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moviemunchies · 2 years ago

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After the critical and popular acclaim of The Dark Knight, a movie beloved by just about everyone I knew at that time, we all wondered how Christopher Nolan would follow up in the next Batman movie.

The result, The Dark Knight Rises, was a bit divisive.

Eight years after Joker’s reign of terror, Batman is still blamed for Harvey Dent’s crimes and death,, with the Dent Act having cleaned up Gotham’s streets. Batman’s gone, since he’s supposedly won, and Bruce Wayne is a recluse. But the terrorist leader Bane, an expelled member of the League of Shadows, comes to Gotham with a plan to take over Wayne Industries’ energy project, turn it into a bomb, and eventually destroy the city, cutting it off from the rest of the country and causing the violent overthrow of society.

And Batman can’t do anything to stop him.

We’ll talk about some spoilers in this review. I don’t know if anyone cares, because this movie’s a decade old; I thought I’d throw that out there, anyway.

When it’s remembered at all, other than memes of Bane’s voice (no really, the Harley Quinn show uses it), it’s generally considered as the worst of the Nolan Batman films. And I think that’s true, but it’s a high bar, and the movie has a lot going for it. It’s more thoughtful than most superhero movies today, for sure–though that doesn’t mean all of these thoughts always work when expressed on screen.

Shortly after re-watching this movie, I saw Chris Stuckmann’s recent video on the film, and he brings up an idea that has made me think. He talks about how, in the previous movie, the Joker makes the assertion that once you get rid of the rules of society, people will tear each other apart–and what we see in this film is Gotham City tear itself apart (or at least, some of it–we don’t see much of what the average people are doing) once Bane brings down the ruling institutions. It makes me wonder. There were rumors that if Heath Ledger hadn’t died, the Joker would have played a role in this movie. And so I’m really, really curious and imagining an incredibly ambitious film that ties together both the League of Shadows storyline and the anarchy of the Joker. I’d like to think it would blow us all out of the water.

We didn’t get that though.

There are some baffling things in this movie. Bane’s voice has grown on me, but re-watching it’s annoying that the third act has two or three instances of Bruce Wayne/Batman just… appearing where he needs to be. I’m not asking for a full scene of how he got from the Pit to Gotham, I just want a throwaway line or something. I suspect that the film loses track of its characters. Miranda Tate/Talia is an example of this–at the trial scene, Bane asks her to be brought to him, and then she’s with the captives that Bruce sees when he pretends to be captured, and then later he asks where she is. Despite that he has no reason to think she’s anywhere other than where he left her. But she’s not, she’s with Bane again.

Actually, we should talk about Talia and her role in the movie. It’s fine, in theory, I guess–

[Waitwaitwait hang on! What do you mean, child Talia is played by Joey King in the flashbacks?!]

–but there’s so much work missing. We’re meant to believe that Bruce is falling for her, I think? They don’t have enough meaningful interactions for me to think that Bruce has reason to feel particularly attached to her, but after he goes broke he lets her into his mansion and has sex with her. Why? Well, so it’s a twist when it turns out that it’s Talia, and she wanted to kill him the entire time. Since her relationship with Bruce also comes out of nowhere though, it seemed as if the character only exists to make Plot Twists instead of being developed as a real person in the narrative.

Selina Kyle is an interesting character, and I appreciate her character arc here more. I don’t know if running off with Bruce is the best ending, as again, I don’t know if there’s enough work put into that romance; though unlike with Talia, but I can actually see that these two are attracted to each other, and actually grow more attached to the other as the story goes on.

[Side note that might be a Hot Take: does anyone ship Bruce/Batman with Talia? Other than Ra’s al Ghul?]

Upon re-watch, I found Selina’s character arc in this movie much more interesting. She’s someone who, over the course of the film, realizes how her selfishness has led to absolutely terrible consequences. I like that.

The fight scenes in this movie are… eh? They’re not good. I complained about it in the last movie; they’re worse here. Nolan is less interested in that aspect of action movies, I think. There are bits that are alright, but overall, it is miles behind every other superhero movie in this regard, which is a shame because this is Batman. Batman is supposed to be one of the greatest fictional martial artists of all time, and Nolan put together a very basic style for him, which is at its worst in this movie. Disappointing.

One of the most discussed aspects of the film is Bane’s rhetoric. Many took issue with how and his forces are presented. Bane gives several speeches about liberating Gotham’s people from corrupt elites, and yet he’s the villain, instead of a revolutionary hero. I’ve talked about this before, but these comments miss the point of Bane: he’s not a revolutionary. He’s a terrorist. He’s happy, like so many real-life villains, to use rhetoric about helping people get what they want or deserve in order to gain public support only to use that support for his own ends. He does not care about the liberation of Gotham’s people, he wants to blow them up because he thinks they’re beyond redemption.

Now, one could argue that the delivery of all of this is awkwardly done, or could have been done better, and I’ll accept that argument. But so often it seems like a lot of people seem baffled at the idea that villains convincingly lie to people sometimes to get what they want, or that benevolent ideology can be used as a cover for nefarious purposes. They’ve clearly never watched anything in pop culture as a religious person, I think. Look, maybe this is more right-wing than most Hollywood films now, but that’s a low bar, and as critic Jonathtan Chait put it, the movie only “submits the rather modest premise that, irritating though the rich may be, actually killing them and taking all their stuff might be excessive.” Some people find that too extremist, I guess.

The actual inspirations for the film are quite obviously the French Revolution and Tale of Two Cities, and I sort of like the idea of this story. Gotham is a mess, and horribly corrupt, even when they do get the crime off of the streets (even though the Dent Act is not how city laws work!), and so it requires fixing that corruption before things actually get set right.

I remember some doofus on Tumblr (the same one who was like, “Joker says he doesn’t have a plan but totally does! Gotcha, Nolan fans!”) who argued that the ending of The Dark Knight was ProBleMAtiC because it involves people believing a lie for the sake of the Greater Good–welp, this movie exists! And it shows that, yeah, that’s actually a massive problem! Let’s deal with that!

No, it’s not the best ending we could have gotten to this trilogy. But I don’t think it’s bad–I think it’s pretty good. It just isn’t up to the high standards of the previous film–which is pretty darn high! I think maybe it required a couple more editorial looks before completion. Still, I enjoyed this movie! Even though it’s the weakest link in the Nolan Batman trilogy.

#Movie Munchies #Batman #The Dark Knight Rises #Christopher Nolan #TDKR

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thedcdunce · 6 years ago

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Poison Ivy

“Once you've been touched by poison ivy, you can never get rid of her.” - Poison Ivy

Real Name: Pamela Lillian Isley

Aliases:

Lillian Rose

Doctor Paul Irving

Gender: Female

Height: 5′ 6″

Weight: 110 lbs (50 kg)

Eyes: Green

Hair: Red

Skin: Green

Powers:

Chlorokinesis

Toxikinesis

Abilities:

Botany

Seduction

Hand-to-Hand Combat (Basic)

Weaknesses:

Vulnerability to Darkness

Mental Instability

Universe:

Earth-One

New Earth

Base of Operations: Gotham City

Citizenship: American

Parents:

Andre Chaumont; father

Anna Nguyen ; mother

Marital Status: Single

Occupation: Scientist

First Appearance: Batman #181 (June, 1966)

Last Appearance: Gotham City Sirens #26 (October, 2011)

Powers

Chlorokinesis: Semi-mystical connection to the plant world through a force called the Green. She is able to manipulate and animate plants.

Pheromone Control: Ivy is known to be able to seduce men and women alike, often using pheromones to do so, but even without the pheromones, her beauty is still an asset that can she can use to seduce.

Toxikinesis: A deliberate overdose of plant and animal based toxins into her blood stream that make her touch deadly. Ivy can create the most potently powerful floral toxins in Gotham City. Often these are secreted from her lips and administered via a kiss. They come in a number of varieties, from mind controlling drugs to instantly fatal necrotics. Her skin is toxic as well, although contact with it is usually not fatal.

Toxic Immunity: Immunity to all toxins, bacteria, and viruses.

Skin Pigment Manipulation: By reducing the intensity of her poison, she can give herself a normal skin tone, allowing her to move around in public without being recognized.

Abilities

Botany: Doctor Isley was a renowned scientist with a career in Gotham City. She's always had a fascination with plants and they have been the major direction in her life even after her accident. Her knowledge of botany allows her to better manipulate her plants.

Toxicology: Her specialization in Botany was Toxicology, at first she used her knowledge for perfumes, make-up and medicine. After her accident, she used her knowledge to grow thorny plants and poisonous traps for her enemies.

Seduction: Pamela Isley has always been a beautiful woman but she never used her looks or talents for personal gain until she became Poison Ivy. She taunts her trapped opponents with their human desires and can even infatuate thugs to her cause through her plants or her own means.

Hand-to-Hand Combat (Basic): Her athletic abilities have grown over the course of her career. She has learned a limited style of martial arts fighting, is proficient at climbing and leaping, and is a strong and fast swimmer.

Weaknesses

Vulnerability to Darkness: Poison Ivy requires substantial amounts of solar energy to live.

Mental Instability: Poison Ivy has been committed to Arkham Asylum on a regular basis. She speaks to her plants, finds extreme rage towards males and at a certain point sought out the destruction of the human race so only she and her plants would live.

Pre-Crisis

Pamela Isley was born in Washington, daughter of a wealthy family. She attended college in Seattle, where she studied botany. Pamela fell in love with Marc Legrand, one of her teachers and they started a relationship. Eventually, Pamela stole some special herbs from a local museum to help Legrand with some experiments, but he betrayed and poisoned her using the same herbs she had stolen for him. Pamela survived the poisoning and as a result, she became invulnerable to all poisons. These events were known by the FBI, but they had Pamela's name wrongly recorded as Lillian Rose.

Turning to crime, Pamela adopted the alias of Poison Ivy and appeared in public for the first time in Gotham City in order to challenge the most renowned criminals for the title of Public Enemy No. 1. She managed to outmatch them, but she was confronted by Batman and Robin. Using her charms, she almost escaped from them, but Batman recovered just in time to capture her and placed her in prison. Later, Ivy attempted to escape prison using Batman as her enforcer, but her plan backfired and she was captured once again.

Eventually, she escaped from prison and joined the Injustice Gang, but they were all defeated by the Justice League. Not long after this, Ivy became a member of the jury on a mock trial run by criminals in Gotham, which was staged in order to determine who had killed Batman. The whole situation was a plan concocted by Batman to capture the Joker, which allowed Ivy and the other criminals to avoid capture.

Some time later, Ivy joined forces with Catwoman and Madame Zodiac in order to confront Batwoman, Batgirl and Huntress. Although successful at first, Ivy and Catwoman were captured and defeated while Zodiac betrayed them and escaped, leaving them behind. When Ivy escaped once again, she planned her revenge against her former lover, Marc Legrand and transformed him into a tree-like creature under her command. Ivy started a new series of crimes, but she was confronted by Wonder Woman, who turned the Legrand creature against Ivy and caused their apparent demise.

Return to Gotham

Ivy had survived her encounter with Wonder Woman and after a short stint with the Injustice Gang, she returned to Gotham City with a grand scheme to steal the assets of Wayne Enterprises from Bruce Wayne. Ivy's plan was almost successful, but despite his hypnotic suggestion, Bruce Wayne resisted Ivy's commands and challenged her as Batman. Ivy's plan came crumbling down when Batman and Robin worked together against her and her trusted assistant revealed the truth to the authorities. Ivy was subsequently arrested and Wayne recovered the assets of his company.

