‘The Dark Knight Rises’: Trailer, Photos, Comics Crash Course

The Dark Knight Rises is generating a swell of buzz and excitement. The trailer and pictures released by Warner Brothers are below.

Below is a comics crash course on Bane, Batman's arch-nemesis in The Dark Knight Rises, and other characters from the movie. The movie, of course, will not stick 100 percent to what the comic books say.

Bane:

Bane grew up in prison in the fictional island of Santa Prisca. As a young child, he was forced to inherit the prison sentence of his fugitive father. Later in life, pursuing the identity of his father becomes one of his major obsessions.

Bane was chosen for an experiment by the corrupt government of Santa Prisca. He was injected with a drug called Venom, which had killed all previous test subjects. Bane, however, survived the venom, which then gave him superhuman strength.

He subsequently escaped prison and became obsessed with taking down Batman, who he regarded as a worthy adversary to conquer.

In their first encounter, Bane beat Batman and capped off his victory with breaking Batman's back. An intense point of speculation is whether or not Bane will break Batman's back in The Dark Knight Rises.

Ra's al Ghul:

Ra's al Ghul was an Arabic doctor born hundreds of years ago who one day discovered a pool of rejuvenating chemicals. Since then, he has used it continuously to extend his life.

When industrialization started, Ra's al Ghul became disillusioned about the impact of it and the human race on the earth. Since then, he has set about to eradicate the entire human race from the planet.

Through his centuries of existence, Ra's al Ghul has accumulated a wealth of fighting techniques, knowledge, contacts, and money.

Catwoman:

Catwoman was orphaned at a young age, forced to turn to prostitution, and eventually made a career for herself as a successful thief.

Similar to Batman, Catwoman has no superpowers; she's just exceptionally well-trained in combat and well-equipped.

She is a perennial love interest of Batman, although the two never settled into a stable romantic relationship.