The Dark Knight Rises The Villains of The Trilogy - Who was the best and Why? (SPOILERS)

[arkham.insayn]

In terms of perfomance and gravitas the joker and to a lesser extent bane were definitely captivating in the sense that you could just watch them jaw dropped doing something as mundane as go to the shops to buy some milk and still be in awe. They are fascinating characters to watch and listen to on screen.

But i think from a story point scarecrow held the trilogy together nicely, the fact that his main weapon was fear was a nice tie in with begins and bruce mastering and using fear as batman. Then in tdk and tdkr i think he kind of provided that sub concious feeling that gotham is full of crazy insane villans, i think he represented the whole of the rogues gallery as by seeing him you knew there were people running around under the surface of the main story causing their own small mayhem. In a way zsas did that in begins, and scarecrow in the next two. An addded on villain to show that there Is more going on in gotham than the main stories being told, it expanded the universe for me.

So yeh, scarecrow.

Actually no, joker all the way.

 

[jb007]

No surpirse the Joker is in the lead. However my favorite & the one who really kicked everthing off is Ra's Al Ghul.

 

[Havok83]

Catwoman was NOT a villian. She needs to be taken off this list. Femme fatale at best but she doesnt qualify as a villian.

Id rank them:

Joker
Bane
Scarecrow
Ra's
Two Face
Talia

Of course not. Not by definition. But she is part of batman's "Rogues Gallery" so it's fine that she's included in the poll.

For the record I voted for (in this order)

Bane, Joker, Scarecrow, Ra's, Catwoman

In the comics, yes, but not the films, which this thread is about

 

[Spider-Fan]

I would go:

Spoiler

Joker
Bane
Two-Face (close between he and Bane due to the 3rd act)
Scarecrow
Ra's Al Ghul
Talia (a distant last place)

 

[TAK The Voyager]

Gotta go with The Joker. The way he was portrayed was perfect and he has always been that classic foil to Batman.

Bane is second, though, I enjoyed him the moment I heard his voice. Hardy was awesome as him. Too much fun to watch, just like Heath.

 

[DigificWriter]

Sorry but anyone who says anything but the Joker doesn't understand this series and shouldn't call themselves a fan of it. I'm not counting Catwoman in this since like others said she's hardly a villain.

Don't be a jerk. Was Heath Ledger's performance incredible and deserving of the Oscar he won for it (sadly posthumously)? Yes. Does that mean that he should be thought of as the 'be-all/end-all' of this trilogy when it comes to villains? No, it doesn't.

Ra's, Scarecrow, Two-Face, Bane, and Talia are all just as worthy of praise as The Joker, and everyone is entitled to their opinions concerning them.

 

[Vader815]

I posted parts of this on Nolanfans, but it's why I find Bane to be the best villain in Nolan's films, but one of the best in general (as is The Joker though).

Spoiler

Bane didn't join the league 'out of' love for Talia. He was in prison and wanted to fight for and protect an innocent helpless young girl, willing to sacrifice himself for her. This was meant to demonstrate his desire to protect and fight or the innocent, and the league "offered" him a path (well, Talia did) the same way they did to Bruce, making Bane an ultimate foil of Bruce's character. Everything Bane did in the film he felt he was doing for the betterment of humanity and the world out of a noble love for humanity. His humanity is reinforced throughout the film, such as when he enjoys the boy's beautiful voice.

Bane's a full formed human being, which gives the extremity of the real-world terrorism he inflicts on Gotham a disturbing layer few villains ever seem to possess. He hugely feels like a person that could actually exist in terrifying fashion, something you can't say about The Joker. In uprising the lower class to become the catalysts of Gotham's take-over and partial destruction, Bane showcased the true nature of Gotham more than The Joker ever did, despite his frequent attempts to.

-Vader

 

[DarthDaveBanner]

All the "main" villains were great so this is a tough one....I'd say it is a photo finish between Joker and Bane with Joker winning by a nose.

Ledger gave simply one of the most entertaining performances of all time and my hat goes off to Hardy for giving us a villain that could measure up to that.

He really was the perfect follow up: if Joker was the Devil then Bane was the Angel of Death.

 

[DACrowe]

Well it goes without saying Heath Ledger's Joker is not only the best villain of this trilogy, but the best comic book-based villain in film history and one of cinema's all-time great villains forevermore.

Now barring that obvious note, if I had to rank the rest:

2. Two-Face: He's more a tragic hero than a villain, but if he counts I feel his dramatic arc was truly heartbreaking the first time I watched TDK and is the narrative backbone of TDK (i.e. the best in the series). He is a mirror of Batman, he loses someone (the same person actually) and like Bruce wanted to do with Chill, he tries to take bloody vengeance with a gun. Sadly, he succeeds and becomes a monster and loses all the power and everything he stood for.

3. Catwoman: I'm not sure if she counts as a villain either. She is certainly an antagonist for most of the film, but more of an anti-hero. If she does though, she is great. She is fun, sexy, witty and lights up the screen whenever she is on. She plays all the characters and still comes out a hero in the end. She is definitely supporting to Bats and Bane, but she still steals the movie from both of them.

4. Ra's Al Ghul: Liam f-ing Neeson. If you need anymore, suffice to say he trained Batman in theatricality and brought a lot of gravitas and menace in his few scenes. I also felt his plan was more believable than that of his daughter and Bane's.

