10 Things Christopher Nolan Got Wrong About Batman

9. Whitewashing The Villains

Dark Knight Rises Bane Batman
Warner Bros.

From Heath Ledger's Joker to Liam Neeson's Ra's al Ghul, the Dark Knight trilogy has some fantastic villains, and most of them have one thing in common: they're predominantly white males. This would almost be forgivable if the characters Nolan selected were of that descent in the comics, though that is not the case.

Ra's al Ghul is traditionally depicted as an immortal who's been around for centuries. While his exact nationality is unclear, most artists have not presented him as Caucasian. There have been strong hints that he has Middle Eastern or Asiatic blood, yet there was never a version of Irish descent before Neeson took on the role.

It's a similar story with Bane, who is half Caribbean in the comics, but played by Londoner Tom Hardy in the Dark Knight Rises. While it is hard to tell whether Hardy's Bane is supposed to have other heritage in him because of that charisma-sapping mask, any non-white elements have been watered down at best.

Since the trilogy concluded, Hollywood superhero movies have made great strides when it comes to celebrating a broad range of cultures, so perhaps one day we will see ethnically-accurate versions of Bane and Ra's al Ghul in the DCEU.

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