The Dark Knight Rises is critically split pretty much down the middle and everything has been said for either side. What this post deals with is TDKR’s uncanny resemblance to Dan Brown’s Angel’s and Demons.
Angels and Demons is a book I read recently. If you haven’t read it, remember the Da Vinci Code? Well it’s the same thing, same author, slightly different characters. The synopsis being about a Symbology professor being roiled up in a plot by the mysterious Illuminati to reveal something earth shattering and disprove the existence of God (a loose interpretation). Now, though some may argue that The Dark Knight Rises has nothing to do with God or religion the fact is that it had everything to do with the idea of faith. Most of the story is a thinly structured collage of revelations and betrayals followed by redemption via apparent suicide. But that’s a general comparison. The similarities go far deeper, so deep in fact that it become surprising that Director Christopher Nolan didn’t directly credit Angels and Demons as inspiration for The Dark Knight Rises.
Let’s break down the elements of both stories and we’ll begin to find some surprising homages to, if not lazy rip-offs of Dan Brown’s bestseller. So let’s start with the protagonists.
WHO?
Angels and Demons: In this corner we have Robert Langdon, bumbling Symbology Professor at Harvard University and overall good guy with a huge arsenal of historically meaningless and yet situational-relevant trivia. Later on in his career he’ll clash with the likes of the French police force, invalid British knights and the Freemasons. In this book we find him matching wits with the mysterious Illuminati, a timeless force to be reckoned with. On a side note: Langdon fosters a deep disgust for firearms of any sort.
The Dark Knight Rises: Over here we have Bruce Wayne, Billionaire recluse who dresses up as a bat to beat bad guys senseless and baffle an entire police force. Just off of an 8 year retirement stint, still no one has put two and two together about his identity. Earlier in his career, Batman clashed with the likes of ninja assassins, dubiously credentialed psychologists, murderous clowns and a severely disfigured former buddy. Also, not a big fan of guns.
All right, not much to see here so let’s move on to bigger story elements.
WHAT?
Angels and Demons: Apparently, a father and daughter team of scientists over at CERN (an immense technological development facility) Leonardo and Vitoria Vetra have developed a weapon of unimaginable destruction that started off as a perfectly harmless means of sustainable energy. The fact that it could also vaporize an entire city wasn’t even considered.
The Dark Knight Rises: Apparently scientists over at Wayne Enterprises (a billion dollar technological development company) have developed a weapon of unimaginable destruction that was, yet again, just supposed to be an innocuous form of sustainable energy. (Why use it as a weapon?)
Ok, now were getting to the meat of things, but still this is only a small resemblance between both works.
Angels and Demons: Holy of Holies Batman! Someone stole the energy source and plans to use it (completely unpredictably) as a powerful neutron bomb to hold Vatican City hostage but ultimately blow it up anyway! Not only that but they killed the likeable enough father figure that created it in a pretty shameless public display (in this case, stripping him down, cutting out his eye and branding him). His daughter Vitoria will team up with our protagonist in order to solve all kinds of crazy clues. Luckily, they’ll have the help of the Vatican Chamberlain, Carlo Ventresca whose dedication to the church knows no bounds (bells are ringing already)
The Dark Knight Rises: Didn’t see that coming, let’s take a look at Gotham, and see how things are going there. Jeez Louise! Someone stole the Energy source and plans to use it to hold Gotham City Hostage but inevitably destroy it anyway?! Oh man, what a totally innovative master plan. Not only that but they killed Dr. Pavel, the somewhat likeable foreign creator of the bomb (who was only protecting his kids in the first place) and this they did in a pretty shameless, albeit somewhat less gruesome, public display: the ol’ broken neck at a football stadium ploy.
OK so here we have the main threat and its ultimate purpose in the story, which is pretty much, two for two as well as a fairly familiar peripheral character in the form of a foreign scientist who created the source of mischief. You’d think the comparison would stop there but let’s take a quick peak around anyway.
WHY?
