Batman looks like he has seen better days.
Based on "The Dark Knight Rises" footage that director Christopher Nolan screened for MTV Movie Awards audiences on Sunday night, the caped crusader is about to have his Gotham-saving skills severely tested by Bane (Tom Hardy) and Catwoman (Anne Hathaway).
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In the preview, it looks as though Bane, a steroidal criminal with an iffy Caribbean accent, is even able to infiltrate the Bat cave. Will he snap Batman's back like a twig, much as he does in the comic books?
Like the Joker, Bane seems determined to create anarchic chaos in the city Batman has sworn to protect — bringing violence to its streets, its financial institutions and even its picturesque bridges (the real life versions of which can be seen in Pittsburgh).
"You should be as afraid of him as I am," Catwoman/Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway) warns Joseph Gordon-Levitt's cop at one point in the trailer.
Message received, Selina.
"The Dark Knight Rises" opens on July 20, with Christian Bale returning to his role as Batman and leading a cast that includes Michael Caine, Gary Oldman and Marion Cotillard.