Thursday, July 19, 2012

Bruce Wayne and Batman's Rogues Gallery: The Dark Knight (2008)

If Batman Begins (2005) was about Bruce Wayne learning to master his fears and use his new found knowledge to protect the innocent citizens of his hometown with what he learned, then The Dark Knight (2008) is about the escalation of violence by Gotham's criminal underworld in reaction to Bruce Wayne's efforts to terrorize them as the Batman. As the mobsters' slice of the Gotham pie decreases day by day, they pool their efforts together to counterattack Batman. In their shortsighted attempt to destroy Batman, the criminals look to a man who seems capable of out-terrorizing even Batman himself, an agent of chaos known only as The Joker.

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Bruce Wayne and Batman's Rogues Gallery: Batman Begins (2005)

Christopher Nolan's ambitious Dark Knight Trilogy raised the bar for not only comic book movies but also movies in general. And that is in no small part due to the unique rogues gallery of villains that Bruce Wayne and his alter ego Batman must face throughout the films. As we enter the final chapter of this trilogy on Friday with the opening of The Dark Knight Rises (2012), this article will take stock of this saga's villains up until now. We will then end with a preview of Bruce Wayne and Batman's final challenges and what we predict Bruce will do to overcome them.