Batman 3 Title and a new Villian will rise... But who?

In a recent interview, The Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan finally spilled some much anticipated information regarding the next edition in the re-vamped Batman franchise.

The third installment of the Caped Crusader's exploits will be called The Dark Knight Rises. I freakin' love this title. First of all it capitalizes on the most recent movie's title which in case you were hanging out in the Unibomber's old shack the last couple years, made a considerable amount of money. Secondly I hated some of the other possible titles like Gotham City or Gotham. Both titles shift the focus away from Batman which is totally unacceptable. And The Caped Crusader? Well I may be reading too much into this but it kind of sounds like a creepy gay porn so....no. Some had suggested that The Dark Knight Returns might be a good title but unfortunately it's also the title of one of the most revered graphic novels of all time. (If you're a Batman fan or even if you're not I highly recommend checking out Frank Miller's masterpiece. It is awesome.) In the final analysis I'm happy with the title.

What other people might not be so happy about is who is NOT going to be the villain in the third film, namely The Riddler. Now I'll admit I was initially disappointed in this decision because I thought either Johnny Depp or Joseph Gordon-Levitt would have made a fantastic Riddler. Then I got to thinking about it and I think Christopher Nolan is again right on the money with this decision. The Riddler is really just a Joker derivative and we've already been there done that twice now. Plus The Riddler is not as sadistic or malevolent as other Batman villains as he mostly just uses well thought out riddles to try to trap Batman. Most importantly is that I think it will be very hard to go dark with this character. As we've seen from the last two Batman films, Nolan makes a concerted effort to be as gritty, realistic, and dark as possible when it comes to Batman. The Riddler is too campy of a character to take seriously as a "dark" villain. (Don't believe me? Check out Frank Gorshin in the 60s Batman television show or Jim Carrey in 1995's Batman Forever. Neither of those performances are kisses from a rose.)

The other villain possibility that had been kicked around but ultimately discarded was Mr. Freeze. While he is a kind of tortured dark character, his storyline is just a little too unrealistic and doesn't jibe well with the gritty world that Nolan has created. Also I think Arnold Schwarzenegger's performance in 1997's Batman and Robin pretty much killed the chances of anyone taking that villain seriously. Thanks Arnie.

So the question remains? Who will be the next Batman villain? I have some thoughts so I thought I'd run through five possibilities and provide a percentage likelihood that the particular villain shows up.

1. Dr. Hugo Strange

A lot of people might not be familiar with this character but he actually predates the Joker in the Batman universe. He was one of the first reoccurring Batman villains first appearing in Detective Comics #36 in February 1940. He's a genius level scientist who originally stole a concentrated lightning machine that allowed him to create a dense fog to rob banks. Another storyline had him using a growth hormone on asylum patients that causes them to become mindless brutes.

This is the villain that has been getting the most run lately. There have been rumors that Rochester's own Phillip Seymour Hoffman may snag the role. (Rumors also have him playing Penguin.) Others have speculated that recently signed Tom Hardy (most recently of Inception) could have him taking the role.

I'm not sure about this choice only because he seems a little like a precursor to The Scarecrow but if it happens I trust Nolan's ability to create a plausible story. Likelihood of appearance: 85%

2. Selina Kyle/Catwoman

I didn't particularly care for Michelle Phieffer's performance in 1992's Batman Returns and re-doing her story arc might be a very good idea. She was originally depicted as a whip carrying burglar who had a tendency towards high stakes thefts. However in later incarnations she is more of an anti-hero rather than a primary villain of Batman. Catwoman has also played at being Batman's love interest over the years and their love/hate dynamic has made for interesting fictional fare. The fact that many writers in the modern era have interpreted her antics as a response to a history of abuse also adds a dark edge to the possible storyline. To add fuel to the fire Nolan has apparently been interviewing several prominent actresses to take on a "significant" role. Likelihood of appearance: 75%

3. Dr. Thomas Elliott/Hush

Now this may be the most intriguing villain and the one I would like to see most. Hush is as about as far from the "gimmicky" Batman villains as you can get.

Elliot is originally a childhood friend of Bruce Wayne and actually used to teach Bruce how to think like opponents when they played together. He was incredibly wealthy and brilliant but unlike Bruce hated his parents who were controlling and manipulative. As a boy he rigs his father's car and kills him but his mother survives thanks to Thomas Wayne. When Bruce's parents are killed and Thomas begins to see that Wayne is living a life of apparent leisure he develops an abnormal hatred of Bruce Wayne. Later he goes on to be a brilliant surgeon, however his animosity remains and through various manipulations of Batman's enemies and his closest allies Hush seeks to bring Batman down.

This is a character right up Christopher Nolan's alley. He's dark, highly intelligent, is a master marksman with guns and scalpels, and has a grudge against Batman/Bruce Wayne. Would LOVE to see this happen. Problem is his storyline involves a LOT of other Batman villains. Likelihood of appearance: 60%

4. Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin

Although Danny DeVito did a superb job playing the titular bird addled supervillain in 1992's Batman Returns, a return of the villain might be very likely.

The Penguin fancies himself as kind of an aristocratic gangster. He's primarily a mobster and a thief and while cunning and clever isn't particularly intelligent. Penguin also likes to employ different umbrellas that have various functions.

There are a couple of problems with this character. For one he's already been done before and any repeat performance will undoubtedly draw comparisons to DeVito. Also he's not a malevolent or physically imposing character, nor is he highly intelligent. Neither of these elements match up well against Batman in my opinion. Maybe most importantly he is WAY too campy. Additionally he has been named again and again one of the worst Batman villains of all time. Not a very ringing endorsement. Likelihood of appearance: 40%

5. Bane

Bane is a very fascinating villain particularly in the history of the Batman universe. Bane was the first real character to put Batman out of commission for a extended length of time by breaking his back over his knee. Born in a prison on the fictional Caribbean Republic of Santa Prisca, Bane is raised in the penal system killing his first man at age 8. He also has above average intelligence and reads every book he can get his hands as well as fine tuning his body in the prison's gym. Eventually Bane is chosen as a test subject for a steroid called Venom and gains enormous strength. However, he has to take the steroid every 12 hours or suffer terrible side effects.

Bane eventually escapes the prison and goes to Gotham seeking to rule the city like he did the prison. Knowing that Batman rules by fear Bane decides that the only way to rule Gotham is to destroy Batman. Consequently he releases every prisoner in Arkham Asylum and Batman spends three months locking them back up. By then Batman is exhausted, Bane has discovered his secret identity, and the fight ends badly for the Dark Knight.

Bane as a villain and the whole Knightfall story arc from the early 90s is extremely compelling. It would make for great drama. However, the problem is that again it involves too many of Batman's other villains and the story arc is too long to fit into a 2 1/2 hour movie. Additionally, I'm not so sure how well a super steroid like Venom would play on screen. Again Bane was already depicted in Batman and Robin and Joel Douchemacher completely ruined that character. Likelihood of appearance: 20%

So many villains. So little time. Fortunately for us Christopher Nolan already has a draft of the script and I'm sure he knows what villain(s) he's going to use and the direction he wants to take. (He's just not telling.) Nevertheless, I have total confidence that he will deliver another solid installment in the Batman franchise.