Dispelling Myths: Comic Book Elements In The Dark Knight Rises

1. Bane is a strategic mastermind and leader of a band of mercenaries. He is a highly skilled fighter and outclasses Batman physically while still challenging him tactically. Creative Liberty: No he does not use the comic book drug Venom, and he has no addiction to it. Nolan elects to have a prior injury force him to need a constant morphine drip which (Bonus:) is dispersed to him through his mask. While the mask is a redesign, it does still pay homage to his luchador look. Bonus Bonus: One of his outfits has made it into certain comics (try Secret Six) and the game, Arkham Origins.

2. Tactical Mind: Bane manipulates his way onto a CIA plane to capture Dr. Pavell. His men hook their plane up to the CIA one, kill the agents inside, replace Pavell with another body (and pump his blood into th corpse), leave a man behind to match the manifest, and get pulled back into their plane, leaving the CIA plane to crash.

3. Tactical Mind: Batman and Gordon turned Dent’s death into a way to finally end organized crime in Gotham: effective for eight years. Bonus: Bruce annually hosts the event.

4. In his retirement, Bruce has become more and more eccentric, ala The Dark Knight Returns, and has even become reclusive as other “future” storylines have shown.

5. Selina Kyle is very close to her Golden Age self in look, demeanor, and even having her original monicker (The Cat, instead of Catwoman).

6. Talia (Miranda Tate) presented as a love interest for Bruce. Creative Liberty: The comics typically portray a genuine romance, but Nolan chooses for their relationship to purely get her closer to Bruce in order to gain access to various things her and Bane’s plan requires and also to further manipulate Wayne. Bonus: She is a successful businesswoman.

7. While on the subject: Talia does have a romance with Bane in the comics who was up for Heir to the Demon (and off of Venom) and therefore affiliated with the League of Assassins.

8. Gordon’s career has pushed his wife and family away.

9. Tactical Mind and Skill: Selina poses as the help and gains access to Bruce Wayne’s safe where she skillfully removes fingerprints for all ten digits, all while wearing false prints herself. Manipulation: She first acts shy as a defense before dropping the façade when called out; Selina then knocks over “a cripple” because, unlike Batman, she has no strict code. Also she acrobatically scales down the mansion before redressing her outfit and hitting her next mark. Bonus: She takes the pearls to keep for herself, not to simply pawn off.

10. Detective Mind: Bruce understands that Selina dusted for his prints. Bonus: He can skillfully shoot a bow.

11. Gordon continuing not to care who Batman is. Some stories do have him know: particularly Frank Miller’s Year One and TDKReturns. But I’ve always preferred the former, at least for a early-mid career Batman.

12. Tactical and Engineering Mind: The “improved foundations beneath the West Wing” has a Batcave that can fully submerge and has various compartments that can open up separately from each other. Bonus: Some mistakenly believe Bruce fully quit at the end of TDK, but it only says that was Batman’s last sighting. Alfred here says that Batman hasn’t been down there in a while, implying that Bruce has done work in the Batcave that was still under construction during TDK. Bonus: The cave itself remains a prominent feature and is not drowned out by the tech construction.

13. Detective Mind: Bruce was able to pull Selina’s false prints and run them through a database. Then cross-reference her address to get her actual identity where he further extracts police records on Kyle to create a profile on her. Bonus: Selina is skilled enough not to be caught, but she has close calls and tips against her that puts her on law enforcement radar. Bonus Bonus: Bruce already understands her profile enough to know she won’t fence the pearls.

14. Bruce’s incapability to let go of the cape and cowl. He clings onto the idea and longs for the opportunity to put it on another time. This is what Rachel saw in TDK; why she chose Harvey over him. Bruce just holds onto Rachel’s death as an excuse to not leave that side of himself behind and move forward; as we see in his later falling out with Alfred, he desires to be Batman no matter. Bonus: His addiction is coupled with a death wish.