However, Ivy was soon released due to lack of evidence and good behavior and she started working on her next scheme. She allied with a scientist and together, they created plant monsters that could potentially destroy Gotham. Ivy then used some executives from Wayne Enterprises to give the creatures their energy. Her recklessness caused Ivy to be confronted once again by Batman, who foiled her plans with help from the new Robin.

Post-Crisis

Doctor Pamela Lillian Isley grew up in Seattle; daughter to wealthy yet distant parents. In college, she specialized in botany and toxicology and was a very promising, but naive, student. Her professor, Doctor Jason Woodrue, later known as the Floronic Man, seduced her, hoping to persuade her into becoming a human test subject for his experiments. These experiments, according to Isley, were torturous. Twice, she was nearly killed, and ended up in the hospital for six months. Woodrue fled the authorities, while Isley was left with a changed physiology. Toxins in her bloodstream made her touch deadly and immune to all poisons, viruses, bacteria, and fungi. She also gained the ability to produce pheromones that she could use to seduce men into doing her bidding. Unfortunately, the results of these experiments also also left her barren, and she has treated her plants as her children ever since.

Enraged at her betrayal by a man, Isley suffered violent mood swings. She later caused a boyfriend to have a car accident by bringing about a massive fungal-overgrowth in his lungs. Isley then left Seattle, eventually settling down in Gotham City.

Her first act, there, was threatening to release her suffocating spores into the air unless the city met her demands. Thus, she became infamous as Poison Ivy.

Criminal Career

After several encounters with Batman, Ivy was locked in prison for a while, until she was released on parole. Joining forces with a criminal known as "The Grip", Ivy used her pheromones and seduction tactics to steal from wealthy men. Unfortunately, her victims also died and investigations revealed that they had been killed by a disease that was slowly killing Ivy as well, as a result of the weakening of her poison immunity. Batman located Ivy and after a brief confrontation, she understood that her life was in danger and agreed to be hospitalized, where she would be properly treated and eventually recovered.

After a massive breakout from Arkham orchestrated by Bane, Poison Ivy escaped and created an army of "deadfellows", after which she attended a Charity Function at the Gotham Civic Center, where she released some plant spores in the air to mind control all the wealthy men of Gotham and she took them to her hideout, the greenhouse Neo Eden. Batman thwarted Ivy's plans and stopped the eco-terrorist.

Leaving Gotham

A few years after her arrival, she would try to leave Gotham forever, escaping Arkham to settle on a desert island in the Caribbean. She molded the barren wasteland into a tropical paradise and stated that for the first time in her life, she was happy. It was soon firebombed, however, when an American-owned corporation tested their weapons systems out on what they thought was an abandoned island. Ivy then returned to Gotham, punishing those responsible. After being willingly apprehended by Batman, she resolved that she could never leave Gotham, at least not until the world was safe for plants. From then on, she dedicated herself to the mission of purifying Gotham.

Injustice Gang and Harley Quinn

Poison Ivy was a member of the original Injustice Gang of the World, which fought the Justice League on several occasions. She also joined the Secret Society of Super-Villains for a mission against the Justice League. Years later, she was coerced into being a member of the Suicide Squad. During this time she used her abilities to enslave Count Vertigo.

Ivy is also friends with the Joker's sidekick Harley Quinn. Unlike most villain team-ups, their partnership seems to be rooted in genuine friendship, and Ivy really wants to save Harley from her abusive relationship with the Joker.

No Man's Land and Hush

Following the destruction of Gotham in an earthquake, the ruins of the city were declared a No Man's Land. Rather than fight over territory like most of Batman's enemies, Ivy held dominion over Robinson Park, and turned it into a tropical paradise. Sixteen children who were orphaned during the quake came to live with her, as she sympathized with them, having suffered a traumatic childhood herself. She cared for them like sons and daughters, despite her general misanthropy.

That winter, Clayface paid Ivy a visit, hoping to form a bargain with her. This would entail her growing fruits and vegetables, while the orphans harvested them, and then he would sell the produce to the highest bidder. She wanted nothing to do with the plan and attempted to kill him with a kiss. Clayface overpowered her and imprisoned she and the orphans for six months in a chamber under the lake in the park. He fed her salt and kept her from the sun to weaken her. Eventually, Batman came and discovered the prisoners. The two agreed to work together to take Karlo down. Batman battled Clayface and instructed Robin to blow up the lake bed above, allowing the rushing water to break apart the mud, effectively freeing Ivy. She fought Karlo, ensnaring him in the branches of a tree and fatally kissing him. She then proceeded to sink him down into the ground, where he became fertilizer for Ivy's plants. Batman, originally intended to take the orphans away from Ivy, but recognized that staying with her was what was best for them, and they remained in her care until the city was restored

After Gotham City was reincorporated into the United States, the city wanted to evict her from the park and send her back to Arkham Asylum. They also mistakenly believed that the orphans in Ivy's care were unwilling hostages. The Gotham City Police Department threatened to spray the park with a powerful herbicide that most certainly would have killed every living plant in the park, including Ivy, and more than likely do harm to the children as well. Ivy refused to leave the park to the city and let them undo the work she had done, so she chose martyrdom. It was only after Rose, one of the orphans, was accidentally poisoned by Ivy that she surrendered herself to the authorities in order to save Rose's life. Batman then became aware that Ivy was still more human than plant.

Poison Ivy later came to believe that her powers had begun killing the children she looked after, so she asked Batman to help her reverse her condition to make her a normal human being again. Though it was a success, she was convinced soon after by Hush to take a serum that would restore her powers, but she apparently died in the process. When her grave was visited later, however, it was covered with vines and ivy, suggesting that her death would be short-lived.

Ivy was back in Gotham when Riddler set his Hush plan in motion. Promising her money, Riddler used Ivy to mind control Catwoman and Superman. Ivy was captured, though unbeknownst to her this was part of Riddler's plan. When Riddler was finally discovered, he was hunted by all the criminals he manipulated and sought Poison Ivy's protection. However, Ivy wanted to destroy Riddler as much as everyone else and tried to eliminate him. Ivy succeeded on destroying the Riddler by making him realize that he was no longer a criminal force in Gotham and left him in a catatonic state.

One Year Later

One year after the events of the Infinite Crisis, Ivy was alive and active. Her control over flora had increased, apparently on a par with that of the Swamp Thing or the Floronic Man. She also appeared to have resumed her crusade against the corporate enemies of the environment with a new fanaticism, regarding Batman no longer as an opponent, but merely as a "hindrance".

Later, it was discovered that Ivy had been feeding people, including tiresome lovers, incompetent henchmen, and those who returned her smile to a giant plant which would digest the victims slowly and painfully. She referred to it as a guilty pleasure. In an unprecedented event, the souls of her victims merged with the plant, creating a botanical monster called Harvest, which sought revenge upon Ivy. With the intervention of Batman, however, she was saved. Ivy was left in critical condition, and the whereabouts of Harvest were unknown.

Countdown

After recovering, Ivy caught the Trickster and Pied Piper eating fruits in one of her gardens. Her plants then told her that the men had hurt them and she proceeded to ensnare them with intent to kill, if not for the intervention of Deathstroke.

Later, Ivy was contacted by Catwoman, who wanted to get revenge over Hush. Ivy was in charge of locating every single hideout Hush had used and she stole all the money stashed in those places.

Final Crisis

Poison Ivy was recruited by Libra for his Secret Society of Super Villains, and later fell under the control of the Anti-Life Equation. This resulted in a direct confrontation with the Spectre, the Question and Radiant.

Battle for the Cowl

After the Black Glove's failed plan to destroy Batman, all the inmates from Arkham Asylum were transferred to Blackgate Penitentiary until Arkham was completely decontaminated. On their way back to Arkham, the vehicles that transported the inmates were assaulted by a new Black Mask, who freed the inmates, blew the asylum in front of all of them and forced them to join his army. Ivy was among the inmates who joined Black Mask's group and under his instructions, she teamed up with Killer Croc, located the Batmobile and attacked Damian Wayne, who was saved by the timely arrival of Nightwing.

Following Black Mask's plan, Ivy and Croc joined Firefly to burn and destroy Penguin's warehouses. However, tired of being manipulated by Black Mask, Ivy released a series of chemicals that nullified the chemical implant Black Mask was using to control them and Ivy freed herself from his grasp. She went to Catwoman's place, looking for Selina, but instead she found Harley Quinn and Riddler, who explained that they were also looking for Catwoman. Putting their differences aside, they teamed up and found Selina, unconscious on the streets.

Gotham City Sirens

Some time later, after rescuing Catwoman from Boneblaster, a new villain trying to make a name for himself, Poison Ivy took her back to Edward Nigma's townhouse. When there, Catwoman saw that Ivy had been keeping the Riddler under mind control so that she and Harley Quinn could use his townhouse as a hideout. Catwoman decided that with Gotham City more dangerous than ever, thanks to all the gang wars and a new Batman, a partnership with the other two women would be advantageous. However, Ivy feared that Catwoman had lost her edge and prowess, and consulted with Zatanna regarding the nature of Catwoman's injuries. Zatanna responded that Catwoman had psychological wounds that would need healing, more so than physical ones. Ivy resolved that she and Harley would provide Catwoman with "positive female reinforcement", and the three agreed to become a team.

Ivy joined Selina on a mission at the Club V, where Selina was tasked to follow Vicki Vale. However, when Harley crashed the place in order to retrieve her stolen pet hyenas, Ivy was forced to help her fight against the various criminals in the building.

After many adventures together, Harley Quinn betrayed her companions and broke into Arkham Asylum with the goal of killing the Joker. However, she ultimately chose to release Joker from his cell instead, and together the two orchestrated a violent takeover of the facility. Poison Ivy arrived and tried to convince Harley that the Joker was evil, but Harley Quinn refused to believe her. After they were defeated by Catwoman and Batman, Catwoman told Ivy that they would no longer be a team, angry at Ivy's earlier attempt to drug her in order to discover Batman's identity. Poison Ivy was then incarcerated in Arkham Asylum.

Ivy soon escaped and made amends with Harley Quinn. Together, the two set off to find Catwoman and make her pay for her betrayal. The two of them found Catwoman and fought her on the streets, where Catwoman confessed that she saw good in the both of them, and only wanted to help them. When she told them that she had only kept tabs on them because Batman wanted to keep them under control, Ivy took her anger out on the city by using giant vines to destroy buildings, cursing at Batman for manipulating her. Batman was about to arrest them, but Catwoman helped the two of them escape.

Fun Facts

Poison Ivy was Supergirl's first kiss.

#poison ivy #pamela lillian isley #pamela isley #lillian rose #doctor paul irving #injustice gang #Suicide Squad #injustice league unlimited #Harley Quinn #Secret Society of Super Villians #secret society of super-villians #secret society of supervillians #Joker League of Anarchy #the society #dc #DC comics #thedcdunce

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seether23 · 6 years ago

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#joker #injustice league #Joker League of Anarchy #legion of doom #clown prince of crime #DC comics #DC Universe #dc villians

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girlsofcomics · 6 years ago

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Scorch

-Real name: Aubrey Sparks

-A.k.a.: Aubrey

-Publisher: DC Comics

-Type: Human (granted demoniac powers)

-Afilliations: Secret Society of Super Villains, The Joker League of Anarchy

-Powers: Fire control, heat generation, teleport.

