I will be in the minority that says I'm not thrilled by what I saw. The only interesting thing was the Batwing.
I just don't really like Bane how he is done. I don't dig him as this insanely strong villain who will fuck up both Gotham and Batman.
And if they kill Bruce, then I'll just groan and turn off the dvd/leave the cinema.

 

I'm not a huge batman lore buff, but wasn't Bane originally the biggest badass of all? I seem to recall him being a supergenius who got super buff through drugs on top of that, then utterly destroyed batman by setting loose most of arkham at once and then striking while the bat was exhausted from fighting them constantly.

I'm 90% certain that he broke Batman's back and (not so sure on this part) Nightwing had to take up the mask for awhile as a stand in.

I'm looking forward to an awesome Bane, because the Batman Forever version sucked all sorts of balls.

 

I suspect this movie is going to end along similar lines.

And it was a permanent injury I believe, ending the wayne era as Batman.

 

Knightfall is the name of the story arc, I think. And I'm always disapointed as to how badly a lot of adaptions mess up Bane. He's a kid who grew up in prison, lifted weights, was taught by prisoners and became an intelligent badass crime-lord/drug baron. He's intelligent, methodical and careful. But people get caught up with the super-drugs or the costume or thinking he's just dumb muscle and it all goes to shit.

Azrael. He was a member of the Order of St. Dumas, this priestly order of crime-fighters. He eventually went insane and Batman had to take him down.

On a sidenote, I'm a little sad in retrospect that Bane didn't get a teaser in the second Batman movie like Joker did in the first. Nothing big, like:

*Joker leaves kitchen full of mobsters*

Ukrainian mob boss: Do you think he can do it?

Black mob boss: It don't matter. He's a dead man either way.

Hispanic mob boss: Either way, I've got the name of a man we can bring in. Born and raised in Pena Dura, this prison down in Santa Prisca. Now he practically runs the country.

Ukrainian mob boss: You think he would be interested in facing the Bat?

Hispanic mob boss: He would relish the challenge.

 

You made me look this up, and I still have pages upon pages to write, but:

It's temporary, just like death in comics.

edit: Ninjad somewhat, thank you for the corrections

 

I could not understand a word Bane said. Nolan seems to have a problem with characters actually being intelligible. Batman's voice at least seemed better, to be fair.

Honestly not too impressed. The Batman movies are good - and Nolan is a great director - but honestly half of what made the Dark Knight so good was Heath Ledger as the Joker. With him gone, it's just going to be a bit underwhelming.

Also: the Batwing looked stupid. There, I said it. Something about the way it's CGI was done just looked cheesy to me.

 

I have high hopes for Hardy... but you're right. It is highly unlikely he will be able to match Ledger in terms of villainyness.

 

Looks alright......

 

Do we have a hint of who Gorden-Levitt is going to be playing?

 

Apparently just some average cop named John Blake.

 

He's playing a guy called John Blake, who is secretly helping Batman take down Bane. I got this off his IMDB page. Since Jim Gordon is in the hospital in one of the trailers, it's easy to assume that Blake stepped up and filled his place.

Anybody know if Blake is actually a comic books character, an amalgamation of a few, or if he's Nolan's own creation?

 

Google says he's invented by Nolan, though some sites have pointed to some kid who was in a panel in an old Batman comic. John Blake the cop is an original character, though.

 

Thought he'd make a baddass night wing.

 

To be honest, he's certainly closer to looking like Dick Grayson than quite a few people I've seen over the years. (Such as the guy who played Robin in the 90's, what the hell were they smoking).

 

Chris O'Donnell? Yeah I love him as an NCIS agent but Robin? wtf

 

Apparently Christian Bale said he wouldn't do the movies if Robin appeared anywhere in them. Not sure if that applies to Nightwing though (I haven't read the comics, but he is essentially Robin v2 right?).

 

More a.... Grown up Robin. Dick Grayson retires from the Robin persona and takes up Nightiwng. Shelving it for a time to become batman and picking it back up once Wayne comes back.

So essentially he is Robin but only a cooler outfit, haircut and kickass equipment. Basically Robin v2.0 like you said.

