 (January 1993), and was created by Chuck Dixon, Doug Moench, and Graham Nolan. Bane has been one of Batman's more physically and intellectually powerful foes. A virtually unstoppable juggernaut, he is best known for breaking Batman's back in the "Knightfall" story arc. IGN's list of the Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time ranked Bane as #34.

Bane was portrayed by Robert Swenson in Batman & Robin, directed by Joel Schumacher. Tom Hardy played Bane in the finale of the Christopher Nolan Batman film trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises. Henry Silva voiced the character in Batman: The Animated Series.

Bane's Biography

Bane's origin story is established in the story "Vengeance of Bane". He was born in the fictional Caribbean Republic of Santa Prisca, in a prison called Peña Dura ("Hard Rock"). His father Edmund Dorrance had been a revolutionary and had escaped Santa Prisca's court system. The corrupt government, however, decreed that his young son would serve out the man's life sentence, and thus Bane's childhood and early adult life were spent in the amoral penitentiary environment.

Though imprisoned, his natural abilities allowed him to develop extraordinary skills within the prison's walls. He read as many books as he could get his hands on, built up his body in the prison's gym, and learned to fight in the merciless school of prison life. Despite his circumstances, he found teachers of various sorts during his incarceration, ranging from hardened convicts to an elderly Jesuit priest, under whose tutelage he apparently received a classical education. Bane murdered this priest upon his return to Santa Prisca years later. He committed his first murder at the age of eight, stabbing a criminal who wanted to use him to gain information about the prison. During his years in prison, Bane carried a teddy bear he calls Osito (Spanish for "little bear"), whom he considered his only friend. It is revealed that Osito has a hole in his back to hold a knife that Bane used against anyone who bullied him.

Bane ultimately established himself as the "king" of Peña Dura prison. The prison's controllers took note and eventually forced him to become a test subject for a mysterious drug known as Venom, which had killed all other subjects; the drug was administered by a doctor who bore a passing resemblance to another Batman foe, Hugo Strange. Later, in Vengeance of Bane II the very same doctor encountered Bane again in Gotham and it is confirmed that it is not Hugo Strange, who at that point in Batman continuity was a crazed psychologist and not a surgeon. The Peña Dura prison Venom experiment nearly killed Bane at first, but he survived and found that the drug vastly increases his physical strength, although he needs to take it every 12 hours (via a system of tubes pumped directly into his brain) or he will suffer debilitating side-effects.

He is fascinated with Gotham City because, like the prison, it is a place where fear rules—but in Gotham, it is the fear of Batman. Bane is convinced that the demonic bat that haunted his dreams since childhood is a representation of the Batman. Therefore, he also believes that fate has placed the two on a collision course. Aware that a direct assault on Batman would be foolish, Bane instead destroys the walls of Arkham Asylum -- allowing its deranged inmates (including the Joker, Two-Face, Mr Freeze, the Riddler, the Scarecrow, the Mad Hatter, the Ventriloquist, Firefly, Poison Ivy, Cornelius Stirk, Film Freak and Victor Zsasz) to escape into Gotham City. Consequently, Batman is forced to recapture the escapees, a mission that takes him three months. Having run himself to exhaustion in the process of completing this mission, Batman returns to Wayne Manor where Bane ambushes him (having previously determined his secret identity). Bane attacks Batman in the Batcave, defeats him, and delivers the final blow: breaking Batman's back, leaving him a paraplegic. Bane thus becomes the only man to have "Broken the Bat"

Power

Bane is highly intelligent; in Bane of the Demon, Ra's al Ghul says that Bane "has a mind equal to the greatest he has known." In prison, he taught himself various scientific disciplines equal to the level of understanding of leading experts in those fields.  He knows six active languages and at least two additional arcane and dead ones. Among these are Spanish, English, Urdu, Persian, and Latin.  The Bane of the Demon storyline reveals that he has a photographic memory. Within one year, he is able to deduce Batman's secret identity.

He is also highly devious and a superb strategist and tactician. In prison, Bane also invented his own form of calisthenics, meditation, and a unique fighting style. Usage of Venom enhances his physical abilities, including his strength, and healing process to superhuman levels. Although Bane had sworn off using Venom in Vengeance of Bane II in 1995, and his character is actually written as having kept that promise to himself, it is still not uncommon for artists to draw Bane as still wearing the tube leading from his old wrist device to the back of his head, as well as almost all media adaptions of the character show him actively using the Venom compound. Writer Gail Simone explained these lapses in the continuity of Bane's appearance in an issue of Secret Six, in which Deadshot remarked that Bane merely kept his old Venom equipment with him out of habit, even though he states that he would sooner die than use it again.

Ability

Peak human physical condition

Venom enhances his physical abilities to superhuman levels

Genius-level intellect

Photographic memory

Expert strategist, martial artist, and escapologist

Master of disguise

Batman & Robin

Bane appears in the live-action film Batman & Robin (1997). Unlike the DC comics, this incarnation of Bane has a real name, Antonio Diego (portrayed by Michael Reid MacKay), a skinny serial killer serving life in prison. A mad scientist, Dr. Jason Woodrue (John Glover) acquires him for an experiment to produce super-soldiers using "Venom" to sell to the highest bidder. Dr. Woodrue uses him as a test subject by injecting Venom into his body through tubes connected to his head transforming him into the muscular Bane (portrayed by Robert Swenson). Rather than being the devious, intelligent villain of the comics, this version is an inarticulate thug who serves as the bodyguard and assistant of Poison Ivy (Uma Thurman). Bane is barely even capable of speech and uses growls and roars for most of his communication. Despite this however, he is still muscular, wears a slight variation of his classic mask, and is still superhumanly strong; easily overpowering various thugs, cops, and holding his own against both Batman and Robin in hand-to-hand combat. Bane is defeated when Robin and Batgirl kick the Venom tube in the back of his head and disconnect it from the rest of his body, which changes him back to his regular self. This depiction of the character was one of many aspects of the film which received negative criticism from fans and critics alike.

The Dark Knight Rises

Bane is a terrorist that comes to Gotham with the intent of destroying it. He wears a mask that pumps gas into his system that makes him impervious to pain.

The character was chosen by Christopher Nolan because of his desire to see Batman tested on both a physical and mental level. Bane has been described as "a terrorist in both thought and action" and is "florid in his speech, the physicality of a gorilla".