Yeah, I'm not in love with the title either. It might grow on me, but I'm hoping it goes away.

Anyway, the word on the street (or Ain't it cool news talkback section) is that they're looking for a female lead for the new movie. It could be a romantic interest, but I'm betting it's Catwoman.

I like Penquin for this one. Doesn't have to be muntant like Batman Returns. Could just have a some weird birth defect, but is from a rich family. An Aristocratic gangster, with a lot of cool toys just like Bruce Wayne...that sounds like it would fit pretty well in the Nolan films to me.

I like the Killer Croc idea too. It could be an odd disease or deformity... I think one comic had it as a weird type of cancer...can't remember it's been awhile since I read Batman. It could work.

Wait, so you're saying that TDK was originally supposed to be about Two-Face but they reworked it after Ledger died? Seems like that wouldn't be easy to do without Ledger...

Anyway, I feel like they could have at least let Dent live & then they could either (a) lessened his role in TDK & make him the main bad guy in the 3rd movie, which would have been badass or (b) let him make a cameo like Scarecrow did in TDK. Either one would have been better than killing him off IMO. Sorry, I just love Two-Face & that whole story/dynamic.

It's funny how the Burton and Schumacher movies still have an effect on people's perception of the characters. In the comics, the Penguin was never a mutant (though he was sometimes drawn that way after Batman Returns came out) and Bane was a genius.

THIS

Bane might be hard to do in this world, but Penguin would be an easy fit.

Even though I'm a super geek, I was always a Marvel man, not DC. So pardon my ignorance of all the ins and outs of the Batman world.

Is there anyone who is a parallel for Batman? Someone who is like a super vigilante who thinks they're doing good, but is still a foe of Batman? That seems the most appropriate "villain" considering the end of the last one. I can see this one opening with Batman as a villain of Gotham. There's a new "hero" who has arisen to fight both Batman and the criminal underground and who is loved by the public. This hero eventually becomes corrupted and Batman has to take him out.

Or maybe the "hero" is actually bad the whole time, but he's somehow won the public's love by appearing to be good. I could see Nolan sinking his teeth into that: the bad guy seems to be good, and the good guy seems to be bad within the eyes of the public.

Sounds like a porn film.

Not thrilled about the title, and I don't imagine that I will be until I see the film. I'm guessing the tone and theme(s) of the picture will ultimately support the title. But, to be fair, I didn't like Batman Begins as a title either. And it's probably the second best comic-book, superhero movie ever made.

Nolan's version of Gotham along with the casting of Tom Hardy strongly suggests someone like Black Mask. And I'm really kind of hoping that's who it is. Black Mask makes way too much sense in Nolan's Gotham. And it would be nice for Wayne to have a foe as big as Batman's.

I don't recall a recurring villain like this. But I'm no expert either.

Honestly, Catwoman kind of fits this role. In the comics she comes from troubled beginnings, much like Wayne. She's a cat-burgler, not some crazy cat lady who meows and bathes herself with her tongue (hot as that might be).

With a couple of creative tweaks, she could easily fill the role you're describing. She would also make a nice love interest for Black Mask, should they choose to go that route. It might be nice to see a love triangle between Roman Sionis (Black Mask), Wayne and whichever Catwoman they choose to use. Could be fun to see Wayne sort of "steal" her away from Roman since Roman believes Wayne also stole his parents, his legacy, and their company/fortune.

I thought that one of the "next" villians was going to be Catwoman just because of what Morgan Freeman says in the last movie.

They're talking about keeping dogbites and Bruce Wayne says "will it stop a dog?" And Freeman responds "it'll stop a cat".

I thought that was foreshadowing, but I really hope they don't recycle all the same villians.

It could be really cool if they can pull it off; if they can keep it grounded in the mostly realistic world that Nolan has created. I'd love to see them give it a shot.

And I think I'd love to see Bane as well. Especially if they keep it closer to the origin story from the comics. And maybe ditch the weird super-strength venum, nonsense. Just make him a super intellectual killer. A Hannibal Lecter/Dexter Morgan type of guy who's built like a brick house. Could really work, and stretch the limits of Batman's physical ability.

I could live with Catwoman if they keep it simple and psychologial; more faithful to her origins from the book.

But, yeah, ultimately, I'd like to see something new/different/unexpected. One of the things made Batman Begins so great was the use of fantastic villains we hadn't seen on screen before. I'd love to see them come full circle and give us a couple more we've never seen fully realized on film.

Also, if you're looking for forshadowing... Victor Zsasz is seen briefly in Batman Begins, during the break-out at Arkham. Maybe they'll bring him back. Last we saw, he was still on the loose.

If it is Penguin, I say they bring Danny Devito back.

There's nothing at all cartoony about the first two movies, which makes a rotund midget with a fetish for umbrellas seem like a pretty poor fit (much in the same way that the riddler was). Catwoman's been overdone, and I don't think Bane is enough to carry a movie on his own. Not sure how well Black Mask would work.

Who's your dog in this fight, then?

Killer Croc would certainly be a fan favorite, but might stretch the limits of Nolan's "nothing at all cartoony" Gotham. Freeze and Poison Ivy are out, and already done besides. We know there's no Joker. No Riddler. Al Ghul is dead. They could concievably bring back Dent, but it seems unlikely. Scarecrow is still out there... but who else is there?