If Christopher Nolan has truly created a Batman universe that is too realistic to allow for the existence of Clayface, Poison Ivy, Mister Freeze, Man-Bat or any of the more fantastic members of the Dark Knight’s Rogues Gallery; then his lauded interpretation of Batman is a failure.
I am not saying that Nolan’s films are not good, and I am also not saying that these characters should or should not be in the third installment. My argument is against the oft-voiced opinion along the lines of:
“Oh, it’s got to be Riddler or Catwoman because Killer Croc just wouldn’t work in a Nolan Batman movie.”
And this opinion will come from somebody that fully supports Batman Begins and The Dark Knight as the greatest interpretations of Batman on film. I say that you cannot rationally claim both. If Nolan’s vision of Batman is truly the definitive film interpretation, then it must allow for the more unreal villains. If not, then his movies have fallen short of being true Batman stories because Croc, Ivy, Clayface, Freeze and all the rest are just as much a part of Batman mythology as Alfred or Commissioner Gordon.