There are no chemical accidents, no metahuman powers, no spooky science experiments gone wrong, nobody flying or gifted with super strength and absolutely NO over the top costumes. It's just a well trained billionaire fighting machine against a bunch of insane criminals. In keeping with the 'realism' of these last two movies, I've got a couple of theories as to who the villains could be in the upcoming Batman movie: 'The Dark Knight Rises' (initial reports set Batman 3 to begin filming in April of 2011).
Bane... (http://www.comicvine.com/bane/29-6129/)
Bane is a physical powerhouse. While his real name is unknown (at least to me and my research) he is not the Bane you may be familiar with. In the animated Batman series (as well as the 90's Batman Movie Batman & Robin) he is a grunting goon subject to the whims of whomever happens to be using him at the moment.
In reality though, Bane is a brilliant mind. Capable at one point of locating the Batcave on his own, Bane could prove to be a worthy opponent for Batman WITHOUT his strength enhancing 'Venom'. Bane makes an interesting choice for a villain in two ways.
1) Should the writers decide to take him down the familiar path of 'blockheaded brute' we would still get to see Batman go up against someone who is CLEARLY stronger than he is. Seeing Batman take on a foe 3 (maybe even 4) times his size would show us a Batman who would have to re-think his approach. This option also lends itself to the idea of bringing in a 3rd party mobster or crime lord of some kind. After all, if you're going to send a mindless brute after the Batman, shouldn't you have a sender?
2) Should the writers decide to hold firm to the Bane of the comics, you have an outmatched Batman to deal with. Batman isn't strong enough to take him down physically and seemingly not smart enough to stay a step ahead of him. This could leave Bruce feeling vulnerable and inadequate. Classic set-up for further hero development.
Deadshot (real name Floyd Lawton) is the DC Universe's best assassin. The man who never misses. Deadshot makes an almost perfect villain for the next Batman movie for completely different reasons than Bane. Deadshot is skilled. Not only is he THE greatest marksman, but he's also a fighter. Should Batman confront him face to face, he stands to be in for a hell of a fight ... with a man unafraid to use deadly force.
The last two Batman movies, while good, lacked one CRUCIAL aspect of Bruce Wayne's crime fighting persona. We missed out on Batman, the DETECTIVE. We caught a glimpse of him when Bruce got the finger print off of the shattered bullet in The Dark Knight, but that aspect of our hero has yet to be fully showcased in a movie. Deadshot provides that challenge for Bruce. Not only does he have to find out WHO Deadshot is, but he must also figure out who his next target is. This leaves Batman to rely solely on his wits, reasoning and instinct.
I suppose the only other option possible (if we were to keep to the 'realistic' themes of the last two movies) would be The Riddler. Multiple internet sites have stated that the script for Batman 3 has been leaked, confirming that The Riddler will be the next villain to go toe to toe with the Batman. But I have my doubts...
The Riddler... (http://batman.wikia.com/wiki/The_Riddler)
Edward Nigma may be a classic Batman villain, but the danger of using his character is quite obvious: We've already had a clown. Now I KNOW lots of die hard Batman fans will jump at the chance to point out the MANY ways that The Riddler and the Joker differ, but you have to take a step backwards and view this from the audiences point of view. Do you REALLY think they'll see much of a difference?
The ONLY redeeming quality in a pick like this is that this character COULD lend himself to exposing the detective side of Bruce we have yet to see (as I mentioned earlier). Having Batman solve riddles is a very simplistic formula to bring out the super sleuth in him.
But this choice is HIGHLY unlikely seeing as how Christopher Nolan himself has sworn up and down that 'The Riddler' will NOT be the next villain in 'The Dark Knight Rises'. (Follow the L.A. Times story here)
So there you have it folks. It's simple, it's understated, but those are the villains I believe stand the best chance at being in the next Batman flick. What do YOU think and why? Don't forget to comment!
I think all your theories make sense given the sensibilities of the Nolan Batverse (which I quite like but, as with anything else in fandom, ymmv). I would personally LOVE to see Man-Bat selected as the villain -- I don't think it would be too much of a stretch of the Nolan Batverse boundaries to have a mad scientist character who is seeking to emulate Batman's abilities (heck, we saw poor schlubs trying to do so in "The Dark Knight"), only to have things go terribly wrong. And think of the terrifically symmetrical title you could have: "Batman: Manbat" ! It won't happen, but I wish it would.
ReplyDeletewhoever the villain is, I hope Talia al-Ghul is the love interest/other villain. Makes sense to wrap up the trilogy.
ReplyDeleteYour logic is sound. With the focus we've seen on organized crime though, I think Black Mask is another really good candidate. As a side-story, Catwoman would be great.
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