5. Bane: He was not meant to surpass the Joker, but is a different kind of villain. Tom Hardy brings a lot of menace and surprisingly subtle humor to the role. He is both intimidating and entertaining. I actually think besides the Joker, Bane is the villain Nolan most fully exploited. It's just that at the end of the day, Bane is a brute and thus has less potential than the three I listed above.

Those were the best in the series.

 

[HBKfan28]

Well Catwoman isn't really a villain, more an antagonist just trying to survive when she leads Batman into the trap, which she quickly regrets. But I voted anyway. Also Joker of course.

And I liked Talia's reveal/turn.

 

[American_Idiot]

I'd say the Joker and Bane were the most memorable of the trilogy. Two-Face was good, but short-lived. Ra's, Scarecrow, and Talia were all cool to see, but for me, they just weren't as iconic as the Joker and Bane. Catwoman was awesome too, though she's more of a hero than villain in the film.

 

[DoomsdayApex]

Joker, easily. He always felt like he was twenty steps ahead of everyone, and he didn't have any prep time like Bane did. Bane had a lot of time to burrow underground, set up the traps, etc, without any opposition. By the time they knew what was going on, the trap was set.

If Bane's strategy is like a game of chess, then the Joker's attack felt like 5-Minute Speed Chess. He just kept making new stuff up every few seconds, always thinking ahead, but also thinking really fast. He was a bigger direct threat in a lot of ways than Bane in that way.

Bane is still awesome, though...but I liked Catwoman a lot more. She was just a real scene stealer, a real joy to watch. Not to mention, like Magneto, people are debating if she even counts as a real villain. In my opinion, if you have to argue what side the character is on, that either means they were sympathetic enough to make you root for them, dynamic enough to realistically change sides, or just sloppily written. I think that last option can be ruled out. =P That's the same reason why I loved Two Face, but Catwoman just did a lot, including freaking killing Bane! >_<

Eh, I would argue that The Joker was a master manipulator just like Bane. The only difference between the two is that The Joker was unpredictable and willing to place himself in more riskier positions. Bane, on the other hand, worked as a tactician. He studied his prey from within the shadows, but when it came time to be resourceful, he flourished as well -- The Stock Exchange, Airplane Hijacking and Special Forces Wipeout scenes were accredit to Bane's ability to adapt in any situation.

 

[Reek]

This really isn't a contest... it should be 'Who is the 2nd best villain', Joker owns this entire trilogy.

 

[Reek]

and why the hell is Dagget and Zsasz even on here

 

[drumsnotdead]

Maroni kicked major BUTTOCKS. I like Eric Roberts as an actor tho.

And as far as badasses go? Crane/Scarecrow OWNED that s**t. He was able to turn psycho/hallucinogenic spraying sociopath/masked terrorizer on and off like a friggin LIGHT SWITCH.

SCARECROW FOR THE WIN. The sole survivor of the trilogy.

YES! I definitely agree!

 

[coderaven24]

Talia al Ghul

was really done poorly imho. Still not sure why Miranda even slept with Bruce it wasn't needed she already had what she needed and he already trusted her.

 

[Reek]

Talia al Ghul

was really done poorly imho. Still not sure why Miranda even slept with Bruce it wasn't needed she already had what she needed and he already trusted her.

'girls gotta eat'

 

[jacobed]

Talia al Ghul

was really done poorly imho. Still not sure why Miranda even slept with Bruce it wasn't needed she already had what she needed and he already trusted her.

Maybe she had a thing for Bruce. He's a good lookin dude, so why not

 

[The Joker]

Talia should have been left out altogether. Cottiard had barely any scenes with Bruce, they all lacked depth, the chemistry was non existent between them, and when she was revealed as Talia it was rushed, and she was dead 5 minutes later in one of the most poorly acted death scenes ever.

 

[coderaven24]

Maybe she had a thing for Bruce. He's a good lookin dude, so why not

She was supposedly doing all of this to continue her fathers legacy and get revenge for her fathers murder, doesn't compute.

Loved all three of Nolan's films, but her character no matter how many people say it was Nolan's interpretations doesn't pass the one time viewing test.
Hopefully more views will make sense. I have a feeling it will the black eye though on what I thought was a hell of a movie.

 

[Slipeor]

1. Joker
2. Joker
3. Joker

Honorable Mentions
Bane
Ra's
Two-Face

You do realize that if Heath Ledger didn't die then Joker would have been in this film? Probably filling in the Bane role to some degree.

 

[coderaven24]

could imagine the court scene with joker as the judge, EPIC.

 

[The Joker]

could imagine the court scene with joker as the judge, EPIC.

 

[The_Joker_hahah]

Ra's, Jonathan Crane, The Joker, Twoface, Bane are all memorable. The Joker and Bane being two really standout villians. I think Scarecrow is really enjoyable in all the movies aswell. He's the only villian to be featured in all the nolan batflicks. The least memorable character for me would be Talia. She was in character for a sum total of five minutes, and the way she [BLACKOUT]died[/BLACKOUT] was just hilarious. Not a momorable character at all.

 

[Victarion]

Bane, then Two-Face, Joker/Scarecrow and Ra's/Talia. Bane's plot throughout the first and second acts was fun to follow.