One thing that so often strikes me - particularly on the internet - is the constant war of words between those who are strictly fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and those who are strictly fans of Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy. It's essentially two faceless factions, pointlessly going at it in an argument that neither can ever win. Why can't everyone get along and just accept that some people like one of these two movie franchises, but not the other? It doesn't have to be a competition. Personally, I'm a fan of both. I appreciate the fact that the Marvel movies are a bit more "popcorn-esque" and that the Dark Knight trilogy is darker with a bit more depth, but both franchises have their merits - they wouldn't be so phenomenally successful if they didn't. So I'm going to attempt to bring them together by discussing the areas of common ground they share. Here are 10 things that the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Dark Knight trilogy have in common (apart from the fact that they both involve superheroes, obviously)...
10. The "Mentor Betrays The Hero" Plot
In both Batman Begins and Iron Man, the titular hero is betrayed by a trusted elder who had previously mentored him in some way. In Batman Begins, that mentor is Henri Ducard (a comic book character who, for that particular movie, was merged with Ra's al Ghul), while in Iron Man that mentor is Obadiah Stane (who donned the Iron Monger armour to fight Tony Stark in the movie's climatic battle). Ducard trained Bruce Wayne in the martial arts. Initially, he posed as a subservient member of the League of Shadows, an organization led by Ra's al Ghul, but it is later revealed that he is Ra's al Ghul himself who used the name "Ducard" as a pseudonym to hide his true identity. When he reveals his plans to destroy Gotham City, he clashes with Batman, who ultimately defeats him. Stane was Stark's business second-in-command, Stark Industries' manager and Tony's father's old partner. He wants to replace Stark as head of Stark Industries and tries to have him killed. When Stark learns of this, the two clash and the movie's final battle sees Stark defeating Stane - despite being in inferior armour and not at full capacity - by luring him in to the sky, where his armour freezes and has no way of countering that, and then finishing him off on the ground.