#character #scorch #aubrey sparks #aubrey #DC comics #DC.#dc girls #human #demoniac powers #secret society of super villains #the joker league on anarchy #fire control #heat generation #teleport

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therehearsal2022 · 1 year ago

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4. "Oh, so you think darkness is your ally?" - Bane

Following Heath Ledger’s spellbinding portrayal as the Joker as the major antagonist of The Dark Knight Rises, Tom Hardy was an incredible villain as Bane, a rogue member of the League of Assassins who seeks to plunge Gotham into anarchy before destroying it. While he is defined by his physical might and combative savagery, it could be argued that he is better remembered for his many great quotes.

His first clash with Batman in the sewers is iconic for Bane’s dialogue, with Hardy reveling in each and every line he delivers as his villain torments and dominates Batman with ease. While there are many quotes to choose from, the famous “you think darkness is your ally?” speech is an obvious highlight, one that established Bane’s invulnerability to Batman’s usual attacks. It also just so happens to be one of the most memorable line deliveries in cinematic history.

The 10 Best Quotes From the Dark Knight Trilogy, Ranked

From Gotham's darkest corners, these memorable lines from The Dark Knight Trilogy will intrigue fans old and new.

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ozymoron · 3 years ago

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Y'know, if jerome or jeremiah ever ran for a position of power in gotham they'd actually have a high chance of winning

they would lmao i mean with the amount of followers they both had theyd surely win and with jerome hes got jonathan and his fucking gas like idk if the joker gas makes people like jerome but if it did, he could just do what he was going to do with that crowd but like. not die. and get them all to vote for him too and boom. hes mayor

im sure jeremiah could convince a lot of people to vote for him although pretty sure jim would be tryna stop him along the way like he did at the end of season 4 when he was tryna show his followers how hes basically just a shittier version of jerome (very real of jim ill give him that (i say this affectionately but also degoratory))

i wonder what theyd do in power lmao

jeremiah would prolly turn it into a dictatorship or something. completely remodel the city. do what he did in season 4 and destroy the bridges, completely shutting off the city from the rest of america (gothams in america, right?)

jerome would prolly go fucking wild, turning the whole city into a circus, complete anarchy oh my god the j squad in office

they start passing stupid laws and really petty ones too like glasses are banned now, everyone has to get up at a specific time every idk tuesday or something and do a silly little dance, no ones allowed to make fun of jervis. thats been banned (reluctantly), everyone in the city, if jonathan wants to experiment with his fear gas on them, has to let him

they start pulling cartoonishly evil stunts like bricking up some tunnels and then painting the tunnels back on, manholes, when stepped on, will flip causing you to fall in, all mats are now covering pits full of spikes

crime is legal now, of course

eventually the three get into a fight and begin splitting the city into three sections (jervis gets the smallest section. he is not happy about this)

i feel like at some point jerome kidnapped jeremiah and forced him to make blueprints for some weird as buildings jerome wanted ythink jerome would do the thing he did to oswald in arkham to jeremiah? like force him to dress up as a clown and make him do a silly clown dance? idk i think thatd be a bit funny

the gcpd is in shambles. feel like at some point they had to go underground just to get away from all the chaos and destruction. jim is stressed out of his mind, harveys prolly just chilling like he always does bruce prolly ends up starting a group underground of vigilantes who want to help stop jerome and the j squad (justice league??? idk lol)

got a bit carried away oops this post is quite long

#gotham #gotham tv #jerome valeska #jeremiah valeska

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ultraericthered · 3 years ago

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On The Dark Knight Rises...

Doug Walker did his Nostalgia Critic review on TDKR, and as I’d expected, he reinforced how the admittedly lacking execution of one particular aspect of the film still colors a misconception he still has.

I refer to his incessant whinging about how Bane being connected to Ras Al Ghul and the League of Shadows from Batman Begins somehow renders the events of The Dark Knight a “detour” or “filler”, derailing the concept of narrative escalation across the trilogy by virtue of “repeating” and “taking a step backwards”, and supposedly it could’ve only worked as a proper trilogy if it continued to expand on the Joker or Harvey Dent-based plot threads or was just three main villains completey unrelated to each other a la the Raimi Spider-Man Trilogy. The heavy reliance on what was established in Batman Begins compared to what got done in The Dark Knight is what most breaks his immersion, not unlike those who the same is true of regarding The Rise of Skywalker being seemingly more favorable towards following The Force Awakens’ lead than The Last Jedi’s.

Except there are two big problems with this outlook:

1. The League of Shadows was not the only evil group present and active in the plot of Batman Begins. The mob in Gotham City was a thing too, having a direct influence on the bulk of the city’s crime and corruption, and in fact, by virtue of Joe Chill being connected to the Falcone Gang and Bruce chronologically meeting Carmine Falcone prior to meeting Ras, the mob was just as much the “first villains” in the story as the League of Shadows. That film ended on the note of Gotham’s worst criminals at large in the streets, Falcone’s forced permanent retirement leaving a power vaccum in the mob looking to be filled by other crime bosses, and the mob having let the Joker within their ranks as a way of counteracting Batman. The Dark Knight thus follows up on where its predecessor left off, and ultimately the mob is dealt with in such a way that they’re not really a big factor in the final installment. The Joker pretty much supplanting them led to consequences that would fully manifest in said final installment.

2. The Joker was not the only major villain in The Dark Knight. There was also Harvey Two-Face, his great masterstroke that the falling action and final resolution of the film’s story centered around. Dent’s descent into madness and villainy getting covered up with a lie about Dent dying a heroic last stand at the hands of Batman, leading to Batman being a scapegoat and fugitive of the law who could only fight crime from the shadows, and the Dent Act being passed, is what put everything into place for the events of The Dark Knight Rises to happen, including the comeback of the League of Shadows. Bane’s entire argument against Gotham is based around the idea that its once open corruption, criminality, and ugliness is now no longer so visible only because it is being concealed from the public, hidden below the surface of a Big Lie used to establish peace and order under false pretenses. Added to that, he and Talia had to have paid close attention to what the Joker did to very nearly bring the city to its knees and plunge it into chaos, so in a sense they were fulfilling his vision (turning Gotham into a mad city of wild, chaotic, self-serving anarchy and lawless disorder that tears itself apart) before also fulfilling Ras’ (totally destroy Gotham to “cleanse” it of all its vices.)

When looking at the narrative of all three films as a whole, there was a cycle of escalation involving mutliple villains and two different evil entities plaguing Gotham City (the mob and the League of Shadows) where in the end, there was no avoiding the end of Batman’s career all coming down to what he’d fought against at the start of it - the League of Shadows attempting to destroy Gotham - and Bruce having to lay down everything he had in order to save it, all while forging a legacy and a symbol of justice in the once rotten city that could live on to fight and inspire long after he’s thrown in the cowl.

#DC #Batman #The Dark Knight #trilogy #opinion #criticism #analysis #completely missing the point #anti doug walker #sort of

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lesvegas · 3 years ago

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Ssssssssssss

listen theres just so much stupid shit in the dark knight rises i dont even know where to begin like the pit prison thing? whats the fucking deal with that? why is it there where is it why are people thrown into it how the fuck did a child make it out of there how the fuck was a child the ONLY one to make it out of there and how does not using rope for safety help?? why was robin a cop why was he just doing his whole thing the whole time not even doing shit with/learning from batman like thats not even robin at that point thats just some 'good cop'. literally anne hathaways catwoman was the only character i felt anything positive for and she was barely fucking in it which is a fucking tragedy. theres one scene with alfred where he tells bruce how much he wishes he'd found a better life outside of gotham and ngl that shit hurted but like it just feels like nothing now that ive seen the ending after slogging through All That like i dont care i dont fucking care about any of it im not emotionally invested i wish this movie never happened. what the FUCK was bane even on about what was the point what was the point!!! hes like communism anarchism evil here let me give these people their city then fucking blow it up 5 months later and why? fuckign why? what was his DEAL hes like ouhgohu i was born in hell world is a fuck league of shadows gotham bad im gonna blow it up but thats totally liberation or something. idk anarchy equals terrorism i guess. also yeah cops are so good and cool you guys they arent corrupt at all even tho the last two movies fucking hammered in how corrupt the city is but uhm no its not. yes it is. its not tho. oh and bane isnt the guy its actually brunette woman number 3 or 4 i lost count shes actually the big bad or something i dont fucking know. ninja liam neeson is a ghost? why was the scarecrow here what does he even have to do with bane why does he have a big fuckoff throne. listen batman begins was like a 3/10 it was boring as fuck but whatever. the dark knight was like a 6/10 because joker funny memes sometimes. this is like a 1/10 and makes the other movies feel worse im so glad im done with them im so fucking glad. how the fuck are any of these considered better than the batman why the fuck do critics and audiences love them am i just stupid? am i missing the point? could someone please explain the fucking point. this just feels like bad propaganda. how much of the budget was from the military or whatever

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dangerousconnoisseurdonut · 4 years ago

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Another Day, Another Prompt

Ok, Gotham of the future has Arkham being a prison/asylum out in space with the hope that, being so heavily guarded, even if you breakout, there’s no place for you to run or escape. Bruce, despite being who he is, signs up to be a temporary guard there for six months to a year, because it will look good on his transcripts to become a Galactic Guardian (Space Cops/non-powered Justice League kind of thing).

Bruce quickly becomes one of the favourite guards as, unlike others like Dougherty and occasionally Alvarez (still mad at him over the Professor Pyg affair in the Narrows) who treat the inmates like trash, he treats them like human beings. So Warden Strange upgrades him to the ‘Red Level’ inmates, which includes inmates such as The Penguin, The Riddler, Victor Zsasz, Barbara Kean, her partner Tabitha Galavan, the infamous cat burglar, Catwoman, and others. Again, Bruce becomes a favourite as he treats them like people and gives them none threatening things. Mostly magazines, puzzle books, and such, but they appreciate anything to alleviate their boredom. When Strange sees this, he decides Bruce is ready for the ultimate test.

The Legion of Horribles, a group so out of control, none of the guards will even go feed them unless they’ve been hit with knockout gas first. But, Bruce is a determined little shit, so he meets Firefly, Poison Ivy, The Scarecrow, The Mad Hatter, Harlequin, Mr. Freeze, and the ringleader twins; Anarchy (Jerome) and Joker (Jeremiah). Now, this group expect Bruce to be like the others, but he’s not; he uses his, admittedly subpar, sewing skills so Bridgit can have some pretty, light clothes to wear as opposed to the dull grey suit she always wears. He fixes Victor’s area so it doesn’t get too hot, he gives Ivy some decent plant food for her babies, manages to get Jervis some decent tea, has deep philosophical debates on the merits/hindrances of fear, gets Ecco... whatever it is she needs to keep her mind occupied, and he’s just generally interesting to the twins.

What Bruce doesn’t know, is that they have access to his room via the air-ducts and, because they’re all interested, Jonathan creates a powerful aphrodisiac gas, and they are all able to watch him masturbate in increasingly interesting ways thanks to Strange, as he wants to see where such an attraction could lead. This goes on for almost a year, and soon Bruce will be heading off to the academy, which he can’t help but inform the other guards about, but those like Dougherty don’t want him to leave as he’s the only one who can control the Horribles.

Barbara and Tabitha overhear Dougherty planning to *give* Bruce to the Horribles to make sure they behave, and have Selina sneak through the vents to the Horribles level to warn them. What do they do in retaliation?

