Christopher Nolan's Batman Villains

With the last movie in Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy coming out next year, let's take a look back at the those villains that have appeared in both the Nolan Batman movies and the previous Batman movies that came before Batman Begins.

Two-Face



Aaron Eckhart (top) in The Dark Knight and Tommy Lee Jones (bottom) in Batman Forever



Although Two-Face's transformation only occurred in the second half of the The Dark Knight, Aaron Eckhart gave a note worthy performance as the former district attorney turned villain Harvey Dent.

In Batman Forever, Tommy Lee Jones looked like he had a lot of fun playing the maniacal Two-Face, but the performance was too similar to Jack Nicholson's performance as the Joker in Batman. Two-Face is supposed to be a more grim and serious villain, and not a cackling lunatic.

Catwoman

 

Anne Hathaway (top) in The Dark Knight Rises and Michelle Pfeiffer (bottom) in Batman Returns

The lovely Anne Hathaway will be playing Selina Kyle/Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises. It remains to be seen what kind of purpose Catwoman will serve in this movie, but my guess is it may be similar to the Catwoman in Batman Returns.

In that movie, Catwoman who was the third wheel that was a foil to both the hero and the villain. Also, will she have a whip like Michelle Pfeiffer did in Batman Returns?

 

Bane

Tom Hardy (top) in The Dark Knight Rises and Robert Swenson (bottom) in Batman and Robin

Tom Hardy, who last acted in Inception takes on the role as Bane in The Dark Knight Rises. Bane was relegated to the role of Poison Ivy's henchman in Batman and Robin. In The Dark Knight Rises, Bane looks to be the main villian, and will go head to head with Batman at last!

The Bane in Batman and Robin was defeated by Robin and Batgirl, when they yanked the piping that pumped the venom into his head. I also just found out that the wrestler that played Bane, Robert Swenson, died of heart failure in 1997, the same year the movie was released.

The Joker

Heath Ledger (top) in The Dark Knight and Jack Nicholson (bottom) in Batman

And last but not least, the Joker. This role in The Dark Knight won Heath Ledger a posthumous Academy Award for Best Supporting actor in 2008. Before the movie was released, many were skeptical that Heath Ledger could top the performance that Jack Nicholson gave in Batman, but he did.

So far Nolan has given us wonderful interpretations of Batman's villains. I am definitely looking forward to seeing Bane and Catwoman in the trilogy's conclusion next year.

[Image of Anne Hathway take from MovieWeb]