15. Alfred is a partner to Bruce, but he also does not want to see him harm or lose himself. Creative Liberty: Nolan does a great job fleshing this out to a point where Alfred actually leaves Bruce, but he also allows for a reconciliation.

16. Villains use the poverty in Gotham to build themselves up. Bonus: Despite Batman’s outlaw status (and long absence), some Gothamites still have hope/faith in him.

17. Tactical Mind: Selina knows she potentially is walking into a death trap, so she withholds part of her exchange in order to feel out the situation. Once she knows the scenario for sure, she uses her earlier mark’s (whom she brought with her) phone to send a message that will actually bring in the police (for her own benefit). Head Canon: Sending a text is not what would bring in the cops. They would be able to track it without any calls or messages made. My theory is that Selina removed the battery and chip after kidnapping him, and then put them back in just ahead of the meet, hence why the cops

show up so fast.

18. Holly Robinson is somewhat of a ward to Selina.

19. Physical Prowess and Skill: Selina immediately takes down two men, takes control of the second guy (and particularly his gun hand), and uses it to shoot two guys (making it appear as though she wasn’t the one firing). Manipulation: She plays the damsel for SWAT and Blake, allowing herself to skip out during the chaos. Seduction: The Senator still has a thing for her despite his kidnapping and gunshot leg.

20. Gordon, despite being Commissioner, still goes out into the field.

21. Bane is ruthless, powerful, imposing, and commanding. He accepts no failure of any kind. Bonus: He effortlessly crushes a man’s wind pipe with one hand.

22. Creative Liberty: Robin John Blake is an amalgamation of Dick Grayson (shares Bruce’s orphanhood of both parents to crime), Jason Todd (shares Bruce’s rage), and Tim Drake (figures out Batman’s identity). Creative Liberty: Instead of figuring out Batman and Robin’s identities by the few amount of people capable of a quadruple air flip (Flying Dick Grayson being one), Blake sees through Bruce’s public façade by recognizing their shared mask that hides the anger.

23. Bruce through Wayne Ent. funds (or funded) an orphanage and other charities. Bonus: The head statue is an homage to the 60’s series.

24. Alfred digging research for Bruce. This should’ve made it into both the Begins and TDK articles as well.

25. The toll on Bruce’s body from his training and crime fighting. Bonus: That rapel into Gordon’s room and the unshown planning to know where he was situated.

26. Batman and Gordon’s relationship. That’s it.

27. Selina and Holly’s relationship and housing/thieving setup.

28. Bruce at a society event. Bonus: Bruce’s “practiced apathy” to hide his altruistic nature. In this case a Clean Energy Project which he shut down after learinng it could be weaponised. Also building off of Bruce not necessarily quitting cold turkey after TDK: He has only been in “hiding” since the failure of the energy project, which happened five years after Batman’s last sighting (1hr 1min “3 years ago… your reactor started ‘developing problems’”).

29. Bruce and Selina dancing. Bonus: Selina’s cat appearance. Bonus Bonus: Their banter (and again Bruce’s understanding of her).

30. Selina’s ability to pickpocket Bruce. Bonus: Alfred messing with Bruce about it.

31. Multiple Tumblers (Batmobiles) with different purposes. Creative Liberty: “The Bat” is a mix of a helicopter and plane instead of a more straightforward plane like the Batwing.

32. Creative Liberty: The myth of Bane and the truth of it being about Talia is a nod to how he was imprsoned as a child in the stead of his father and that he escaped the prison.

33. Bruce staring at the Batsuit.

34. Tactical Mind and Physical Prowess: Bane’s quick disposal of four guards, his men sneaking in weapons, the use of Wayne’s fingerprints to commit fraudulent stock exchanges to bankrupt Bruce, understanding police tactics, intricately planned escape route (truck blocking cops, use of hostages, knowing the correct side for ramps).

35. The Gadgets: Batarangs, mines and grappling gun are back. New - handheld EMP that shut off cameras at Miranda’s event, rifle style EMP attached to Batpod, and blow darts laced with sleeping agent.