Massive jailbreak, they take over the ship as opposed to trying to flee, gives one of the only other good guards, Jim Gordon, to the Red Level inmates who are very happy about this, and another good guard, Alfred Pennyworth to the devious doctor who was always on their side, Dr. Leslie Thompkins, and take Bruce for themselves. What follows? Kinky sex all around.

#gotham #gotham in space #bruce wayne #jerome valeska #jeremiah valeska #ecco #victor fries #another prompt #somebody stop me

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aion-rsa · 4 years ago

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The Dark Knight Trilogy: Horrifying Scenes That Still Make Us Cringe

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Later this month, Zack Snyder’s Justice League is hitting HBO Max. Despite the anticipation and a near-guaranteed positive reception from the vocal #ReleaseTheSnyderCut fan contingent, this will likely be Snyder’s last foray in the DC Universe. Indeed, one of the studio’s chief complaints with Snyder’s vision, which they believe impacted box office receipts, was his darker tone when compared with the quippier MCU. However, Snyder’s approach only mirrored many of DC’s most popular storylines, from Frank Miller’s violent The Dark Knight Returns to the on-screen The Dark Knight Trilogy from director Christopher Nolan. Snyder can hardly be blamed for expanding on what audiences were already responding to when it came to DC characters on film.

Less than a decade ago, Warner Brothers was hot off of the success of Nolan’s trio of films that no one would describe as light-hearted or quippy. The Batman of Nolan’s films was not inspired by the kid-friendly or campy iterations of the character found in the Batman TV series from the ‘60s or Joel Schumacher’s films, but by Miller and David Mazzucchelli’s Batman: Year One, and Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale’s Batman: The Long Halloween. That is to say Nolan and Christian Bale’s Batman sought to be a street-level, gritty, interpretation of the character that emphasized noir and a grounded reality.

Snyder didn’t make Batman too dark for film audiences, that was already done by Nolan. Below are just a few examples of the darkest, most horrific moments from The Dark Knight Trilogy.

“Swear to me!” – Batman Begins

Audiences knew they were in for a different type of Batman from the moment they heard Bale’s gravelly voice while he was in the suit. Whether Bale goes too far with his growly tenor and into comedic territory is up for debate, but the choice is certainly memorable.

Bale really gets to rough up his vocal cords during a specific scene in Batman Begins where the Dark Knight confronts crooked cop Arnold Flass about Dr. Jonathan Crane’s mysterious drug shipments. After failing to strike fear in Flass, Batman hangs the portly man upside down from a building. When Flass swears to God that he doesn’t know anything, Batman replies, “Swear to me!” his face tremoring with rage. This is the opposite of one of George Clooney’s one-liners during his time under the cowl. Bale’s Batman establishes himself as something to be scared of and as an all-seeing force to be reckoned with.

The Demon Bat – Batman Begins

While horror has seeped its way into Batman comics many times, particularly during Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s recent run with the character, there hasn’t been a ton of nightmarish imagery present in the film adaptations of the character. However, the hands down scariest portrayal of the Caped Crusader on screen comes in Batman Begins. When Bruce Wayne said he wanted to strike fear in the hearts of criminals, this must have been what he was talking about.

In the climax of the film, when Cillian Murphy’s Scarecrow attempts to poison Gotham City’s water supply with his fear toxin, the good doctor is confronted by Batman and given a taste of his own medicine. The fear toxin takes effect and Crane begins to see Batman as a demonic, literal interpretation of the Batman, with black goo dripping from his mouth and jet-black eyes. This monster version of the Bat was certainly a step in the right direction for comic fans hoping the Batman films would get the terror element of the character right.

Bruce Attempts to Kill Joe Chill – Batman Begins

This scene from the first film in Nolan’s trilogy is the darkest because of how real it feels for the main characters. The moment happens not when Bruce Wayne is masquerading as a vigilante dressed as a bat, but when he’s a young man still trying to come to grips with the murder of his parents. Bruce learns that Joe Chill has been paroled so that he can testify against Gotham crime boss Carmine Falcone. Bruce waits outside of the courtroom with a gun, intending to kill Chill after his testimony. But when Chill arrives at the public lobby, one of Falcone’s goons beats Bruce to the punch, shooting Chill dead.

Bruce’s childhood friend Rachel Dawes discovers Bruce’s intentions and slaps him across the face. She berates Bruce and tells him that his father would be ashamed of him, something that undoubtedly must be hard to hear for the angry, grieving young Bruce. This moment serves as a sort of rock bottom for the character before he decides to leave Gotham behind and travel the globe, immersing himself in the criminal underworld, a journey that would inevitably lead to him becoming… the Batman.

Joker’s Pencil Trick – The Dark Knight

No one needs to spill more ink about how brilliant Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the Clown Prince of Crime, the Joker, was in The Dark Knight. It’s an iconic performance that has forever shaded the public’s perception of Batman’s greatest nemesis. He’s simultaneously funny and scary, brutal and sniveling, chaotic and cunning. He can make you smile then suddenly want to shield your eyes.

It’s all right there from his first real introduction in the film when he struts into a meeting between Gotham’s crime lords and offers his services in killing the Batman. Nailing the core components of the character, his penchant for showmanship, his violent tendencies, and his twisted sense of humor, the Joker pulls off a “magic trick” by slamming a gangster’s head through a pencil that was stuck upright on a desk. Not exactly the kind of party trick that you’ll see Ant-Man performing in the MCU!

The Death of Rachel Dawes – The Dark Knight

While the Joker hatches many unsettling schemes in The Dark Knight, like televising himself murdering Batman imposters, threatening to blow up hospitals, and the game theory ferry experiment, his most despicable crime is also his most personal one. After being taken into custody, the Joker reveals that he has set up a no-win trap for Batman, forcing him to choose between Rachel, his love, and Gotham’s White Knight, district attorney Harvey Dent. The Joker has them tied up in different locations, rigged to explode on the same timer, and Batman only has time to save one of them. Joker gives the hero their addresses, but in a cruel twist, switches who is where. Bruce believes that he’s saving Rachel but saves Harvey instead. Meanwhile, the GCPD tried to rescue Harvey, but arrives just in time to watch the building holding Rachel burst into flames.

While Rachel may have been an underserved character, only really used as a victim and love interest until her ultimate fridging, her death was still a shock and a dark turn that other superhero movies, barring the otherwise forgettable The Amazing Spider-Man 2, have always refused to make. Rachel served somewhat as Bruce’s moral compass, and her death left the vigilante adrift and prone to his darkest impulses.

The Transformation of Harvey Dent – The Dark Knight

The flipside to the above is that Batman’s last-minute rescue of Harvey Dent leaves him scarred, traumatized, angry, and fundamentally changed. It’s not just that Harvey loses half of his face and becomes a grotesque victim; it’s that the minute Rachel dies, all of his idealism and motivation to be a force for good and change dies with her. With one act, the Joker takes away the hero that Gotham really needs to end corruption and injustice.

It’s not just that Dent falls; he falls hard. He murders police officers (corrupt though they may be), kidnaps children, and introduces as much anarchy into Gotham as the Joker. Ultimately, he’s stopped by Batman, but his death and fall from grace is a demoralizing moment, and the decision to lie and prop up Dent as the hero he was rather than the monster he became is a necessary but deeply troubling withholding of the truth. Don’t let the triumphant score and imagery at the end of The Dark Knight fool you; this is a supremely downbeat ending.

Bane Breaks the Bat’s Back – The Dark Knight Rises

Batman is a badass who is rarely bested on screen. Even in Zack Snyder’s interpretation of the character, he’s able to subdue a figurative god in Superman. However, in Nolan’s third and final Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises, Batman finally meets his match, and it’s not pretty. After being lured into the sewers by Selina Kyle, Batman walks right into a trap and fight with Bane, the jacked terrorist who was excommunicated from the League of Shadows, and is every bit as badass as Batman. After eight years sitting on the shelf and a career of crime fighting that has left him battered, Batman is absolutely demolished by Bane, who pummels Bruce before finally picking the hero up over his head and snapping his back over his knee. Heroes occasionally lose on screen, but not like this.

Alfred’s Arc – The Dark Knight Rises

Alfred Pennyworth is a crucial character in the Batman mythos, and he’s typically portrayed as a compliant, if slightly disapproving, enabler. However, that’s not so in The Dark Knight Rises. Portrayed by Michael Caine, Alfred breaks hearts by revealing to Bruce that Rachel intended on marrying Harvey Dent and sternly telling his surrogate son that his war with Bane will eventually lead to his death and that he “won’t bury” another member of the Wayne family.

It’s one of the most emotional moments of the film. Alfred basically abandons Bruce, a decision that heightens Bruce’s isolation and hero’s journey. Alfred only returns toward the end of the film for Bruce’s funeral where he tearfully confesses to the late Waynes’ gravestones that he “failed” them. While Alfred’s story ends on a hopeful note, with him spotting Bruce alive and well in Italy, it’s still quite the breakup between Master Bruce and his most loyal advisor.

The Story of Talia al Ghul and Bane – The Dark Knight Rises

While the best villains typically have sympathetic backstories, few have as a traumatic and scarring one as The Dark Knight Rises’ villains, Talia al Ghul and Bane. Toward the end of the film, it’s revealed that Talia grew up in the same place that Bruce found himself in after Bane broke his back. Born in a primitive prison known as the Pit, Talia watched as her mother was assaulted and killed by the other prisoners. The pair were placed in the Pit in exchange for Ra’s al Ghul, with Talia’s mother agreeing to take his place in exchange for his freedom. Talia only survived through the protection of Bane, who eventually helps Talia escape the prison, but he’s badly beaten and disfigured in the process.

Following Talia’s escape, she locates her father and he returned with the League of Shadows to exact revenge on the prisoners that killed his wife and the men who put her there. Afterward, Ra’s and the League saw to the treatment of Bane, but were unable to stop the continual pain he experienced. Eventually, Bane is recruited into the League, wherein he is given a mask which supplies him with analgesic gas to curb the constant pain from the injuries he sustained while protecting Talia. If you thought Bruce had a traumatizing backstory, you must have merely adopted the dark.

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batmandarknightrisise-blog · 5 years ago

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The Dark Knight Rises: Film Review

The real world threats of terrorism, political anarchy and economic instability make deep incursions into the cinematic comic book domain in The Dark Knight Rises. Big-time Hollywood filmmaking at its most massively accomplished, this last installment of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy makes everything in the rival Marvel universe look thoroughly silly and childish. Entirely enveloping and at times unnerving in a relevant way one would never have imagined, as a cohesive whole this ranks as the best of Nolan's trio, even if it lacks -- how could it not? -- an element as unique as Heath Ledger's immortal turn in The Dark Knight. It's a blockbuster by any standard.

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The director daringly pushes the credibility of a Gotham City besieged by nuclear-armed revolutionaries to such an extent that it momentarily seems absurd that a guy in a costume who refuses to kill people could conceivably show up to save the day. This is especially true since Nolan, probably more than any other filmmaker who's ever gotten seriously involved with a superhero character, has gone so far to unmask and debilitate such a figure. But he gets away with it and, unlike some interludes in the previous films, everything here is lucid, to the point and on the mark, richly filling out (especially when seen in the Imax format) every moment of the 164-minute running time.

the dark knight rises full movie in hindi filmyzilla

In a curtain raiser James Bond would kill for, a CIA aircraft transporting terrorists is sensationally hijacked in midair by Bane (Tom Hardy), an intimidating hulk whose nose and mouth are encumbered by a tubular, grill-like metal mask which gives his voice an artificial quality not unlike that of Darth Vader. What Bane is up to is not entirely clear, but it can't be good.

