3. Lady Shiva
Back in 2010, when Christopher Nolan was scouting places in Asia for The Dark Knight, many online commenters voiced eager speculation that Lady Shiva would make an appearance, and with good reason.
Hailed by many as one of the greatest martial artists and assassins alive, Lady Shiva has a unique fighting style that is honed through using body language as the primary form of communication, creating a literal fighting instinct. The murder of her sister by the hand of Cain, a member of Ra’s al Ghul’s League of Assassins, spurred Shiva to perfect her martial arts. She’s notable for training many DC heavyweights, including Batman, Tim Drake and the Black Canary,
Shiva’s ties with the Dark Knight blur the line between friend and foe numerous times. After events that led to Bane breaking Batman’s back, Shiva was the one who devised a training regimen for him. Of course, the training involved an attempt to have Batman kill a man, which demonstrates her vague alignment.
There’s nothing more satisfying than hand-to-hand combat done well in a superhero movie; adding a martial artist who is considered the best in the DC universe could potentially present a fight scene unlike any other in the Batman franchise.
And of course, there’s the perk of analysing what her character symbolizes. It’s said that facets of Batman’s personality manifests itself through his rogues. In this case, Lady Shiva represents Bruce’s quest to perfect himself, and to a certain degree, his death wish.
Both strive to push themselves past human limitations, without really caring about their personal welfare. Whereas the battle against Ra’s and the Joker was based on opposing beliefs of what Gotham and its people were, Shiva against Bruce would be a physical, violent confrontation of willpower and who wants to reach their goals more.
2. Nightwing (Dick Grayson)
We know, technically Dick Grayson was in Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever and Batman and Robin. However, he was always a part of the Dynamic Duo, never a solo crimefighting act.
To make a long story short, Nightwing is the alter ego of Dick Grayson, who originally fought alongside Batman as the first Boy Wonder. In time, Dick outgrew his role as Robin and struck out on his own. He joined the Teen Titans, much to Batman’s disapproval. When Batman gave Dick the ultimatum of being his partner or retiring his role as Robin, Dick chose to leave Wayne Manor and eventually formed his own identity as Nightwing.
Christopher Nolan’s approach of excluding Robin in his trilogy (for the most part) depicts just one part of the criteria that people will now expect from a Batman movie – a gritty and grim depiction of Gotham, realistic enough for disbelief to be suspended moreso than usual for a comic book movie.
Robin, swathed in bright colours and barely tall enough to ride any abandoned amusement ride, would have stood out like a sore underage thumb in a serious Batman adaption. A teenage Robin is pushing what modern viewers would deem acceptable – it’s doubtful a sidekick combating villains and puberty would go over well with Nolan fans. Nightwing, on the other hand, fits this gauge perfectly.
His independence from Batman marks not only the maturation of Robin, but also the growth of character development in Batman films. Having a hero operate without the Bat symbol, yet still remain a member of Bruce’s family, causes conflict. Both heroes were orphaned due to crime, both trained to fight it and yet both employ different methods and have nearly polar motivations.
The night his parents were gunned down will always be Bruce’s reason for saving Gotham’s streets, the obsessive push to forego personal happiness in order to never let another go through that night again. Dick allows himself to move past that traumatic event, and through Bruce’s mentoring and father figure role, can become a different brand of hero Gotham deserves.
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