1. The Link to the Comics
When I said in the introduction that '
I had never picked up a comic book in my life', I should have put WAY more emphasis on the
had. After seeing Rises, I discovered the comics. I needed just a little more Batman- besides, we're not going to have another film for quite a while. TV and comics are the only choice apart from going cold turkey. What I noticed in reading most of the classics, it's that The Dark Knight and Begins have completely different plots to most of the comics. Apart from the Killing Joke for TDK and Year One for Begins, they were completely Nolan's films. With Rises, it's quite a different story. Coalitions between the comics and the film exist in the shape of Knightfall, The Dark Knight Returns and No Man's Land. Firstly, we're going to dissect the shortest but possibly most influential story arc to Rises - Knightfall. Of course, this was the first appearance of Bane (when the brute was pulsing with mega-steroids and had a Mexican wrestler's mask). The most notable reference in the film is the iconic image of Bane breaking the Bat. In the film, the first meeting between Bane and Batman was undoubtedly one way traffic. Bane went into the fight wondering whether Batman's spirit would break first, or his body. Ultimately, after Wayne's resistance, his body did. The dominance of Hardy's Character in the film mirrors that in this occurrence of Knightfall. In the comics, Bruce's spirit is broke. Bane mercilessly took advantage of his total exhaustion and bashed Wayne to the brink of death. Other eye catching references is the liberating of Arkham Asylum (in Rises it was Blackgate Prison) and Alfred's resignation. Secondly, there is The Dark Knight Returns. Only a few small plot points are related with the two stories. For instance, the novel involves the return of Bruce Wayne to Gotham after a very long absence, him becoming a hermit and, most importantly, the climax being Wayne faking his death. Lastly, No Man' Land. The relevance between this arc and Rises is uncanny. In the novel, Gotham is in a state of lock-down after a severe Earthquake. No-one in, No-one out. To make sure of this, the bridges connecting the city to the outside world are blown to kingdom come. The city is basically placed in a state of total isolation. All in all, it's a tiny bit familiar, isn't? There you are, then. Anything else you would have liked to have seen, or any disagreements with the article, can all be submitted in the comments below. Thanks for the time to read this, hope you enjoyed it.