‘The Dark Knight Rises’ has its villains

The mystery and debate can finally end.  Christopher Nolan’s next Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises, now has its villains.  According to reports today, Anne Hathaway will play Selina Kyle (a.k.a. Catwoman), and Tom Hardy will fill the role of Bane.

I definitely got this one wrong, as I’ve been saying for months that I didn’t believe Nolan would go the Catwoman route, despite hints in the previous film and swirling industry rumors.  And though I’m not sure how that villain will fit into Nolan’s Batman universe, I trust the director completely with his choice of roles and his casting decisions.  The last time I doubted the guy, it was with a “what the fuck?” when Heath Ledger was announced as the Joker…

At this moment, Tom Hardy as Bane is the real slam dunk here.  Bane is often thought of as the super-strong guy with the freakish muscle structure, but in the more legitimate comic narrative those nasty medical experiments boosted his intellect as well as his physique.  Few character actors in film have shown an ability to play brains and brawn with the same panache as Tom Hardy, and after his excellent supporting turn in Nolan’s Inception, this could be the final spark that catapults him into the Hollywood limelight.  He’s overdue.

An interesting-perhaps-only-to-me side note:  In the comics, Bane is the only villain to successfully defeat Batman in a physical fight.  The Joker fights him to a draw a few times, but Bane beat the piss out of him, and actually corners the Caped Crusader and breaks his back.  Effectively, Bane is the one to kill Batman…