Batman’s Onscreen Villains: 10 Greats From The Joker to Bane

Although it's only been four years since the last Batman film, eight years of dramatic time have elapsed since the climactic events depicted in The Dark Knight. Batman and Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) have been in suspiciously simultaneous total seclusion, much to the consternation of loyal valet Alfred (Michael Caine), who, upbraiding his boss for inaction, accuses him of “just waiting for things to get bad again.” They do, in a hurry. But in the interim, Gotham has scarcely missed him, as he's publicly blamed for the death of D.A. Harvey Dent and hasn't needed him anyway since organized crime has virtually disappeared.

Bruce begins being dragged back into the limelight by slinky Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway), a spirited cat burglar who lifts his fingerprints and a necklace from his safe while pulling a job at his mansion. It was always a question how this ambiguous feline character (never called Catwoman herein) would be worked into the fabric of this Batman series, but co-screenwriters Jonathan and Christopher Nolan, working from a story by the director and David S. Goyer, have cannily threaded her through the tale as an alluring gadfly and tease who engages in an ongoing game of one-upmanship with Batman and whose selfishness prevents her from making anything beyond opportunistic alliances.

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Commandeering the city's sewers with his fellow mercenaries, Bane begins his onslaught, first with an attempted kidnapping of Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman), then with a brazen attack on the Stock Exchange, which, at the film's 45-minute mark, has the double effect of luring Batman out of hiding and bankrupting Bruce Wayne. The latter catastrophe forces the fallen tycoon to ask wealthy, amorously inclined board member Miranda Tate (Marion Cotillard) to assume control of his company to squeeze out Daggett (Ben Mendelsohn), who's in cahoots with Bane.

Nolan has thus boldly rooted his film in what are arguably the two big worries of the age, terrorism and economic collapse, the result of which can only be chaos. So when virtually the entire Gotham police force is lured underground to try to flush out Bane, the latter has the lawmen just where he wants them, trapped like animals in a pen waiting for slaughter. And the fact that Gotham City has, for the first time, realistically used New York City for most of its urban locations merely adds to the topical resonance of Bane's brilliantly engineered plot, in which he eventually takes the entire population of Manhattan hostage. Nolan has always been a very serious, even remorseless filmmaker, and never more so than he is here.

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Inducing Selina to take him to Bane, Batman gets more than he bargained for; physically, he's no match for the mountainously muscled warrior, who sends the legendary crime fighter off to a literal hellhole of a prison, with the parting promise of reducing Gotham to ashes. Seemingly located in the Middle East, the dungeon resembles a huge well and has been escaped from only once, by none other than Bane, who is said to have been born there and got out as a child.

Here, as elsewhere, there are complex ties leading back to the comic books that link characters and motivations together; with Bruce and Bane, it is with the League of Shadows, which occasions the brief return of Liam Neeson's Ra's Al Ghul, last seen in Batman Begins (in 2005). A solid new character, Joseph Gordon-Levitt's resourceful street cop John Blake, is a grateful product of one of the Wayne Foundation's orphanages. Many of the characters wear masks, either literal or figurative; provocatively, Batman's mask hides his entire face except for his mouth, the very part of Bane which is covered. This is just one of the motifs the Nolans have used to ingeniously plot out the resolution to their three-part saga, which involves at least one major, superbly hidden surprise.

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While Bruce Wayne languishes in the pit rebuilding his strength for an escape attempt, Bane spectacularly and mercilessly reverses the entire social order of Gotham City: 1,000 dangerous criminals are released from prison, the rich are tossed out of their uptown homes, the remaining police hide out like rats underground, and a “people's court” (presided over by Cillian Murphy's Scarecrow) dispenses death sentences willy-nilly. With virtually all bridges and tunnels destroyed, no one can leave the island, which is threatened by a fusion device, initially developed by Bruce and his longtime tech genius Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) as a clean energy source but now transformed at Bane's behest into a nuke, which he promises to use.

Some of the action scenes, such as multiple chases involving the armed motorcycle Bat-Pod (mostly ridden by Selina) and the cool new one-man jet chopper-like aircraft called The Bat that zooms through the city's caverns like something out of the early Star Wars, have something of a familiar feel. But the opening skyjacking, the Stock Exchange melee and especially the multiple explosions that bring the city to its knees -- underground, on bridges and, most strikingly, in a football stadium -- are fresh and brilliantly rendered, as are all the other effects. The film reportedly cost $250 million, but it would be easy to believe that the figure was quite a bit more, so elaborate is everything about the production.

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But the fact that all the money has been put to the use of making the severe dramatic events feel so realistic -- there's not a hint of cheesiness or the cartoonlike -- ratchets up the suspense and pervasive feeling of unease. One knows going in that this film will mark the end of Batman, at least for now and as rendered by Bale and Nolan, but for the first time there is the sense that it could also really be the end for Batman, that he might be sacrificed, or sacrifice himself, for the greater good.

Needing to portray both his characters as vulnerable, even perishable, Bale is at his series best in this film. At times in the past his voice seemed too artificially deepened and transformed; there's a bit of that here, but far less, and, as Bruce becomes impoverished and Batman incapacitated, the actor's nuances increase. Caine has a couple of surprisingly emotional scenes to play and handles them with lovely restraint, while other returnees Oldman and Freeman deliver as expected.

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Bane is a fearsome figure, fascinating in his physicality and blithely confident approach to amoral anarchy. With the mask strapped to his head at all times and his voice altered, Hardy is obliged to express himself mostly through body language, which he does powerfully, and at a couple of key moments his eyes speak volumes. All the same, the facial and verbal restrictions provide emotive limitations, and his final moments onscreen feel almost thrown away; one feels a bit cheated of a proper sendoff.

Hathaway invests her catlike woman with verve and impudence, while Cotillard is a warm and welcome addition to this often forbidding world. Even though Nolan and Bale have made it clear that The Dark Knight Rises marks their farewell to Bruce Wayne and Batman, the final shot clearly indicates the direction a follow-up offshoot series by Warner Bros. likely will take.

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As before, the production values are opulent and sensational; nothing short of the highest praise can be lavished on the work of production designers Nathan Crowley and Kevin Kavanaugh, cinematogtapher Wally Pfister, costume designer Lindy Hemming, visual effects supervisor Paul Franklin, special effects supervisor Chris Corbould, editor Lee Smith, composer Hans Zimmer and sound designer Richard King, just for starters.

The only conspicuous faux pas is a big continuity gaffe that has the raid on the Stock Exchange take place during the day but the subsequent getaway chase unfold at night.

Nearly half the film, including all the big action scenes, was shot with large-format Imax cameras and, with both versions having been previewed, the 70mm Imax presentation that will be shown in 102 locations worldwide is markedly more vivid visually and powerful as a dramatic experience; the normal 35mm prints, while beautiful, are somewhat less sharp.

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Despite all the advanced technology deployed to make The Dark Knight Rises everything it is, Nolan remains proudly and defiantly old school (as only the most successful directors can get away with being these days) when it comes to his filmmaking aesthetic, an approach indicated in a note at the end of the long final credits: “This motion picture was shot and finished on film.”

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arkus-rhapsode · 6 years ago

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My Hero Academia Chapter 218 Review

Start of a new arc! Lets get the board set up for the new game we’re about to start. So lets dive in.

We open on... December apparently. And it looks like its time to enjoy the snow. Just give’em a week of it and you’ll all be sick of it. Also, Tsuyu can go into hibernation apparently.

Bakugou and Todoroki are at their license exam today.

After some admittedly good banter with Kaminari, we get a TV commercial about Detnerat... What with everyone’s watching choices bringing up potential arcs?

First with Youtube and Gentle, now just random TV commercials? Got plot convenience playhouse.

So we a commercial which has a sales pitch given to us by... What I can only presume is a fever-dream version of the Joker from Batman the animated series. He talks about going into hero industry as manufacturing personalized support sets. With the motto he’s spouting, “Everyone is Different.”

He does oddly bring up that people with powers were the minorities once. And we cut to inside of this guy hosting the commercial’s office. Apparently, he’s the president.

He’s talking with assistant, who might be Nezu’s long lost brother, about the fact that their entry into the hero world is a little less than well received. But the president says that they’ve done well with superpowered individuals for a while now. So they should be getting some support soon.

The assistant, Miyashita, finds it odd that his boss called quirks superpowers. Which now that I think about it, that makes sense. Everyone calls their powers quirks, so perhaps calling them superpowers is archaic. Maybe even seen laughable given that we have scientific data on about quirks and what causes them.

The reason for this change in vocabulary is due to a book that we saw being published when Endeavor and Hawks. Written by Destro a villain we first saw mentioned by Gentle. Wow, this has been built up for a while.

Miyashita read the book, but finds Destro’s manifesto of liberation to just be a bunch of hot air used to justify their terrorism. Saying makes his boss a bit... Unnerved. (This obviously showing a contrast to early where Miyashita said the boss would forgive any little comment)

Seeming to grow a sttrange darkness from his face, the president snaps Miyashita’s neck. Crying afterwards in some show of remorse.

We cut to later that evening with the president narrating about how early years when the government was trying to make laws to help coexist with people with superpowers, the ideology of liberation began.

The idea that superpowered individuals had the right to use their powers however they wanted. All of it being lead by a man named Destro who made a quirk liberation army. While he was defeated and his accomplices arrested, Destro finished his writing and took his life.

However, he apparently had children that not even he knew about. From the way the panel is laid out, it implies all of these guys are his children. Damn, Destro got around. (Also we see all of them make a L solute on their foreheads. Good ol Horikoshi and his use of subtle artistic hints that don’t need to be spelled out)

It actually seems like the Superpower Liberation army wants to go to war with the League of Villains. Now they’ll be interesting as we’ll see, this guy and Shigaraki could be said that they’re fighting for the same goal.

He’s asked about why he’s developing support items and the President responds that he there are people who all speak Liberation, they just don’t know it yet and we cut to a villain in a high tech mask stealing wallets with water.

But then

Bakugou and Todoroki with their licenses arrive to do fight this guy.

Post Chapter Follow Up: Well I’m intrigued. Now I’m not as excited as I was when we started the 1-A vs 1-B arc, but this is still interesting. Mainly because I wanna see what makes the Liberation army different from Shigaraki.

When it came to Overhaul, he was business man who wanted to use the the League as he controlled society, not toppled it. But both the League and Liberation army seem to advocates of anarchy. Freedom to live their lives how they want.

But what immediately makes them different is the small fact that the Liberation army wants to fight the League and not work with them. So Im curious.

As for the UA kids its fun to see them act like normal kids and while the moment of Todoroki and Bakugou coming in is cool. I don’t really care. It was so obvious that they were going to pass that I just was like, “yeah that, okay.” Not dissing their development, but I’m just saying it was predictable.

Anyway, its a good breather chapter and has made some interesting suspense.