36. The pair of an older cop and younger on a robbery chase that a just-out-of-retirement Batman crashes is straight from TDKReturns. Some of their dialogue and the young cop shooting at Batman are directly lifted. Bonus: Batman’s presence shifts the police’s focus to him.

37. Batman’s skill: tackling (while driving the Batpod) the motorcycle goon before he shoots the hostage; getting the Batpod ahead of the other motorcyclist where he grapples the hostage away before the collision; one strike KO; knowing that he only needs to confiscate one piece; orchestrating an improvised escape to get to a failsafe

(The Bat).

38. Selina’s catsuit complete with high heels and goggles that look like cat ears while propped up. Bonus: Picking a safe.

39. The loyalty of Bane’s men.

40. Physical Prowess: Selina’s stealth and then her control over Daggett, and disarming ol’ dude again. Bonus: Use of her heels as a weapon. Bonus Bonus: Selina too can improvise an escape.

41. Batman crouching above, cape billowing around him.

42. Batman and Catwoman fighting together. Trilogy Continuity: Batman uses holds to control the rate of goons attacking. Bonus: Batman imposing his rules onto Selina. Head Canon: Bane orders his men to shoot around Batman and Catwoman; there’s no reason for him to want either dead, especially Bruce but also he off-screen pressures Selina into trapping Batman.

43. Catwoman performing the disappearing trick on Batman.

44. Flying the Bat into the Batcave.

45. Bruce in the Batsuit sans cowl in front of the Batcomputer.

46. Villains attacking Batman through Bruce Wayne but not exposing his identity to the public.

47. Bruce’s altruism is in contest with his cynicism and paranoia (over Clean Energy Project). Bonus: Bruce risking trust in Talia.

48. More of Bane being imposing, commanding, and ruthless. Head Canon: To me it seems like Bane crushes Daggett’s nose and shoves the bone shards into his frontal lobe.

49. 1hr 5min: More of Nolan understanding Batman and what he stands for.

50. Bruce and Talia comsummate their relationship. Bonus: She has less than noble intentions (Damian Wayne fans should understand).

51. Batman high up and overlooking Gotham City.

52. Bruce “acquired” the Clean Slate (a prototype device that has a high potential for illegal use) out from under Daggett; something he has done in comics both legally through Wayne Ent. and extralegally via Batman. Head Canon: I assume Bruce did put on the suit or at the very least performed a physical heist (similar but more quieter than the extraction of Lau) in order to get the physical device and also wipe out any blueprints/designs as well. Of course, he could’ve merely done a private deal with/buyout of the company instead. Bonus: Catwoman is a match for Batman in stealth.

53. The gauntlet Batman goes through to get to and his fight with Bane is influenced both by TDKReturns and Knightfall. His path through the sewers led by Catwoman to a trap stadium-style showdown is highly reminiscent of the second Mutant Leader fight in Returns. In the comic, Batman and Gordon orchestrate his escape through air ducts and into a sewer deposit where Batman takes him down and cripples him for the whole Mutant Gang to see. In Knightfall, Bane breaks out villains from Arkham for Batman to wear himself out catching and then breaks his back in Wayne Manor (Bonus: Bane knows Batman’s identity). So in Rises, Bane uses Catwoman to bring and guide Batman to him, and has him have to go through many of his men before facing off with him. Furthermore, Batman’s pride and death wish going into the fight is reminiscent to the first fight with the Mutant Leader which almost gets him killed. Bonus Bonus: Selina betrays Bruce for her self-survival.

54. Batman as a Predator: The first takedown brings it back to the docks in Batman Begins with his stealth attack to grab someone from implementing his grappling gun to lower himself upside down. The second is similar to him capturing Crane at Arkham where he uses his grappling gun to pull someone upward and laterally. Him dodging fire from two guys with the flashes revealing him in the dark is pulled straight from TDKReturns. Bonus: Catwoman takes down some with as much ease.

