FILM NOTES: From GLADIATOR to THE BATMAN: PART II & More

BATMAN BEGINS 3... Much like what I did for the plot of Transformers 2 last year, here’s my own take on how the story for a third Christopher Nolan-directed film would be like...if AZRAEL and BANE were the main villains. A lot of folks online are suggesting that Catwoman and the Riddler be in the second Batman Begins sequel, but seeing as how we already saw them in Batman Returns and Batman Forever, respectively (Bane was in Batman and Robin, but that film doesn’t count since it was a complete piece of crap), that would be lame. Of course, there are basically no other bad guys left (except for maybe the Mad Hatter) who could be handled with the kind of realism that Nolan is obviously trying to convey in his films.



A way to have Azrael and Bane in the third film would be to have the society that Azrael worked for in the comic books, The Sacred Order of Saint Dumas, be the rival to the League of Shadows depicted in Batman Begins. Both are a secret society of assassins out to bring justice to the world, no matter how destructive the method.



After the death of Ra's al Ghul in Begins, Bane took charge of the last remnants of the League, and goes back to Gotham City to finish what Ghul couldn't do...bringing the city to its knees. It just so happened that Bane murdered Azrael's father (who actually got killed in the comic books) as a result of the rivalry between The Sacred Order and the League, and Azrael now wants revenge.



To give Bane the kind of realistic look that’s portrayed in Nolan’s films, have him wear the kind of black ninja suit Ra’s al Ghul’s goons wore as they fought Batman on that rooftop at the end of Batman Begins (oh, and have him wear a gas mask instead of that pro wrestler/gimp mask too, haha). The only difference for Bane is that the suit is a lot bigger to fit his pro wrestler-like physique, and has tubes extending from the back of his mask to his body. And Nolan can convey some kind of non-preachy, moralistic message with the "Venom = Steroids" thing. (For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, Bane injects himself with a liquid called ‘Venom’ whenever he wants to increase the size of his body before beating the crap out of someone...or breaking the back of a certain masked vigilante.)



(SPOILERS AHEAD, for those of you who haven’t seen The Dark Knight yet...) Batman is still a fugitive, and the man behind Azrael, Jean-Paul Valley, tries to get hold of Lucius Fox and Coleman Reese (who discovered Batman’s true identity in The Dark Knight) to obtain the armor necessary to defeat Bane. With Batman out of the picture, Azrael succeeds in doing so, and finishes off the rest of the League of Shadows. In the process, however, Azrael becomes even more dangerous and power-crazed as he continues dishing out vigilante justice. (It's obviously too bad for Heath Ledger's passing. Since the Joker survived at the end of The Dark Knight, he could've returned in the third film...only to get impaled by one of those flaming blades that shoot out from Azrael's gauntlets.) Azrael becomes convinced that he is the new Batman, prompting him to build the golden armor made famous in the Knightfall and Knightquest comic book series (shown above and below)...prompting a final showdown with the real Batman.



Of course, if Nolan wanted to remain true to Knightfall and have his trilogy (IF he directs a third film) end on a surprising note (for the movie-going public who have never read a Batman comic book before, that is), have Bane break Batman’s back like he did in the comics...with Azrael defeating Bane after that. The final shot of the film could show a golden-clad Batman, with Jean-Paul Valley under the mask, gliding away from a skyscraper the same way Bruce Wayne’s Caped Crusader soared off that building at the end of Batman Begins.

That's all. No wait— One more thing. Who should play Azrael and Bane in Batman Begins 3? I have an idea:



CLIVE OWEN as AZRAEL



MICHAEL CHIKLIS as BANE