If Bruce Wayne were real, I'd marry him.

The Dark Knight Rises has had a rough start. Everyone knows about the shooting that occurred in Colorado by now. I'm not really here to talk about that kind of thing. Honestly, it's beyond my scope. I just don't have the ability to put words to this kind of tragedy. So, as in my other entries, I will focus on the movie with a light and airy tone. I'll now take this moment to say:

WARNING WARNING SPOILER ALERT

IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE MOVIE, DO NOT READ THIS POST (unless you're okay with spoilers)

Now you may feel free to insert "squees" at random intervals during this post. It'll help you know what it was like to be the guy sitting next to me in the movie theater. I may have ruined his experience, but I had a blast. I'm the only one who matters in this equation anyway. I was, I must admit, a bit reticent about viewing this movie. Don't stop reading, but I found the second Dark Knight film to be a bit disappointing. I'm predicting gasps of horror. Let me defend myself. Heath Ledger diserved the Oscar. It is a beautiful film to watch. That was the worst interpretation of the Joker ever. Here is where I make another confession, for those who don't already know: I'm a huge comic geek. I've been subscribing to Wonder Woman since I was twelve, my first comic was an old issue of Aquaman when I was seven or eight, and I've been in love with Bruce Wayne/Batman since I was about four. Ever since Batman: the Animated Series the Dark Knight has held top rank among my favorite superheroes.



Who wouldn't love this?


It's no wonder why I loved Batman Begins so much. Christopher Nolan brought Batman and one of his greatest villains into a world that could be ours. It was wildly appealing to the comic geek side of my nature. The Dark Knight appealed to the film geek in ways that the first installment didn't, but left the comic geek floundering.

For me, Mark Hamill's Joker will always be the best portrayal of the Clown Prince of Crime. Heath Ledger's Joker made you laugh because you couldn't think of a better way to deal with the violence he could do with a pencil. Mark Hamill's Joker could make you laugh because he was funny. I find this characteristic essential to the Joker's character, and it was missing in The Dark Knight. The final film in this trilogy made up for it with a vengeance.

They're comparing Romney to this!? He's just not awesome enough.

As if Christopher Nolan could read my mind, he and his writers took elements from three of the best and most important Batman story arcs and shoved them into a mindblowingly beautiful film. For those who are wondering (even if you aren't I'm going to tell you), those story arcs are Knightfall, No Man's Land, and Batman R.I.P. Nolan seemlessly combined all three right down to the "death" of Bruce Wayne. Then he added Talia al-Ghul just for shits and giggles. Oh man, this movie was good.

I know this is wrong on many levels, but when Tom Hardy as Bane broke Batman's back, I squeed. Everyone else in the theater did a kind of audible wince, but I was geeking out so hard that I was bouncing in my seat with glee. I may be completely messed up, but I SO CALLED IT. I was pleasantly (too mild a word) surprised when they closed Gotham from the outside world. Everytime Officer Blake marked a street corner with a Batsymbol, I almost convulsed in joy.

Then Nolan did what the writers at DC didn't have the courage to do. He retired Bruce Wayne. He passed that iconic cowl to someone else (Dick Grayson should have been Batman damn it!). In the end it doesn't matter who wears the cape and cowl. It's the symbol, the idea of Batman that matters most. This was the best possible way for Nolan to end his tenure with the Bat. Even though he isn't continuing, here's to hoping that someone picks up the baton.

I'll leave you these words from DC's Final Crisis:

"We'll all miss him. And pray for a resurrection." - Superman

Thanks Mr. Nolan, it's been fun.