By: Scott Johnson on July 17, 2012
Today, Rush Limbaugh became the second talk show host to make some controversial comments regarding the upcoming summer blockbuster The Dark Knight Rises. Of course, the first was David Letterman who may or may not have spoiled the ending of The Dark Knight Rises. Limbaugh didn’t drop any spoilers, but he did lay out a possible political conspiracy theory revolving around the villain Bane.
Limbaugh asked, “Do you think it is accidental that the name of the really vicious fire-breathing, four-eyed whatever-it-is villain in this movie is named Bane?” He then went on to suggest that Bane might have been chosen as the villain as a political agenda against Mitt Romney, who ran a venture capital company called Bain. Here’s five reasons that Russ Limbaugh is wrong about Bane in The Dark Knight Rises.
5. Bane Was Created In 1993 – Bane wasn’t created just for The Dark Knight Rises. He’s a character that first appeared in comic books in 1993, which was a year before Mitt Romney ran for the senate in 1994. Unless, Bane’s creators were psychics, they couldn’t have possible imagined a scenario where their character would be in a movie nineteen years later while Romney was running for President.
4. Bane’s Creators Were Conservatives – Ok, let’s pretend that Bane’s creators were psychics, there’s one more problem. They were also conservatives. Comicbook.com reached out to Bane co-creator Chuck Dixon earlier today. Dixon told Comicbook.com, “The idea that there’s some kind of liberal agenda behind the use of Bane in the new movie is silly. I refuted this within hours of the article in the Washington Examiner suggesting that Bane would be tied to Bain Capital and Mitt Romney appearing. Bane was created by me and Graham Nolan and we are lifelong conservatives and as far from left-wing mouthpieces as you are likely to find in comics.”
3. Bane Is Closer To The Occupy Movement – If you’ve watched any of the countless trailers that have aired for The Dark Knight Rises, Bane appears to be leading an uprising against Gotham City’s wealthy and powerful. As Bane co-creator Chuck Dixon told Comicbook.com, “As for his appearance in The Dark Knight Rises, Bane is a force for evil and the destruction of the status quo. He’s far more akin to an Occupy Wall Street type if you’re looking to cast him politically. And if there ever was a Bruce Wayne running for the White House it would have to be Romney.”
2. Dark Knight Rises Is Not A Movie For Brain-Dead People – Limbaugh describes the audience for The Dark Knight Rises as “a lot of brain-dead people, entertainment, the pop-culture crowd.” Part of Limbaugh’s theory is that all these brain-dead viewers won’t be able to discern Bane the Batman villain from Bain Capital tied to Romney. The Dark Knight Rises is actually being directed by Christopher Nolan, who is widely known for making the most thought-provoking movies around. He’s the same director behind Memento, The Prestige, and Inception. Christopher Nolan does not make fluffy, summer popcorn movies for brain-dead people. If anything, his movies are known for attracting viewers who want to see complex, mentally challenging movies.
1. Bane Is Friends With Arnold Schwarzenegger – The Dark Knight Rises is not the first time that Bane has appeared in a movie. Bane appeared in the 1997 Batman & Robin movie. In that installment of the Batman franchise, Bane teamed up with Mr. Freeze, who was played by none other than Arnold Schwarzenegger, who later became a Republican Governor of California. They battled against a Batman, who was played by George Clooney, who is one of the most well-known liberal political activist in Hollywood. Wait a minute, Limbaugh might have something here, he just picked the wrong movie. It’s Batman & Robin that associated Bane with a conservative politician against a liberal agenda pushing Batman, not The Dark Knight Rises. Plus, Batman & Robin really sucked as a movie, so if Limbaugh is going to attack a movie, that’s the one he should have a go at.