55. Physical Prowess: Bane lifts a fully armored Batman off the ground (one-handed), walks a few steps, and strikes him in the side a few times before tossing him. Bonus: All of the counters and brutality in this fight.

56. Creative Liberty: Nolan portrays Bane’s knee as causing a slipped disc rather than causing a full break. This allows for him to actually fully recover without any magic necessary in the span of the movie; also core exercises are a major part of the physical therapy used for back injuries. Plus, the Nolan Batsuit doesn’t really allow for a break like the comic cloth suit does.

57. Tactical Mind: Selina notices the cop spotting her, so she moves to an isolated location where she further hides her attack (to the officer) with her hat.

58. Tactical Mind: “Robin” spots Selina while searching for Bruce, calls it in, and waits at the terminal for her arrival.

59. Creative Liberty: The prison is a symbolic Lazarus Pit for Bruce’s rebirth.

60. Detective Skills: While hunting down leads on Bane, “Robin” recognizes the guy who blocked off the police at the stock exchange. He then puts together that they’ve been pouring cement laced with explosives all over the city. Bonus: He has a skilled draw and is resourceful enough to use a ricochet.

61. Talia is a master tactician and manipulator herself. It is unclear how much of the plan is hers or Bane’s contributions, but stuff like learning the location of the reactor, talking Fox into easy compliance, and getting in with Gordon to expose the Special Forces team and prevent counter his plan to locate the bomb are all her contributions. Head Canon: Some overdramatize the reveal into lessening Bane completely, but he still is shown running the League/mercs and making his own decisions on the spot. I believe a lot of the intricate planning came from him whereas the reason for all of it comes from Talia.

62. Tactical Mind: For months, Bane used Dagget’s money and labor poor teens/young adults to lay down a devastating infrastructural attack on Gotham that traps most of the police and isolated the city from the rest of the world.

63. Gordon sees the writing on the wall and knows he will be targeted. Him taking our armed men intent on killing him is reminiscent of the attempt on his life in TDKReturns.

64. The cutting off of Gotham from the world with Bane taking command of the city is influenced by Cataclysm and Knightfall. Cataclysm has an earthquake do the damage, but various super villains take over different part of Gotham. The US government also does not directly intervene similarly to the movie. And Knightfall has Bane take over the underworld of Gotham (his freeing of the prisoners and adopting them into his army is a nod to that) in Batman’s absence; this role is extroverted and amplified to encompass all the various territorial villain leaders in Cataclysm. Bonus: The guerilla, espionage, and resistance tactics is also similar to the Batfamily’s actions in Cataclysm.

65. Harvey’s photo gets split down the middle of his face.

66. Blackgate Prison is where the sane criminals in Gotham go.

67. Creative Liberty: Again, Nolan plays with the immortality aspect of Ra’s al Ghul.

68. Tactical Mind: Bane/Talia keep the bomb mobile in one of three armed trucks with lead lined roofs (to prevent easy radioactive scanning from above).

69. Skilled Thrower: Bruce throws a small rock between prison bars and a protective cage to hit a TV screen.

70. Bringing it back to Thomas Wayne’s impact on Bruce. Bonus: BATS!

71. Crane gets to be a recurring villain throughout the trilogy.

72. Off-screen, Bruce makes it back into Gotham. Begins shows that he has experience world trekking under the radar and moving across thin ice, and TDK even shows a rapport with Korean smugglers. So there is evidence within the trilogy for this not to be a “plot-hole.” But simply, it’s “because he’s Batman.”

73. Selina helping the disenfranchised.

74. Bruce appearing out of nowhere. Bonus: The script has him tell Blake (after he rescues him later) that he started putting tracking devices in the people cares about after he lost someon important (Rachel); this is exactly something that paranoid Bruce would do.

