Free Imagine Blogs

More than anything, I think I'd like to be on TV.

I'm not looking for my own show or anything like that. I'd just like to gueststar in one of Warner Bros' animated DC series. Or they could do a Knightfall direct to DVD movie. That would be okay.

Of course, that last one is pretty unlikely (even if it's no stranger than a Under the Hood movie). So I think I'd just like to be on Batman: The Brave and the Bold. We could have a whole episode where You-Know-Who and I team up against Bane or somebody.

Or they could just put me in the pre-credits opening in a non-speaking role. I'm not picky. Either or anything would be okay, really. I'd just like to be on TV. I mean, how many times has Bane been on TV anyway? And this will what, be his second big screen appearance. It's not like I'm asking to be in Dark Knight Rises.

It just doesn't seem fair that Bane -- a guy I beat gets to be in an ongoing series and a movie while I don't get to do anything at all.

The next Christopher Nolan Batman movie is apparently going to be called The Dark Knight Rises. That seems like an odd title to me, as they already did a movie called The Dark Knight. You'd think they'd want keep the names clearly delineated.

Anyway, there's word about the film in the news today: apparently Nolan has picked someone to play Catwoman and -- get this -- Bane. Catwoman is not really all that big of a surprise. She's an integral part of the Batman mythos and it's not surprising that she'd show up before Nolan finishes his little "trilogy."

But Bane is a big surprise as far as casting news goes. I have some difficulty figuring out how he'll fit into the "realistic" world that Nolan has created. I could see Hugo Strange or Black Mask being made to work -- and I figured one of them was going to be the villain. In some ways Bane doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense.

That said, when you look at it another way it makes perfect sense. When we last left Nolan's Gotham City Batman was a fugitive. He's outside of the law, not trusted by anyone but Gordan. In the process of ostracizing himself Batman has cleaned up Gotham.

But what happens when someone comes from the outside to stir things up in Gotham City? Surely Gotham's "Bat-Man" has become famous by now. I can see Bane as a character who comes in from the outside to stir up trouble, forcing the people of the city to rally to Batman again.

Still, I can't help but think that Hugo Strange would make a better villain, considering the point we are in this story arc. It's very similar to where one of my all time favorite stories Prey starts out. That story, unsurprisingly, features Prof. Hugo Strange.

Regardless, Nolan clearly has some interesting plans for The Dark Knight Rises. As much as I might like certain things, I can say I'll be happier in the long run if I'm surprised...

Bane didn't use to be cool; Gail Simone made him cool. Bane was a one note character designed to serve a single story. Like Doomsday. Or (dare I say it?) Azrael. It just goes to show you that it's true what they say: any character can be good with the right writer.

You know, I really do love Bane in Secret Six.

Of course, I like Scandal Savage even more.

I hope Gail Simone writes these characters forever and ever.

You know what the sweetest/creepiest/most hilarious relationship in comics is? It's not any of the romantic pairings you see out there. And it's not even any real paternal connection. Truly, the most brilliant character relationship in comics is the really strange relationship that Bane and Scandal Savage have in Secret Six.

Did your read the Suicide Squad "back from the dead" one shot? It was really good (it's Ostrander and Simone, how could it not be?). And there was a fantastic bit of Bane/Scandal interaction in there.

It's a very weird relationship. Bane -- the guy who never had any parents -- trying to be a father figure to the woman who had the worst father in history (and pre-history). And the strangest thing about it is how it seems to work. At first it seemed kind of off but now it seems bizarrely natural.

If Geoff Johns writes the best "epics" for DC then Gail Simone writes the best relationships. Really, all the relationships between the various characters in Secret Six are fantastic. I just happen to like the Bane/Scandal one the best.

I've been trying to figure out why all these characters from the nineties are coming back. I'm not really sure what the point of it all is. I'm not complaining, of course. There's a chance that I might be showing up again.

Hey, did you know that my old enemy Bane is going to be showing up in Secret Six sometime soon? I beat him, you know. Nobody else could do it but I did. Nobody remembers that, though. You-Know-Who gets the credit... But it was me in that costume! I broke Bane, not Batman!

...

There, I said it. I mentioned him. And know that I did it by name. I'm not sure if that's progress or a dangerous backslide into insanity. I'd... I'd better go ask the wrathful spirit of the Venerable Saint Dumas. I'll... I'll let you know what he says.

Did you know that I was mentioned in Countdown a few weeks back?

It's true. They've been doing those "villain profiles" and one of them happened to be Bane. Not only was I mentioned but I was also seen! Take a look:

Yes! That is me, beating up Bane. Now, Bane makes a big deal about how he "broke the Bat." And yes, he did. He beat You-Know-Who, something that very few people have ever managed to do. I mean, I couldn't do it.

But don't forget, my friends. Bane may have broken the Bat... But I broke Bane.