Rumor: Bane to battle Batman in The Dark Knight Rises?

You would think that a site calling itself "Batman-News" would have all the inside skinny on everything The Dark Knight Rises, but I tend to think this latest tidbit is super sketchy. They site a source who claims that Batman might have a much more imposing challenge on his hands than rumored antagonists Hugo Strange and The Riddler...

"This past week a new name has popped up, one that we’ve seen on film before. Jett on his private BOF message board has been hinting that Bane may show up in The Dark Knight Rises"

That's all there is to it. I don't know this Jett person, nor do I know what "BOF"(*Update* It's likely "Batman-On-Film") is. So I don't really have any reason to believe this at all, but it's worth keeping under your hat just in case. Bane was actually in a Batman flick before, as part of 1997's awful Batman and Robin. He was a brainless oaf in that flick, which goes completely against his character in the comics. Bane is one of the few DC villains I really like because not only is he a physical superior to Batman, but he's also pretty darn smart. He's the guy who broke Batman's back and forced him into retirement back in 1993. Fortunately Batman treats retirement with roughly the same seriousness as Brett Favre does.

If it were to end up being true, Bane would be a welcome addition to the film because Batman hasn't really had to deal with someone who challenged him on a physical level. The Joker, the Scarecrow, these guys are manipulators.  If Hugo Strange turns out to be the bad guy, Bane would make a pretty good right hand man.

Remember that rumor from a few weeks ago about John Cena having a role in the movie? What if he were Bane? That would be some inspired casting.