Final Verdict: 7/10

Good pacing

Good addition to world’s lore

Intriguing premise

Ultimately just a buffer though

248 notes · View notes

youbetterworkcovergirl · 5 years ago

Text

2020 Movies

Batman: Under The Red Hood

Pump Up The Volume

A Country Wedding

Cool As Ice

Surprised By Love

Life With Mikey

True Romance

All of My Heart: Inn Love

Absentia

Dream/Killer

Tell Me Who I Am

Sweetheart

Growing the Big One

All Things Valentine

Step Up All In

Love On A Limb

Love Struck Cafe

Drop Zone

Girl on the Third Floor

Hard Rain

Sightseers

Switchback

Mobsters

Campfire Kisses

Hobbs and Shaw

Little Darlings

Streetdance

Malevolence

Good Boys

Midnight Masquerade

Killer: Malevolence 3

Dinner for Schmucks

Fractured

Nightmares in Red, White and Blue

Testament

The Unauthorized Beverly Hills 90210 Story

The Killing Secret

Countdown

Joker

I See You

Satisfaction

Grease 2

Terminator: Dark Fate

Ghost

In Fear

Sister Act 2

Grease Live

Gretel and Hansel

I Know My First Name Is Steven

Mother, May I Sleep With Danger

Hostile Advances

Hidden in Silence

Miss Americana

The Murder of Nicole Brown Simpson

Doctor Sleep

Grave Encounters

Hairspray Live

Sister Act

Dad

Mad City

Mortuary

Mausoleum

12 Strong

The Barn

Polaroid

Climax

Troop Zero

One Night In October

Top Gun

A Nightmare On Elm Street

Mad City

The Mummy

The Vatican Tapes

Miss Americana

P.S. I Still Love You

Payback

The Ugly

Just Cause

Incident in a Ghostland

Camp Cold Brook

Goodbye World

The Neighbour

Grandview, USA

The Mummy

Assimilate

It Comes At Night

Midway

It’s A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood

Hiroshima

Zombieland Double Tap

Mercy Black

The House That Jack Built

21 Bridges

The Crash Reel

Jojo Rabbit

Marauders

Eden Lake

102 Minutes That Changed America

White Light/Black Rain

After Parkland

The Farewell

Frozen II

The Devil’s Own

Scooby-Doo: Return to Zombie Island

Candyman 2

Candyman 3

Yellowbrickroad

Queen and Slim

Headless Horseman

The First Purge

The Purge

Haunted Honeymoon

Charlie’s Angels

Contagion

Hail, Satan?

The Purge: Anarchy

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Lisa

The Killing Room

The Hunted

Chain Reaction

Kingsmen: The Secret Service

Body Bags

Rings

Ruin Me

A Quiet Place

Seven In Heaven

World War Z

Outbreak

Lost Girls

Dark Waters

Glass

Black Christmas (2019)

The Incredible Hulk

The Phantom of the Opera

The Believers

Sinster

And The Band Played On

The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia

93 Days

The Last Broadast

The Spy Who Dumped Me

Asylum

Train to Busan

The Grudge

Killer Workout

Good Will Hunting

Murder in New Hampshire

Demolition High

Legacy of Fear

The Last of the Manson Girls

The Fear Footage

Smoke and Mirrors: The Story of Tom Savini

Humanoids From The Deep

Richard Jewell

Just Mercy

Animal Among Us

Sleepers

Scare Me

The 6th Friend

Opera

We Were Here

The Origin of Aids

Birds of Prey

Dolittle

Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Family Portrait

The Moors Murders

Where is Robert Fisher?

Valentine Road

West of Salem

Rise of Skywalker

Butterfly Kisses

Savage Streets

Ghostheads

Born Innocent

American Experience: Blackout

Anatomy of a Seduction

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning

Texas Chainsaw 3D

Antrium

A.M.I

Not Since You

The Money Pit

Violation of Trust

Love’s Deadly Triangle

Underwater

Onward

Cruel Doubt

Extraction

Bombshell

Spies in Disguise

Bad Boys for Life

The Stalker Club

Mississippi Burning

Choose

Little Shop of Horrors

Tourist Trap

Contamination

Street Trash

American Animals

The Warriors

Waco: The Rules of Engagement

Chain Letter

Return to Horror High

Free Willy

Don’t Tell Mom The Babysitter’s Dead

Rookie of the Year

Where The Boys Are

Little Big League

Cool Runnings

Honey, I Shrunk The Kids

Connie and Carla

A Star is Born

Hangman

Friends with Benefits

Cam

The Platform

How To Lose A Guy In Ten Days

Brave

VFW

Bushwick

Mission Impossible: Fallout

In The Deep Woods

C.H.U.D

Monday at 11:01 am

13 Eerie

The 13th Man

Square One

Monsters Wanted

The Man In The Red Bandanna

Hotel Artemis

Bedeviled

Terror on the 44th Floor

Patriot Games

The Mandela Effect

The Aristocats

Oliver and Company

Goodnight Mommy

The Manson Family Massacre

The Lodge

Savage Weekend

Bloody Murder 2

Seoul Station

Are You Scared

The Stay Awake

Kemper

Fantasy Island

To Hell and Back: The Kane Hodder Story

Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon

The Scream Team

Phantom of the Megaplex

Mom’s Got A Date With A Vampire

Panic Button

Madhouse

The Turning

Brahms: The Boy II

The Invisible Man

Scream Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street

The Cover Up

I Am Not Your Negro

The House That Dripped Blood

Inkubus

Trucks

The Way Back

Innocent Blood

The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas

The American Nightmare

Rhinestone

Guyana Tragedy

Raze

13th

1BR

Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School

Storage 24

Dead Man’s Curve

Sick School

Hair

Most Valuable Players

The Day the 60s Died

February One

Freedom Summer

Devil’s Playground

Knowing

Lethal Weapon

I Still Know What You Did Last Summer

The Postcard Killings

A Chorus Line

City of Angels

Brian Banks

The Redwood Massacre

101 Dalmations

Zootopia

Tales From The Crypt: Demon Knight

Murder in the First

Dragnet

Black Rock

Hamilton

We Summon the Darkness

Behind You

Swing Shift

High Spirits

V for Vendetta

The Gallows Act II

Edge of the Axe

The Peanuts Movie

Better Off Single

The Marshes

Dude Bro Party Massacre III

Extracurricular

Grizzly Man

What Keeps You Alive

Body Count

Miss You Already

The House In Between

We Are Your Friends

Witches in the Woods

Scoob!

Exhibit A

American Tragedy

7500

976-Evil II

Abattoir

Invasion

Descent

Extremity

Scare Package

Some Kind of Hate

Inheritance

Resistance

The Others

The Furies

Host

In Search of Darkness

Ginger Snaps

Corey Haim Me, Myself and I

Body Cam

Victims

The Forgotten West Memphis Three

Spooky House

The Boyfriend School

The Wretched

Amityville 1992

After Midnight

The Wretched

Halloween With The New Addams Family

Into The Grizzly Maze

Rabid (2019)

Max Relod and the Nether Blasters

The Monster Club

Nightmares

Criminal Law

From Beyond

Slaughterhouse Rulez

I Trapped The Devil

Gleaming the Cube

Freaks

The Flintstones Meet Rockula and Frankenstone

Shadow of Doubt

Perfect Stranger

Howl

Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

That Was Then This Is Now

Incarnate

Twitches

American Fright Fest

Excision

The Gray Man

Beg

Open 24 Hours

Wer

The Scare House

Girl House

Fear

Chernobyl Hour by Hour

The Babysitter: Killer Queen

The Tingler

Repo Man

The Honor List

Defenseless

Don’t Open Til Christmas

Phantom of the Mall: Eric’s Revenge

10/31

Children of the Corn: The Gathering

Children of the Corn II

Widow’s Point

Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror

Children of the Corn 666: Issac’s Return

Love, Fall and Order

Blair Witch

The Frightening

The Blair Witch Project

Becky

Random Acts of Violence

Spiral

Scare Me

American Murder

Cannibal Holocaust

Perfect Little Angels

Farm House

The Hole

Gossip

Ghost of Goodnight Lane

The Haunting

Twin Towers

Guerilla The Taking of Patty Hearst

Greystone Park

The Cleansing Hour

Adam Resurrected

Aiborne

Let’s Scare Julie

September 11

Happy Halloween Scooby-Doo

The Dentist

Tales From the Hood 2

Beneath

All You’ve Got

The Mortuary Collection

The Trial of the Chicago 7

Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers

Dolly Patron: Here I Am

Conspiracy: The Trial of the Chicago 8

The Video Dead

The Lie

Scream: The Inside Story

The Omen Legacy

Still Screaming

Tiny Toons’ Night Ghoulery

The Last Days

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A Stranger Among the Living

Trick

After Midnight

Black X-mas

American Mary

Amusement

Cursed

The Den

The Forsaken

Fright Night

Antebellum

Blood Vessel

Survival of the Film Freaks

Batman

10 Things I Hate About You

I Am Nancy

Never Sleep Again

Mischief Night

Saw II

Bill and Ted Face The Music

Saw III

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Christmas Made to Order

Olaf’s Frozen Adventure

Pride and Prejudice and Mistletoe

Direct To Video

Saw V

A Very Merry Mix up

Christmas At Pemberley Manor

Sense, Sensible and Snowmen

A Joyous Christmas

Anna

Run

Train to Busan: Pennisula

#Alive

Christmas Camp

Witchboard

Porno

Road to Christmas

Friendsgiving

Zombies

If Anything Happens I Love You

Diana In Her Own Words

Christmas On The Square

Unhinged

Amish Grace

Polytechnique

The Only Way

The Wolf of Snow Hollow

Soul

Freaky

The Rental

Relic

Unlawful Entry

White House Down

The Craft: Legacy

Christmas in Connecticut

Absence of Malice

6 Souls

10.5 Apocalypse

13 Hours

A Shoe Addict’s Christmas

A Stranger Among Us

9/11 The Day That Changed The World

No Escape

A Country Christmas Story

Dolly Patron’s Christmas Coat of Many Colors: Circle of Love

Smiley Face Killers

Death of Me

Detective Pikachu

One October

The Broken Hearts Gallery

A Cheerful Christmas

Head Count

Hamilton: One Shot To Broadway

Fire in the Sky

Fade to Black

Children of the Corn: Revelation

Children of the Corn: Genesis

Children of the Corn III

Blind Faith

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thedcdunce · 6 years ago

Text

Joker

“I'm not mad at all. I'm just differently sane.” - Joker

Aliases:

Domino Killer

Gravedigger

Joe Kerr

Oberon Sexton

Red Hood

The Fool

Gender: Male

Height: 6′ 5″

Weight: 192 lbs (87 kg)

Eyes: Green

Hair: Green

Skin: White

Powers:

Unique Physiology

Cheating Death

Cosmic Awareness

Abilities:

Indomitable Will

Genius Level Intellect

Disguise

Hand-to-Hand Combat (Basic)

Intimidation

Weaknesses:

Mental Illness

Equipment:

Joker Venom

Joker Teeth

Jokermobile

Various Joker Gadgets

Joker's Joy Buzzer

Explosives

Universe: New Earth

Base of Operations:

Arkham Asylum

Gotham City

Ha-Hacienda

Citizenship: American

Marital Status: Widowed (Jeannie; wife)

Occupation:

Criminal

Mass murderer

Ambassador for Iran

First Appearance: Batman #1 (March, 1940)

Powers

Unique Physiology: Due to his chemical submergence, Joker gained beyond average advantages over normal humans as well as further exposure tainting his physiology.

Pain Resistance: It was speculated that the Joker's exposure to chemicals may have heightened his resistance to pain. It was also implied that he was masochistic in nature, and thus enjoyed any pain received, making it an ineffective way of dealing with him.

