10 Movie Villain ‘Twists’ We Saw Coming A Mile Off

1. Talia Al Ghul - The Dark Knight Rises

If you're going to do Ra's al Ghul on screen then you'd be an idiot not to bring his daughter Talia to life as well. In the comics a love interest to Batman torn between her feelings for Bruce Wayne and devotion to her mastermind father, it was assumed we'd see her come to life when Marion Cotillard was cast in The Dark Knight Rises. For the french actress to be playing Talia made a lot of sense; Rises was going to round off the trilogy and what better way to thematically link the villains than have the last one be the daughter of the first? Talia even has a brief history with Bane in the comics, with Ra's for a period wanting her to marry the venom-infused power house.

Except it transpired Cotillard's character was Miranda Tate, an entirely new creation involved in the financial battles at Wayne Enterprises. Being described as a created-for-the-film addition, however, didn't stop everyone thinking this was just a cover (think Khan) and feeling more than a little smug when Tate stabbed Batman in the back (well, side).

Because the entire history of superheroes is chronicled to obsessive detail, it's easy for even casual fans to get a detailed backstory to minor characters. And as directors tend to stick close to what's been done in the comics this makes those bios some of the biggest spoilers around; when The Winter Soldier was announced as Captain America 2's subtitle anyone on the internet knew the second act twist thanks to a Wikipedia search for the character taking you to Bucky Barnes' page.

More than just being the usual good guy with no story unless they're a villain, Miranda/Talia was a victim of a common issue with comic book adaptations; the ending is almost always out there for fans to figure out.

Did any of these twists catch you off guard? Do you have any more villains that filmmakers tried to trick us into thinking they were good? Head down to comments and have your say.