As if The Dark Knight Rises wasn't already a needlessly complicated movie, here comes a theory adding yet another layer to it, one that says Bane wasn't Batman's enemy, but rather his biggest cheerleader. The Dark Knight ends with Gordon saying that Batman is the hero Gotham deserves but not the one it needs right now. Bane believes that, even with the Dent Act, the crime and corruption of Gotham is still festering beneath the surface. And he needs to show both Bruce and Gotham that Batman is necessary. Every action Bane takes in this movie is meant to prove that Batman is an eternal symbol that Gotham will always need to watch over it. He attacks Gotham to first demonstrate that they still need Batman, then he breaks Bruce to show him that Bruce can be defeated, but Batman can never be. He even redeems Batman in the eyes of the public by showing that what they believed about Harvey Dent was false. And in the end, Bruce leaves Gotham in the hands of another Batman. It doesn't make sense within the movie, because it means Bane has basically been working against Talia and the League of Shadows since the beginning and doesn't really fit at all with the way the character is presented in the movie.
Percival Constantine is the author of several novels and short stories, including the Vanguard superhero series, and regularly writes and comments on movies, comics, and other pop culture. More information can be found at his website, PercivalConstantine.com
