Those rumors started by the toys from The Dark Knight Rises are way off

Early this week site io9 posted an article about the above image, stating that it was possible confirmation of few rumors that have been going around.

The focus seemed to be on the two action figures on the right, the capeless Batman and the guy in the ninja garb. While they posted the following;

Thanks to an io9 reader, we now have a close look at a brand new face, well a toy face. Who could this gentleman on the right be? We have three guesses. One, it’s Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s eventual costume (we’ve only seen him recently in the trailer as a cop in his Gotham blues). Is it Bruce Wayne in ninja garb? Which could mean that he’s contemplating a return to the League of Shadows. Or could this be the younger version of Ra’s Al Ghul played by Josh Pence? (Former Ra’s Al Ghul Liam Neeson is also confirmed to make a cameo in this film).

It’s likely that this is a member of the Ghul clan, as the character’s wardrobe is A.) consistent with the style seen earlier worn by Neeson in Batman Begins and B.) with the style we spotted Marion Cotillard in on the set of The Dark Knight Rises. She is rumored to be cast as as Ghul’s daughter Talia Al Ghul, even though she has denied it. Thanks for the tip Rickotron!

Fans took to this post and with even more rumors followed. Some fans even took the image of the Capeless Batman figure as means to confirm other rumors, as seen in io9‘s comment section of the article;

This may have already been discussed, and that’s why it gets no mention here, but I’m more curious about that capeless Batsuit. Given the crazy speculation that Joseph Gordon-Levitt takes over as Batman (either temporarily or permanently), I find that suit — which bears a passing resemblance to the Batman Beyond batsuit — very, very intriguing, given the premise of Batman Beyond of a younger man taking over as Batman under the guidance of an older, incapacitated Bruce Wayne.

 

I was not convinced, and my reasoning is fairly simple. I had seen these toys months ago. Back in early January a post from the SHH forums showcased a new and up coming 4″ toy line for The Dark Knight Rises. Many of the figures shown would later be revealed as part of an upcoming Deluxe Batman Batsuit line up, and one of those figures in particular came to mind.

The figure itself also comes in a red variation, which is even closer to a Batman Beyond look.

Shortly after the post made by io9, an article was posted over at ComicBookMovie that debunked the entire thing with revealing the sets packaging;

And particularly with this close up;

So there you have it. The ninja is not JGL but simply another Bruce Wayne ninja figure like the ones that came out during Batman Begins, and the capeless Batman is just a suit variation. But regardless of the evidence, fans will continue to speculate on what the outcome of the movie will bring, and until then all many of us can do is speculate with them, until July that is.