The Dark Knight Rises literally opens in a few days time, and now that people are hyped and ready for it, the knowledge of it being Christopher Nolan's final Batman film also sets in. It's hard to believe that a saga that started out in 2005 with Batman Begins and skyrocketed to epic proportions with 2008's The Dark Knight is finally ending this year, and the groundwork for portraying a significant version of DC Comics' flagship character left an everlasting impression on fans the world over.
Before we prepare to say goodbye to Nolan directing The Bat and Christian Bale wearing the Batsuit, I wanted to take this opportunity to do a retrospective on the two previous films of The Dark Knight saga and its personal impact on fandom. Despite being a few years old and a new film is already on the horizon, it still holds true that these blockbusters have set the bar and brought Batman back to prominence.
SPOILER ALERT for those who haven't seen any of the films. Before you see the fire rise, watch The Dark Knight begin and fall, respectively.