Angels and Demons: So they stole the sustainable source of energy/ultimate death bomb and are holding Vatican City hostage, but why? Well it all comes down to a question of false idols: the antagonist, in this case, the Illuminati, wants to topple what they conceive to be an establish pillar of faith in order to show its fallibility to the world. This theoretically to cause a revolution or, as the author puts it: to usher forth a new age.
Hmmm. That tastes familiar.
The Dark Knight Rises: But why, Batman?! Well, because Officer Robin, the seemingly primary antagonist wants to, well, read the above paragraph: shatter a population’s faith to start a revolution.
Now, who are these monstrous opponents to whom we owe all this chaos and terror?
WHO? (antagonist?)
Angels and Demons: Dan Brown wrote about purely evil Arabs before it was considered cool (and political incorrect) and in this book we have the mysterious and malevolent Hashashin, a given title to the members of an ancient and secret sect of warrior assassins who have attempted to lay waste to the Catholic faith and all it stands for since the dawn of time (I guess). He has utilised his resources and apparently a connection deeply infiltrated within the Church itself to plant the bomb, threaten Vatican City, publicly execute some of its highest ranking members and attempt to usher in a new age without religion. He will stop at nothing to attain his goal and is described as a hulking, monstrous figure.
Badass, whaddaya got TDKR?
TDKR: Ok, so we have here an ambiguously middle eastern character named Bane, (apparently) a title given to him by his ancient and secret sect of warrior assassins who have attempted to lay waste to the moral and financial decadence of whichever city was big at that particular moment since the dawn of time. He has utilized his resources (getting déjà vu yet?) and apparently a connection deeply infiltrated within Gotham’s elite to plant the bomb, threaten the city, publicly execute some of its highest ranking members and attempt to usher in a new age without religion (sorry, I meant ‘order’, I’m copy pasting here)
Hoo boy, it don’t get closer than that, do it?
Angels and Demons: It do! Who is this mysterious connection within the higher echelons that allows the Hashashin to move freely and discreetly and stay two steps ahead of our protagonists? Spoiler Alert, because it’s Il Camerlengo! (AKA The Chamberlain AKA Carlo Ventresca AKA Janus AKA the 11th Hour Samaritan…and so on.) This guy’s got so many aliases he makes a league of Shadows assassin look like a second rate ninja. The Chamberlain has, up until now, been helping our protagonists, Robert Langdon and Vittoria Vetra, keep calm and order in the city only to be working behind their backs as the actual mastermind of the entire plot. He’s sweet, he’s unassuming and he has nothing but goodness in his heart except for the fact that it was entirely his plan to hold the city hostage. To blow it up? Well no, not really, the Chamberlain only wants to use this whole set up as a means to further proliferate the Catholic church and get elected pope so I’ll give this one to Nolan, it’s not entirely lifted from the story. But wait! Il Camerlengo has father issues so watch out cuz were back on track. The Chamberlain lately learned from the former and recently deceased pope that he was in fact his son. This didn’t go down so well for Il Camerlengo and he went a little nuts, unable to forgive the literal father and eventually poisoning him while still, for whatever reason, trying to continue his legacy.
TDKR: And who’s pulling Bane’s strings? Why it’s Miranda Tate, or should I say…Talia Al Ghul! (spoiler alert) using her position as the head of some unnamed multinational corporation to become head of Wayne Enterprises in order to steal the bomb and use it, Talia has had a pretty easy time convincing everyone that she too was sweet and unassuming and had nothing but goodness in her heart except for the fact that it was entirely her plan to annihilate Gotham City. Annihilate it? Yep that’s the difference here, she actually did plan to blow up the city, why? Just cuz. Or is it just cuz? Maybe she actually has…Daddy issues! Aha! Yep, Talia’s papa was also a pretty big name back when he was alive and head of the League of Shadows, and ever since she learned that he was her father and that he forbade her to date Bane she could never forgive him. Difference here? She changed her mind when he kicked it on that exploding train back in Batman Begins and decided to continue his legacy.