Tainted Blood: Joker's blood was tainted. It was said that "being an avid consumer of his products, Joker's immunity to poisons has been built up over years of dedicated abuse." When a mosquito sucked the Joker's blood, it "writhes and whines, choking on tainted blood".

Toxic Immunity: The Joker was immune to his own venom as well as various similar toxins.

Cheating Death: The Joker cheated death numerous times, even in seemingly inescapable and lethal situations. He has been, among other things, caught in explosions, electrocuted, shot repeatedly, and dropped from great heights, but he always returns to once again wreak havoc.

Cosmic Awareness: The Joker has, at times, shown to be fully aware of being a comic book character, even directly talking to the reader. However, most other characters ignore this, believing it to be a manifestation of his insanity.

Abilities

Indomitable Will: The Joker's insanity, or his frame of mind, made him immune to the Spectre's judgement, though warranted. Batman once explained that the Joker doesn't actually know what was right and wrong, a crucial understanding the Spectre needed to judge. In a way, one had to know one's deeds are evil or wrong for the Spectre to judge, and the Joker doesn't. Also, both Jim Corrigan and Hal Jordan's Spectre have had major problems with navigating the Joker's mind, Corrigan even managed to get lost in it and Jordan literally was blasted out of his boots to the moon when he tried.

Genius Level Intellect: The Joker was highly intelligent and skilled in the fields of chemistry and engineering, as well an expert with explosives. He was capable of hijacking television and radio broadcasts.

Gadgetry: The Joker commits crimes with countless "comedic" weapons such as; razor-sharp playing cards, acid-spewing flowers, cyanide pies, lethally electric joy buzzers and his signature Joker venom.

Escapology

Tactical Analysis

Disguise

Hand-to-Hand Combat (Basic): The Joker was moderately skilled in hand to hand combat. Although Batman was stronger, the Joker was faster and more agile, and his fighting style was chaotic and difficult to predict. The Joker had been known to be able to hold his own in hand-to-hand combat against Batman, however every time he was subdued it was through physical force. However, the Joker has proven to be very skilled in the area of martial arts as well, this being proven when beating the Batman once in a fight without "cheating".

Intimidation: Joker was adept at torturing his victims endlessly, including shooting Batgirl, torturing Robin to death and beating Damian into submission.

Weaknesses

Mental Illness

Equipment

Joker Venom: A deadly poison that infected his victims with a ghoulish rictus grin as they died while laughing uncontrollably. This venom came in many forms, from gas to darts to liquid poison, and was his primary calling card.

Joker Teeth: A common weapon and theme for equipment for the Joker were "Joker Teeth." Clacking, wind-up gag teeth were commonly used to mock the Dark Knight and his allies. They were one of the Joker's signature items.

Jokermobile

Various Joker Gadgets: Razor-sharp playing cards, acid flower, various guns and other weaponry. The Joker was unpredictable in that he would use any kind of weapon afforded him.

Joker's Joy Buzzer: The Joker often used a modified novelty joy buzzer strapped to the palm of his hand. The buzzer administered a lethal dose of electricity into anyone who came into contact with it.

Explosives: Joker was an expert at bomb making and even bought nuclear weapons. He loved using time bombs and used grenades in battle, though they may be disguised as harmless objects like toys, dolls, balls or marbles.

History

The Joker is a homicidal maniac and the archenemy of Batman. His real name and origin are unknown, but one of the most common versions indicates that he fell into a vat of chemicals which turned his skin white and his hair green. Completely unpredictable with no regard for human life, the Joker finds murder and mayhem funny, and is perhaps the most dangerous man on Earth with a body count stretching into the thousands, all centered around his obsession with the Batman.

Origins

Accounts of the Joker's origins have been varied and numerous. He himself has told the story of how he came to be with several different variations, saying that sometimes he remembers it one way, sometimes another; and that if he has to have a past, he "[prefers] it to be multiple choice." What has remained the most consistent is that his first encounter with the Batman was while he was acting in the identity of the "Red Hood," along with a gang of other thugs, committing a robbery in or near the Ace Chemical Processing Plant. During this robbery he either tripped into a vat of chemicals, or was accidentally pushed in by Batman.

Most versions end with him falling into chemicals which bleach his skin, make his hair green, and give him a maniacal red smile. Sometimes the chemicals are also blamed for his mental state, and the combination of chemical exposures, and possible brain damage due to oxygen deprivation have been cited as factors in his insanity.

His activity between the accident in the chemical factory and his first public appearance as The Joker is unknown, but his return to the Gotham City crime scene was a spectacular one. He announced himself on television, after murdering a reporter with Joker Venom, and publicly told the police he intended to murder local millionaire Henry Claridge that evening at the stroke of midnight. Despite taking every security measure possible, Joker managed to kill his intended victim and nearly contaminated Gotham City's entire water supply with his poison, but Batman was able to stop him. The Joker was successfully incarcerated, but not for long.

Gotham City Life

Incarceration would prove no obstacle for the Mirthful Menace, and he quickly rose to become one of the top members of Batman's Rogues Gallery. He would find a frequent home in Arkham Asylum, Gotham's local psychiatric institution, where he would most commonly find himself imprisoned. Despite the asylum's efforts to contain him, he viewed it as sort of a revolving door, and even a place to simply rest up between his plans. He often committed crime for the sheer enjoyment of it, or specifically to cause pain to others, which he sees as part of "the big joke." Although not all of his criminal endeavors earned him money, he must have had a significant bank roll, and has had possessions as outrageous as a full truck-mounted heat-seeking warhead.

The Joker had a substantial list of significant crimes. His most consistent theme was been personal attacks against Batman, often through loved ones and members of the Batman Family, but he had shown complete indifference as to who his victims were, as it didn't really matter to him. Though many feared to form an alliance with the Joker, the Clown Prince of Crime was recruited into a gang of super-villains led by Two-Face to battle Carmine Falcone's criminal empire. As one of his tasks, the Joker had to eliminate Mario Falcone, but the hit was unsuccessful. The group was also responsible for the Columbus Day Massacre of Gotham's mob bosses, including Bobby "The Don" Gazzo. The team disbanded after a battle with the Hangman and a battle in the Batcave with the newly-formed Dynamic Duo, Batman and Robin.

Killing the Family

Joker had a habit of escaping from Arkham on various occasions, but two of these occasions are most notable as a result of his criminal activities after his escapes.

On the first occasion, Joker set out to show Batman how easy it was for even the sanest of people to lose their minds and he attempted to drive Commissioner Gordon insane. He arrived at Gordon's house, and before kidnapping him, shot his niece in the spine, then took pictures of her naked, bleeding, and in pain on the floor; later forcing the Commissioner to behold the atrocity in a slideshow. Although the Joker did not know this when he shot her, James Gordon's niece was actually the retired Batgirl. Joker was eventually stopped by Batman and his plan to drive Gordon insane had failed, but Barbara was left wheelchair-bound, but revived her vigilante career as Oracle.

Joker was locked away in Arkham, but it wasn't too long before he escaped once again. This time, he set out to sell nuclear weapons to terrorists. This plan was foiled by Batman and the new Robin, Jason Todd. After this failure, Joker reached Dr. Sheila Haywood and blackmailed her with her dark past. Haywood was Jason's missing mother, coerced into betraying him, and the Joker tied the two of them up together in a warehouse set to blow up after viciously beat Jason with a crowbar. Batman was unable to rescue the two of them before the bomb's detonation, and they were both killed in the explosion.

Afterwards Joker became the new Ambassador of Iran, which gave him diplomatic immunity. Considering his new political position allowed him to avoid justice, the Joker tried to commit genocide at the United Nations Building, but he was stopped by Superman and Batman, although they couldn't find his body after his apparent demise on his escape attempt.

In reality, Joker had sustained serious injuries and was taken to hospital. Still driven by the desire to destroy Batman, Joker manipulated Two-Face from afar, talking to him through a radio and making him believe he was Dent's own subconscious speaking. Following Joker's instructions, Two-Face organized a series of crimes to kill Batman, but he failed and was eventually captured by Batman, Nightwing and a new Robin, a development that Joker found amusing.

However, Joker's injuries were very serious and he was out of action longer than expected. During this time, he was filled with self-doubt and went through a mid-life crisis in which he started to lose his insanity. When a fake Joker appeared in Gotham, Joker decided to return, despite his diminished condition, in order to set things right. His lack of confidence in his own criminal genius prevented Joker from being himself again and the fake Joker was only defeated thanks to Batman and Gordon. Joker was subsequently captured and taken back to Arkham, where his madness returned. Back to his old self, Joker escaped from Arkham and used Lex Luthor's influence to starts a criminal spree in Metropolis. Eventually, both criminals double-crossed each other and were stopped by Batman and Superman.

Knightfall

When Bane destroyed the walls of Arkham, Joker escaped the facility, but before leaving, he left Dr. Jeremiah Arkham in a death trap to stall Batman.

A few days later, Joker teamed up with Cornelius Stirk and used him in a plan to kidnap Commissioner Gordon in order to control the GCPD. His plan was foiled when Stirk tried to kill Gordon instead of kidnap him and Joker left Stirk to be captured by Batman. As soon as he was leaving, Joker was approached by Scarecrow and together they teamed up and invaded the house of Mayor Krol. They dosed him with Scarecrow's Fear Toxin and forced Krol to do their will. Knowing that Firefly was creating fires all around Gotham, Joker and Scarecrow made Krol cause a strike on the union of firefighters in the most dire of times. Batman beating Joker Using Krol, Joker lured the GCPD into a trap, which caused the death of the entire SWAT Team. Finally, Joker and Scarecow used Krol as bait to lure Batman into a trap in the Gotham River Tunnel. Batman arrived at the place and confronted the villains, but he was dosed with a great amount of Fear Gas, which made him recall Jason's death at the hands of Joker and thus, he furiously beat Joker to a pulp. Joker was barely rescued by Scarecrow, who caused the water from the river to fill the tunnel, forcing Batman to rescue Krol and allowed the defeated villains to escape.

After their failed attempt to kill Krol and Batman, Joker and Scarecrow learned of Batman's defeat at Bane's hands. Scarecrow was furious for their failure and used his fear toxin on Joker. The gas had no effect and in return, Joker attacked Scarecrow and beat him with a chair, leaving him unconscious and ending their partnership.

Not long after this, Joker set in motion his next scheme by pitching an “autobiographical film” to a movie studio. Joker pitched the movie as the “Death of Batman”, but when he started his scheme, he realized that Batman was different. After Bane's defeat he had become ruthless, violent and started using a body armor. Joker lured Batman into a film making studio, where he planned to eliminate Batman with help from several hired killers. As Batman knocked down Joker's henchmen, the madman realized that this new Batman was a different person and not his long-time enemy. Joker was eventually defeated by the new Batman, who broke Joker's arm and started to brutalize him until the police arrived and restrained the vigilante. Joker was placed in an ambulance headed for Blackgate Penitentiary, but he managed to escape during the transfer and remained on the loose.

No Man's Land

When Gotham City was classed as a No Man's Land, abandoned by the United States and crime ran rampant across town, the Joker was absent for quite a while. Batman also left Gotham for some time, and while he was away the Joker just simply didn't think it worth the bother of being active in Gotham. However, when he did appear amidst the already burgeoning chaos, his impact was shocking. A large number of GCPD officers were murdered when he dressed them up in costumes and makeup similar to his own so they would all be killed by a lone police sniper who had a vendetta against the Joker. A large number of innocent police officers were shot by their comrade.

