Charles Marlow
Marlow's name may be inspired by the Elizabethan playwright Christopher Marlowe. Conrad's father was a translator of William Shakespeare who doubtless would have known of Marlowe's work as well. Some intertextual interpretations of "Heart of Darkness" have suggested that Marlowe's "The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus" may have influenced Conrad. Charles Marlow describes a character as a "papier-mache Mephistopheles", a reference to the Faust legend. Marlow's and Kurtz's journey up the Congo River in "Heart of Darkness" also has similarities to another work by Marlowe, "Dido, Queen of Carthage", in which Aeneas is stranded on the shore of Libya and meets the African queen Dido.
The Dark Knight Rises
Following the success of the Joker in "The Dark Knight", studio executives wished for the Riddler to be included as the primary villain as he was considered a similar character and encouraged the casting of Leonardo DiCaprio. However, Nolan wanted the antagonist to be vastly different from the previous incarnations and committed to using Bane instead, citing the need for a character with a physical presence within the film. He was initially unfamiliar with the character's back-story, but pointed out the appeal of an archetype, labelling it as "the extreme of some type of villainy". When comparing the choice of Bane with the Joker, Nolan highlighted the Joker as an example of "diabolical, chaotic anarchy and has a devilish sense of humor", juxtaposing him against Bane, whom he likened to "a classic movie monster [...] with a terrific brain." Nolan has said that his draft of the script was inspired by Charles Dickens' 1859 novel "A Tale of Two Cities", which centers around the French Revolution. This homage to Dickens was briefly illustrated by having Bane inconspicuously finger knit paracord in the film, symbolizing his literary character Madame Defarge, and more overtly by Commissioner Gordon's eulogy for Bruce Wayne at the end of the film, which is taken directly from the classic book.