There’s something to be said for wrapping up loose ends and the Hashashin and his angry TDKR counterpart are definitely that.
Angels and Demons: So the Hashashin has vowed to kill the meddling Robert Langdon and take his female counterpart as his prize and he nearly does so only to be thwarted by a little luck and a lot of Girl Power. The first showdown happens in an immense underground cathedral and our Arab Assassin gets the better of Langdon ultimately entombing him in an enormous sarcophagus, leaving him there broken and presumably to die. I’ll skip ahead a little to TDKR.
TDKR: Bane has vowed to kill the meddling Batman and take Miranda as a prize (or so we’re left to believe). Their first scuffle takes place in an immense underground cage match and the brawl-happy Bane gets the better of Bats ultimately entombing him in an enormous pit, leaving him there broken and presumably to die.
Okeydokey, back to Angels and Demons
Angels and Demons: Langdon uses some of that college knowhow as well as a familiar event from his childhood which has ever since scared him away from dark enclosed places to heave himself out of that tomb and find the killer for round 2! Not a bad fight this time, at least Robert lasts a bit longer but yet again the trained assassin gains the upper hand and is about to strike the final blow when suddenly from out of nowhere, Langdon’s female counterpart throws the decisive punch and the assassin is struck dumb and then brutally murdered by an enraged Vittoria.
TDKR: WHAM, BAF, POW! Bats’ first encounter with Bane didn’t go too well either but he too will use a bit of that book learnin’ as well as a past traumatic event to heave himself up and out of that tomb and find Bane for round 2! This match goes little better, leaving Batman a heaving mass of blood and high polymer armoured mesh. Bane is about to blow his face off (even after he was expressly told not too) when suddenly and once again out of nowhere Catwoman bursts through a wall and brutally murders him.
In that time, both works make reference to a mysterious figure, respectively ‘The Trigger Man’ (TDKR), and ‘The eleventh hour Samaritan’ (Angels and Demons) who apparently have the power to either save or destroy the city. Both of these people are revealed to be the respective imposters of their story i.e. Miranda Tate (TDKR) the Chamberlain (Angels and Demons)
So, say you, surely Nolan must have stopped here, surely he must be done shamelessly plundering Dan Brown’s arguably weaker first whack at the Da Vinci code. Well it wouldn’t be a direct copy unless it ended the same way now would it?
Angels and Demons: The Chamberlain’s master plan has now reached its final stage, it falls on him to take the bomb, which was hidden somewhere in Vatican city and took a lot of time and effort to find, and use his skills as a helicopter pilot to fly it safely away from the city so that it can explode harmlessly but killing only him so that he will be seen as a hero, only to return apparently miraculously unscathed and subsequently revealed as a fraud.
TDKR: Take all of the above elements, put them in a blender and serve them up with a beautifully arranged soundtrack because you got yourself the conclusion to The Dark Knight Rises right down to the fraud thing. Tate’s plan has reached its final stage but it falls now on Brucy to take the bomb which was hidden somewhere in the city in a truck and use his skills as a pilot of a recently invented and dubious looking helicopter to fly it safely away from the city so that etc...etc…people think he’s dead, he’s not, the only difference here being that Miranda was revealed as the fraud. Bam. Mentionable is the fact that both pilots (Robert Langdon, Batman) use means of escape that were both mentioned at the beginning of the story and are completely unlikely.
Ok, so we’ve gone through the main points but there’s still a lot of food for thought hidden in the book. The resemblances are at times pretty uncanny and that’s not to say that Christopher Nolan intended to rip off what he thought was a forgotten story: a lot of these elements are familiar in other stories and movies, I just happened to be watching TDKR in between readings of Angels and Demons and more than once I found myself feeling déjà vu. I encourage anyone who’ll listen to watch and read these two pieces simultaneously and make a drinking game of it, sadly I’m told people have better things to do so I wrote this.
So, in conclusion, vast Illuminati conspiracy or just good ol’ fashioned creative theft?