75. Bruce still puts faith in Selina, despite her shortcomings, in hopes she will rise up to what he knows she can be.

76. Catwoman quickly takes down three armed men.

77. That armory.

78. Gadget Skill: Batman takes out five men with a dart gun laced with a sleeping agent. Prep and Flair for the Dramatic: He brings a device to block the detanator and has a giant batsymbol set to announce his arrival to Gotham, bringing hope for the police and civilians but fear and astonishment to Bane and his men. Bonus: Batman is completely hidden in darkness ahead of the flare’s lighting.

79. Batman drops down from above, takes out two guys and knocks down a third by the time Blake gets his guy, counters and applies holds to gun hands, fires off a round to put a guy down, manipulates a thug with a hold to control other combatants, and cleans up the mess.

80. Tactical Mind: Batman has Blake toss the batmine while he gets to the Bat. The small explosive acts as a warning for the cops inside to back away before the Bat punches a hole in the rubble.

81. Never really caught this before, but Batman’s cape is loosed from its brooches which allows it to cover his shoulders during the scene where Catwoman gets the Batpod. Begins has that be its normal look, but the TDK/Rises suit has it almost always set behind the shoulders. The comics have the cape switch back and forth, so this was a nice touch. The later statue also has the cloaked shoulders look.

82. Selina tries to pull Bruce to her selfishness, but his altruism stays true and even rubs off on her.

83. Creative Liberty: Batman goes out in the daytime during Cataclysm, except it is under a different identity. It marks a massive turning point in the occupation.

84. Tactical Mind: Batman takes out the Tumbler, allowing for the cops to break the distance.

85. This second fight with Bane also takes inspiration from the second fight with the Mutant Leader. This time around Bruce goes in with a level-headed mind and targets weaknesses (in Rises it’s Bane’s mask and frustrating him by outmaneuvering his strike whereas in Returns it is more limiting ML’s speed with the deep mud and making targeted tactful attacks like cutting above the eye and employing nerve strikes). Physical Prowess: Batman and Bane take out several men each before facing off. Bonus: All of their counters and Bane smashing the pillar.

86. More of Gordon being active in the field and story.

87. Batman effortlessly KOing and a disarming a guy.

88. The ol’ “Batman betrayed by his new love interest” routine.

89. The big squared pouches on flashback Ra’s/Ducard looks like a reference to one of Batman’s more classic belts.

90. Bane respects Batman’s ability so much that he will go against Talia’s wishes to kill him despite there being only 11min left on the clock.

91. Selina is willing to change… but not entirely.

92. Tactical Minds: Batman is trying to force the bomb towards the reactor in order to stabilize it while Talia realizes this and actively steers the truck away.

93. Batman and Catwoman legitimately teaming up and in action together. Bonus: Selina’s expert motorcycle skills and taking out a few Tumblers. Expert Piloting: Batman uses flares and the environment to keep missiles off of him, and takes out the last Tumbler with the last missile.

94. Creative Liberty: This is the first active killing Nolan’s Batman does. It maintains his first declaration of not becoming an executioner while adopting Ra’s’ “do what is necessary” mantra.

95. No Quit: The inability to get the bomb to the reactor does not stop him. Batman finds a way. Head Canon: Since the Bat has autopilot, I think Batman bailed out after the small explosion, and the shot of him over the water with the following timer shot counting down from 5 seconds is just manipulative editing.

96. Gordon finally knows… because he wants to know.

97. Alfred also made a promise to Bruce’s parents.

98. Planning Ahead: Alfred gets left the profits of selling off the Manor’s contents, the Manor itself is given to the city as a home for at-risk and orphaned children (complete with a commemoration plaque for his parents), a new Batsymbol is left for Gordon, Blake gets everything he needs to find the Batcave, and Alfred gets his wish. Bonus: Selina got Martha’s pearls after all.

99. Engineering Mind: Bruce fixed the autopilot.

It was nice finally getting to write it all out. Again, please let me know if I got anything wrong or missed something.