 

I'm such a goddamn nerd.

Bane's backstory is that he was born in a prison with really old-world laws where the child took on the sins of the father. Despite him being an innocent child, he had to serve the life sentence of the father he'd never known. He lived pretty happy for the first six years of his life as he lived in the medical wing of the prison with his mom and his only friend, Osito a teddy bear.

Unfortunately his mom wastes away and he's sent to general population. For a few nights he endures living hell until he has a hallucination where he must kill his fear in the form of a bat. Once he does and snaps back to reality, he kills his cellmate who wanted to rape him, since the man made him feel fear for a few moments. Once he does, Bane is sent to a pit where he eats rats to survive, and every night he has to clutch onto the bars that make hie ceiling while his cell floods. He stays there until he's 16, all the while Bane self teaches himself meditation techniques and constantly works out.

By the time he's sent back to general population, Bane has become a legend amongst the criminals for lasting so long in the pit as a child.

Once he's released, he devours the entire prison library and decides to move to Gotham to kill Batman as he reminds him of the bat fear he had to kill as a child, and stories of Gotham make him want it. He busts out, goes to Gotham, runs Batman ragged by breaking open Arkham Asylum, then figures out Batman's secret identity before breaking Batman's back.

Nightwing is Dick Grayson, Batman's first sidekick's second identity. Dick wanted to get out of Batman's shadow, but couldn't do that with Robin's status as Batman's sidekick.

Second Robin is Jason Todd, who is killed by the Joker but comes back to life (comic book death. Nothing is ever permanent.) and goes anti-hero by becoming a murderous vigilante who goes by the name Red Hood.

Third Robin is Tim Drake, a genius kid who figured out Batman and the first Robin's identity when he was nine. Since Batman was being self-destructive without Robin to keep him in check, he decided to become one. After he quits, rejoins, and is fired from his status as Robin, he takes on the identity Red Robin.

Fourth Robin is Stephanie Brown. The daughter of Riddler knock-off Cluemaster, she hated crime growing up, became Tim Drake's girlfriend, and when Tim quit being Robin after his father found out, she took on the mantle. She lasted about a month max before being killed off and resurrected years later. She became the third Batgirl in 2011.

Fifth and Current Robin is Damian Wayne, Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul's son. Initially a murderous and spoiled brat, he's trying to leave behind his old life where he was the heir to Ra's al Ghul's death cult because he sees a better life under his father and his non-killing ideals. When Bruce Wayne dies, he becomes Robin under Dick Grayson, formerly the first Robin and Nightwing,who then become the third(?) Batman. After the recent Flashpoint event and universal reboot, he's the Fourth Robin (Stephanie might be retconned to never exist) under Bruce Wayne, his dad.

tl;dr Comics are confusing as fuck and I am a huge nerd for knowing all this.

 

Out of curiosity, taking advantage of your prolific nerdum, what, if any story arc does the Batman video games (arkham asylum/city)?

 

Arkham Asylum and City take place in their own continuities, however there are many things they borrow from the comics.

The Spirit of Arkham for example is from Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth. That work was written by Grant Morrison, and its success along with his work on Animal Man catapulted him to stardom within DC. Arkham Asylum: Living Hell also acts as inspiration as it is a comic that does not star Batman, but rather gives a good look at its inmates, and what it's like for a 'normal' person to be trapped inside.

If you read further with things like Riddler Trophies and character bios, you'll find that the backstories are generally a mish-mash of various comics, tv shows, etc... depending on their popularity in that medium. Plot is generic, but original.

Arkham City has a unique story as well though they tone down some aspects. The art design is particularly inspired by the campy Batman and Robin film (Ice to meet you) with its Art Deco buildings. There are some similarities to No Man's Land, an arc in which Gotham is devastated by an earthquake and the US Government decides Gotham is too big a shithole to try and fix, and instead condemns it. For the most part though, the plot is very original.

Ra's al Ghul's eco-terrorist motivations are dialed down and instead the story takes a closer look at how far Bruce Wayne goes as Batman. Tim Drake aka Robin in his 5 second scene obviously is inspired by that crappy movie as well judging by his body armor look and shaved head.

Does that answer your question?