"The Batman" is finally here, but what's up with those twin bouncers?
And what's going on with Selina and her friend from the photo?
Who's really having the last laugh?
Here's the truth about some lesser-known characters in "The Batman."
It's hard to watch "The Batman" and not realize that John Turturro's Carmine Falcone is a
major player in Gotham.
But at the same time, his presence is so shadowy and his backstory so complex that you might
not realize how thoroughly he has influenced this city in decline.
The Falcone character has been in orbit around Batman for some time, even if he wasn't introduced
until the late '80s, long after characters like Joker and the Penguin had been established.
Tom Wilkinson made for a menacing Falcone in "Batman Begins," and John Doman fleshed
out the mobster stereotype quite a bit on the TV series "Gotham."
But Turturro's Falcone is a different beast.
From the first scenes of "The Batman," you can see the newspaper clippings on the wall
celebrating the arrest of Salvatore Maroni.
Maroni was once Falcone's chief rival, and his arrest opened the city for Falcone's ascension
up the ladder of organized crime.
The crime lord has his fingers in many pies, but also owns the Iceberg Lounge and its "club
within the club," the mob hangout 44 Below.
This is where Selina Kyle's mother Maria once worked, and Selina has been a regular face
there since she was a child, and is now employed there.
As Carmine later confesses in a moment of weakness, he killed Maria — and if he'd
had his way, he would have killed Selina too.
Then there's the Wayne family.
Carmine was once shot in the chest and showed up on the doorstep to Wayne Manor, where Thomas
Wayne saved his life.
A young Bruce, hiding in the shadows of a stairwell, witnessed the entire incident.
It is moments like this that made Bruce grow up thinking his father was a great, noble
man whose senseless death needs to be avenged.
As Carmine is all too willing to tell an adult Bruce Wayne, however, Thomas got his hands
dirty too, leading to the death of a newspaper reporter.
The front door at the Iceberg Lounge is manned by two intimidating (if somewhat dim) henchmen
serving the Penguin and ultimately Falcone.
"The twins," as they are called throughout the film, are played by Max and Charlie Carver
from MTV's "Teen Wolf."
In an early scene of "The Batman," the Dark Knight shows up at their door and says:
"Know who I am?"
And when they don't let him in, he uses his fists to remind them.
In a later scene echoing the moment, Bruce Wayne shows up and asks the same question.
They allow him in, oblivious to the symmetry.
On one hand, they might just be low-level bouncers with the gimmicky bonus of being
twin brothers; on the other, perhaps they could be Gotham supervillains in the making
In the comics, "Tweedledee and Tweedledum" are two gangsters/supervillains whose battles
against Batman date all the way back to 1943, much longer than Falcone.
One is a good fighter, the other a good thinker.
They are actually cousins who just so happen to look alike, and so Deever Tweed and his
cousin Dumfrey lean into their not-so-complimentary nicknames, as well as embracing their similar
appearances to confuse enemies.
In some incarnations over the years, Tweedledee and Tweedledum have been criminal masterminds,
content to plot out elaborate crimes and let their henchmen handle the execution.
In other tales, they themselves are henchmen of someone like the Joker or the Mad Hatter.
So could these twins be henchmen for the Penguin, who seems to be making his own power play
in Gotham's underworld?
Could future films have Robert Pattinson's Batman squaring off against Tweedledee and
Tweedledum?
Such thoughts make us curiouser and curiouser.
Determined to change Gotham through more straightforward means, Bella Reál feels a lot like Aaron
Eckhart's Harvey Dent in "The Dark Knight."
She's running for office, she's eager for a new day, and she's determined to win.
Also like Dent, she's oblivious to the daytime activities of the Batman.
"You really could be doing more for this city.
Your family has a history of philanthropy, but as far as I can tell, you're not doing
anything."
Robert Pattinson's Batman doesn't seem too eager to play politics, but that changes when
the two come crashing together in the film's final act.
As water floods into the arena where they're situated, Reál is urged to flee.
But she chooses instead to try and help, and is nearly assassinated in the process.
This much seems clear: She's won a newfound respect from Bruce Wayne that will likely
carry forward into a sequel.
So where does the character go from here?
Perhaps as a political ally to Bruce, perhaps as a transformative figure in Gotham.
We can only hope that, unlike Dent, she stays on the right side of the law.
Although she's barely glimpsed, the presence of Selina Kyle's friend is felt throughout
much of the film.
She's the "other woman" in the incriminating photo with the recently murdered Mayor Mitchell.
It is her visage that sics Batman, like a watchdog, on the scent of the Penguin.
When Selina Kyle overhears Anika's name mentioned, she's the one who hurries to tell her friend
that the heat is on — in the process revealing herself to Batman as the Catwoman.
But she may be more than just a friend.
In an interview shortly before the film's release, Zoë Kravitz claimed that her Selina
Kyle is bisexual in "The Batman" and has an intimate relationship with Anika.
She told Pedestrian, "That's definitely the way I interpreted that.
They had some kind of romantic relationship."
Director Matt Reeves, however, seems to respectfully disagree.
He told the same outlet, "I don't think we meant to go directly in
that way, but you can interpret it that way for sure.
She has an intimacy with that character and it's a tremendous and deep caring for that
character, more so than a sexual thing, but there was meant to be quite an intimate relationship
between them."
Regardless, the story machinations continue when Batman catches Selina in an attempt to
steal back Anika's passport, in a desperate attempt to help her leave the country.
But the writing is on the wall, and Anika eventually turns up dead.
So is Anika anything more than a mere plot device?
Like many characters in "The Batman," her name doesn't seem to appear in any Batman
stories, ever.
Almost certainly, she's a new character created by Reeves and co-writer Peter Craig.
As such, Anika means more than you might realize for a few additional reasons.
First, she symbolizes Reeves and Craig's preference for creating a credible detective tale rather
than a fan-servicing movie filled with Google-able names.
Secondly, she represents a fate that seems all too common in Gotham: used, spent, then
tossed in a trash can by men of wealth and influence.
Anika got caught in the cogs of Gotham's elite, and was mangled in the process.
Supposedly, Barry Keoghan was cast in "The Batman" as officer Stanley Merkel.
In the comics, Merkel has a fairly short career as James Gordon's partner before eventually
meeting his demise at the hands of The Hangman.
As for Keoghan's actual role in the movie, there's some pretty strong indications that
the casting news we all heard was a lie — or a joke.
Although it's not confirmed in the film itself, it's pretty clear that Keoghan's cackling
Arkham neighbor to the Riddler is the Joker.
If "The Batman" lands a sequel, there's a strong possibility we'll be seeing more of
Keoghan's character…
whatever his name may be.
"It seems too easy."
"It's never easy with the Joker."
Check out one of our newest videos right here!
Plus, even more Looper videos about "The Batman" are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.