Later, he took an entire hospital ward full of newborn infants hostage. When Detective Sarah Essen, Jim Gordon's wife, arrived on the scene, he pointed a gun at her and told her not to move, before throwing a baby at her. Sarah instinctively went to catch the child, and the Joker shot her in the head. Oddly, he seemed to take no pleasure in this act. When Gordon found out, his anger led him to the verge of murdering the Joker, only shooting Joker in the knee instead. The Joker was immediately concerned about the damage to his leg, worrying that he might never walk again, but quickly cracked up laughing, realizing there was a joke. The Commissioner had just gotten him back for the damage to his niece.

Emperor Joker

At one point the Joker stole Mister Mxyzptlk's reality-altering power, remaking the entire world into a twisted caricature, with everyone stuck in a loop. The Joker entertained himself with various forms of murder, such as killing Lex Luthor over and over, and devouring the entire population of China. Ever obsessed with Batman, the Joker tortured and killed his adversary every day, only to bring him back to life and do it over again. Superman's powerful will allowed him to fight off the Joker's influence enough to make contact with the weakened Mxyzptlk, who along with a less-powerful Spectre, encouraged Superman to work out the Joker's weakness before reality was destroyed by the Joker's misuse of Mxyzptlk's power. As time ran out, Superman realized that the Joker still could not erase Batman from existence, as the Joker totally defined himself by his opposition to the Dark Knight; by this logic, the Joker would be incapable of destroying the entire universe, since he was incapable of doing so to Batman. This broke the Joker's control, and Mxyzptlk and the Spectre reconstructed reality from the moment the Joker disrupted everything. However, Batman was left broken from experiencing multiple deaths and Superman had to erase Batman's memories of these events so that he could go on.

Joker's Last Laugh

In an attempt to get him to come to terms with his mortality and have some sort of moral realization, a prison doctor informed the Joker he was going to die of a malignant tumor. Instead, the Joker decided he wanted to leave his mark on the world indelibly, and began a chain of chaotic events. He used a variant compound of the Joker Venom to actually Jokerize all metahuman inhabitants of Slabside Penitentiary, driving them virtually into the same condition he was in, but with the added benefit of having every single one of them completely loyal to him. The Joker's army ravaged the planet, combating all of earth's heroes, but Batman was eventually able to thwart the attacks using an antidote he obtained from Harley Quinn. Harley was angry at the Joker for attempting to impregnate her without marrying her. Nightwing, falsely believing that Robin had been eaten in the ensuing madness by Killer Croc, caught up with the Joker and actually beat him to death. Batman, not wanting Nightwing to have blood on his hands, resuscitated the Joker and saved his life.

Hush

Hush and the Riddler convinced and manipulated several other villains into helping in their attempt to destroy Batman. Part of this included fooling Bruce into believing that his childhood friend Tommy Elliott was the latest victim of the Joker. That brought Batman to the brink of murdering the Joker, and he only stopped when former GCPD commissioner Jim Gordon talked him down, reminding him that by killing the Joker, Batman would become just another killer, and Gordon refused to let the Joker ruin Batman's life in that way.

Joker began a shooting spree with a high powered sniper rifle murdering Mayor Dickerson and the Superintendent in order to force the inhabitants of Gotham City to stay inside during the Christmas holiday. He then turned himself in to Gotham's Major Crimes unit, before revealing he'd planted bombs throughout the city, as a "Christmas present" for Batman. This caused the M.C.U. to rush to save countless Christmas shoppers from death. Joker then began a shooting spree within the Major Crimes Unit, where he killed several detectives, only to be shot multiple times by Maggie Sawyer, as his bomb went off, leveling a now evacuated toy store. Joker recovered from his wounds in the hospital laughing at the carnage he had caused.

Under the Hood

After Jason Todd was resurrected, he sought revenge against Joker. Todd took over the Red Hood identity and found Joker in an abandoned carnival, beating him with a crowbar in reciprocation of his own assault.

After his recovery, Joker learned of Black Mask's latest scheme and confronted the crime lord who was disguised as Batman. The real Batman arrived shortly after and knocked the Joker down before chasing Black Mask. However, during his fight with the crime lord, Joker managed to get away. Some time later, Joker got a second chance to take down Black Mask and he shot the crime lord on the leg. Joker's vendetta against Black Mask was due to the killing of Robin at the hands of Black Mask, as the crime lord was blamed for Stephanie Brown's death. Joker was mad at Black Mask for taking away from him the chance to kill another Robin. Batman arrived at the scene and stopped the fight, delivering both criminals to the police and Joker was sent back to Arkham Asylum.

A few days later, Red Hood abducted the Joker and held him hostage at Crime Alley, beating him without mercy until Batman arrived. Jason tried to force Batman to kill Joker and then he threatened to do it himself. However, Batman defeated Jason and Joker seized the chance to create havoc by taking a gun and shooting a box of explosives, blowing up the entire building.

Infinite Crisis

The Joker was one of extremely few villains not drafted into Alexander Luthor's Secret Society of Super-Villains. Unlike many of the other villains, such as Catman, the Joker actually wanted to be a member of the Society, but the higher level members wouldn't let him join, which enraged him. While slaughtering a branch of the Royal Flush Gang on his warpath, the Joker was actually laughed at by the King who said "Don't you get it? The Joker's too wild!" He then electrocuted him with his joy buzzer, before walking away and saying to himself, "That's not funny". After the Society had been defeated, while Alex Luthor was planning what to do next, he was ambushed by the real Lex Luthor and the Joker. Before allowing his brutal murder, Lex simply told his counterpart "You should've let the Joker play."

Salvation Run

For a period, the majority of Earth's villains were deported to the Hell Planet, where the Joker became responsible for one of the factions. They were largely non-constructive, and attempted to steal food and supplies from Lex Luthor's group, who were trying to find a way to escape. The conflict ended in one-on-one fisticuffs between Luthor and the Joker. Although the match was nearly even, the Joker ultimately overcame Lex, just before the entire villain community was forced to unite against an oncoming Parademon attack.

Countdown

Jimmy Olsen interviewed an incarcerated Joker about the murder of Duela Dent, who had called herself "The Joker's Daughter." The Joker stated that he never had a daughter, but expressed awareness of the Multiverse and shifts in reality.

The Clown at Midnight

A deranged police officer impersonating Batman, named Josef Muller, shot the Joker in the face, leaving him physically scarred and disabled. After having undergone extensive plastic surgery and physical therapy, The Joker reappeared with a drastic new appearance, with scars running from the corners of his mouth high onto his cheeks, and affliction sometimes referred to as a "Glasgow smile." While in intensive care at Arkham, the Joker had developed a new, more lethal variant of Joker Venom, and instructed Harley Quinn to use it to kill his former henchmen to signal his spiritual "rebirth." He went on a rampage through Arkham, attempting to murder Harley before being stopped by Batman.

Batman R.I.P.

Joker was locked in his cell in Arkham when Batman showed up and attacked the Scarecrow in front of Joker's cell. Batman opened the cell, cuffed Joker to a pipe and proceeded to torture Crane on the Joker's toilet, much to the madman's delight. After Crane confessed his crime, Batman left the place and Joker was thankful with him for letting him witness such a great performance.

Not long after this, Joker was offered a position on Doctor Hurt's conspiracy "the Black Glove" and murdered several people in Arkham as part of the plan. Joker joined Black Glove on the condition that they let him have Robin, and not long after this, Guy Dax freed Joker from his cell. Joker attacked Dax and mutilated his face after going for his henchmen, and after a while, he attacked El Sombrero, apparently killing him. Joker went to Hurt, and shortly after he faced Batman who had been lured to Arkham. During the fight, Joker cut his tongue and caused Batman to have a mental breakdown.

After the Black Glove buried Batman alive, Joker warned them that the Dark Knight would rise again and eliminate them all. Then, Joker hijacked an ambulance and escaped Arkham, but was pushed off a bridge by the Batmobile driven by Damian Wayne.

Oberon Sexton

Joker soon resurfaced under the guise of British journalist/detective Oberon Sexton. At the same time however, he operated as the Domino Killer, killing members of the Black Glove one by one. Dick Grayson, who had taken up the Batman mantle, confronted Oberon about all the Domino killings actually being a set routine of jokes. Oberon removed his mask to reveal the Joker grinning at his old foe, the bullet wound to the head seemingly healed.

After the Joker was arrested once more, he underestimated the newest Robin, Damian Wayne, by trying to win the Boy Wonder's pity. He received a beating with a crowbar from Robin who he realized was the son of his old foe after noting the resemblance between the child and the original Batman. The officers at GCPD ignored the Joker's pleas for help after they concluded that Robin could handle the villain easily.

However, the Joker's apparent helplessness was yet another ruse. Feigning injuries from Robin's assault, he scratched Robin with a paralyzing toxin painted onto his fingernails, and revealed that he had once again manipulated events toward his own ends, mocking Robin for going so far as to provide his own crowbar. Appropriating Robin's utility belt, the Joker escaped to execute his attack on the Black Glove, unleashing his signature venom on an audience gathered under Professor Pyg and guiding Batman and his allies to a climactic confrontation. The Joker had Robin bound and gagged, and possessed a nuclear weapon. Help arrived in the form of the original Batman who aided his successor and his son in their battle against the Black Glove and the Clown Prince of Crime at Wayne Manor and the Batcave. The Joker infected Dr. Hurt with Joker Toxin and buried him alive. The second Batman pursued and captured the Joker, while the original Dark Knight, Robin, and Alfred Pennyworth disarmed the Clown Prince of Crime's weapon and defeated the remaining Black Glove members.

The Black Mirror

Eventually the Joker escaped from Arkham again by ingesting a mixture of venom and alcohol which secreted through his pores, making him poisonous to the touch. Gordon's ex-wife Barbara was attacked with more toxin and Batman hunted the Joker down to an underground lair. They fought while Joker refused to acknowledge Dick Grayson as a worthy successor to "his" Batman, but in defeat, he insisted he never touched Gordon's wife. It was James Gordon, Jr. who broke the Joker out of Arkham and attacked his own mother with toxin, using her as a diversion while he kidnapped his sister, Oracle.

Convergence

After Earth 2's Batman sacrificed himself to kill a large number of the New Earth Batman's villains, Joker approached Dick Grayson of Earth 2 and shot him, paralyzing him in a manner much like that of Barbara Gordon. Shortly after, he was executed by Telos by breaking his neck, Telos believing him to be repulsive no matter which universe he came from.

Fun Facts

The Joker's real name is a matter of mystery. Virtually nothing is known about Joker's past life, including his real name. This is not aided by his tendency to give multiple, conflicting origin stories.

The Joker has his fingerprints taken, but the prints are just solid black blobs with no patterns, due to his exposure to acid.

The Joker has one of the most extensive individual body counts of any human level DC villain.

It was suggested the Joker's mental state is a previously unprecedented form of "super-sanity," a form of ultra-sensory perception. It also suggests that he has no true personality of his own, that on any given day he can be a harmless clown or a vicious killer, depending on which would benefit him the most.

Nicknames for the character include The Clown Prince of Crime, The Thin White Duke of Death, The Harlequin of Hate, The Ace of Knaves, The Mirthful Menace and The Jester of Genocide.

Joker was so "insane" that Deadman was barely able to possess him for even a few seconds.

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