Christopher Nolan has created many special movies over his career. However, his crowning achievement to many will always be the Dark Knight trilogy - the three films that changed the landscape of comic book cinema and showed superhero movies in a different light. The trilogy closed out with arguably the most divisive of the three, The Dark Knight Rises, an ultimately satisfying conclusion to the trilogy's brilliance.
The film was chock full of great characters, a few who were introduced in it, and some who fans had been getting to know over the previous two movies. The obvious characters dominate the screen for the film's majority, but there are a few characters who get mere minutes to shine.
Dr. Jonathan Crane - 1 Minute
Dr. Jonathan Crane, also known as Scarecrow, was one of Batman Begins' primary antagonists alongside Henri Ducard/Ra's Al Ghul. However, his role in the trilogy did not end with that first film.
Frequent Christopher Nolan collaborator Cillian Murphy reprised his role in both other trilogy movies, both in cameo roles. In this film, he acts as the judge of the kangaroo court, which sentenced the aristocrats of Gotham and others deemed to be guilty to death, doing so after being freed by Bane from Blackgate prison.
Ra's Al Ghul - 1 Minute 15 Seconds
Sticking with Batman Begins antagonists, Ra's Al Ghul returned in this movie in the form of both a flashback and a hallucination, adding to the villain's backstory while helping in Bruce's journey.
Audiences get flashbacks to Ghul's connection to the pit and Bane, seeing a younger version of the character whose wife had been sent to the pit. Ra's comes to Bruce in a hallucination that leads to Bruce realizing Ra's was the mercenary whose wife was taken, making Bane the child who escaped (a wrong assumption, of course)
Phillip Stryver - 2 Minutes 45 Seconds
Assistant to John Daggett and subsequently an apparent ally of Bane and his forces, Phillip Stryver is a minor antagonist in the film, whose motivations revolve around Daggett's desired takeover of Wayne industries.
Despite seemingly being on Bane's side, even standing by as Bane killed his boss Daggett, Stryver fell victim to the kangaroo court in his short time on screen. His decision to take exile led to his falling through the ice and dying, a fate everyone found guilty met.
Dr. Leonid Pavel - 3 Minutes
The Dark Knight has one of the greatest opening scenes in cinema history, but The Dark Knight Rises certainly lives up to the expectation of brilliance the bank heist created, producing another phenomenal Nolan opening.
This opening scene on the plane is where most of Dr. Leonid Pavel's screen time comes from as he is captured and used by Bane. This coming before he is executed by Bane in public, inducing fear in all of Gotham due to Pavel's sole understanding of the nuclear bomb.
John Daggett - 3 Minutes 45 Seconds
Going back to the secondary antagonists looking to take over Wayne Enterprises and help out Bane as a way to do so, John Daggett of Daggett Industries was at the head of this sub-story.
Daggett helped Bane in a plethora of ways. He was the one responsible for bringing Bane and his men to Gotham, funding their underground base, and helped with Bane's stock market crash plan. While he thought it would come in return for Bane helping him get Wayne Industries, Bane, of course, just killed him and put his body in a dumpster.
Commissioner Jim Gordon - 13 Minutes 15 Seconds
Jim Gordon is a phenomenal and vital part of Nolan's trilogy, much like he is in the comic-verses. His role in Bruce Wayne's arc, in the Batman story, and in saving Gotham cannot go unnoticed.
There are many fantastic Gordon moments in this movie that make up his time on screens, such as his refusal to back down from Bane's forces, his rallying of the troops, and his realization that Bruce Wayne is Batman. He is one of the trilogy's best characters.
Selina Kyle (Catwoman) - 19 Minutes
Anne Hathaway donned the iconic latex of Catwoman in Nolan's film, acting as an anti-hero-ish protagonist and eventual love interest of Bruce Wayne.
She is pretty fantastic in the movie, getting a decent amount of time to shine as fans learn about her past and get to understand her motivations. The ending of the movie may be a bit divisive, but her role in the movie as a whole makes her inclusion in the Florence cafe scene welcome.
Detective John Blake - 19 Minutes 45 Seconds
Another great character who made their debut in the Nolanverse's Rises was detective John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who is extremely likable and sympathetic, although divisive to many.
This divisiveness stems from the reveal of Blake's real name, Robin, which seemed to set up some sort of spin-off for the Nolanverse, which never came to be. Blake is a crucial character in the movie. He has a backstory similar to Bruce's, is disgruntled with the Gotham P.D, plays a big role in Gordon's arc as well as in taking down Bane, rescuing Gotham and his fellow police colleagues.
Bane - 22 Minutes 15 Seconds
The voice of Bane, which Tom Hardy puts on in this movie, is one of the most iconic elements of the Dark Knight trilogy. It is because of this movie that Bane himself becoming one of the most recognizable villains in all of cinema.
There are issues with the fact that Bane turned out not to be the mastermind of the plan to take down Gotham. Regardless, every line spoken by Bane is gold, his physicality is astounding, and overall, he is an incredibly enjoyable villain. Especially considering the clown-sized footsteps he was following.
Bruce Wayne (Batman) - 46 Minutes
It is fairly self-explanatory that in a Batman movie, the individual with the most time on screen will be Batman. Despite all the changes Nolan made to the idea of a superhero movie, this thankfully remained.
Bale has another fantastic outing as both Bruce Wayne and Batman in the longest of the three movies. Many people have a big issue with the ending reveal of Wayne's survival, and there are definitely questions surrounding it. However, throughout the movie, Batman/Bruce's journey is fantastic, from his lowest point to seemingly handing the torch to Blake. It is a satisfying end to his three-movie arc.