Of the six villains that
are featured, three of them don’t have strong cases for mental illness as
portrayed in the trilogy. These are Ra’s al Ghul, Bane and Catwoman.
Batman’s villains all
seem to have some grasp on reality, some more than others. These three would count with the 'some more than' part. So before I plunge into the other three,
let’s clarify why these villains won’t be discussed:
Ra’s al Ghul
Liam Neeson’s character
is different from the original. In the comic books, Ra’s was able to keep
himself alive for hundreds of years with his Lazarus Pits, filled with a
mixture of chemicals that helped him retain his youth but also drove him mad.
The film alters the character to make Ra’s al Ghul more realistic, and Neeson
instead portrays an intelligent and well-trained terrorist-like character.
The trilogy’s Ra’s does
not appear to suffer from a serious mental disorder. Therefore, scratch him.
Bane
Bane is also a villain
whose original character was altered to fit the more realistic style Nolan set
for the films. As the primary antagonist of The
Dark Knight Rises, Bane is a strong man with a violent fighting style and a
mask with a breathing apparatus to numb pain of previous injuries. The comic
book version was hyped up on a steroid called Venom, which he injected into his
body with a carry-on tank and tubes.
Again, no sign of mental
illness. Just a deranged method of trying to make the world a better place.
Catwoman
Catwoman is a burglar
with a history, who by the third film seeks to clear her name with a ‘Clean
Slate’ technology. She appears perfectly sane, and appears to be compelled to
commit robbery based on aspirations for a better life or to obtain wealth
(Rafter, 2000, p. 49). Catwoman is also notable for acting more like an antihero than a villain:
rather than fighting for the side of evil explicitly, she’ll typically take
whichever side will benefit her the most.
This leaves Scarecrow,
Two-Face and the Joker, who I will analyze in future posts.
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