Go on, just watch it. We'll be back after the cut.


By the way, the trailer is also available in high definition courtesy of Apple.

Warner Bros. released in theaters over the weekend the first theatrical trailer in support of The Dark Knight Rises, the new Christopher Nolan film that concludes his enormously popular and hugely acclaimed Batman cycle. As made plain in the footage above, the film sees the villain Bane deliver to Gotham City a level of destruction and terror never before seen.

Our observations:

- Political machinations: Commissioner Gordon's job appears to be in jeopardy.

- We glimpse here a prison breakout reminiscent of that seen in the classic Knightfall comic book storyline, where Bane released every inmate in Arkham Asylum by blowing a hole in its outer walls with a rocket launcher.

- Bruce Wayne walking with a cane. Perhaps his back was injured along the lines of Knightfall, where Bane actually broke Batman's back?

- The chant heard in the initial teaser and material from the Fire Rises alternate reality game is confirmed to mean "rise."

- Bane says to a seemingly incapacitated and unmasked Bruce, "When Gotham is ashes, you have my permission to die."

- We see what appears to be some kind of elaborate subterranean complex that reminds one of Santa Prisca, the South American prison where the comic book version of Bane was raised from a boy. Batman Begins established the younger Bruce Wayne as having been a resident of such a place, and we see him in this complex in the new trailer. This could indicate a connection between Bruce and Bane that existed prior to the events of this film.

- Selina Kyle and Bruce Wayne dance at some kind of costumed event, recalling the hilariously weird scene between the two characters at the Maxquerade Ball of Batman Returns. Here, Selina antagonizes Bruce for being a member of the detached wealthy class, and warns of a reckoning for him and his kind. It is unknown what if any connection Selina has to Bane's mission.

- The Dark Knight Rises continues the theme of terrorism that has escalated since Batman Begins. Indeed, while there's nothing explicit in the trailer, it seems likely that Bane has some connection to Ra's al Ghul.

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