7. He Saved Bruce Wayne's Life?
It might be completely indirect - and therefore, feel free to tear me down - but observing the line of causation in The Dark Knight Rises, didn't Bane's work essentially save Bruce Wayne's life? When we meet him at the start of the film, he has been a despondent recluse for the better part of 8 years, and the overzealousness he displays after first putting the suit back on doesn't so much suggest a man willing to administer justice as much as it is a broken man with a death wish, so distraught over Rachel's death that he would willingly walk into his own demise. However, had none of this happened, where would Bruce be now? Gotham would be safe, but he would remain a reclusive, potentially suicidally despondent man. Bruce's "arc", as it were, requires him to call to arms, save Gotham, and hand the keys over to someone else - that person being John Blake. It is only through Bane's actions that Wayne calls to arms, first as a means of perhaps facilitating his own death, and then later, legitimately aiming to take back the city as he observes the good of others around him - Gordon, Blake and eventually Catwoman. In fact, Bruce's ultimate happiness, in living in Florence with Selina Kyle, is brought about by the circumstances of Bane's plan; he is able to fake his own death and live a life of anonymous peace with the woman he (presumably) loves. And really, it's all thanks to Bane and Talia providing him with the courage and the motivation to overcome his torment when you think about it. Some outlandish ideas perhaps, but there's no doubting the initial good-heartedness of Bane, and in that effect he's a much more sympathetic villain than we're used to in the series. What do you think? Would it be humanly possible to squeeze 7 points out of how The Joker wasn't all that bad? Let us know in the comments below.