Punch-Up
The Art: A head to head between Batman and Bane, told through the medium of classic comic-book panelling. Although it looks as though Batman is having the best of it here, we're not sure that's quite how it's going to pan out on the big screen...
Coolest Detail: We particularly like the jagged boxes that accompany every landing of a punch or swing of a boot. If you listen carefully, you can almost hear the word, "kapow!"
Why Do We Fall?
The Art: A gorgeous, abstract take on an unusually warm and colourful looking Gotham, bringing together a horrific moment from Bruce Wayne's past and the hulking adversary that threatens his future. Bane has a touch of the Cartmans about him here, doesn't he? Albeit a really scary version of Cartman…
Coolest Detail: The way in which Bane's mouthpiece also resembles Batman holding his head in his hands. Clever, that.
Monster
The Art: A beautifully rendered side-on portrait of Bane, who looks like something out of a science-fiction movie rather than a superhero epic. We mean that in a good way, of course.
Coolest Detail: The way the Bat-symbol appears to be ablaze, the glare from which provides an eerie illumination to the lower half of Bane's face. Looks like the new guy is out to finish what the Joker started…
Typography
The Art: The title of the movie is spelled out in some very cool lettering, taking the shape of Batman's cowl as it does so. We've yet to see an official poster as yet, but when it finally arrives it'll have to go some to be cooler than this.
Coolest Detail: Even without the cowl motif, the font of the lettering here is pleasingly off-kilter, and the perfect match for Nolan's "world without rules".
Man On Fire
The Art: Another take on Bane, this time focusing on his imposing physique. The look in his eye is almost contemplative, a lone drop of tranquility amid a body that's coiled like a spring. Marvellous stuff.
Coolest Detail: The blurred crimson backdrop makes it look as though Bane is standing in the midst of a blazing inferno. Knowing what he has in mind for Gotham, that's probably what's happening…
Silhouette
The Art: A monochrome silhouette of the monstrous Bane, who's now wandered out of the arena of intimidating straight into the stuff of nightmares. Barely appearing human here, you'd have no trouble believing that this is the adversary who finally manages to get the better of the Bat.
Coolest Detail: The tiny dots of light representing his eyes. As if the mask wasn't already hideous enough, those eyes belong to an animal rather than a man…
Breaking The Bat
The Art: The Bat-symbol has been shattered into tiny pieces… but by whom? Have a closer look…. yep, there he is, peeping out from the wreckage. That pesky no-good Bane! Seriously though, this is utterly awesome.
Coolest Detail: The tiny fragments that form Bane's mask are pretty brill, but this one is all about the overall composition. A stellar idea, brilliantly executed.
Ensemble
The Art: All the film's key players are brought together for this gorgeous ensemble piece. Even Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character gets the nod, despite the fact we still know nothing about him. A nicely cracked Bat-symbol is the icing on the cake.
Coolest Detail: Bane looks every inch the comic-book nemesis in this one, all giant fists, arched eyebrows and wonderfully square knuckles… they're going to leave a mark.
End Of An Era
The Art: A particularly devilish looking Bane grabs the Bat-symbol in his fist and crushes it to a pulp. Everyone seems pretty convinced that Batman is going to get it, don't they? Will there be a spine-breaking? It's the question on everybody's lips…
Coolest Detail: The eye-contact made by those blood red peepers. Good Bane… nice Bane…
Retro Hero
The Art: A brilliant mock-up of what the Dark Knight Rises storyline might have looked like had it appeared in the original Batman comic. We'd say Bane looks a fair bit scarier in real life, wouldn't you?
Coolest Detail: The old-school costumes are a bit special aren't they? Nice attention to detail to squeeze the release date in there as well…
The Bats
The Art: Amid all the hysteria over Bane's appearance, it's nice to see some fan art giving a bit of love to the real star of the show, Mr. Bruce Wayne himself. It's easy to forget about Bats when there are so many colourful characters around, but this leather-winged masterpiece redresses the balance nicely.
Coolest Detail: Working the Bat-symbol into Batman's flowing cape is a nice touch.
Two Face
The Art: Bats and Bane are both men of violence, men who disguise their faces behind distinctive headgear, and men who are bloody hard… it makes perfect sense to depict them as two sides of the same coin, does it not?
Coolest Detail: The artist has clearly taken his cues from Bane's comic-book appearance. Bravo, sir!
Brute Force
The Art: Batman and Bane tear strips off each other while the delectable Ms. Kyle reclines in the foreground, sporting her slinky new Catwoman suit. It's almost as though the other two haven't noticed she's there…
Coolest Detail: Bane's musculature looks pretty formidable doesn't it? You wouldn't want to get on his bad side.
Femme Fatale
The Art: A supremely badass take on Anne Hathaway's Catwoman, complete with heaving cleavage, flowing locks and a particularly mean-looking whip. If the real thing is even half as sexy, there will be many a happy fanboy.
Coolest Detail: Her, arm… belt. It's fairly eye-catching, isn't it?
Masked Man
The Art: Another Bane-centric image, this time using a cloud of bats to form the shape of the big man's breathing apparatus. People might have thought the Joker would be hard to top, but it seems as though Bane has got the fans every bit as excited as his chaos-spreading predecessor.
Coolest Detail: The one-note colour-scheme fits Gotham's pitch-black moodiness to a tee.
